We’re more selective these days about how we use the word “meta,” but when it comes to OK Go’s latest release, the band has created—bear with us here—a music video using phones about videos made with phones.
Known for elaborately choreographed music videos that bring pop songs to life through playful, chromatic, even gravity-defying stunts, OK Go (previously) continues to push the boundaries of the genre. The group’s tune “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill,” which premiered last Thursday, features a mindbogglingly complex composition using 64 smartphones to record and transmit a joyful performance.
The band is currently composed of Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, and Andy Ross, who relish the creative potential of the music video genre. Tapping into a unique style of filmic continuity using split screens and meticulously-planned set transitions, the band defies the notion that music videos are a thing of the past.
For “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill,” each phone captured one unique take, which had to be carefully planned in advance. All 64 videos were filmed in slightly different sequences or at different angles, in some cases capturing additional phones in the band’s hands that displayed color blocks or patterns.
In a remarkable feat, the final video records the playback on the phones, arranged on a single concrete surface, choreographed to reflect an increasingly elaborate performance. See the video on the band’s YouTube channel, where you can dance along to dozens more.
