“Heat” Music Video by Dirkish

A blend of 3D animation and practical wizardry went into the design and execution of the fever dream that is “Heat” by Dirkish.

What is so incredible about production, of any scale, is that the approach is always the same: plan, design, execute, adjust. The need for quick thinking and problem solving is the difference between success and a mess, so having a talented, committed and experienced team is everything. This is especially true as technology evolves to make processes more streamlined, while introducing new challenges.

In this instance, we needed our performers to go down the rabbit hole, being taken over by “other worldly,” and eventually digital, vines. The first stage of this mission involved gallons of glow in the dark paint and expertly crafted make-up design. The scene was a sight to behold thanks to the amazing work of artists like Cynthia Hernandez, whose make-up work elevated the whole project.

Next, we needed to capture all that effort. Shooting a big scene in which the primary sources were ultra violet light created a slew of issues for finding camera sensors that picked up accurate colors under those conditions. With lots of testing and troubleshooting, and a heavy color grade in post-production, we ended up with an image we are all very proud of.

The piece of the puzzle that we expected to require the most effort ended up being one of the smoothest parts of the project. Motion capture technology has come a long way in a short amount of time. With the Rokoko workflow, we were able to capture our performers movements on location, do preliminary clean-up and quality control all before we left for the day. In an industry where time is money, and animation is notoriously slow, having the right tools for the job is a means to being on time and on budget with a product that everyone is proud to have been a part of.

Getting to see all the vastly unique moving parts of a project come together to make a successful singular vision is easily one of the most satisfying parts of what we do and we love to challenge ourselves every time we take on something new.