• Entertainment

Go Behind the Scenes of OK Go’s New Video for “The Writing’s On the Wall”

2 minute read

The band OK Go has long been synonymous with music video events — ever since they unleashed their iconic treadmill clip in 2006, both their fans and late-night YouTube procrastinators have come to expect some combination of single-shot takes, coordinated dance routines, elaborate stop-motion animation and, occasionally, some cute animals.

Their latest visual offering, for “The Writing’s on the Wall” from this year’s Hungry Ghosts, is no exception. And with drummer Dan Konopka getting splashed by colorful, seemingly gravity-defying paint in one scene, you could say it’s technically one of their dirtiest music videos ever. In an exclusive behind-the-scenes video for TIME, Konopka and director Aaron Duffy show off the video shoot’s central paint-delivery apparatus and the many people making sure Konopka is adequately drenched in a timely fashion.

“We don’t view [music videos] as promotional materials for the ‘real’ thing, the song,” OK Go frontman Damian Kulash told TIME last year. “To us the song is the real thing when you’re listening to the song and the music video is the real thing when you’re watching the music video.”

See the original video below:

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com