The detailed “3D Meta-Human” video looks like it was shot inside a video game, except it was all created for the clip by the digital artist.
‘Brand New’ is a track from enigmatic Irish producer Sloucho, who will release a debut album NPC on May 3rd on Sweet Sun.
As the title of the album suggests (“non playing character”), Sloucho’s work explores identity and expectation of form in the visual aspect accompanying the music’s hyperpop bass Cloudclore-parallel electronic music.
‘Brand New’ features MCs Emby and Zack Oke over a taut synth line and garage beat.
The video by digital creator Aisling Phelan who has exhibited at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and UNIQLO’s Tate Lates Display at Tate Modern.
The rapper avatars were made using a motion capture suit worn by EMBY and Zack, which was then imported into Unreal Engine, using different environments scanned from around the Greek Islands as the backdrop, which were degraded to look more like a digital wasteland, before being shot like a real-life rap video.
The end result feels like a surreal GTA Easter Egg, and the video was two years in the making. Watch it here:
“There were a lot of different processes that went into making this video, from photogrammetry of k-caz & Emby to create their virtual characters, recording their performances in a motion capture suit, 3d scanning environments for the world, virtual camera animation, building the world in Unreal Engine and the rest!
Aisling Phelan
I realised pretty soon into the process why teams of people work on projects like this as there was a never-ending string of technical challenges, but it was equally as challenging as it was rewarding to have achieved this alongside Sloucho, who was heavily involved in every aspect of the process, and whose encouragement and support brought this project to fruition.”
Hear also from Sloucho
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
