Taylor came across Jordi’s work during her search for a film maker who could create visuals to match her song. She fell in love with a documentary about an English artist that Jordi had produced using a 360 camera and knew his style was a perfect match. Despite Jordi’s familiarity with the technology, he makes note of the potential for pitfalls when shooting 360.

“Probably most of the problems [in the shooting] were coming from camera issues but, because we tested it previously, we were ready for them. I can’t stress enough how important it is to test new ideas before giving the green light, you might find that that idea wasn’t worth it.  The stitching [of camera angles into a seamless take] could probably make a full article about its do’s and don’ts, mostly don’ts… The 360 camera that I worked with before was a 5K 2-lens camera with barely any movement on it. In this production, we used an 8K 6-lens camera with a lot of movement and contrast between the foreground and background. We pushed the limits of the camera so far that the automatic stitching was unable to achieve the required quality. Every single lens of every single shot needed to be stitched manually masking elements in and out. A post-production nightmare that I didn’t take into consideration before. Test ideas first.”

Taylor B-W – I’m So Broke (BTS by Rachel Frankenbach)

Advances in technology, though still in their infancy, allow creative film makers to blend mediums and deliver hybrid clips like this one. Jordi’s intention was to slowly introduce 360 elements as the clip progressed, sticking to conventional effects like in-frame duplication and rotoscoping for Taylor’s doubles until the final sequence of the song. At this point the frame stretches and warps to fit perspectives from all around the camera into a single frame. It’s a dizzying but doubtlessly impressive crescendo for the video. A funny and energetic behind-the-scenes video was shot featuring Taylor’s off-camera antics as well as footage of the 360 setup in action, which can be seen below:

The thumping bass of the track provides a plethora of choice moments to synchronize a punch-in or punch out. During these quick movements backup dancers appear in frame, dressed in all black like film set PAs and matching the moves of Taylor’s colourful duplicates. Each of the duplicates is clad in a single colour and performs in line with the artist’s three chosen moods; somber blue gives way to aggravated red who ultimately has the spotlight stolen by bubbly yellow. As with any compositing effect, lighting had to remain consistent throughout all the shots, and Jordi, Taylor and DP Ansh Bose chose Camperdown Studios in Sydney because of its perfect dimensions – large enough to fit all the elements but small enough to light consistently. Ansh explains:

“Experimenting with lighting is always loads of fun especially when it’s a 360 shoot! The biggest challenge is ensuring lighting is well contrasted without removing shadows and keeping a balanced, even light throughout the studio. To achieve this, I set up a lantern modifier as my main on a boom arm which sat right on top of the 360 camera. This not only provided a soft diffused light but also ensured shadows under the eyes were negated. Additional lights were then added and removed depending on the scene with a range of modifiers from snoots to octaboxes. Overall, the lighting had to be planned with precision and detail to ensure the entire studio was correctly lit during each scene. The 360 camera certainly provided some challenges but it also allowed us to get creative with how we adapted to the situation.”

It’s always refreshing to find new ways to motivate yourself, and combining technology with visual effects is what drives me. I always find music videos the best canvas for creativity and new ideas, nothing is too far. A bit of advice: go crazy with ideas, test them, and compromise ideality with reality.

Here is the official video for I’m So Broke