OK Go Answer Readers' Questions About 'End Love' Video

Nobody makes music videos quite like OK Go. The Chicago power-pop band helped the term "viral video" go mainstream when their 'Here We Go Again' clip -- an elaborate treadmill dance performed in a single take -- garnered over 50 million plays online. Since then, the band has maintained their reputation for creating wildly creative clips done on the cheap.

OK Go's latest masterpiece for 'End Love' is a dazzling display of camera-trickery, leaving viewers with serious questions about just how they pulled the whole thing off. We fielded questions about the video from our readers on Twitter and Facebook -- have a look at drummer Dan Konopka's answers after the jump.



Why did you choose 'End Love' as the song for this visual concept? (from @autumnraina)

In most cases, we try to pick the song that works best for the specific video treatment. We go with what will have a relationship and what's natural. Everything about the song goes into the decision: The tempo, the feel, the attitude, it's all considered when we put them together, and it becomes pretty clear when the balance and chemistry is right between the two. I thought 'End Love's' cool linear groove and even pacing seemed to contrast and compliment the videos vibrant colors and jittery racing pace.

Who specifically had the idea for this video, and how long did it take to create, plan and execute it? (from Lazlo Love)

The idea came from Jeff Lieberman and Eric Gunther. Jeff and Eric were co-directors. By and large, as with all our videos, it's a whole group effort to get them made. Jeff has four degrees from MIT and is the host of the Discovery Channel show 'Time Warp.' Eric is an MIT grad as well. Eric and Jeff were on all logistics and Eric really helped us with the choreography. There were about four days to set choreography off-site, and we ran the routine twice on-site. The whole routine takes 21 hours from start to finish. I'm not sure how long exactly post-production took but my guess is about one month.

How did "Orange Bill" get incorporated into the video? That duck seemed to love hanging with the band! (from Geoff Tebbetts)

Orange Bill was actually just a bystander in the park during the time of shooting. Bill happens to be a she -- we were in her territory -- and at first I don't believe she had much of a liking to us. Whenever she felt the urge, she'd quack and pick at us to let us know she was unhappy with our presence. But by the second day, I think she felt she was our friend and possibly our guardians. She then followed us everywhere. Her involvement wasn't planned but made a very special part of the video.

Are the tracksuit colors symbolic of anything other than band members' favorites? What's the secret to making leaps and jumps look so great in slow-mo (other than the tracksuits, obviously)? (from Christel Adina Loar)

There is no hidden symbolism in the colors chosen for our track suits. The suits were picked because they were bright and bold and reflected the playfulness in the choreography. They were also the right choice because we could be agile in them and they were quite cozy.

When the people circling the group sped up to ultra-fast, blurred speed, was this trick photography or did you guys actually stand there for an extra-long period of time? (from Julie McDowell Garner)

It was a combination of both really -- ultra slowed-down filming (a frame every 2 seconds or so), and gradual changing of the crowd's running speed. We got the crowd moving at a turtle's pace at first then sped them up to a pretty quick jog by the end. There were other parts where we had to mouth words to an ultra-slow playback -- so slow the words were completely unintelligible on replay. We pre-videorecorded ourselves saying the words in real-time and then mimicked the way they looked from a video monitor to achieve the matched-up effect.

How was the band able to go to the bathroom, if need be? (from Blake DeCarvalho)

In post-production, they removed the frames where we were gone. We would go to the bathroom quickly and then return to our spots, in the end it looks like we never left.

In the sleeping bag scene, how did you make sure that you each woke up in time to say your line? A really loud alarm clock or something? (from Emilia Kellison-Linn)

The director and crew returned in the morning and from behind the camera they told us it was time to get up.

Were there any troubles with random people in the park? Are the extras at the end friends and family? (from @onecheekyhobbit)

No trouble with random people. Everyone not in the know seemed to just be confused by what we were doing. Four people slowly shuffling around a park with a goose trailing them I guess is just weird enough that if you're not involved, you probably wouldn't want to ask. The people at the end of the video were mostly fans. We put an open call out to fans that were living in the area to see if anyone would like to participate. Everyone that came participated perfectly! They were so patient and helpful, we couldn't have asked for a better bunch of volunteers.