Toggling back and forth gives you a sort of directorial command; you can tell the story in many different ways depending on which beats you choose to view as a dream or in reality. Clicking back and forth shows a young man with aspirations to hip-hop stardom. The dream boy has chauffeurs, the latest fashionable clothes, and a couple of live-in backup dancers, while the actual youngster rides to a public school with his mom and has to deal with a sullen sister and bullying classmates. In each version, however, his food choices are the same: pop-tarts for breakfast and a taco joint for lunch.
The video was put together with the help of interactive video company Eko, who worked with the video’s director, Philip Andelman, to mesh the two storylines. “Major Lazer’s creative execution of this parallel story allows audiences to simultaneously step into the shoes of this young dreamer’s reality and his dreams themselves, experiencing his aspirations coming true with him in the moment,” said executive producer Lihu Roter in a statement. “It’s a lean forward experience that’s highly engaging, and indicative of what I believe mainstream storytelling will look like in the years to come.”
