Creative Inspiration and Video Innovation

While reading the Art of Innovation, I have really appreciated Kelly's examples of innovative products, and how the teams developing those products have to create a space for innovation, surround themselves with innovative people, and constantly challenge what is the norm.

I have found one musical group to be inspiring in their creativity, the band OK GO.  The group has produced the most amazing videos that I have ever scene, and while the videos are "music videos" in that each video is within the context of one of the groups songs, the content of the video is so far beyond a typical music video.

In the first video I saw from the group, "Here It Goes Again,"  the four members of the group perform intricate choreography on 8 treadmills.  Throughout the whole video, the camera never moves or expands past the treadmills, yet in one continuous take the members question what we understand about choreography and movement in a very entertaining and engaging way. 

In another video, the group again used a continuous take to follow the entire course of a song, but in this instance the video is completely constructed around a Rube Goldberg machine.  The viewer becomes a part of the video, actively following how the machine interacts with the song, how the band interacts with the machine, how they are interacting with the song.  The video also serves to establish the band as a part of a "hot group," obviously displaying passion for what they are doing, on a mission  to create videos with such elaborate sets, processes, structures, for such a small result; a music video.  Although not all the characters are visible in the short videos, it is clear that before these music videos are created there must be a visionary, a troubleshooter, a craftsman, and a technologist. While the other characters may be less present, the final results suggest that the other roles, the iconoclast, the pulse taker etc. are behind the scenes as well.

In another video, the band actually "plays" the music of the song by driving a car through a track of musical instruments.  The music is dependent on the car moving at the right speed, and non traditional instruments, or instruments used in non traditional ways creates the music.  The turn signal becomes percussion at the same time as the car plays a guitar solo by "strumming" down a line of 20+ electric guitars on a fence.  

While there are many other videos, I just want to focus on one more that I recently saw, which reminded me of how much I appreciate the band's videos.  In the video for "The Writing's on the Wall" the band uses the video to play with the viewers perspective.  They create colorful "shapes" from one perspective, and then move the camera so that you see it is completely different from another angle.  Using optical illusions, changing camera angles etc, the whole video is about making you see something, and then seeing that it is not what it appears to be

Again, I am just amazed by not only the innovative idea for a video, but also the work and dedication that goes into making it.  Ok Go has demonstrated time and time again that their music videos are not only about the music the band creates, they are an expression of creativity.  

.