So what if we made the FUN music video with marionette puppets of the band?

So what if we made the FUN music video with marionette puppets of the band?
We all looked at each other across Ali and Gareth’s kitchen table before quickly deciding that sounded absolutely brilliant. Fast forward a few weeks and our team were in Prague calculating the exact number of helium balloons necessary for lifting a foot-tall marionette of Chris over the city skyline.

There’s actually a long history of marionette’s performing operas and musical numbers that dates back to the 13th century. And the Czech Republic in particular has some of the best marionettists and marionette makers in the world making them the most complex and require the most skill to manipulate. They’re always hand-carved, usually using lime wood, and have strings not only for the arms and legs but for their mouths, eyes and other smaller appendages. These allow them to be the more expressive and intricate in their movement.

We reached out to Petr from Czech Marionettes, and sent his team photos and headshots of each one of us so they could make them as similar as possible. Safe to say they did an incredible job replicating each one of us, even down to the tiny instruments!

Turns out puppets are even more difficult to work with than artists (joking! Sort of….) But despite not always cooperating even in the hands of the world’s premier marionette puppeteer, getting tangled and often falling over on set, these puppets made this music video come to life. Our director, Greg, even found himself calling out instructions to the puppets themselves during filming, asking for “a little more energy from Patrick!” or “if Gareth could move a bit forward.” And the puppeteers would have them all gather around his feet and have them look up while he would explain the next shot. To be honest, the whole experience was pretty magical.

Some scenes were harder to get than others— herding pigeons around Patrick, or not letting the horse eat Ali’s marionette, trying to make it look like Ali and Gareth were eating ice cream without actually eating it— to name a few.

But others called out the beauty and fun of what it means to be child, like when we— I mean the puppets!— finished busking on Charles Bridge and the crowd around bursting into cheers and laughing. Or handing out 300 balloons (yes, THREE HUNDRED!!) to kids walking back from school so we didn’t waste them and seeing them smile. Or even just laughing at the weird faces from security at the airport as they checked out the puppets! These moments reminded us why it’s so very important to do things that are fun and make us come alive again.

Our God is the inventor of fun. He created the duck billed platypus and rainbows. He invented tickling and laughter. He created dolphins and puppies that like to play. He created each one of us with the ability to taste ice cream and watch the Northern Lights.

Getting to play and have fun with this music video, and even writing this whole album, has reminded us of the intentionality, playfulness and generosity of our own Creator. God is what makes our lives fun and joyful and worth living! He’s always making the ordinary EXTRAORDINARY. He came to give us life and life to the full, the adventure of following Jesus may be difficult at times and require sacrifice but it’s also the most joyful and FUN person we can give our lives to!

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