Back in November I highlighted a cool music video for the song Sweater by Belgium-based band Willow. The video used a CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) and a treadmill to allow the singer to stroll through live virtual environments as the video was being shot (more about CAVEs here). I thought this was a really neat merger of virtual reality technology and art, so I contact the director of the music video, Filip Sterckx, to learn more about his choice to use a CAVE.
Sterckx, 27, lives in Belgium and studied animation film in Brussels where he graduated in 2007. He tells me that he considers himself “between a film maker and a visual artist,” and after looking at various projects of his, I’d have to agree! His personal website is here. As a refresher, here’s the music video in question:
Filip Sterckx on Willow Sweater Music Video
Ben: Is this music video the first time you’ve worked with a CAVE… did you know about the concept as it applies to virtual reality or is it something you stumbled upon separately?
Ben: Why did you choose to use a CAVE instead of a typical green-screen?
Filip: I’ve been working almost 10 years now with projections. The fact that it is realtime made me choose for this approach. I would never have made this project using green screens, it would take all the magic out of the project I think.
Ben: Who was responsible for the visualizations (storyboard artist and/or animator)?
Filip: I did the storyboarding and 3D animation.
Ben: Who was responsible for the CAVE used in the music video?
Filip: I did the set up in collaboration with my colleagues from skull mapping.
Ben: Did you consider using rear-projection to eliminate shadows?
Filip: For this project I didn’t even take rear projection into consideration because we didn’t have enough space (and no money to rent a bigger space).
Ben: What hardware was used to create the setup in the music video?
Filip: I used a MacBook Pro with a Matrox Triplehead, and as software, Madmapper. As beamers [projectors] we used three PANASONIC PT-LB90.
Ben: Who made the decision to incorporate a treadmill into the setup; was it difficult to sync it with the visualizations?
Filip: It was my decision to use the treadmill. Because I wanted to have the singer to be able to move through the worlds (as opposed to the PS3 commercials, where the actor is almost always on the sofa). It took some time to get the timing right, not only from the singer and the projection, but also from the pre-rendered images and the camera move that had to be in sync. Here you can watch some outtakes.
Ben: Do you know of any other music videos that have used a similar setup?
Filip: After the willow video went viral, someone sent me this link from a Puma commercial. Another example that was brought to my attention is this Nike commercial.
Ben: How did you become involved in the project? (did Willow hire you based on other work; did they know you beforehand?)
Filip: Willow’s singer is my sister’s boyfriend. He had seen my installation Peepshow, and my music video for Bodyspasm by Twenty Radios.
Ben: Based on your experience with the Willow music video, would you use a CAVE in a music video again?
Filip: After the willow video I made this project with my colleagues from Skullmapping. As much as I liked it, It’s hard to say if I will use this approach again in another project. If I find another new, creative way to use this technique, maybe yes.