A groundbreakingly original concept born out of the pandemic that required many months of high end CGI.

This project came about at the start of the pandemic in 2020. All live-action production came to a halt. In order to make something spectacular, Francois Rousellet had to conceive an idea that utilised a full CG approach. His idea was born out of a visual representation of the repetitive hook on the track, which lead Francois into exploring the zoetrope. Whilst the content was to be generated entirely in CG, Francois wanted the audience to question if it had actually been made and shot for real. We honoured the physics & maths of the zoetrope as if we were building it for real. The mechanics require 24 frame animation loops, with 24 versions of each animation placed on the zoetrope. It’s then spun & strobe light is used to create the illusion of movement, in the same way as if we had really built it.

We do not have access to this information with audience insights specifically.

As mentioned the idea was born out of a visual representation of the repetitive hook on the track, which led Francious into exploring a zoetrope approach.

The characters & scenes were caricatured in a toy style, but the CG had to be photographic. The mechanics require 24 frame animation loops, with 24 versions of each animation placed on the zoetrope. It’s then spun & strobe light is used to create the illusion of movement, in the same way as if we had really built it.

Each character, down to their clothing or what bike they are on is all to do with their personality. The music video has the traditional characteristics of a rap/hip-hop music video but how you have never seen before.

Pharrell was in constant contact with Division to ensure his brand was portrayed in the way he wanted it to be

As the approach was fully CG, it allowed the team to be remote for the most of the project. The concept artists, animators, lighters and compositors were all in constant communication, digitally. As the project ended up taking nearly 9 months of working time, the team adapted to hybrid working, learning to convey animation through filming themselves on their mobile phones and other handmade approaches.

The music video was released online (youtube and various publications) that will remain accessible.

22,195,318 views on Youtube since it premiered Jun 10, 2022

Comments include:

‘’respect to the visual effects company, the team that animated this to look like stop animation. One of the most original music videos I've ever seen’’

‘’The visuals are perfect. Down to the lighting, shadows, and reflections. The attention to detail is truly amazing’’

We don’t have access to these sorts of insights unfortunately, they’ve not been tested in this way.