Anson Kong “Game of Life” Music Video CG | Behind the Scenes
VFX ｜ 2024
Music Video CG effects
Late Studio was honoured to be invited by the two directors to create the CG animation effects for the latest music video by Anson Kong, a member of MakerVille’s Mirror. We also worked with VFX expert ET Leung, each contributing in our own field to complete the post-production effects. This behind-the-scenes feature takes a closer look at the CG post-production of the “Game of Life” music video.
Opening title: the “Game of Life” title appears in a cyberpunk animation style.Futuristic CG effects: after entering the virtual game world, Anson Kong is surrounded by enemies in a sci-fi opening.CG toy car: Anson Kong sends a toy car flying, which transforms with CG animation into a life-size 1:1 off-road vehicle.CG bullet: Anson Kong fires a bullet from a pistol; the bullet is 3D animated.Chessboard city: Anson Kong and Siu John face off on a chessboard, with a CG hologram city on the board.Military parade: Anson Kong inspects the troops, most of whom were added as CG effects.Tornado: Anson Kong is surrounded by a paper tornado; apart from AK, the entire shot is CG.
MV Pre-production
The “Game of Life” music video uses a large amount of 3D CG animation and effects. Late Studio also took part in planning the shoot, discussing the technical feasibility of individual shots with the two directors and getting to know the props in advance.
A table recording props, timings and other details for the MV shoot.
3D Models Used in the MV
We created various 3D models for the 3D animation based on what each shot required. During the shoot, we also 3D-scanned some of the dancers for the 3D CG animation.
Turning the 2D logo into a 3D logo model.
3D model of the female dancers’ look.
3D model of the male dancers’ look.
3D model of the dancers’ headgear.3D model of a bullet engraved with “Anson Kong”.3D model of an off-road vehicle printed with the “Game of Life” logo.3D model of the paper tornado.3D model of the sci-fi holographic city.
The 3D CG Effects Animation Process
After shooting the footage, we began working on the shots that needed CG animation, creating CG effects animation in Blender to match the footage, along with tracking and simulation for some shots.
CG toy car: animating in Blender.CG bullet: animating in Blender.Tornado: animating in Blender.
VFX and Compositing
We did initial compositing in Nuke, then completed the final composite and export in After Effects. During compositing, we brought together the footage, the animation and anything that needed fixing, added After Effects effects to some shots for extra richness, and then fine-tuned how well the footage and animation blended.
CG toy car: compositing the off-road vehicle’s transformation in After Effects, turning it into particles that then become dancers for the scene transition.CG bullet: masking the hole in Anson Kong’s pistol for a cleaner image, then compositing the 3D bullet animation along with the sparks and smoke from the shot.Military parade: adding more 3D soldiers and compositing them with the original footage in After Effects so they blend into the shot.Tornado: the paper tornado simulation was made in 3D, composited mainly in Nuke to refine the atmosphere and lighting, then lightly adjusted and exported in After Effects.
On Set for the MV Shoot
On the day of the shoot, Late Studio was also on set, discussing with the directors how to handle the CG effects and offering shooting suggestions for the CG shots. AK and the directors were very friendly, and the two-day shoot was a lot of fun.
On set at Clearwater Bay Studios.Late Studio’s Kaicho with AK and the two directors.
