Before Director Michael B. Chait pitched the idea to the band, he consulted with Visual Effects Supervisor Ryan Urban to see if the “ghost girl” effect was doable within the schedule and budget. The two chatted and discussed possibilities. With the thumbs up from Urban and NEXODUS, the idea was sold to the band.
Knowing that the effect was primarily going to be done in 2D/Compositing, the team landed on the idea of covering the “ghost girl” performer silver body paint. Chait and the production team brought on HMUA Jamie Gasper. In between making the band members look their best, she meticulously painted Jenna Koryn with silver body paint. On set, the silver body paint gave Jenna an ‘out of this world’ look and helped enhance her details that were captured in-camera. The silver paint also helped accentuate the lighting on her in each scene. “It was great to see this in-camera, on the day” says Urban. “We wanted to be sure that the viewer could make out what they were seeing behind the effect. Having Jenna covered in silver paint gave us more details that would play into the effect, while still having her human form driving that part of the story.”
Even though the effect was ultimately done with Compositing, the VFX team still gathered the necessary data on-set to handle any surprises or CG that might be required later on. NEXODUS CG Supervisor Mike Oakley assessed the on-set data then prepared and processed it to have on hand if needed.
The “ghost girl” effect involved multiple layers to achieve the desired look. Various keys were isolated, using articulate and detailed Roto. Each layer was then augmented using stylistic blurs, glows and chromatic aberrations then all put back together. The main part of the effect was generated with an iDistort, pushing the values to the extreme, which gave it a look reminiscent of “Terminator 2” and “Abyss”.
We used a temporary LUT throughout the process. Once the final comps were creatively approved, they were delivered back to Chait and his team for the final conform. The final grade was done by Company3 and senior colorist Tyler Roth.
“I’m honestly still amazed at how awesome, big and movie-quality the Ghost Girl shots are every time I watch the music video! I was asking for “Predator” and “The Abyss” on a tiny fraction of the budget, time and tools, and what Ryan and the NEXODUS Team delivered is astonishing!” Michael B. Chait, Director
Read more about the collaboration at Screen Magazine or head over to Befores and Afters to listen to the podcast “How this music video was made by painting the talent silver”.
Behind the scenes photos by Co-Producer/Photographer Ami Nicole.