The Rolling Stones
Angry
Rockin’ VFX for the Rolling Stones ‘Angry’
Hackney Diamonds
The legendary rockers returned with their 78th music video, taking a trip down memory lane along the Sunset Strip. Directed by Riff Raff’s François Rousselet, the film was a chance for us to bring back the iconic 60s-style rock billboards, using vintage footage, 2D and 3D roto to chart the band’s extraordinary career.
Created for a track from their album, Hackney Diamonds, the film brings Rousselet’s vision to life, transforming the Sunset Strip into a celebration of the band’s legacy and the iconic imagery that helped define rock n roll history
Created for a track from their album, Hackney Diamonds, the film brings Rousselet’s vision to life, transforming the Sunset Strip into a celebration of the band’s legacy and the iconic imagery that helped define rock n roll history
Hackney Diamonds
The legendary rockers returned with their 78th music video, taking a trip down memory lane along the Sunset Strip. Directed by Riff Raff’s François Rousselet, the film was a chance for us to bring back the iconic 60s-style rock billboards, using vintage footage, 2D and 3D roto to chart the band’s extraordinary career.
Created for a track from their album, Hackney Diamonds, the film brings Rousselet’s vision to life, transforming the Sunset Strip into a celebration of the band’s legacy and the iconic imagery that helped define rock n roll history
Created for a track from their album, Hackney Diamonds, the film brings Rousselet’s vision to life, transforming the Sunset Strip into a celebration of the band’s legacy and the iconic imagery that helped define rock n roll history
Rock Billboard Scece
The rock billboard scene in Los Angeles kicked off in the 1960s, hand-painted monuments to music icons that would chronicle rock, and of course, The Rolling Stones had theirs. The idea for Angry was to have actress Sydney Sweeney cruise down Sunset Strip in a Mercedes, tooling past larger-than-life Rolling Stones billboards.
Each board reveals an exaggerated and eye-catching piece of graphic art with vintage footage of the band moving, performing, extending out of the frame, and popping out against the sky. Although the billboards are almost all gone, the locations are still around. Black Kite, led by VFX supervisor George Brunt, on-set VFX supervisor Jonny Freeman, and Richard Fearon in charge of the grade, were tasked with bringing them back to the Boulevard.
Each board reveals an exaggerated and eye-catching piece of graphic art with vintage footage of the band moving, performing, extending out of the frame, and popping out against the sky. Although the billboards are almost all gone, the locations are still around. Black Kite, led by VFX supervisor George Brunt, on-set VFX supervisor Jonny Freeman, and Richard Fearon in charge of the grade, were tasked with bringing them back to the Boulevard.
Rock Billboard Scece
The rock billboard scene in Los Angeles kicked off in the 1960s, hand-painted monuments to music icons that would chronicle rock, and of course, The Rolling Stones had theirs. The idea for Angry was to have actress Sydney Sweeney cruise down Sunset Strip in a Mercedes, tooling past larger-than-life Rolling Stones billboards.
Each board reveals an exaggerated and eye-catching piece of graphic art with vintage footage of the band moving, performing, extending out of the frame, and popping out against the sky. Although the billboards are almost all gone, the locations are still around. Black Kite, led by VFX supervisor George Brunt, on-set VFX supervisor Jonny Freeman, and Richard Fearon in charge of the grade, were tasked with bringing them back to the Boulevard.
Each board reveals an exaggerated and eye-catching piece of graphic art with vintage footage of the band moving, performing, extending out of the frame, and popping out against the sky. Although the billboards are almost all gone, the locations are still around. Black Kite, led by VFX supervisor George Brunt, on-set VFX supervisor Jonny Freeman, and Richard Fearon in charge of the grade, were tasked with bringing them back to the Boulevard.
Sunset Strip
The video point of view is Sweeney, driving a car along the Strip; the camera moves between a series of billboards, reflecting a chronological outline of the band’s career to the track's pace.
“We took iconic archive footage of the band and used traditional comping and 2D and 3D roto methods to work the moving footage into each poster,” explained George Brunt. “As well as the archive footage, there was also new live footage to reflect every stage of the band, with the lyrics of ‘Angry’ as part of the composition of each billboard.”
He continued, “The lyrics of the track were matched to the footage using a combination of lip-syncing and AI. We used 3D lighting to match the plates and replicate the quality and sheen of a classic billboard. The end result had to look slick, and working with different resolution types is challenging. The devil really is in the detail with this type of work, but slick it looks, and we love it.”
“We took iconic archive footage of the band and used traditional comping and 2D and 3D roto methods to work the moving footage into each poster,” explained George Brunt. “As well as the archive footage, there was also new live footage to reflect every stage of the band, with the lyrics of ‘Angry’ as part of the composition of each billboard.”
He continued, “The lyrics of the track were matched to the footage using a combination of lip-syncing and AI. We used 3D lighting to match the plates and replicate the quality and sheen of a classic billboard. The end result had to look slick, and working with different resolution types is challenging. The devil really is in the detail with this type of work, but slick it looks, and we love it.”
Sunset Strip
The video point of view is Sweeney, driving a car along the Strip; the camera moves between a series of billboards, reflecting a chronological outline of the band’s career to the track's pace.
“We took iconic archive footage of the band and used traditional comping and 2D and 3D roto methods to work the moving footage into each poster,” explained George Brunt. “As well as the archive footage, there was also new live footage to reflect every stage of the band, with the lyrics of ‘Angry’ as part of the composition of each billboard.”
He continued, “The lyrics of the track were matched to the footage using a combination of lip-syncing and AI. We used 3D lighting to match the plates and replicate the quality and sheen of a classic billboard. The end result had to look slick, and working with different resolution types is challenging. The devil really is in the detail with this type of work, but slick it looks, and we love it.”
“We took iconic archive footage of the band and used traditional comping and 2D and 3D roto methods to work the moving footage into each poster,” explained George Brunt. “As well as the archive footage, there was also new live footage to reflect every stage of the band, with the lyrics of ‘Angry’ as part of the composition of each billboard.”
He continued, “The lyrics of the track were matched to the footage using a combination of lip-syncing and AI. We used 3D lighting to match the plates and replicate the quality and sheen of a classic billboard. The end result had to look slick, and working with different resolution types is challenging. The devil really is in the detail with this type of work, but slick it looks, and we love it.”
The Shoot
Jonny Freeman was on set for Black Kite during the one-day shoot on Sunset Boulevard with a camera on the hero car, the team in a truck behind, and LA police escorts in front and behind the action - keeping the famous street clear.
The camera, placed from Sweeney’s point of view, creates the sensation of moving among the flow of the billboards with the rock icons appearing “larger than life” the whole way.
Jonny Freeman commented, “It was essential to get the lighting just right for the VFX team back at the studio, I went on a tech scout the week before and shot lighting reference images to make sure we had additional light passes to help bed in compositions in the final film.”
The camera, placed from Sweeney’s point of view, creates the sensation of moving among the flow of the billboards with the rock icons appearing “larger than life” the whole way.
Jonny Freeman commented, “It was essential to get the lighting just right for the VFX team back at the studio, I went on a tech scout the week before and shot lighting reference images to make sure we had additional light passes to help bed in compositions in the final film.”
The Shoot
Jonny Freeman was on set for Black Kite during the one-day shoot on Sunset Boulevard with a camera on the hero car, the team in a truck behind, and LA police escorts in front and behind the action - keeping the famous street clear.
The camera, placed from Sweeney’s point of view, creates the sensation of moving among the flow of the billboards with the rock icons appearing “larger than life” the whole way.
Jonny Freeman commented, “It was essential to get the lighting just right for the VFX team back at the studio, I went on a tech scout the week before and shot lighting reference images to make sure we had additional light passes to help bed in compositions in the final film.”
The camera, placed from Sweeney’s point of view, creates the sensation of moving among the flow of the billboards with the rock icons appearing “larger than life” the whole way.
Jonny Freeman commented, “It was essential to get the lighting just right for the VFX team back at the studio, I went on a tech scout the week before and shot lighting reference images to make sure we had additional light passes to help bed in compositions in the final film.”
The Grade
The promo was shot with Christopher Ripley as DOP on 35mm film, enhancing the edgy LA look.
“This grade was all about bringing out the brilliant LA light with a lot of contrast in the rich colour whilst keeping the gritty texture of the film,” shared Rich Fearon. “It’s always a pleasure to work with Francois, and this time was almost an extension of the last Stones’ promo we worked on together, Ride ‘Em on Down. I almost instinctively knew what he wanted, and this was apparent when he saw the first pass and loved it!”
“This grade was all about bringing out the brilliant LA light with a lot of contrast in the rich colour whilst keeping the gritty texture of the film,” shared Rich Fearon. “It’s always a pleasure to work with Francois, and this time was almost an extension of the last Stones’ promo we worked on together, Ride ‘Em on Down. I almost instinctively knew what he wanted, and this was apparent when he saw the first pass and loved it!”
The Grade
The promo was shot with Christopher Ripley as DOP on 35mm film, enhancing the edgy LA look.
“This grade was all about bringing out the brilliant LA light with a lot of contrast in the rich colour whilst keeping the gritty texture of the film,” shared Rich Fearon. “It’s always a pleasure to work with Francois, and this time was almost an extension of the last Stones’ promo we worked on together, Ride ‘Em on Down. I almost instinctively knew what he wanted, and this was apparent when he saw the first pass and loved it!”
“This grade was all about bringing out the brilliant LA light with a lot of contrast in the rich colour whilst keeping the gritty texture of the film,” shared Rich Fearon. “It’s always a pleasure to work with Francois, and this time was almost an extension of the last Stones’ promo we worked on together, Ride ‘Em on Down. I almost instinctively knew what he wanted, and this was apparent when he saw the first pass and loved it!”
