Almost five years ago, the American band OK Go performed a music video in zero gravity onboard an Ilyushin Il-76. 'Upside Down & Inside Out' was shot in a parabolic flight over Russia. Here's a look at how it works!

Filled with everything

On February 13th, 2016, Ok Go premiered the music video for its new song, which starts with an exciting message: "We shot this in zero gravity, in an actual plane, in the sky." While the opening frames look like a mockup of the cabin from Russian carrier S7 Airlines, it quickly gets interesting.

The quartet can be seen passing each other laptops and books through the air before themselves jumping out of their seats and floating through the cabin. They are joined by two acrobats, dressed as S7 Airlines flight attendants in the video, which is filled with backflips, scores of floating objects, and disco balls. Here's the video:

With over 24.5 million views, it's safe to say that the stunt has gone viral and remains popular today. So how exactly does a flight like this work?

A huge task

The music video was shot in collaboration with S7 Airlines and Russia's space exploration body Roscosmos. To achieve zero gravity outside space, the band took part in a series of parabolic flights. This requires special aircraft and precise acceleration on a flight path to allow for weightlessness.

OK Go used Roscosmos's astronaut-training Ilyushin Il-76 MDK II for the mission. The massive interior was filled with rows of 2-2 seats with an S7 logo in the background. Filming specialists and staff were standing on the other end recording and throwing objects into the shot.

However, recording in zero-G is not an easy task. OK Go band members and crew flew 21 flights with 15 parabolic cycles per flight, each of which lasted a few seconds. According to the BBC, the crew were sick 58 times during the training process due to the pressure. This is why such aircraft are commonly known as the "Vomit Comet."

Undeterred, OK Go recorded the entire 3 minute and 21-second clip in a single shoot, meaning eight consecutive weightless cycles over a 45-minute flight. The final result was a unique video that has since piqued interest from others too.

Big business

Zero-G flights are not a new business by any measure. Adventurous travels can book special flights with select companies, such as Air Zero G in Europe (on behalf of the French CNES) and more in Russia. While these come with a hefty price tag, new advertisements shot in space have increased interest.

In 2019, the Red Bull F1 team simulated a pit stop on the zero G EASA Airbus A310. Coinbase and Team Liquid also teamed up for a weightless flight ad in November, making filming in zero gravity only more common.

What do you think about zero G flights? Would you try one? Let us know in the comments!