This Too Shall Pass by OK Go
I can already tell how hated I am going to be for this post but no, okay? Just no.
This video makes me sad, and you know why? Because it’s nothing but a gimmick. When OK Go first hit the YouTube scene with the treadmill clip, a friend of mine said to me “you know that it’s not a very good song if the clip is all anyone is talking about.” And I got angry and ranted at my friend about how a) it was a great and funny and original music video and how b) it’s so difficult to break into the music scene nowadays, who cares if people are talking about the clip more than the song? At least they’re talking, right?
But someone needs to mention to OK Go that they’ve already cracked the scene and now that can do what they want. They don’t have to put out another video that is a) not as good as the treadmills and b) just another gimmick.
They actually made a different video for this song first, and then someone has clearly gone “wait, hang on, no one is going to pay attention to that. You know what they would pay attention to? A giant game of mouse trap!” And that makes me sad.
My issues with the actual clip:
1. there are some parts that seem like the machine is not fully connected to each other and there are certain parts of it that end but the crew think they can cover that up using a continuous shot.
2. the continuous shot never works as well as anyone thinks it does because to anyone experienced in film, it just looks amateur and to anyone not so familiar with filmic techniques, it goes unnoticed (example 1).
So hate me all you want because I know you all think it’s a masterful piece of brilliance but it makes me sad that even OK Go don’t believe in their own talents and feel the need to rely on something so kitsch.
