3D printing, stop-motion animation, and projection mapping are rolled into one music video for Australian singer Dan Sultan‘s new single, “Magnetic.” Put together by Melbourne-based film and animation studio Dropbear Digital, the video centers around an animated bust of the artist that sings along to every note of the electrifying pop song.
Over the span of two months, more than 60 individual 3D-printed pieces were made in order to capture the full range of facial expressions and movements needed to make it look like the 30cm tall bust was singing the song. In a Facebook post announcing the video’s release, Dropbear says sculptor Christopher Langton had five 3D printers running day and night to get it all out in time for the shoot. The team animated the video with 2,700 photographs. With a moveable head and replaceable mouth and eyepieces, Dropbear’s team maneuvered the bust’s face from shot to shot.
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Eyebrows move up and down, lips purse, and the head nodes to the rhythm of the kick drum as vibrant colors and multilayered patterns are projected onto the bust’s surface. The result is an innovative hybrid of new media technologies and an exciting visual supplement to this incredibly catchy song. In an article on 3D printing news site, 3ders, Sultan says of “Magnetic,” “It’s about having too much of a good thing. It’s about excess, basically, in all its forms. But it’s also about getting older, and about being more comfortable in my own skin.” Watch the video come to life below:
DAN SULTAN – MAGNETIC from Dropbear on Vimeo.
You can get your copy of “Magnetic” here, and check out more animations and visual graphics by Dropbear Digital on their website.
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