OK Go defy gravity in music video first

Updated

The first music video ever to be shot in zero gravity has been made by OK Go and premiered on Facebook.

The US band's latest visually impressive promo is for new track Upside Down & Inside Out.

It was posted to the band's Facebook page with this accompanying message: "Hello, Dear Ones. Please enjoy our new video for "Upside Down & Inside Out". A million thanks to S7 Airlines. #GravitysJustAHabit."

The video opens with the words: "What you are about to see is real. We shot this in zero gravity, in an actual plane, in the sky. There are no wires or green screen."

The band - consisting of members Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Andy Ross and Dan Konopka - are seen seated on a plane before they flip upside down and showcase more gravity-defying moves due to their weightlessness.

OK Go singer Kulash explained the inspiration behind their groundbreaking feat.

"It was nearly a decade ago that the world started buzzing about commercial space travel and exploration.

"It dawned on me that soon enough people will be making art in space. So for years, we've been looking for the opportunity to make a weightless video. I mean, what could be more thrilling than astronaut training?"

OK Go teamed up with S7 Airlines and trained at a facility in Russia run by Roscosmos, the country's version of Nasa.

Video director Trish Sie said the II-76 MDK plane carrying the band could only achieve weightlessness for a maximum of 27 seconds at a given time.

"Because we wanted the video to be a single, uninterrupted routine, we shot continuously over the course of eight consecutive weightless periods, which took about 45 minutes, total," Sie explained.

"We paused the action, and the music, during the non-weightless periods, and then cut out these sections and smoothed over each transition with a morph," she added.

The Grammy award-winning choreographer also directed OK Go's 2006 innovative video for Here It Goes Again, which was shot on treadmills.

Their reputation for creative music videos also saw the band disguise themselves in wallpaper for 2006 promo Do What You Want.

Upside Down & Inside Out is a track from their Hungry Ghosts album.

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