Hicky tapped into Borge’s style and technique with DUCK’s ever-growing resource pool to lead a large crew of animators, VFX artists, and editors to assemble the multimedia music video. After a bike-riding hipster accidentally runs into a beret-wearing girl at an art museum, they exchange numbers and a romance unfolds through a series of treated live-action footage and stills, in which the new couple texts and enjoys intimate interludes on a park bench and Ferris wheel. The photo real cutaways of the couple”s love story were filmed as photo stills and then brought into After Effects to apply and design a unique treatment.
As the narrative cuts back and forth between the young lovers and Urban’s band rocking onstage in Nashville, animation enhances the narrative, with stick-figure birds fluttering across the cityscape and transforming into hearts, animated power lines, and a fantastic amusement park complete with roller coasters and a tent-filled midway. Borge co-directed and designed the animation and abstract urban treatment applied to the live-action performance footage.
“A project like this is deceptively complicated,” noted Hicky. “What seems like a straightforward stage shot and narrative is actually a multilayered project when the treatment is applied to strike the exact tone that a celebrated artist like Keith Urban expects. DUCK did an awesome job of taking the various types of footage, mixing in the treatment and the FX, and putting together a pitch-perfect final project.”
“DUCK is growing all the time, and this video is a great showcase of our latest capabilities,” stated Mark Medernach, DUCK EP. “When you’re working with a known director like Chris Hicky, you don’t want to disappoint, and I’m really proud of our team for coming through on this one, especially given the high-profile nature of the final product.”
The video’s intro features original art direction and design by DUCK’s directing team YellowShed (Todd Hemker and Soyeon Kim).
About DUCK
Los Angeles-based DUCK, formerly Duck Soup Studios, is a continually evolving creative studio producing commercials, music videos, short films and web content. DUCK offers a wide range of services, including live action and integration, character design, film title design, 2D and 3D animation, digital compositing, digital/traditional ink & paint. In recent years, the studio has expanded, adding an original content division that works with writers and animators on unique ideas for film and TV.
Credits
Artist: Keith Urban
Song Title: Kiss A Girl
Air Date: June 2009
Prod Company: DUCK
Live Action Director: Chris Hicky
Animation Director: Richard Borge
EP: Mark Medernach
Art Direction/Design Directors: YellowShed (Todd Hemker and Soyeon Kim)
Shoot Location: Nashville
Related Links
www.duckstudios.com
www.keithurban.net
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