Credit: Danny Clinch
Multiple takes? Nope. Computer-generated effects? Zilch. Do-overs? Nada.
Death Cab For Cutie went all in last night for their "You Are A Tourist" video, shooting the intricately choreographed clip live, then committing the results to history no matter what happened.
Luckily for the band, the shoot was free of any disasters or calamities -- though the viral potential for a falling lamp or sprained ankle would be limitless -- and remains one of the most audacious acts in music video history.
In the video, Death Cab For Cutie, dressed all in black with glowing red lights near their hearts, walk through a kaleidoscopic set featuring psychedelic triangles, flashing lights and a slew of Busby Berkley-style dancers contorting around them. It's a mystifying video on any level, but knowing one wrong move could derail the entire project made it that much more alluring.
For the Tim Nackashi-directed video, the band told MTV News after the shoot that all their years of performing on live television made them feel at ease with the live video concept. And admittedly, the dancers, whose intricate, complex routines are at the center of "You Are a Tourist," probably had more to be worried about than the band.
"I liken it to a 5-year-old trying to explain their trip to Disneyland," frontman Ben Gibbard told MTV News earlier this week. "It's sensory overload, so there's are a lot of things happening and trying to walk anybody through it would be very difficult."
You don't have to now, Ben. They can see for themselves below.