Set Pieces: OK Go goes to the dogs, and Ikea
Once you get past the cuteness of the dogs -- it hasn't happened yet, and I've gone into double-digit viewings -- you might realize that OK Go's "White Knuckles" video is also something of an infomercial for Ikea.
"We had no funding and needed a lot of affordable mix-and-match furniture that can be stacked and combined," director Trish Sie said.
As the done-in-one-take video progressed through six weeks of preparation and filming, "it started to dawn on me that there is probably not a person on the planet who hasn't had something from Ikea, and it is the ultimate example of form meeting function with panache," she said. "And celebrating the familiar and the spirit of perky productivity and purposefulness with flair is what OK Go is all about."
The industrious band members, who have built a rabid following for their brilliantly choreographed, labor-intensive videos, developed what Sie called "crazy blisters" from screwing together Ikea's Lack series tables and shelving units, which were used to create pedestals and a doggie elevator. The video also uses four white Skruvsta rolling swivel chairs, $149.99 each, four red Egil stools, $39.99 each, and at least 75 clear Fniss wastepaper baskets, which cost only $1.99 each. Ikea shelf liners on the furniture helped to keep the dogs from sliding off.
"We mummified two Crate & Barrel dining chairs with white duct tape and built a two-legged table and the rainbow steps out of a hollow-core door and planks from Home Depot," Sie said, laughing. "We are pretty high-end, as you can see."
Launched Sept. 19, the video has had nearly 6.2 million views on the band's official YouTube channel -- easily justifying the expense at the Swedish superstore. The final tab, it turns out, wasn't as big as you might think.
"We had to buy a lot of just-in-case duplicates," Sie said, "and even though Ikea says it won't let you return merchandise that has been assembled, my husband begged and pleaded, and they took it back."
-- David A. Keeps
Video: OK Go
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