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MAR 1, 2012
Beast Edits Groundbreaking Video for OK Go
San Francisco, CA – Beast, one of the nation’s top editorial houses and a subsidiary of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., has edited a groundbreaking new music video for rock band OK Go. Renowned for their offbeat and often highly intricate videos, their new video for “Needing/Getting” raises the bar even higher.
Made in partnership with Chevrolet, the video features the band driving a Chevy Sonic outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play a musical obstacle course filled with over 1,000 instruments set up over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. The band recorded a special version of “Needing/Getting,” singing as they played the instrument array with the car.
Beast San Francisco editor Doug Walker was tasked with cutting the video, which was far from a straightforward process. “All jobs have inherent challenges, but this one had them from frame one,” says Walker. “It was important to edit the video to the beat because the set was built for the car to play the song. It was clear that each scene had to be carefully selected and retimed for things to work properly.”
Lead singer and co-director Damian Kulash Jr. echoed Walker’s sentiments. “Everything about this type of project is a challenge,” offers Kulash. “That's the whole point, really. It took months of trial and error (and a heavy dose of science) in warehouses outside L.A., banging on stuff, scraping stuff, blowing through pipes and hoses, trying to figure out the resonances of tubes and tanks and barrels, and so forth. And of course, just figuring out the route was a huge project, because there were so many variables.”
Walker worked closely with Kulash and co-director Brian L. Perkins on the edit. “The room was full of strong opinions, yet there was amazing collaboration with everyone involved,” offers Walker. “Damian is extremely smart and obviously understands music well and Brian’s planning helped to make this video a reality. For me, it was important to understand and execute their visions, while still retaining my view as well. It was truly one of the most intelligent and fun projects I’ve even been involved with.”
Kulash enjoyed working with Beast as well. “Doug and his staff at Beast were amazing,” says Kulash. “They really understood the spirit of the piece: we aren't interested in slick filmmaking or sexy editing tricks, but rather in showing people what it was like to be there, and helping the audience viscerally understand the full course as a giant recording session. Watching the world's reaction to it has been incredibly satisfying.”
In addition to cutting the video, Walker worked with fellow Beast editor Brian Lagerhausen on “Stunt Anthem,” a spot from Chevrolet’s “Let’s Do This” campaign for the Chevy Sonic which aired during Super Bowl XLVI.
