Hi there. I'm going to be talking a little bit about music, machines and life. Or, more specifically, what we learned from the creation of a very large and complicated machine for a music video. Some of you may recognize this image. This is the opening frame of the video that we created. We'll be showing the video at the end, but before we do, I want to talk a little bit about what it is that they wanted.
Pozdrav svima! Pričat ću vam o glazbi, strojevima i životu. Ili, točnije, što smo naučili iz stvaranja veoma velikog i kompliciranog stroja za potrebe glazbenog spota. Neki od vas prepoznaju ovu sliku. Ovo je početni prizor iz spota kojeg smo napravili. Video ćemo prikazati na kraju, a prije nego što to učinimo, želio bih nešto reći o tome što su oni željeli.
Now, when we first started talking to OK Go -- the name of the song is "This Too Shall Pass" -- we were really excited because they expressed interest in building a machine that they could dance with. And we were very excited about this because, of course, they have a history of dancing with machines. They're responsible for this video, "Here It Goes Again." 50-million-plus views on YouTube. Four guys dancing on treadmills, no cuts, just a static camera. A fantastically viral and wonderful video. So we were really excited about working with them. And we sort of started talking about what it is that they wanted. And they explained that they wanted kind of a Rube Goldberg machine.
Dakle, kada smo započeli pregovore s bendom OK Go -- ime pjesme je "This Too Shall Pass" -- bili smo zbilja uzbuđeni jer su oni izrazili želju za izgradnjom stroja uz kojeg bi mogli plesati. I bili smo vrlo uzbuđeni oko toga jer, naravno, oni su poznati po plesanju sa strojevima. Odgovorni su za ovaj spot, "Here It Goes Again". Više od 50 milijuna pregleda na YouTubeu. Četiri čovjeka plešu na trakama za trčanje, bez rezova, samo statična kamera. Stvarno zarazan i prekrasan video. Zato smo bili veoma uzbuđeni što ćemo raditi s njima. Počeli smo razgovarati o tome što oni žele. I objasnili su nam da žele neku vrstu Rube Goldbergovog stroja.
Now, for those of you who don't know, a Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated contraption, an incredibly over-engineered piece of machinery that accomplishes a relatively simple task. So we were excited by this idea, and we started talking about exactly what it would look like. And we came up with some parameters, because, you know, building a Rube Goldberg machine has limitations, but it also is pretty wide open.
Sada, za one koji ne znaju, Rube Goldbergov stroj je kompliciran izum, primjer nevjerojatno projektiranog stroja koji ostvaruje relativno jednostavan zadatak. Bili smo uzbuđeni zbog te ideje i počeli smo razgovarati o tome kako bi stroj točno izgledao. I tako smo smislili neke parametre, jer morate biti svjesni da u izradi Rube Goldbergovog stroja postoje ograničenja, ali je to ujedno prilično slobodan posao.
And we wanted to make sure that we did something that would work for a music video. So we came up with a list of requirements, the "10 commandments," and they were, in order of ascending difficulty: The first is "No magic." Everything that happened on screen had to be very easily understood by a typical viewer. The rule of thumb was that, if my mother couldn't understand it, then we couldn't use it in the video. They wanted band integration, that is, the machine acting upon the band members, specifically not the other way around. They wanted the machine action to follow the song feeling. So as the song picks up emotion, so should the machine get grander in its process. They wanted us to make use of the space. So we have this 10,000-square-foot warehouse we were using, divided between two floors. It included an exterior loading dock. We used all of that, including a giant hole in the floor that we actually descended the camera and cameraman through. They wanted it messy, and we were happy to oblige. The machine itself would start the music. So the machine would get started, it would travel some distance, reacting along the way, hit play on an iPod or a tape deck or something that would start playback. And the machine would maintain synchronization throughout. And speaking of synchronization, they wanted it to sync to the rhythm and to hit specific beats along the way. Okay. (Laughter) They wanted it to end precisely on time. Okay, so now the start to finish timing has to be perfect. And they wanted the music to drop out at a certain point in the video and actual live audio from the machine to play part of the song. And as if that wasn't enough, all of these incredibly complicating things, right, they wanted it in one shot.
Morali smo biti sigurni da ćemo napraviti nešto što će biti prikladno za glazbeni spot. Sastavili smo popis želja, "10 zapovjedi", i poredali ih uzlazno po zahtjevnosti. Prva je "Nema magije!". Sve što se događa na ekranu mora biti lako razumljivo tipičnom gledatelju. Jednostavno pravilo kaže, ako moja majka to ne može razumjeti, nećemo to koristiti u videu. Željeli su integraciju benda, to jest, stroj je u prvom planu, a ne obrnuto. Željeli su da kretanje stroja prati emociju pjesme. Dakle, kako se razvija emocija, tako i stroj treba postajati veličanstveniji. Željeli su da iskoristimo prostor. Odlučili smo se za skladište površine 10.000 kvadrata podijeljeno na dva kata. To je uključivalo i dok za utovar. Sve smo to koristili, uključujući i ogromnu rupu u podu u koju smo spustili kamermana s kamerom. Željeli su da bude neuredno, a mi smo im rado ispunili želju. Sam stroj je pokretao glazbu. Dakle stroj bi se pokrenuo, neko vrijeme bi radio, reagirajući putem te pritisnuo PLAY na iPod-u, kazetofonu ili nečemu što bi pokrenulo playback. I stroj bi održavao sinkronizaciju cijelim putem. Govoreći o sinkronizaciji, željeli su da stroj bude sinkroniziran s ritmom i da pogodi točno određene udarce. U redu. (Smijeh) Željeli su da sve završi točno na vrijeme. U redu, sada nam izračun vremena od početka do kraja mora biti savršen. I željeli su da glazba u videu u jednom trenutku nestane te da se uživo snimi stroj koji svira određeni dio pjesme. I kao da to sve nije bilo dovoljno, sve te nevjerovatno komplicirane stvari, točno, željeli su da to snimimo u jednom komadu.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Okay. So, just some statistics about what we went through in the process. The machine itself has 89 distinct interactions. It took us 85 takes to get it on film to our satisfaction. Of those 85 takes, only three actually successfully completed their run. We destroyed two pianos and 10 televisions in the process. We went to Home Depot well over a hundred times. (Laughter) And we lost one high-heeled shoe when one of our engineers, Heather Knight, left her high-heeled shoe -- after a nice dinner, and returned back to the build -- and left it in a pile of stuff. And another engineer thought, "Well, that would be a really good thing to use" and ended up using it as a really nice trigger. And it's actually in the machine.
Ok. Sada samo neki statistički podaci o tome kroz što smo sve prošli. U stroju je sadržano 89 različitih interakcija. Trebalo nam je 85 pokušaja dok nismo bili zadovoljni snimkom. Od tih 85 pokušaja, samo tri su zapravo uspješno ispale. Uništili smo dva glasovira i 10 televizora tijekom snimanja. Išli u trgovinu Home Depot preko stotinu puta. (Smijeh) I izgubili smo jednu štiklu kada je jedna od naših inženjerki, Heather Knight, ostavila svoje cipele -- poslije ugodne večere, vratila se u skladište -- i ostavila ih na hrpi stvari. Drugi inženjer je pomislio, "Ovo bi nam moglo koristiti.", i cipela je završila kao dosta zgodan prekidač. I zbilja je u stroju.
So what did we learn from all of this? Well, having completed this, we have the opportunity to step back and reflect on some of the things. And we learned that small stuff stinks. Little balls in wooden tracks are really susceptible to humidity and temperature and a little bit of dust, and they fall out of the tracks, the exact angles makes it hard to get right. And yet, a bowling ball will always follow the same path. It doesn't matter what temperature it is, doesn't matter what's in its way; it will pretty much get where it needs to go. But as much as the small stuff stinks, we needed somewhere to start, so that we would have somewhere to go. And so you have to start with it. You have to focus on it. Small stuff stinks, but, of course, it's essential, right?
Koju smo pouku izvukli iz svega ovoga? Pa, budući da smo dovršili taj posao, imamo priliku vratiti se unazad i promisliti o nekim stvarima. Naučili smo da su male stvari bez veze. Male loptice u drvenim stazama su zbilja podložne vlazi, temperaturi i maloj količini prašini, ispadaju iz staza te zbog kuteva stvar postaje komplicirana. S druge strane, kugla za kuglanje će uvijek ići istim putem. Bez obzira na to kolika je temperatura, bez obzira što joj se nalazi na putu, vrlo vjerojatno je da će ići onim putem kojim treba ići. No, iako su male stvari bez veze, negdje moramo početi kako bismo nekamo mogli stići. Moramo početi s tim. Moramo se usredotočiti. Male stvari su bez veze, ali su, naravno, neophodne.
What else? Planning is incredibly important. (Laughter) You know, we spent a lot of time ideating and even building some of these things. It's been said that, "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." I think our enemy was physics -- (Laughter) and she's a cruel mistress. Often, we had to pull things out as a result because of timing or aesthetics or whatever. And so while planning is important, so is flexibility. These are all things that ended up not making it into the final machine. So also, put reliable stuff last, the stuff that's going to run every time. Again, small to large is relevant here. The little Lego car in the beginning of the video references the big, real car near the end of the video. The big, real car works every time; there's no problem about it. The little one had a tendency to try to run off the track and that's a problem. But you don't want to have to reset the whole machine because the Lego car at the end doesn't work, right. So you put that up front so that, if it fails, at least you know you don't have to reset the whole thing.
Što još? Planiranje je veoma važno. (Smijeh) Znate, potrošili smo dosta vremena zamišljajući i sastavljajući neke od ovih stvari. Jednom je rečeno, "Nijedan ratni plan nije preživio kontakt s neprijateljem." Ja mislim da je naš neprijatelj bila fizika -- (Smijeh) a to je jedna zla gospođa. Često smo morali vaditi neke stvari van kako bi udovoljili vremenu, estetici i koječemu. Dakle, planiranje je važno, ali moramo biti fleksibilni. Mnogo stvari se nije održalo u zadnjoj verziji stroja. Isto tako, pouzdane stvari stavite na kraj, stvari koje će upaliti svaki put. I ponovo, važno je ići od manjeg prema većem. Mali Lego autić na početku videa odgovara velikom, pravom automobilu pri kraju videa. Veliki, pravi auto radi svaki put; nismo imali problema s njim. Mali autić je ponekad znao otići izvan staze i to je bio problem. Ne želite biti primorani da ponovno pokrećete cijeli stroj zbog toga što je Lego autić na kraju zakazao, zar ne? Zato njega stavite na početak, ako zataji, barem nećete morati sve resetirati.
Life can be messy. There were incredibly difficult moments in the building of this thing. Months were spent in this tiny, cold warehouse. And the wonderful elation that we had when we finally completed it. So it's important to remember that whether it's good or it's bad, "This Too Shall Pass."
Život zna biti neuredan. Bilo je nevjerovatno teških trenutaka u sastavljanju ovog čuda. Mjeseci su potrošeni u ovom malom, hladnom skladištu. I predivni zanos koji smo osjetili kada smo konačno dovršili posao. Uvijek trebamo biti svjesni da bilo dobro, ili loše, "I to će proći".
Thank you very much.
Hvala puno.
(Applause) And now to introduce
(Pljesak) I sada da predstave
their music video, we have OK Go.
svoj video, OK Go.
OK Go: An introduction. Hello TEDxUSC. We are OK Go. What are we doing? Oh, just hanging out with our Grammy. What what! It think we can do better than this. Hello TEDxUSC. We are OK Go. Have you read the "Natural Curiosity Cabinet?" I mean, "Curiosity" -- excuse me. Let me start again. We need some more ridiculous things besides "The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities." Tim's sundial hat. Have you seen the new work they've done to the Waltz Towers? Sorry, start again. (Barking) Dogs. Hello, TEDxUSC. We are OK Go, and this our new video, "This Too Shall Pass." [unclear] Kay, we can still do one better I think, yeah. That one's pretty good. It's getting better.
Ok Go: Uvod. Pozdrav, TEDxUSC. Mi smo Ok Go. Što radimo? Ma, samo se družimo sa svojim Grammy-em. Ha ha! Mislim da možemo bolje od ovog. Pozdrav, TEDxUSC. Jeste li čitali "The Cabinet of Natural Curiosity"? Mislim, znatiželjnost... Ispričajte me. Počet ću ispočetka. Trebamo još smiješnih stvari pored ove knjige. Timov šešir. Jeste li vidjeli što su učinili Waltz tornjevima? Sorry, ispočetka. (Lavež) Psi. Pozdrav TEDxUSC, i ovo je naš novi spot, "This Too Shall Pass". [nejasno] Kay, mislim da još uvijek možemo bolje od ovoga, da. Ovo je dosta dobro. Popravljamo se.
(Music)
(Glazba)
♫ You know you can't keep letting it get you down ♫
♫ Znaš da ne smiješ dozvoliti da te povuče dolje ♫
♫ And you can't keep dragging that dead weight around ♫
♫ I ne možeš neprestano nositi naokolo tu mrtvačku težinu ♫
♫ If there ain't all that much to lug around ♫
♫ Ako to i nije puno za vući naokolo ♫
♫ Better run like hell when you hit the ground ♫
♫ Bolje bježi kada dotakneš dno ♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ You can't stop these kids from dancing ♫
♫ Ne možeš spriječiti ovu djecu da plešu ♫
♫ Why would you want to? ♫
♫ Zašto bi to želio? ♫
♫ Especially when you're already getting yours ♫
♫ Posebno kada ti već dobivaš svoje ♫
♫ Cuz if your mind don't move and your knees don't bend ♫
♫ Jer ako se tvoje misli ne kreću i tvoja koljena ne savijaju ♫
♫ Well don't go blaming the kids again ♫
♫ Pa, nemoj opet kriviti djecu ♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro♫
♫ Let it go ♫
♫ Pusti ♫
♫ This too shall pass ♫
♫ I to će proći ♫
♫ Let it go ♫
♫ Pusti ♫
♫ This too shall pass ♫
♫ I to će proći ♫
♫ You know you can't keep letting it get you down ♫
♫ Znaš da ne smiješ dozvoliti da te povuče dolje ♫
♫ No, you can't keep letting it get you down ♫
♫ Ne, ne smiješ dozvoliti da te povuče dolje ♫
♫ Let it go ♫
♫ Pusti ♫
♫ This too shall pass ♫
♫ I to će proći ♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro ♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro ♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro ♫
♫ When the morning comes ♫
♫ Kada dođe jutro ♫
(Cheering)
(Navijanje)