Once upon a time I was fairly certain I’d be a music video director. I knew musicians who said they wanted to make them, I had some ideas and, most importantly, I was eager to work. Aside from one, really, this didn’t happen. As I sit here thinking about music videos I realize I have feelings about music videos in general. As anyone in my household knows, I believe that feelings should be shared. So, here we go.

First off, I like music videos. A lot. I was born in 1978 and I think this might play a part in the matter. I’m not sure what the first music video I saw was but when I did start seeing them they were a revelation. Whether it was the Dire Straits or Billy Idol or Bon Jovi I was pleased to see and hear everything.

At the time I wasn’t thinking about the kinds of music videos or what was possible with the art form. Mind you, I was a kid, but it was interesting to experience the various kinds of videos and to occasionally think about why I liked what I liked. Obviously this was on a very simple and basic level.

It was only later, when I myself was editing video and pairing it with music that I truly had the experience of seeing how the two could shape and change one another.  The purpose of these posts about music videos is that I’d like to spread a lot of love around and share a thought or two.

To begin, I’d like to write a bit about the music videos of OK Go. If there is one band who is consistently making interesting, fun and inventive music videos it’s them. From ‘Here it Goes Again’ and their treadmill antics to ‘White Knuckles’ and its adorable rescue dogs to the Rube Goldberg madness of ‘This Too Shall Pass’ and zero gravity stunts of ‘Upside Down & Inside Out’ they always deliver entertaining videos. I am posting what might be my favorite video of theirs below.  The amount of work that went into this video boggles my mind.

A shadow early on reveals that this was shot with a drone in what appears to be one take. To work out the timing of the band on their small scooters, the choreography of the dancers and the opening and closing of the umbrellas and the camera placement is just incredible.