Photo Courtesy of AtibaDaniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who together make up the playful directoral duo Daniels, accidentally discovered their creative process on a swingset. They’ve been working together ever since, inspired by movies and videos that plant seeds of curiosity and continue to spawn new ideas even after the video is over—they cite Spike Jonze and Jackass as prime examples.Having directed some reality-warping videos for bands like Chromeo, Manchester Orchestra, and Foster the People, Daniels continued their tradition of dark humor with their music video for Battles’ “My Machines” last month. In a painfully hilarious feat that taps into many a childhood nightmare, the video features a guy falling down a mall escalator for four minutes.Trading in their standard 5D for a Red Digital Camera and a Milo rig, Daniels attempted to create a single shot effect for the video—even though it took them 10 takes get the epic fall just right (our hearts go out to the poor stunt man who had to repeat this feat over and over again, but such is the price we pay for great art). The tedious part of the video, Scheinert explains, was stitching takes together, because they had to run the camera until the end of shot, then rewind back to record the following take.Daniels thought Battles would best be represented performing casually as they might do live, though they wove British composer and singer Gary Numan in throughout to act as “narrator” to the piece. Ian Williams of Battles said the best part about working with Daniels was that they, “blend CGI slickness with a playfulness and sense of humor that’s usually not associated with that stuff.”Find out more about Daniels’ processes, Battles’ history and the stuntman’s status in the making-of video above.Battles’ “My Machines” feat. Gary Numan was produced by The Studio in collaboration with Warp Records. Battles will tour in support of Gloss Drops this fall. Check out cities and dates on their official website.