LOS ANGELES — Pixomondo recently collaborated with TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles to create an abstract dance-infused spot that promotes the 2012 Grammy awards show featuring electronic musician and Best New Artist nominee Skrillex. In the spirit of the 'We Are Music' campaign, the spot features a metallic liquid pulsating and swirling to Skrillex's beats.
The studio was faced with a short timeline and a mandate to create a spot that emphasized the feel of the music. Pixomondo collaborated with technical director and copywriter Matt Kalish to develop the metallic aesthetic and the techniques used to execute the concept. Previs helped determine the way the fluid would move. Skrillex was then shot on a motion capture stage in Venice, along with a dancer who performed to his beats. The movements of the dancer were then distilled to moving particles, conveying the essence of the performance.
"From a technical standpoint, creating this work was very challenging, but it was also a lot of fun and something we hadn't really done before," notes Simon Mowbray, Pixomondo creative director. "We were aiming to create a kinetic piece that works intimately with the music and I think the spot does exactly that.”
A team of six artists in Pixomondo’s studios in Los Angeles and Berlin spent about three and a half weeks working on the project. Elements were modeled and animated in Autodesk 3DS Max and Maxon Cinema 4D. Other tools used included Particle Flow, Frost, After Effects, Maya, and FBX for integrating project files across software packages.