An Interview with Davy Kynoch, Creator of the Best "Microwave Popcorn" Music Video
When Bo Burnham released the Inside Outtakes album in early June 2022, he included two hidden gems that had never been heard before by the general public: "1985" and—one of my favorite songs—the trap parody "Microwave Popcorn."
Davy Kynoch, fashion guru?
This is the perfect tune to sing while making popcorn in YOUR microwave, and it's a shame that Bo didn't provide us any footage of him singing it aside from "Trying to make microwave popcorn" in the Inside Outtakes.
Bo singing about popcorn in the Outtakes
Fortunately for Bo fans, Davy Kynoch stepped in and created a phenomenal music video with some really fun camera edits and even a few Easter eggs!
After watching this video repeatedly, I had to reach out to the creator to find out how he made such a delightful interpretation of the Outtakes song and what he plans to do next.
Here is my interview with Davy, condensed and edited for clarity purposes.
Bo Burnham Historian: Hi, Davy! Thanks for doing this interview. Can you please provide some background on yourself?
Davy Kynoch: Hey! I’m Davy Kynoch, a stupid ass 17 year old from Idaho, US. I love music, traveling, and performing.
BBH: Wow, you're so talented at such a young age (just like Bo lol).
When did you become a fan of Bo? Do you have a favorite song/special (you can answer more than one)?
DK: I’ve been a fan of Bo since INSIDE. It just captured to an extent what I had felt in quarantine. 2020 has been the darkest time in my life so far with quarantine and my grandma committing suicide in late 2019.
BBH: I'm sorry to hear that.
DK: Before INSIDE had even come out, my friend was showing me some Bo Burnham songs. One of the ones he played was “Kill Yourself.” I became very sad and angry when that song was played. I didn’t even listen past the first verse. (I’m sure if I had that I would’ve been fine and understood the comedy).
I really enjoy that song now though. Bo taught me that I could joke through my pain and make myself feel better.
BBH: Absolutely! It was Demetri Martin who first showed me that comedy can incorporate sadder elements (like his divorce), but Bo has taken that to a more extreme level haha.
Where did you come up with your idea to create a music video? Why did you make it and post it on YouTube?
DK: I had the idea to make the video after watching the Outtakes and listening to Microwave Popcorn on Spotify. I realized he hadn’t filmed a video for it. I had a very vivid vision in my head for what a video for that song could look like, so I decided to make it myself.
Some cool editing choices for the multiple voices in "Microwave Popcorn"
BBH: That's awesome! Did you film and edit everything yourself a la Bo, or did you have help?
DK: Yeah, I did it all myself! Except for the song I guess haha.
BBH: Wow! All of that at 17—I'm sure Bo would be impressed!
Is your outfit in the video an homage to Bo's standard ensemble (white t-shirt, black jeans), or is that just a coincidence? It works well either way!
DK: Yes! I purposely dressed like Bo in the video. In the BTS, you can see that I’m wearing my Green Day shirt. After watching the test footage, I thought “Oh shit! I need my white tee!” And I’m wearing it in the next shot.
BBH: Cool! I noticed that on my second viewing. I was like, "That looks just like Bo's what. outfit!"
You have a lot of audio equipment in some shots (professional mic, headphones). Are you a musician?
DK: I guess you could say that hahaha. I’m still learning to record and produce music, but I’ve been writing and playing for a very long time. I’ve been playing piano for 10 years, French horn for 5 years, singing for my whole life, and started teaching myself guitar about 2 years ago. I’m in choir, band, and jazz band at school.
BBH: That's awesome! I was in choir and band as well.
Was the Easter egg (4206969 in the keypad) planned from the start, or did you think of it later on while filming?
DK: I didn’t plan it, I just thought of it on the spot while messing with the microwave hahaha
BBH: Well, it was certainly serendipitous. It's very similar to Bo's calculator joke in "Comedy" (69420)!
Love the hand motion for "wave" (I always do that too when listening to the song! Haha). Where did you come up with that?
Davy doing the "wave"
DK: I don’t really know where it came from. When I get in front of the camera, I just do weird shit haha
BBH: Fair enough!
How long did the video take you to film? Were there any complications/issues that arose?
DK: HOLY SHIT—production was hell! I stayed up until like 3am for two nights filming.
You’d think that editing a two-minute video is easy, but there’s hours of footage to sift through, deciding which cut should go where, which take you like more, etc.
And then I had the video completely done, I started rendering, and my PC crashed. I lost all of the edit and had to start all over!
Editing took about 8 hours. It all worked out though!
BBH: Wow! I can tell that a lot of effort went into this video, so I'd say your hard work paid off.
How did you get the shot from inside the microwave? Did you just stick the camera into your real microwave (that'd make me nervous personally)?
Microwave shot with the camera in the appliance
DK: I did put the camera in the microwave. I just didn’t have the microwave on with it in there.
But I just saw a TikTok the other day of a guy that put his phone in the microwave while it was recording and the image started to go out and it looked kinda cool haha
BBH: TikTok to the rescue! It did look really cool.
Did you ACTUALLY burn the bag of popcorn, or is that movie magic? It almost looks like chocolate syrup on the kernels at points to me.
Burnt popcorn
DK: Yeah, I burnt it hahaha. It probably just looked like chocolate syrup because there wasn’t much light. I can’t imagine how much of a mess chocolate syrup would’ve been.
BBH: Good for you! The smell would have driven me crazy, but it's all for authenticity, right?
Why did you not include a bag of SkinnyPop for that particular line? Were you concerned about product placement issues?
DK: No, it wasn’t because of product placement. I just didn’t have a bag of SkinnyPop and didn’t feel like postponing filming for another day to have one because one, it would’ve only been in like 0.01 seconds of the video, and two, where the hell do you get a bag of SkinnyPop at 1am? Hahaha
BBH: Good point. A convenience store, maybe? It isn't necessary to the music video, so I get why you jettisoned that.
Love the shot at the end with you in the fetal position surrounded by popcorn. How did you come up with that concept?
Davy is DONE making popcorn
DK: Same as the wave thing, I just do weird shit for the camera. Actually, I do weird shit all the time even when there’s not a camera in front of me.
But, I had all the popcorn on the floor from the shot of me throwing the bag, so I just decided to get a funny shot of me doing something with the popcorn on the floor. I did even more weird shit that you can see in the BTS.
BBH: Speaking of which, I loved the behind-the-scenes video! It's a great companion piece.
What compelled you to post that—Bo's Outtakes?
DK: Yeah, the Outtakes compelled me to compile the BTS. I personally love seeing the making of things.
I always watch the bonus videos from movies I loved on DVD, like how they animated Finding Nemo, how they filmed Star Wars, etc. And Especially the INSIDE OUTTAKES.
BBH: Had you planned to release the BTS video initially, or was it something you thought of after uploading the original music video?
DK: Yup, I planned to release the BTS while filming.
BBH: Cool, behind-the-scenes footage is always fun to watch, especially bloopers! haha
So, here's a hard-hitting question: Do you like popcorn in real life? What's your favorite flavor/version? Mine is caramel or kettle corn (I have a big sweet tooth haha).
DK: Popcorn is fine haha. It’s not my favorite, but I eat a ton of it whenever it’s in front of me.
My mom loves popcorn, and her favorite is Simply Popped from the microwave (it’s what I used in the video).
I try to avoid getting a lot of popcorn when I go to the movies though, because I won’t stop eating it! I’ll eat an entire bucket and feel like complete dogshit for the rest of the day.
BBH: Yeah, my favorite movie theater treat is either buttered popcorn or Twizzlers.
So back to the video. Will you be tackling any other Bo songs, or is this a one-and-done situation?
DK: I don’t really know. I was planning on doing 1985. I wanted it to be bigger and better than Microwave Popcorn. I was going to get my friends to act in it, use my grandpa’s house as the set, get an old 80’s car, and even replace Bo’s vocals in the track with my own and change a few of the lyrics, but I never found the time, and I was a little afraid to ask my friends hahaha. I also didn’t know if I wanted to be the “the Bo Burnham guy.” It could still happen. But we’ll see.
BBH: I'd love to see you tackle 1985! I've seen some pretty good music videos, but yours sounds really cool.
What's a fun fact about you?
DK: Ummmmmm…I have really long toes.
BBH: That's a good one! lol
Do you have any new projects? Things you'd like to promote? What are you working on next?
DK: I don’t have any huge projects currently in the works, but I’m planning big things!
Subscribe to my YouTube and follow my Twitter (@DavyKynoch) to stay updated I guess.
BBH: Will do! Thanks for taking the time to talk with me about your amazing music video, Davy. Best of luck in the future!
DK: No problem!