The lead singer of OK Go explains what it's like to shoot a music video in zero gravity
ivan rebroff/YouTube screenshot
The band OK Go is known for pulling off some impressive feats in their music videos.
Their first big hit came in 2009 with the music video for "Here It Goes Again." In that video, they ran on treadmills while belting out the lyrics. For their song "This Too Shall Pass," they set up an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine.
Now the band has topped its previous efforts. On Thursday, OK Go released a music video for their single "Upside Down & Inside Out," in which the members perform while floating in an airplane in zero gravity (well, actually reduced gravity).
The band shot the video in a parabolic flight that produces weightlessness. Lead singer and guitarist Damian Kulash told Business Insider that shooting in zero gravity was always a dream of his. But it didn't seem feasible until a few years ago, when SpaceX and Virgin Galactic talked about making space travel possible for just about anybody.
ivan rebroff/YouTube screenshot
"Suddenly, [space travel] is opening up to the rest of the world. And I remember thinking at that point, that means people are going to be able to make art in space. I was like, 'I want to make art in space!'" Kulash said. "It was a very, very loose idea because it was such an improbable one for a long time."
Kulash went on a parabolic flight in 2011. Even after that experience, the idea of doing a music video using those conditions didn't seem practical enough.
"It actually seems not so promising on the first flight simply because it's so hard to do anything. In one flight, what you learn is it makes you nauseous, and it's really hard to control yourself," he said.
ivan rebroff/YouTube screenshot
Yet OK Go still managed to pull it off, adding piñatas, laptops, and paint into the mix. Since nobody has ever shot a music video like this before, it did come with its challenges.
"The biggest challenge is not defaulting to your normal type of movement. You're so used to controlling yourself by working against the ground. You use your environment to push you around. Gravity is part of that," Kulash said. "Most people essentially start swimming. They doggy-paddle because they're disconnected."
But before that, there was one more obstacle to overcome.
"Actually, before that, the first thing most people do is just puke," Kulash clarified.
Thanks to anti-nausea medication, the band managed to get through the entire shoot vomit-free.
ivan rebroff/YouTube screenshot
The experiment has paid off. In less than 48 hours, the music video for "Upside Down & Inside Out" has already gotten over 27 million views on OK Go's Facebook page. Kulash says they have no plans as of yet to actually make a video in outer space, but filming in zero gravity was already a dream come true.
"It seemed so unlikely for so many years. It seemed like the answer to that question, 'If you could do anything, what would it be?' Well, what I would do is a zero-gravity video, but c'mon."
You can watch the full video below:
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