Synopsis

A teenage boy spends a hazy summer with friends while quietly falling for his male best friend. Skateboarding, swimming, parties, wandering, and bursts of surreal imagery blur the line between memory, fantasy, and reality. As his feelings become impossible to conceal, he finally makes himself vulnerable, only to face rejection. The heartbreak leaves him isolated but strangely liberated, and the video's floating figures and dreamlike landscapes turn emotional uncertainty into a literal sense of weightlessness.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Weightless" comes from Washed Out's 2013 album "Paracosm," a record built around daydreaming, escape, and the creation of imaginary worlds.

• The video runs for roughly seven and a half minutes, making it closer to a short film than a conventional performance clip.

• Its central theme is unrequited love, with the story adding an extra emotional barrier by focusing on a boy in love with another boy.

• The production was handled by Ways & Means, with Jacki Sextro as producer and Jett Steiger and Lana Kim as executive producers.

• Kevin Phillips served as director of photography. The video's warm, soft-focus landscapes and twilight imagery complement the hazy synth textures of the song.

• The principal roles are played by Aske Andersen and John Lyke. Additional appearances include Jac Martinez, Valerie Lynn Hanna, Dave Ma, and Gary Fenton.

• The floating-at-dusk sequences provide the video's clearest visual interpretation of the title. Practical-looking performances are combined with visual effects by Stephen Pagano to create the impression that the protagonist has temporarily escaped gravity.

• The video was released in June 2014, nearly a year after "Paracosm" arrived, and was presented as a visual extension of the album's dreamy, escapist atmosphere.

• The video's emotional premise was described during its release as universal teenage longing, while the fantasy elements allow the character's inner experience to overtake the ordinary world.