Abundant space, great light and a distinctive environment make airports popular filming locations. Aside from movies and television shows, a number of music videos feature terminal, curbside and runway scenes. Some videos also take place inside airplane cabins – either real or recreated – stretching the skill and imagination of everyone involved on set.
Here are five notable ones that combine music and moviemaking with the magic of aviation.
Abundant space, great light and a distinctive environment make airports popular filming locations. Aside from movies and television shows, a number of music videos feature terminal, curbside and runway scenes. Some videos also take place inside airplane cabins – either real or recreated – stretching the skill and imagination of everyone involved on set.
Here are five notable ones that combine music and moviemaking with the magic of aviation.
OK Go – Upside Down and Inside Out (2016)
Over the years, the band OK Go has become known both for their catchy tunes and their elaborate videos. For their most recent project, the Los Angeles-based band teamed up with S7 Airlines from Russia to produce a zero gravity video. Created via flight in a reduced gravity aircraft, with professional aerialists and paint balloons added to the mix, the resulting clip dovetails perfectly with the song’s lyrics. One line goes, “Gravity’s just a habit that you’re pretty sure you can't break.”
Feist – My Moon My Man (2007)
Shot on location at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, the video begins with the Canadian singer-songwriter hopping onto a moving walkway, presumably about to board a red-eye flight. As the conveyor belt carries her forward, her fellow passengers join her as she begins to dance. Against a backdrop of tarmac lights, it becomes clear that this supersized treadmill can easily double as a stage for those who want to put on a show at the airport.
U2 – Beautiful Day (2000)
The video for the song, the first track from the Irish group’s 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, takes place at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. As the actual runway where they are seen performing as planes take off and land was closed for construction at the time, the planes zooming directly overhead were added by computer at a later stage. The indoor scenes in the terminal, as well as the cover and insert of the album, were filmed at Terminal 2F.
Maroon 5 – Makes Me Wonder (2007)
Directed by John Hillcoat, the video was shot at the California Department of Transportation building and Los Angeles International Airport. In an interview with MTV, singer Adam Levine said the setting was a fantasy aerodrome, adding that the director wanted to turn an airport into a sleek, surreal and fashionable world. These are “things you never typically would associate with an airport,” according to Levine.
Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way (1999)
The music video, with over 200 million views on YouTube, is set mainly at Los Angeles International Airport. The Tom Bradley International Terminal is featured when the group sings and dances to the chorus. One of the hangars was used in the scene where they are greeted by fans, with a Boeing 727 in the background.
