Multi-talented filmmaker Erin Murray, a most welcome mainstay on the pages of DN, has just delightfully broken the proverbial mould again with her Anyway U Want It music video for Bambina – the latest musical incarnation of Los Angeles-based Artist/Actor/Director Andrea Adolph. Taking a subversive dive into the complications of navigating virtual reality intimacy for a couple, Bambina’s initial hesitation at the outlandish concept soon gave way as she fully embraced the farcical writhing VR sex positions conceived by Murray for their comedic rather than arousing qualities. It’s a video which pairs seamlessly with the music, reflecting questions posed in Bambina’s lyrics and hitting all the right beats with humour, questioning norms and reflecting upon the very nature of modern relationships. With Anyway U Want It released online last week and having already garnered a coveted Vimeo Staff Pick, we spoke to Murray about her approach to choreographing the couple’s ludicrous positions and using new markerless mocap technology to capture the gyrating movements ready for animating.
How did you come to be partnering with Bambina for this absurdly brilliant video?
Prior to this video, I had worked with Bambina a couple times as a choreographer and dancer. I’m a big fan of her music and she’s a great actress so I was very excited to direct a video for her. When I initially pitched the concept, she actually asked me to think of something else. I took a couple days and genuinely attempted to pivot, but once I saw this video in my head I couldn’t see anything else. I had a plan to give one final pitch, but by the time I called she had already changed her mind and was fully down with only one request – no nudity. I said, “Done”, and the rest is history as they say. I’m very grateful for Bambina’s trust in me to pull off this concept.
There was so much potential humor to mine through movement, and I was excited to show the contrast between who the characters were IRL and how they chose to appear virtually.
We have seen previous work of yours which examines different aspects of relationships, why is this such fertile creative ground for you?
It’s what I’m interested in and what I like to daydream about. With this project, Bambina’s lyrics were the spark. “Do you want a future or another fantasy?” I think virtual reality is the perfect realm to explore the dissonance between reality and fantasy that can exist in any relationship. The idea of a couple choosing to have sex virtually even though they’re in the same house and could do it IRL seemed totally absurd, too real, and a little sad… all in a way that seemed fun for a music video. There was so much potential humor to mine through movement, and I was excited to show the contrast between who the characters were IRL and how they chose to appear virtually.
Anyway U Want It immediately reminded me of the current bizarre, but also hilarious, NPC trend that blew up on TikTok. Did this have any sway on the concept and how did you develop their awkward movements?
This concept is definitely a reaction to the current moment. I think one day a lot of us will willingly walk into the Matrix out of perceived comfort and convenience. Originally, we thought of all of the additional characters in the virtual beach as NPCs, but over time the beach evolved into more of a multiplayer space than a single-player space full of NPCs.
Body language and movement are usually a big focus for me even when it’s not a straightforward dance piece.
Alongside directing you have a formidable background in choreography, was this side of your creative self employed to plan the hilarious and downright ridiculous sex moves we see performed by the virtual selves?
Totally. My goal was to make the sex positions so stupid, absurd, and unsexy that people were laughing instead of getting too turned on. Body language and movement are usually a big focus for me even when it’s not a straightforward dance piece. For this project, number one was casting people who wouldn’t hold back. Both Bambina and Whitmer Thomas completely committed to the ridiculousness.
I read that one of your motion capture suits gave out during the shoot, was anything you had planned lost because of that?
Thanks to Animator Pete Puskas and some new markerless mocap technology, nothing was lost! We just forged ahead and got the live action shots that we needed. First of all, it was only one suit that stopped working. The other suit worked, but in post we realized the data wasn’t smooth enough for our needs. Pete and I had planned enough going into the shoot that when the suit didn’t work out, we knew we had a backup plan. In the end, the virtual movement came from a variety of sources. Some was pure hand animation from Pete, and we filled in the blanks with the use of Wonder Dynamics, Move.ai, and stock movement.
I think we landed on something that’s the perfect mix of glitchy, sexy, and silly.
With so much contention at the moment surrounding AI and its applications in film and creative fields, how did you find the experience working with AI tools on this and what was your approach with Pete to creating the animated elements of the video?
Pete was the first person I called after writing this concept. Our early conversations centered around how we could make the animations sexy without being too porny. This is a music video, so we wanted this to be able to exist on YouTube…but we also didn’t want to let the fear of censorship hold us back. Pete made some tests early on that helped us establish how the animations would move and I think we landed on something that’s the perfect mix of glitchy, sexy, and silly.
This is a music video, so we wanted this to be able to exist on YouTube…but we also didn’t want to let the fear of censorship hold us back.
Markerless mocap doesn’t automate creativity. It makes the task of recording motion data more accessible and less expensive, which is awesome. It gave Pete and I a lot of freedom! It’s pretty amazing that I was able to go to Pete’s living room with no equipment besides two iPhone cameras and get really good mocap data.
What new projects are you cooking up? I personally cannot wait to see what you produce next.
I’m wrapping up post production on a narrative short, and I have another music video in the works!
