twenty one pilots Next Semester Music Video

10 days ago, I was an extra in the twenty one pilots music video for their song, Next Semester. When I got on the plane to come home, I wrote down everything I could remember because it was truly a day I never wanted to forget. I wanted to share some of the behind the scenes details with anyone who’s interested in hearing about them. I did retract a few details that I didn’t want to violate any NDA. 

How did I get in the twenty one pilots music video?

I applied on a whim to be in a music video that Andrew Donoho was filming. He’s one of my favorite music video directors and has directed several videos for twenty one pilots. He had shared on his Instagram stories a few times that they needed extras for a music video shoot. The shoot happened in LA but I thought there was a very little chance I would even be accepted. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to apply and shoot my shot.

To my surprise, I was accepted less than an hour later. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to do it, knowing it would be a big sacrifice for my family if I went. Then, Saturday morning my husband told me I should book the ticket and go. There was a chance it was twenty one pilots and even if it wasn’t them, it would still be a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in a music video. So, I got on my phone and booked my flight and hotel for that night. 

Shooting a music video as an extra

On Sunday March 17, I went to the music video location at 1:30pm. It was at a parking lot, next to a venue called The Smell. The Smell is a tiny 130 capacity punk rock venue. When I got there, they took our pictures and had us sit at tables to wait. 

While I was waiting in line, I met a girl named Alexa who was also from Utah! We had a lot of fun chatting and learned that our first twenty one pilots concert was the same one, which was really fun. And we have been to all of the same concerts, accept one for each. As we were talking, we saw Mark (the twenty one pilots creative director) and that solidified who the video was for. Alexa also saw Tyler (the lead singer) walk into a trailer. Dropping everything was worth it!

The production crew pulled a group of paid actors and had them go first. Shortly after that, they grabbed 3-5 people and a woman looked at me and told me to go! I left my stuff at the table and went on my way. We were sprayed with water all over our faces and hair (to look like sweat) and we walked into the venue. 

I was in absolute shock at just how tiny the venue was. The stage was only about 3 feet high, if that. I was just to the right of the microphone, in the 2/3rd row. I was in there with a lot of paid actors who still had no idea who the artist was. But I was in absolute shock and was so excited. 

The crowd starting filling in behind me and once everyone was inside, the director moved a few people around to better disperse everyone. 

Before we started filming, we got sprayed in the face and in the hair again. This would continue to happen before every single take. My hair went from being full of curls I had created, to full natural curls, with mascara under my eyes. Thank goodness for my glasses to hide it a bit! The guy whose job it was to wet us down was named Ben and he was so funny. At first, he started by apologizing every time. Then after that many hours, he would jokingly say some funny authoritative thing. He was a lot of fun to work with.

Once everyone was in place, the band came on stage! I first only saw Tyler’s tattoos because the stage was dark. 

Tyler’s look for the video was shirtless, with blurryface paint on his hands and neck. He was wearing army green pants with the bottom rolled up and red tape on the seam, where the bottom was rolled. He was wearing black loafers. Between every take, he would have to get sprayed down just like the rest of us. He had a black bass and his bass strap had the word Clancy written on it, like it had been on a sash in the Overcompensate music video. After lunch, I noticed Tyler had bandaids on the backs of his feet, from wearing loafers without socks. Ouch.

Josh was wearing a see through mesh tank top that was black and sparkly. He was in black basketball shorts with a white and red stripe on the side and the bottom. He wasn’t wearing any shoes and was only in white tall socks. His drum kit was black with a red |-/ logo on it and the other drums were clear, with black designs on them that kind of looked like vines.

While we were waiting to start, Lucky, Tyler’s security saw me and smiled really big and waved. He’s the one who had come to get me and my family for our meet and greet and it was really fun that you could tell he recognized me. I doubt he remembered exactly where he had seen me but he definitely remembered, which was fun. 

twenty one pilots music video details

Around the venue, there were papers taped to the walls to look like punk rock show posters. Some of them were nothing significant but others were made to look like actual show posters of theirs from their early years. Others had lyrics on them, like “our brains are sick but that’s okay”. There was one by Josh that looked like part of the Trash dragon from the album cover from Scaled and Icy. It was fun to see all of the little Easter eggs put in there that may or may not even been seen in the video.

Every shot we took, we shot between 4-8 times. A lot of them were ones that were just supposed to look like a concert, so Tyler would teach us lines from the song and we would sing along. How cool is it that I got to learn an entire song, line by line, from the guy who wrote the song? I appreciated every moment of that.

Part of the video has the microphone stand falling on the stage and having some of the crowd singing into the mic. I was part of the group to do that. I was towards the back of that group and can be seen just a little bit in the video.

Another part of the video had stairs that came into the crowd that Tyler would walk down. They placed me and one other girl directly in front of the stairs and we were told to stay facing forward until Tyler was on the step directly in front of us and then to part ways for him to walk through the crowd. We did this take probably 10 times. Every time, Tyler’s face was about 6 inches away from mine and I would have to narrowly avoid being hit in the face with his ukulele. He would walk into a circle into the crowd and we would all sing together. It is still crazy that that whole thing even happened. 

Some fun things that were said while filming

-Someone congratulated Tyler on the fact that his baby is going to be a boy. His face lit up and said “it’s a boy!” 

-Tyler shared that he had dreams about this music video. He had a little yellow paper folded up in his pocket that he pulled out to see his notes, but because his bass had been dripping water on his pants, they had to wet all of his pants down and the paper was drenched. He had to very carefully pull the paper apart to see his notes. When we finished a few parts, he said “I dreamed this” and that felt really special.

-Tyler also shared that another concept he had for this video was people singing karaoke.

-after we had been shooting for a while, the director asked Tyler if he was feeling okay or if he needed a break and he said “no! This is better than mulching!” So I’m assuming he’s been doing a lot of yard work at his house. So this super long day of shooting a music video was a welcomed change.

-When Tyler introduced the song to us, he shared that it was called Next Semester and that it was about a panic attack in college. The lyrics really hit close to home for me, as someone who’s dealt with anxiety and panic attacks since 2nd grade. I’m super grateful to be in a video with such meaningful, personal lyrics.

behind the scenes of a music video

One of my favorite parts about the shoot was when they played the entire song through. We got to do that probably 4 times. I forgot I was even in a shoot and it just felt like I was at their concert. I could tell Tyler was appreciative they had fans there and that it wasn’t just paid actors who didn’t know who they were. You could tell who the paid actors were because a lot of them looked like the were dressed up as a person dressed for a concert, instead of just looking like a person going to a concert. They all kind of looked like they were wearing costumes, because they were. They just didn’t fit the usual twenty one pilots fan mold, which was funny. A lot of men in tank tops, some with vests on top of the tank tops and lots of slicked back long hair. It was just funny for the fans to see people pretending to be us. 

It was not surprising at all about just how in charge Tyler was of the entire video. He would get himself psyched up and ready for the moment and was ready to shoot immediately. When he ended up having to wait a little bit, he was always able to find the energy and really go for it. It was really cool to watch. 

They left the stairs attached to the stage after we were done shooting the stair scene and then did a partial run through of the song. The crowd was going crazy and a man behind me was pushed, pushing me into the stairs. I thankfully caught myself before getting hurt. Tyler saw it happen and as soon as the shot was done, he asked Andrew if we still needed the stairs because someone was going to get hurt. I appreciated that he noticed and was looking to keep everyone safe, like he does at real shows.

After the shoot was done at the venue, they were taking the paid actors and a few other people to a second location. Because I was taken so early into the venue, I got to be part of that group. I rode to the second location with one of the actors. It was an industrial part of town and it seems like this street is used for filming a lot because it was kind of set up for it, while also being a working street. The street was closed for this part though. We had to create the same circle that had been made in the venue and Tyler was in the middle with his ukulele. As the camera would circle, the crowd would disappear. We would have to step back out of the circle and stay behind the camera and then sprint out of frame. It was a little chaotic but also a lot of fun. 

We did that last take probably 5-6 times and then we were done!

My overall experience

While I was waiting in line for the bathroom, I was standing and noticed that right behind the bathroom trailer was a group of chairs. Tyler was just sitting there with Ashley, the photographer, and a few other people, eating snacks and talking. It was fun to see him in an element that I’m not typically privy to. 

After I came out of the bathroom, pretty much all of the extras were done. I needed to take an Uber, so I stayed in the closed street and out of the way so I could just watch. They set up Josh’s drums in the middle of the road and they were getting all of that set up when my Uber came. It felt like a special little moment I got for myself. I honestly could have stayed for hours, just watching how it’s all done.

It was so fascinating to see how many people were involved behind the scenes. It’s crazy! So many people for tech, wardrobe, blocking, camera, audio, visual effects, art department, etc. I feel extremely blessed to have even just been a fly on the wall to witness how that works. Music videos have been something I’ve absolutely loved since I was 11 years old and would wake up early to watch VH1 music videos before school. 

I still can’t believe I got to experience this. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. I’m incredibly grateful for my husband’s push for me to book the trip and his willingness to take charge at home while I was gone. I’m really grateful for my group of friends who encouraged me to go do this, manifested that I would not be nervous, and that I could be close to the front. They were so excited for me and I truly felt like I was doing it for all of them. 

By the time I got back to my hotel after the shoot, I was so tired that I wasn’t really able to process it all. It was a total blur but whenever I think about it all, I am filled with gratitude for that experience. I can’t believe I got to spend 1:30pm-11:30pm with my favorite band, watching art being made in such an intimate way.

twenty one pilots next semester music video

 

Be sure to watch the Next Semester music video and watch for me in it! Be sure to stream it until the entire album, Clancy, is released May 17. And don’t forget to see them live on their upcoming Clancy World Tour.

twenty one pilots Album Cover Makeup