Chemical Brothers // Wide Open

For The Chemical Brothers’ "Wide Open" music video—a project widely considered a technical masterpiece in the history of music promos—I served as a VFX Artist at The Mill, working within a dedicated team to realize one of the most ambitious single-shot visual effects challenges ever attempted.

The project involved a continuous, four-and-a-half-minute take of dancer Sonoya Mizuno, whose body gradually transforms into a 3D-printed cellular lattice. My work contributed to a monumental 6,798-frame sequence that required absolute precision. Because the lattice was entirely see-through, the team had to meticulously "remove" the dancer’s limbs and torso to reveal the background behind her. This necessitated an extraordinary amount of digital cleanup, hand-painted compositing, and seamless plate restoration, ensuring that every frame of the warehouse environment remained consistent despite the changing natural light of the day-long shoot.

To achieve the "perfect entwining" of the mechanical and the organic, we utilized high-end technical processes including Lidar set scanning, photogrammetry, and complex body tracking. My role focused on the delicate balance of replacing physical anatomy with a complex 3D mesh while maintaining the fluid, human grace of the choreography. The result is a mesmerizing piece of art where the digital and the physical blend into one, a breakthrough project that pushed the boundaries of what is possible in a single-take format and remains a proud milestone from my time at The Mill.
Amidst the challenges of a rapidly changing production landscape, I led the creative direction for the film’s complex post-production, transforming the project into a "maximalist" stream of consciousness. My role involved orchestrating a seamless blend of disparate mediums—integrating hand-illustrated animation, 3D environments, and concept matte paintings with high-octane gameplay and live-action footage. I was responsible for the technical and aesthetic "glue" that allowed these contrasting elements to transition through relentless match-cuts and unconventional visual shorthand. By pushing our team of motion wizards and compositors to experiment with audacious new combinations, we captured the visceral emotion of 60,000 fans and the high-stakes intensity of the pitch, resulting in a piece that remains a benchmark for high-energy, non-linear storytelling.