Collaborating once again with Directors dom&nic out of Outsider, The Mill helped to create the music video for Chemical Brothers’ new dance track ‘Free Yourself’.
In this energetic promo we follow the dancing rebellion of robots in their storage warehouse, going almost unnoticed by the human security guards. The awakening spreads from the first robot we see emerging from her wooden coffin – as she lifts herself and begins to speak, she sparks a revolution.
The video goes on to show hundreds of robots running, jumping and dancing as they rip their human masks off, or indeed, put other human parts on. Once the security guard becomes aware of the ensuing chaos, he runs around the building trying to regain control and is eventually is surrounded by robots demanding to be freed.
The Mill’s Executive Creative Director Wes explains: ‘We are thrilled to be involved in another dom&nic and Chemical Brothers collaboration. Following on from the success of ‘Wide Open’ in 2016, ‘Free Yourself’ presented us with the challenge of designing and animating hundreds of robots, continuing the theme that runs through many of the Chemical Brother’s videos – dance.
This is the kind of VFX work that encouraged many of The Mill’s artists to get into the industry and, by continuing to push the boundaries of creative excellence, we hope to inspire the next generation of artists. It’s a project that enabled and required us to experiment with new motion capture technology (specifically Xsens), using our expertise to capture dance moves on set, in the studio, and in-house at The Mill.
To be entrusted with bringing dom&nic’s vision to life is a real privilege. It’s been a huge team effort over a 9 month period and I’m proud that ‘Free Yourself’ has manifested into a standout piece of work that showcases what The Mill does best –high-end, photo-real visual effects work.’