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We Have Band 'Someone' by Zaiba Jabbar

Jimmy Brown - 27th Mar 2014

For the thrilling video for We Have Band's Someone, Zaiba Jabbar employs an Xbox Kinnect as a 'sensor' to deliver a beautifully-flowing and forever evolving, animated 3D collage.

It's a fascinating watch and Zaiba outlines the techniques and challenges below - including two exhausting weeks in post...

ZAIBA JABBAR:  "The uplifting effervescence sound of the track got me thinking about this disparate but fused idea of 'Someone'. I started to think maybe 'Someone' was another entity made from the We Have Band members Darren, Dede and Tom. 

"This abstract idea needed something creative and charismatic to be fully realised. I really loved the thought of creating some sort of 3D collage with a post-internet aesthetic and the video essentially explores a series of these manifestations. 

"The video was challenging for all those involved. It was slightly like entering a rabbit hole. Technically we were a little unsure about the outcome of using the Xbox Kinect as the sensor can become unreliable. Despite this we managed to devise enough alternative techniques to create this 3D collaged effect that I was after, even if the Kinect completely failed us.

"The band were also very trusting and patient and that was very welcome with a post-heavy project. As things take a long time to come together and we were only really able to show them our work in progress very close to the delivery date as we essentially had two full-on weeks for post.

"Super hi-tech motion-capture is such an established technology now. We wanted to take the same principles as motion-capture but to achieve our own desired aesthetic - a sort of alt-tech motion capture. To do that, we didn't use balls all over people's bodies, we used an Xbox Kinnect sensor.  I'd seen this technique used in other videos and was intrigued to see how else it could be adapted.

"The point cloud essentially records a a 3D mesh made of lots of dots. With this you can apply a huge array of shapes to these dots, we worked with various applied shapes to create different effects. We also layered this data with HD Alexa footage by placing the point cloud data sensor next to the HD Alexa camera which both captured the band singing at the same time. Then, in post we had the 3D data from the Xbox sensor and were able to project and synchronise the images from the HD camera on to this mesh. Then we worked our magic to have their faces flying into pieces. 

"Another method was where we filmed members of the band from 14 different angles, then projected those onto 3D models within the 3D software. This put real-life images over the shapes of computer based models. So, a hand in the computer is overlaid with the features of a real hand, for example. That really created the sort of video game 3D avatar image, which I think is cool.

"The 3D gifs and backdrops were courtesy of LA based artist Vince Mckelvie. I'm a huge fan of his work and I felt he would be a perfect contributor for this video. Vince is in essence a true internet artist as all his work available to download and use and he was happy for us to incorporate into the video. 

"I'd really like to say a huge thank you to the animators who worked on this project and especially Kuo Chieh Chung who was involved with the project from the shoot date to the end delivery. As without that commitment we never would have got the video we did."

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Jimmy Brown - 27th Mar 2014

Tags

  • After Effects
  • Animation
  • Director's notes
  • VFX
  • Electronica
  • Indie

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Credits

Production/Creative

Director
Zaiba Jabbar
Producer
Brett Webb
Production Company
Executive Producer
Claire Stubbs
Production Manager
Jon Mealing

Camera

Director of Photography
Brian Fawcett

Wardrobe

Stylist
Mischa Notcutt
Make-up
Anna Thompson

Animation

Animator
Francesco Pelosi

Editorial

Editor
Matt Dolings

Grading

Colourist
Matt Hare
Colour grade company
Glassworks

VFX

VFX Supervisor
Kuo Chieh Chung

Misc

Lead Animator
Kuo Chieh Chung
GIF Backdrops
Vince McKelvie
Special Thanks
Corin Taylor
Special Thanks
Kayleigh Dugdale
Special Thanks
Arri Media
Special Thanks
Panalux
Special Thanks
Escape Studios

Jimmy Brown - 27th Mar 2014

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