Radiohead Music Video on Google

Google has premiered a first-of-its-kind music video for Radiohead's "House of Cards". The video was shot without the use of any cameras, only using lasers and scanners. The video and a ‘making-of’ documentary are posted together with an interactive component where you can manipulate the technology.

We met up with PICNIC Conference speaker Aaron Koblin, without a doubt one of the hottest artists around, and talked about his contribution to the project, shooting Thom Yorke with lasers and the use of technology for expression. “I think it's exactly this form of risk-taking and experimentation that lead the band to creating great music, and I see it fitting very well with the song itself”.

How did you get involved with the Radiohead video?

I was talking with the Director, James Frost, about another project and ended up showing him some of my previous work. His eye was caught by some of the images I created from laser scanner data while working at CENS (The Center for Embedded Networked Sensing at UCLA). In the same conversation I had mentioned how much I enjoyed Radiohead... the rest is history!

What was your role? Why did Google get involved?

My role was Director of Technology. Basically I researched and suggested the technologies and then provided translation and interface between the "film people" and the "tech people". Additionally, I worked with my good friend and colleague Aaron Meyers to create an interactive visualization renderer to compliment the video online. Finally, I talked with Andy Berndt and Robert Wong from Google's Creative Lab, who turned out to be huge supporters of the project, and got the launch kicked off in just about the best way I could imagine, as an open source Google Code project. Anyone can use the data and visualize it in different ways.

What did Radiohead think of the whole experience?

"I'm a huge fan of Radiohead so it was a blast to get to meet Thom... and then shoot him with lasers!. We tried lots of different methods for manipulating the laser data - some of which included squirting water on Thom's face through plexi-glass and dropping feathers in front of him. He was a great sport and laughed through it."

How has the response been so far?

"There has been a ton of attention. Of course, with anything Radiohead does there is a lot of attention. The interesting thing to me is to see how broad of an audience this attracted, and how diverse the interest was. I think opening the data to the public was a very important part of the project, and I really cannot wait to see what people do with it".

What is so interesting about this technology?

"Of course the technology was not developed for making music videos, and there are lots of very practical 'real-world' applications. That wasn't the point here though. The idea was to use the technology for expression.

Thom and James took a different approach to using the laser scanners, and they got an effect that, interestingly, would have been somewhat difficult to achieve through simulation. The distortions and abstractions come from very organic disturbances, which I see as similar to much of the band's musical approach. I think it's exactly this form of risk-taking and experimentation that lead the band to creating great music, and I see it fitting very well with the song itself."

What are you working on right now?

"Among other things, I'm currently developing materials for a live visual performance. I'm looking forward for the opportunity to work with a symphony orchestra, and to developinging a live system. I think there is huge potential to take live visual performance much further".

More from Aaron Koblin on 24 September, during the first day of the PICNIC Conference!