The video takes place in a mystical forest complete with dancers, aerialists and choreographed hand-clapping as Pharrell winds his way through the autumn scene. Hints of the French duo appear throughout with two large, floating boulders shaped to match their iconic helmets and, later on, their silhouettes stenciled into the cosmos. 2D lead artist Nick Tayler guided The Mill team through the complex project.
Tayler spoke to us about the cooperative nature of the video: "From the outset we could tell that there was going to be nothing ordinary about this music video, and bringing Edgar's vision of a forest alive with magic meant an opportunity for us to indulge in combining our team's many facets of 3D artistry with matte painting, color grading and detailed compositing to fill the piece with rich detail. Assisting Edgar on set was very collaborative and meant that we were able to shoot specific practical effects, including interactive lighting, to prepare our shots for the animation work that would later follow."
'Gust of Wind' joins a number of projects between The Mill and Pharrell. View them here.
Production Company: DNA
Record Company: Sony Music Entertainment
Director: Edgar Wright
Producers: Michael Angelos, Leo Thompson
Director of Photography: Crille Forsberg
Editing Company: Bonch Editorial
Editor: Jarrett Fijal
Edit Assist: James Boger
VFX & Design: The Mill
Senior Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Color Executive Producer: Thatcher Peterson
Producer: Adam Reeb
Flame Lead & Creative Lead: Nick Tayler
Lead Compositor: Steve Cokonis
3D Lead Artist: Nick Lines
2D Artists: Jale Parsons, Jeannie Huynh (Remedy), Robert Murdock, Jason Bergman, Timothy Crabtree, Adam Lambert, Brad Scott, John Price, Patrick Munoz, Kevin Flores, Stefan Smith, Tim Bird, Yukiko Ishiwata, Chris Payne, Bill Higgins, Tara DeMarco
3D Artists: Katie Yancey, Mike DiNocco, Yorie Kumalasari, Jason Janksy, Carl Harders, Martin Rivera, Hartwell Durfor, Thom Price, Matt Neapolitan, Majid Esmaeili, Kenzie Chen
Matte Painting: Andy Wheater
Junior Compositors: Jeff Langlois, Brett Lopinsky, Bradley Rhone, Ashley Forbito
Art Department: Laurence Konishi
Production Coordinator: Kris Drenzek
Colour Producer: Natalie Westerfield
Colourist: Gregory Reese