Los Angeles based alternative band OK Go is no rookie when it comes to including artistic flare in their music videos.
Friday’s release of the video “The One Moment” shows this in a colorful way, playing off of their typical one-shot style.
The multifaceted project is only 4.2 seconds of film which they replay and slow down, to extend just ‘one moment’ for the duration of the song. In the amount of time it would take you to send an “I’m on my way” text, a blank canvas is transformed into a world of color.
Explosion of neons erupts from a wall built of salt. The burst of just a few buckets creates a precisely timed wave of paint splatter. Bullets blast into white spheres disintegrating them to nothing more than clouds of colored dust.
But this is not all that occurs. According to Rolling Stone, there are over 325 events that take place for the duration of the scene that is ironically the smallest amount of footage ever recorded for a music video.
Although OK Go is known for filming with one camera in a single shot, this particular video was taken with multiple different cameras that were precisely timed and programmed to imitate the band’s notorious style.
While one might say OK Go is testing its creative limits, it is also raising awareness. As I mentioned in my previous article, musicians should be using their platform to make their voices heard. Not just musically. OK Go is doing just that.
The quartet partnered with Morton Salt to inspire viewers in collaboration with the ‘Walk Her Walk’ campaign. The campaign, designed by creative agency Code and Theory, seeks to influence others to go out and make a difference. It plays on the notable phrase “to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk,” and hopes to encourage others to make an impact.
Morton knows people want to make a difference but the number of people out there actually doing it is significantly less. It’s almost like when we tell ourselves we’re going to the gym in the morning and then decide to snooze for an hour instead.
Don’t worry, I’m guilty too.
Morton understands the concept of we’re all different and all favor different causes. Similarly to how we’re all different and not everyone loves cardio at 7 AM. Again, I’m not that person. This is why they have partnered with five different organizations hoping to raise awareness on each and get others involved.
Aside from the philanthropic agenda of the video, overall it is a must watch. To think back to where OK Go was seven years ago in their “Here It Goes Again” music video, there is a great deal of artistic growth that has occurred.
This video challenges the elements of time and technology to bring viewers something more that just a wannabe pop star half dressed gazing into the camera.
This is art. This is what the future of music is all about. It is about taking the music element to create a visually entertaining and energetic piece which shows the beauty of art and technology working seamlessly as one.
