Taylor Swift Sweden | Sweden's Largest Fansite Dedicated To Taylor Swift

You shot "Shake It Off" over three days in June, yet no one knew a thing about it until its official release this week. How does something like that happen, and is that harder and harder to do these days when even a random extra in one scene might snap something on his iPhone?
Yes. Two months was a long time with no leaks. You know, I've made over two dozen spots for Apple. They take their secrecy very, very seriously, too, so my producer and I have become pretty practiced at keeping things secure. A series of measures are put into place. Badges and wristbands. Aggressive nondisclosure agreements must be signed. Scary legal announcements regularly made to cast and crew. Cell phones confiscated at the door. We selected a pretty remote sound stage and even placed boom boxes all around the perimeter blasting heavy-metal music, in case you could faintly hear the song during shooting. And then, after all those measures are taken, you kneel and pray.

What was the kernel of a concept that this video sprung from? Was there some sort of idea or visual image or intent that everything else grew out of?
Yes. In all the videos I've done over the years, I'd say pretty much all of them were my own concept. But this basic idea was all Taylor's. We met and she told me that she wanted to make a sort of paean to the awkward ones, the "uncool" kids that are actually cooler than the "cool" kids. She said she wanted to shoot all these styles of dance and then be the individualist dork in the midst of these established genres. And that she somehow wanted her fans involved. I loved that idea, so over the following week or so, we narrowed down our choices for styles of dance. I think she imagined it in more natural settings and I suggested giving it a starker, more minimalist look. And I suggested the idea of incorporating her fans as a climax, for the ending as a kind of surprise.

 

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