Audioslave
In 2002, director Mark Romanek wanted to announce the arrival of the new supergroup with a bang. He set up a massive pyrotechnic display at the Sepulveda Dam that involved zero CGI. The Scale: The fireworks were so bright that they illuminated the night sky for miles, leading local residents to call 911 believing a bombing or terrorist attack was underway. The Reaction: The band members (Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk) weren't acting; the sheer volume of the explosions meant they were genuinely reacting to the chaos around them. It remains one of the loudest music video productions in history. The location, the Sepulveda Dam spillway, is a legendary sci-fi filming location used in movies like Gattaca and Escape from New York. Mark Romanek directed this video around the same time he directed Linkin Park's "Faint," utilizing a similar "silhouette against a wall of light" technique for both. Tom Morello stated that the director told them to "look cool," but it was impossible not to cringe every time the mortars went off.