Chemical Brothers veterans DOM&NIC make the virtual a reality

The Chemical Brothers – Live Again ft. Halo Maud

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Production Company Outsider
Director Dom&Nic

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Credits

powered by

Production Company Outsider
Director Dom&Nic
Editor Ed Cheesman
Chief Operating Officer Neil Davies
VFX & Real Time Production Untold Studios
VFX Producer George Reid
Color Company 3/London
Producer John Madsen

Executive Producer Simon Elborne
Production Assistant Tom Benkins
DP Stephen Keith-Roach
Production Designer Chris Oddy
Sound Designer Adam Smyth
Executive Producer Ian Berry / (Executive Producer)
VFX Supervisor Matthew Kavanagh
VFX Producer Simon Downie

Virtual Production & Real-time Supervisor Simon Legrand
Colorist Jean-Clement Soret

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Directors DOM&NIC are no strangers to making perfect environments for The Chemical Brothers' tracks, having promos for Hey Boy Hey Girl, Block Rockin’ Beats, Setting Sun, Wide Open, and Free Yourself under their belt, but with this latest execution, they may have found a canvas that is as wild as the tune it backs.

Following an elastic dancer (Josipa Kukor) as she experiences a ‘Groundhog-Day-esque’ adventure, the playful Live Again slowly reveals itself as a masterful kinda-continuous take that, somehow, spans multiple locations.

The trick is found in the duo's use of virtual production technology. Shooting through Outsider, the pair partnered with a world-class crew, featuring the likes of cinematographer Stephen Keith-Roach and production designer Chris Oddy, most of whom had never before ventured into the realm of a virtual stage.

Making the ambitious endeavour a reality was the synergy of creative prowess and technical aptitude from Untold Studios and virtual production specialists from ARRI Solutions, Creative Technology, and Lux Machina; the entire operation powered by ARRI Stage London, a virtual production studio nestled in the heart of West London.

“Working with the Chemical Brothers is always a dream for us," comment DOM&NIC. "To have such a strong and inspiring piece of music and blank page to create a visual companion to it is as close to blissful creative freedom as it gets for directors.

"This was our tenth collaboration with the Chems and we knew time would be tight on the back end of the project. The combination of this and the track’s title inspired the idea of a dance piece with a character caught in a continual loop of death and rebirth. The idea that we could do this in long unbroken shots inspired us to use ARRI Stage London in a way that had never previously been done. We wanted to create real-time rendered environments that could change without cutting the camera.

"Much of the hard VFX work would take place prior to the shoot, running concurrently with the rest of pre-production and ultimately save time in post. But on top of this, it inspired an idea that could not really have been achieved in any other way irrespective of time and that was exciting for everyone.

"We were showered with the generosity of such a strong and huge team of immensely talented companies and individuals that helped us to make this film happen. Many of whom we work with regularly on commercials and a number who have also worked with us on past Chemical Brother’s videos.

"Without their time, talents and generosity a film like this could never make it out of heads and onto a screen.“

Untold Studios Real-time Supervisor Simon Legrand added "This project was a perfect storm, with our team at Untold working with Outsider and the ARRI Stage London team to pull out all of the stops to bring DOM&NIC's bold and innovative concept to life. We pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in Virtual Production, breaking ground as we went.

"After designing seven bespoke virtual worlds in pre-production, we were then able to tweak elements on set, on the fly, giving the directors the freedom to play and experiment. This is the first time that virtual environments have been switched live on set in this way and we're really proud to have been trusted to help make it a reality."