SANTA MONICA, CA, November 3, 2008 - "The people at Eight VFX are true artists," says director Jess Holzworth, who collaborated with the company on her video for Beck's single "Gamma Ray". High praise, especially when one takes into account that the piece is a celebration of art: In the clip, a body-painted and almost unrecognizable Chloe Sevigny ("Big Love") dances her way through a mystical collage of imagery that might best be described as circus-psychedelia, with a touch of shamanism added for good measure.

"Trying to hold
Hold out for now
With these ice caps
Melting down
With the transistor sound
And my Chevrolet terraplane
Going round, round, round"

So go the opening lyrics of "Gamma Ray," which marks the directorial debut of Holzworth, a fashion designer and collage artist. Holzworth was enlisted by Beck to create a fantastical journey that, as she points out, "would be true to my art and to my heart."

Among Holzworth's inspirations for this video voyage? "Bikers, Dennis Hopper's eyes, the American desert, rebellion, 60s counterculture, Mother Earth, Street Poets...and the cosmos," she smiles, noting that, for all the video's eclecticism, Eight VFX was "very in tune with the vision." 

To fulfill that vision, Eight VFX created 2D animation and integrated it with the live action shot by Holzworth. The director did the body painting on Sevigny, who was filmed - along with myriad other live action elements - against a green screen.

"It was a great pleasure to work on such a colorful, creative, and playful project," noted Amalia Luyet-McMahan, Lead Motion Designer for Eight VFX, "and it was exciting to create this amazing collage-in-motion from the extremely rich library of Jess' work." Luyet-McMahon added that the Eight VFX team was honored to work so closely and collaboratively with the director. "Jess created an environment in which we were all encouraged to experiment and to hand-craft the visuals," she said. "It was a rare opportunity."

In the end, the "Gamma Ray" video offers viewers a wild ride fueled by Beck's terraplane, Holzworth's vision, and the ever-evolving artistry of Eight VFX. "Eight's work was incredibly amazing!" Holzworth concludes. "Beyond any expectations."

Credits

Artist: Beck
Song: "Gamma Ray"

Label: Interscope

Production Company: Daft Arts
Director: Jess Holzworth
Producer: Paul Hahn
DP: David Lanzenberg
Special Make-up: William Lemon

VFX Company: Eight VFX

VFX Supervisor: Jean-Marc Demmer
VFX EP: Baptiste Andrieux
VFX Producer: Marsi Frey
Lead Motion Designer: Amalia Luyet-McMahan
VFX AD: Yann Mallard
Senior Compositor: Stefan Gaillot
Compositor: Nicolas Cadorette Vigneau
Motion Designers: Joe Chiao, Shue Nakahara, Mathias Jourdes