Synopsis

Diplo's "Set It Off" turns pole dancing into a surreal ascent through an endless vertical world. A succession of dancers spins, climbs, hangs and performs around a gleaming pole while the camera steadily travels upward. Mirrors, star fields, clouds, flashes of light and other visual effects transform the performance into something resembling a space elevator, with the dancers appearing to climb toward the heavens. The result is a hypnotic, continuous-feeling spectacle that mixes nightclub glamour, athletic movement and cosmic fantasy.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released on August 22, 2012, as the official visual for "Set It Off," featuring Lazerdisk Party Sex. The track appeared on Diplo's *Express Yourself* EP.

• The entire concept was condensed into three words during development: "infinite stripper pole." The idea grew from earlier test footage of a friend pole dancing.

• Although the dancers are presented as strippers in the video's fantasy setting, they were professional, highly trained pole dancers. The production team worked with performers connected to the AERA Dance Foundation.

• Principal photography was completed in a single day. The dancers were initially scheduled to perform one at a time, but the shoot developed into a more spontaneous group session, leading to tandem performances.

• The production took place at the Automobile Driving Museum near Los Angeles International Airport. The museum had hosted a large pole-dancing event the previous night, which helped the crew discover and cast additional performers.

• A custom metal rig measuring approximately 20 by 24 by 16 feet was built for the shoot. The footage was captured in Los Angeles with a RED Epic camera at 5K resolution and 100 frames per second.

• The visual style was deliberately positioned between live action and computer-generated imagery. The production team described the finished look as "hyperreal," rather than photorealistic.

• Backlighting kept the dancers partly anonymous while emphasizing their silhouettes and movements. It also made the computer-generated elements easier to composite into the footage.

• The post-production process was extensive. High-resolution files were slow to handle, and some individual two-second shots reportedly required days of experimentation before being discarded or finalized.

• The video's space-elevator imagery prompted an unofficial dedication to astronaut Neil Armstrong, who died shortly after the video's release in 2012.

• An interactive version was also created at set-it-off.com, extending the video's experimental approach beyond the standard music-video format.