Orlando Arocena, Bradley G Munkowitz (aka GMUNK), Nidia Dias, Jody MacDonald, and Rik Oostenbroek tapped HP technology to create an otherworldly journey inspired by the sounds of alt-pop German rock duo Clemens Rehbein and Phillipp Dausch, aka Milky Chance; go behind-the-scenes and watch the final piece.
Recently, HP challenged five innovative digital artists to collaborate around a dance anthem from Alt-Pop German rock duo Milky Chance. The artists, HP global ambassadors Orlando Arocena, Bradley G Munkowitz (aka GMUNK), Nidia Dias, Jody MacDonald, and Rik Oostenbroek, were equipped with Z by HP workstations and created an animated music video Synchronize, a fantastical, otherworldly journey inspired by the sounds of guitarist/singer Clemens Rehbein and bassist/percussionist Phillipp Dausch, aka Milky Chance.
In 2021, Z by HP first challenged global ambassadors to produce a short film called The Living System using the previous generation of desktop workstations. In this second effort, CoCreated: The Story of a Mixed-Media Music Video Collaboration, these five artists were challenged to push their skillsets, experimenting with emerging AI, real-time, and simulation tools to produce a music video with multiple voices and a singular vision.
The video takes the viewer on a ride through visuals timed to the rhythm of the track. Scenes meld and morph into one another, featuring lush landscapes captured in India by MacDonald, real-time sequences from Dias, GMUNK’s colorful rotating cloud simulations, Oostenbroek’s vibrant floating orbs, and a vector art poster from Arocena that draws inspiration from each of the ambassador’s contributions. The imagery was created using 3D simulations and custom assets, built using real-time 3D and AI-powered tools.
Watch: Milky Chance – Synchronize:
Tools used by the artists on the project include JangaFX’s EmberGen; Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion; Autodesk’s Maya; Maxon’s Cinema 4D; SideFX Houdini; Adobe Creative Cloud; Epic Games’ Unreal Engine; and Topaz Labs’ VideoAI. Z by HP workstations supported the project’s extensive data demands, high levels of creative collaboration and iterations.
“We've collaborated with visual artists before, but never so many all at once,” said Rehbein. “We wanted to let the ambassadors do their thing, so we tried to stay out of their way as much as possible and trusted them to make something great once they shared the initial treatment. Synchronize has been a fan favorite since it came out, so we think our fans will be very excited to see a new visual interpretation of this song. It was very cool to see how the different artists interpreted the song and how it all came together at the end. We think it looks very cool, and we hope that you all like it as much as we do.”
Check out the behind-the-scenes video:
“Our global ambassador program partners with leading artists and directors to push the boundaries of their craft,” noted Jim Nottingham, SVP & Division President, Advanced Compute Solutions, HP. “Teaming up with Milky Chance to collaborate on a music video that came together from different corners of the globe presented the perfect opportunity to push the envelope. It’s projects like these and the advancement of artist tools in the areas of AI, simulation, and real-time graphics that inspire our team to push boundaries and deliver more powerful and innovative technology solutions.”
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Source: HP
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
