YUNGBLUD × Machine Gun Kelly

Create the official music video for “acting like that”, YUNGBLUD’s collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker, at a time when pandemic restrictions made bringing the three artists together physically impossible. The film needed to capture the volatile chemistry and pop-punk energy of the track while connecting performances filmed independently in London and Los Angeles.

Rather than disguising the separation through green screen or conventional split-location techniques, the production turned the circumstances into the idea. A zombie outbreak unfolds simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic. YUNGBLUD steps from a London bus into an apparently deserted city and calls Machine Gun Kelly, only for both artists to find themselves under attack. MGK and Travis Barker perform from inside a protective cage in Los Angeles while YUNGBLUD battles through the streets and buses of Greenwich. The result is an energetic, irreverent pandemic parody with a playful nod to British zombie cinema.

The completed video received a global broadcast premiere across MTV Live, MTVU and MTV’s international network. It was also shown on the ViacomCBS digital billboard in Times Square, New York. Created under significant production restrictions, the film turned physical separation into part of the creative idea and delivered a high-energy international release for three of contemporary pop-punk’s most recognisable artists.