SOUND AND VISION

3D WORLD GRANTS YOU BACKSTAGE ACCESS TO THE ARTISTS AND STUDIOS USING VFX TO MAKE CUTTING-EDGE MUSIC VIDEOS

Ever since the 1960s, when the world was in the midst of Beatlemania, musicians have been using music videos to promote their songs and further their artistic vision. The artform has always looked to cinema for the latest techniques and technology, utilising everything from stop motion to rotoscoping. Nowadays, with the ever increasing democratisation of tools and software, VFX is becoming more and more prevalent in music videos. 3D World has gathered pioneers of the artform to discuss their craft and grant readers a backstage pass to some of the most innovative VFX in music videos. Versatile VFX studio, The Mill, discuss their work with some of the biggest names in music, while director, visual artist and composer Polygon peels back the curtain on his own unique style.

“Music and visuals have always complemented each other and been closely connected,” says Polygon. “I have a strong impression that today, we’ve finally come to this realisation that the visual aspect has become as important as the music itself, if not more. There’s a real symbiosis between these mediums now.” He adds that in today’s world it would be inconceivable for an artist to promote their latest release without any visual support. “Music videos prevail as a promotional tool,” he continues, “they are the most viewed type of video on YouTube and superstars have no trouble exceeding a hundred million views or even a billion.”