From OK Go to Google: Syyn Labs’ Rube Goldberg Machines

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Do you remember the music video for This Too Shall Pass by OK Go? It’s basically three and a half minutes of an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine captured in a single shot—no small feat whatsoever.

The company behind the contraption, Syyn Labs, was recently approached by Google to devise a Rube Goldberg machine to kick off the opening day of the Google Science Fair. The twist? This machine had to perform live.

Says Syyn Labs president Adam Sadowsky:

“When Google first approached us and they told us that they wanted a machine that would help them promote science fair education, we were all really excited about it because it’s being performed live—which is a first for us. The challenge, of course, of performing a machine like this live is that they’re incredibly unreliable.”

Check out the above video for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Syyn Labs’ Google machine. Click here to see and extended, polished cut of the finished version, too.

More on TIME.com:

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King Tut Takes 2010 Rube Goldberg Competition

OK Go Attempts to Become Even Awesomer, Play Underwater