Girl group gets villainous twist in comic book-inspired promo
Eagerly anticipated Little Mix music video for the track “DNA” has exploded onto TV and the Internet. The video was directed by Sarah Chatfield at Colonel Blimp and post produced at Nice Biscuits.
“An unrelenting torrent of bold imagery and epic performances” is how Chatfield describes the feel of the video. In it Little Mix star in their own “stylish noir action thriller” inspired by Sin City and The Watchmen style comic book. It opens on a music box with a ballerina on the top. Everything is in monochrome except the red of the ballerina’s dress. Bold red letters appear in the centre of the screen spelling out DNA, Starring Little Mix. The track kicks in and Little Mix band member Perrie is at the wheel of a car going at high speed, outside the windows of the city race past. A man with tattoos is tied up with a rope in the passenger seat with his mouth gagged. Next band member Jade stands boldly on a thin ledge against a wall on the side of a building. She is precariously balanced as the wind whips through her hair and clothes. Through the window we see a silhouette of a man. The chorus starts and we see the whole group together on a rooftop. Then Jesy is speeding through the city in a convertible. Police lights flash past. At the end the guy is tied up to a chair in a dark warehouse with Little Mix standing triumphantly in front of him before turning and walking away.
Nice Biscuits VFX supervisor Paul Wratten attended the shoot to advise on the post heavy music video. Then Nice Biscuits VFX artist Pete Young took over. Having worked with the director on many productions, Young was able to create the look she wanted for the video. The roof top scene was created using a 5k matte painting created by matte painter Johan Gay. This was split up into different layer depths and then composited into the scene using Flame's 3D tracker . All the driving scenes of the girls were shot against green screen. 3D artist Greg McKneally created CG backgrounds, helicopters and police cars which were then composited in Flame along with reflections and light effects.