New OK Go music video is a Drone Masterpiece

Behind the Scenes

by Tim FokOctober 28^th, 2014

OK Go have released a music video for their new single I Won’t Let You Down and it’s a drone masterpiece, check it out:

OK Go have established quite a unique style for their music videos. Their slightly ‘less polished’ style of filmmaking paints a wonderful aesthetic, creating almost a home movie vibe. This is often countered by long, single take, heavily choreographed shots that in-turn create some wonderful videos.

Likely first brought to light to many by their viral video Here It Goes Again, OK Go have continued to wow audiences with their unique videos, and there’s always something for us filmmakers.

A recent release – The Writing’s On the Wall raised much discussion as to the camera choice. The hot topic at the time (and still very popular) Panasonic GH4 was pictured in the BTS video with a fig rig, which caused quite a stir as to whether the post stabilized process deterred or added to the overall look of the piece.

I Won’t Let You Down is another fantastic example from OK Go, seemingly shot entirely in one take using a drone. Peta Pixel did a great job in pulling some BTS shots from the Instagram feed of frontman Damian Kulas.

The pictures show great insight as to the process of the production. What must have been such a task to nail the choreography, could it have been filmed any other way without a drone?

There are a few jimmy jib setups that would’ve gotten close to some of camera movement, but with some of the heights particularly towards the end; nothing comes close.

I was involved in a much smaller production a couple of years back that shares similar subjects (but at a much higher level). We were shooting on a 32M cherry picker and were struggling for overhead clearance.  The drone offers such a unique perspective in this incidence, going from eye level to 100+ foot aerial views.

The slightly-faster-than-standard playback does enhance some of the wobbles the drone (and dolly at the start) naturally exhibits, but arguably cements that ‘OK Go Look’ which their videos fail to present; it also offers a much more suitable tempo for the choreographed umbrella actions.

As a filmmaker I’m always keen to see the latest OK Go video; they’re usually followed up by a behind the scenes release also so we potentially have that to look forward to. OK Go have a huge catalogue of unique one-take music videos, check them out on YouTube for more.