Biscuit Filmworks director Ben Strebel returns to music videos with his latest for Skrillex, Starrah & Four Tet’s new track “Butterflies.”
Displaying Strebel’s attention to detail and heightened narrative sensibility, the video also presents a moving and deeply heartfelt portrait of the hopes, anxieties, and aspirations of a generation of youth whose relationships have been stymied and whose opportunities have been curtailed by the COVID-19 lockdowns of the past year.
The video features intricate and emotional choreography by Holly Blakey, intimate and compelling cinematography by Ben Todd, and visual effects from the team at Electric Theatre Collective.
Strebel spent weeks working with his cast, carrying out interviews with each member about their personal experiences over the past year, which eventually formed the emotional and narrative basis of the film. One actor told him, “I feel like we haven’t grown older because we haven’t had a chance to live for a year,” a sentiment that resonates throughout the video.
Far from dwelling on these lost opportunities and deep-seated anxieties, the film is all about living, self-expression, and hope in defiance of those feelings. Freedom.
Of working with Skrillex, Strebel highlighted the trust and freedom he was provided, as well as remarking upon the importance of the collaborative nature of their relationship. “He is a truly great artist to work with,” Strebel said.
The film’s co-visual effects supervisor, ETC’s Tobin Brett, explained how they achieved the film’s stand-out ghost effects: “Creating the ghosts for the main choreography section of the video was the biggest challenge for this project. We made use of reference footage shot at rehearsals and on set to match the behavior of the fabric. The VFX team were able to quickly iterate low resolution cloth simulations whenever we updated the animation and layout to help us get a feel for how the shot would work. Once we were all happy with the composition of the shot and overall movement, we upped the simulation resolution and added any secondary movements to lift the shot. On set the VFX department captured all the information we needed to realistically recreate the lighting environment to sit the ghosts into the location.”
CreditsProduction Biscuit Filmworks UK Ben Strebel, director; Rupert Reynolds-Maclean, managing director/exec producer; Andrew Law, exec producer; Samantha Chitty, head of production; Adam Farley, producer; Roma Nesi Pio, production manager; Ben Todd, DP; Holly Blakey, choreography; Oliver Hogan, production designer; Kate Forbes, costume design; Titus Penate, location manager; Stephen McLaughin, COVID supervisor. Editorial Metal House Edit Matt Knee, editor; Hannah Clark, edit producer. Postproduction/VFX Electric Theatre Collective James Sindle, creative director; Antonia Vlasto, sr. post producer; Tobin Brett, 3D lead; James Belch, 2D lead; Luis Fos, Tom Di Stasio, Nikolai Maderthoner, Julien Fradin, Gareth Bell, Robert Kolbeins, Robert Reinschedl, Jack Powell, James Waterhouse, Jordan Dunstall, 3D artists; Sarah Crux, Alberto Pizzocherro, 2D artists; Luke Morrison, head of color. Casting Kharmel Cochrane, casting director; Virginia Kerr, casting assistant. Cast Ben Todd-Jones, Holly Brennan, Tyrese McKenzie, Maddie Miller, Devonte Sackitey; Zirihi Zadi, Aden Dzuda, Jamie Bell, Lauryn Bryan.
Top Spot of the Week: Samsung, BBH Singapore, Director Rhys Thomas Get Fit For A Surf Holiday
Samsung’s new global campaign from BBH Singapore, featuring Samsung Health and Galaxy AI, tells the story of a young professional couple who compete to get fit for a surf holiday.
Titled “A Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji,” this film taps into Gen Z’s wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming; in particular, BBH Singapore took inspiration from young people who reference their “quarter life crisis” on social media. This film tells the story of Stacey and Steve who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but haven’t done since they started their jobs. However, there’s one problem: they need to get fitter first.
Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, there’s a fun twist, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.
The ad is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their “world” in future episodes. This longform (two-and-a-half-minute) version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsung’s product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features.
BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a major TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night... Read More