Park Village director Favourite Colour: Black recently delivered the new ‘This Is Real’ music video for Jax Jones featuring Ella Henderson.
The concept of Human meets Machine is set up with a Jax-branded cheerleader against an artificial robotic opponent which at first feels cold and inhuman, but by the end of the film has been brought to life by the music, establishing an almost human connection between the two.
The machine ‘Character’ in the video is the BOLT high speed cinebot – a motion control arm specially developed for use with the Phantom camera to capture movement in super slow motion.
The visual anthropomorphises the machine to give it human characteristics, making it feel alive while also performing a beautifully realised and finely choreographed dance. The slick, sharp movements of the dancer and crisp, technical manoeuvres of the robot cut tightly to the music, and mirror the energy of the upbeat track.
On making the video, FCB comments, “The idea for this video had been in the back of my mind for a while. Every time I do something with motion control, I watch the machines and can’t help but imagine them being alive. Maybe it’s because I grew up with films like Demon Seed, Short Circuit and The Terminator. The brief was very open – to do something with choreography, as neither of the artists were available, and the song title ’This is Real’ seemed fitting with the idea of someone dancing with a robot.
It was a very tight turnaround. I wrote a script with timecodes from the song, which I gave to my choreographer Mark Jennings, and he turned those ideas into movement. Once we’d done that, we took another day programming the Bolt (the cinebot motion control rig in the video) to ‘react’ to the main dancer’s choreography.”
CREDITS
Director: Favourite Colour: Black
Production Company: Park Village
Producer: Peter McMillan
Commissioner: John Hassay
Label: Polydor
Director of Photography: Jason Berman
Focus Puller: Francis Boyter & Tim Allan
Gaffer: Charlie Panayi
Art Director: Robert White
Wardrobe: David Hawkins
Hair & Make-up: Krystle Gohel
Editor: Craig Coole
Colourist: Vic Parker
Grading Company: Raised by Wolves
VFX: Favourite Colour: Black
Lead Actor: Hannah Millot
DIT David Palmer
Bolt Operator: Tommi Keeling
Bolt Technician: Rob Legg