Not magic, it’s all done with mirrors

April 12, 2025 4:02 PM

That band, OK Go, has another video out. Shot in a Budapest train station, a single four minute shot, it’s a kaleidoscope of live imagery, created via an insane choreography of people and machines. And for the curious, they also show how it was done. Enjoy!
posted by njohnson23 (28 comments total)

I think what I love about their videos is the feeling I get of actual human beings Doing a Thing. As if it is possible for their bizarre constructions to actually exist yes I know they do. . Also I love the song.

Watched this on the city bus with my earbuds in and went “Wow” a few times out loud.
posted by Peach at 4:21 PM on April 12 [8 favorites]

Also and totally irrelevant, I have been in that train station.
posted by Peach at 4:33 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]

That was great, thanks for posting!
posted by oneirodynia at 4:50 PM on April 12 [1 favorite]

It's the Keleti (Eastern) station.
posted by donio at 5:08 PM on April 12 [1 favorite]

Amazing. Who needs CGI?
posted by waving at 5:38 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]

Choreography with industrial robots is brave.
posted by krisjohn at 5:44 PM on April 12 [5 favorites]

I increasingly think of OK Go as a cool video production group which gets royalties on their soundtracks.
posted by adamsc at 5:50 PM on April 12 [13 favorites]

Almost twenty years since OK Go first appeared here on the blue.
posted by mbrubeck at 5:51 PM on April 12 [6 favorites]

Bless these nerds and their budget
posted by minervous at 6:12 PM on April 12 [4 favorites]

Well that was a splendid piece of eye/ear candy indeed.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 7:06 PM on April 12 [1 favorite]

That was fun! That's what I love about OK Go, they are just a fun band.
posted by KingBoogly at 7:33 PM on April 12 [3 favorites]

> Choreography with industrial robots is brave.

I thought so, too, but they're "cobots" (ISO 15066 collaborative robots) from Kuka (mentioned in the making of video), so they have torque sensors in their joints & are programmed not to use mirror edges to open veins.
posted by ASCII Costanza head at 8:23 PM on April 12 [1 favorite]

Oh, Kuka lent Simone Giertz one of their robots and it didn't kill her. I've yet to see anyone get in the path of one of these things to demonstrate how quickly it reacts to obstructions, though.
posted by ASCII Costanza head at 8:26 PM on April 12

> I've yet to see anyone get in the path of one of these things to demonstrate how quickly it reacts to obstructions, though.

Having worked with these plenty, the way we explain to new folks is "its not going to kill you, but its still going to hurt"
posted by Greasy Eyed Gristle Man at 9:18 PM on April 12 [9 favorites]

That was awesome. Loved the video, loved the making of. (Although I think they missed an opportunity, not calling the behind-the-scenes "Making Love.")

Thank you so much for posting this! Hooray for doing impossible things.
posted by kristi at 11:44 PM on April 12 [3 favorites]

At about the 2 minute market my daughter said, "my brain is broken, but my eyes want to keep watching".
posted by Jra at 3:01 AM on April 13 [2 favorites]

Amazing as usual. And perhaps something of a hat tip in the direction of Michel Gondry's video for the Chemical Brothers' Let Forever Be (1999)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 5:15 AM on April 13 [5 favorites]

Nice to see these guys again, it seemed like they might not really come back after the pandemic. I go watch the video for All Is Not Lost now and again for comfort.
posted by Rhedyn at 6:36 AM on April 13 [1 favorite]

A perfect wedding of form and content. The music builds to a giddy, ecstatic close that is mirrored (haha) by the ever-more-elaborate and breathtaking visuals. And the tune's a banger too.

Thanks for sharing this!
posted by the sobsister at 8:16 AM on April 13

Damn - they did it again. And this song is really beautiful.
posted by queensissy at 10:46 AM on April 13

i like how none one gives a fuck what the name of the song is

the name of the song is "Love"

ThisIsntNamThereAreRules.jpg
posted by glonous keming at 11:22 AM on April 13

Yeah, you know what rules?

Corrugated cardboard rules.

It just does.
posted by flabdablet at 11:36 AM on April 13

One of my favorite things about watching OK Go videos over the years has been to watch the transformation of drummer Dan Konopka from "i can't believe I have to do this" to "I am living my best life and this is awesome." That might just be my perception, but I just see more quiet joy and amazement on his face every new video when I watch these now.

Also, Rhedyn, just in case you didn't see their amazing phone video two months ago, this is "A Stone Only Rolls Downhill."
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:29 PM on April 13 [3 favorites]

*SPOILER* As a long time fan, I'm a little concerned about how much blood Damien loses every time the mirrored suit goes on or comes back off.
posted by furiouscupcake at 7:37 AM on April 14

This was excellent. Thank you so much for the link.

Realizing now that maybe every OK Go video is a fugue? Not the music, but the visuals.
posted by brainwane at 8:56 AM on April 14

The song gets kinda screamy for me and the "hand in something" lyric sounds dirty, but I enjoy robots, mirrors, and the disco suit.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:02 PM on April 14

> Realizing now that maybe every OK Go video is a fugue

I was today years old when I learned that my definition of fugue was not only wildly inaccurate, but I got both major definitions of the word wrong. Thanks brainwane!
posted by furiouscupcake at 8:04 AM on April 15 [2 favorites]

I thought it lacked a certain physicality I remember them being known for until I realized "Here It Goes Again" was like 15 years ago and me and my knees are also that much older. ETA: 18 years! holy moley!

"Hey Meta, stop recording" and "sponsored by Meta" illicited a spontaneous "ew" from me, though.
posted by numaner at 12:56 PM on April 15