The Chemical Brothers - Skipping Like A Stone ft. Beck

Can a rock convey a certain emotion?

Directed by Pensacola

In an exclusive interview with Curation Hour, Pensacola share their journey in crafting the visually stunning music video for The Chemical Brothers, Skipping Like a Stone ft. Beck. From the initial pitch to the realisation of a concept that seamlessly marries epic visuals, we’ll dive into the unique creative process, the spiritual connection with stone-skipping legend Kurt Steiner, and the meticulous artistic and technical decisions that brought this cinematic masterpiece to life.

Can you share how the collaboration with The Chemical Brothers began? What was the pitching process like?

We have been looking for a music video for a long time, and Head of Music Videos (Callum Harrison) at CANADA sent us this track. Of course we loved it, but we knew that the competition would be fierce. 

We got to work and wrote two ideas. Workshopped the one I liked most with Callum and we shaped up a treatment with something that is pretty much the concept you see on screen. 

When we sent the idea, we knew it was bigger than expected, but we were confident that it was a good concept and that it fit the song. We just got the news that the band loved it and basically started thinking about how could we pull it off with the time and resources we had. CANADA is one of the best if not the best production company to do a project like this. The creative approach prevails, and it shows in every step of the process.

Could you walk us through the creative process? What were some of the key ideas or themes you wanted to convey in the video and how did you decide to interpret the track?

I fell in love with the song and it had been so long since I had worked on a creative project that I completely dived into it. I went through many concepts and ideas and landed on this one after workshopping it a bit with Callum. 

The song had an epic feeling to me. It felt grand and special. And the lyrics reflect that idea of an inevitable connection. A friend coming to you, to the rescue. Obviously, I started thinking of the lyrics and investigating the techniques and world around Stone Skipping. That led to Kurt Steiner; from that moment we followed the route to try to contact him and see where that would take us. 

I liked the idea of starting the video with Kurt, his incredible presence and the technique in his way of selecting and organising stones. In a way, it feels like a more naturalistic visual language that reflects his scientific approach. We then dive into the super slow motion to capture the mesmerising technique of the throws… And from then on, we knew we wanted to transition from Kurt to the stone as the protagonist. Bouncing to the beat and continuing after the stone leaves the lake is the perfect way to bridge both moments. From then on, it is all about that stone exploring and doing the right thing. 

The process was quite unique for me because there tends to be a very practical approach when it comes to executing a video. In this case, I set aside a whole month of my summer for this video: no other jobs, no holidays, just The Chemical Brothers. 

We were lucky that we found an incredible production to partner with in 24/7 Radioaktive in Lithuania, and I could spend more than twenty days in Vilnius scouting, casting and diving in. That allowed for the idea to develop organically.

“There is something endearing and mesmerising in trying to marry the absurd and the epic”

The music video revolves around stone-skipping world record winner Kurt Steiner. What drew you to work with him, and can you describe what it was like to spend and work with such a spiritual, knowledgeable and skilled individual?

When I started researching and looking for beautiful imagery of stone skipping, Kurt had a captivating look and an incredible approach to stone skipping and life in general. The most beautiful thing about Kurt is how special he is. He mesmerised everyone on set. Stone skipping can sound like a joke for some people, but it has a meaning and it’s an incredible way to reconnect with nature. 

I was stoked to have him on set. He was so great and professional. Everyone fell in love with him. He did not stop answering questions and teaching people during the shoot breaks. We could say that he is an athlete and delivers in every shot. He also decided to come hang out the rest of the shoot days. He is genuinely an intelligent and ultra-curious person. You do not come across people like Kurt often these days.

I wrote him in the treatment, but I knew he lives off the grid most of the year, so it was more wishful thinking than anything. But then the production team at CANADA and the guys at Lane Casting in London did an incredible job tracking him down. Now, I could not imagine the video with anyone else. 

In a recent article on Steiner, they aptly quoted the words of William Blake, referring to clasping a stone as being able to “hold infinity in the palm of your hand". What comes across is that the art of skipping stones feels deeply spiritual to Steiner. How did you go about interpreting his work in a way that felt authentic and not overly commercial for the video?

If I am fully honest, the song has a certain epic/spiritual tone to me. I did not think about Kurt’s approach when I conceived the idea. In a way, I found out about his approach to stone skipping while I was experiencing a totally different approach to the video. So, in a way, we found each other along the way. It was a very nice process finding the best way to make justice of his approach to stone skipping. We asked him a lot of questions, we “cast” our stone with him, we showed him the lakes, etc. He was on board with everything and gave us some notes. 

I think from the moment we interacted with Kurt, we were all a bit “touched” by his presence, and that subconsciously affected the vibe of the whole process.

The video has a distinctive visual style, featuring stunning locations and impressive visual effects. Can you share some of the artistic and technical decisions that helped you achieve this look and feel, including how you approached incorporating VFX into the video seamlessly?

From the get-go I wanted to make a cinematic video. The song is big and epic, and I wanted the visuals to go hand in hand with it. And to get this effect, you need to do it almost all on camera. That was a must for me. I wanted it to be organic and to meet the challenge: can stone skipping be epic? Can a rock convey a certain emotion? Can we tie together the incredible feeling of the beat drops in the song with something that elevates it visually? 

There is something endearing and mesmerising in trying to marry the absurd and the epic. And I almost always feel attracted to it. Kurt’s ability and technique are already incredible, and we captured absolutely everything on camera in super slow motion. At some point during the edit, I wanted to just play those takes throughout the whole track. I loved how crazy and epic it looks at 600 frames per second. 

Then we had to jump into “The extraordinary”, which happens when the stone starts bouncing to the song's beat and when it comes out of the water. I wanted to blend those moments to feel seamless, just a continuation of the stone's path. The stone over the water shot with the drone was the most intricate VFX shot. Mathematic recreated the stone after scanning our hero rock, it paired the speed and made the stone bounce to the beat. 

The sequences' plates were shot over several days in the same lake location after we shot Kurt; we used drones and timed it perfectly in all our animatics before the shoot. The same happens in the drone shots of the stone on the road. I always try to do this: the blocks of action of the music video are drawn, mapped out and timed in animatics, especially when the post-production schedule is as crazy as this one. 

We worked with a spectacular crew, starting with our Production Designer, Miranda Lorenz and Christopher Ripley, the DOP. They were both completely on board when trying to achieve as much as we could on camera. Then, the incredible crew in Lithuania linked us with the most amazing SFX guys. Every shot was designed so that the impact and explosion of the stone was on camera, then the stone itself would be added in VFX by the wizards at Mathematic, the best post-production company you can find for these kind of projects. 

I feel like the video grew a lot in a very organic way because people loved the concept, the Chemical Brothers and Beck, then they loved Kurt, and then I think they loved the stone. That all adds up and makes the video better.

Looking ahead, what are the next steps for Pensacola?

We are extremely excited to continue doing music videos and commercials. We started a new phase with CANADA in the US and are stoked with it — an opportunity to grow with them and keep doing crazy things and creative projects. 

We also are writing and taking steps towards narrative, which is what we ultimately want to do. Honestly, I am down for it if every project gets us to learn and have as much fun as this music video.

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Directed by Pensacola

Produced by CANADA

Production Company (Lithuania) 247xRadioaktivefilm

Starring Kurt Steiner

CANADA

Global Head of Production: Alba Barneda

Managing Director, London: Marta Bobić

EP / Head of Music Videos:Callum Harrison

Producer Adam Farley

Producer Davey Ahern

247xRadioaktivefilm

Executive Producer Kate Galytska

Producer Justina Ragauskaite

Director of Photography Christopher Ripley

Production Designer Miranda Lorenz

1st AD Asta Rizgeliene

Costume Designer Monika Solomine

Casting (UK) LANE Casting

Casting (Lithuania) Jurga Kauneckiene (FACE BAR)

Makeup Artist Karolina Balcytiene

Editor Jack Williams (The Assembly Rooms)

Colour Grading Emiliano Serantoni

Post Production Mathematic

Sound Design IXYXI

Commissioner Ailsa Robertson

Label EMI

Production Manager Indre Siupinyte

Production Coordinator Vaida Gudelyte

Production Assistant (CANADA) Matilda Silversved Miralles

Production Assistant

Evelina Juskeviciute

Sibile Cibulskaite

Matas Mekas

Office Runner (CANADA) Arnie Muthucumarasamy

1st AC Andrius Baltrusiunas

2nd AC Titas Satkunas

Lukas Karalius

Playback Nikolas Verseckas

DIT Jokubas Lapinskas

Key Grip Lech Gunovic

Key Grip Dovydas Strioga

Grip Raimond Maldis

Grip Marius Zilenas

Gaffer Paulius Sakalauskas

Best Boy Martynas Jonavicius

Spark Donatas Bausys

Spark Oleg Godickij

Spark Rokas Kazakevicius

Spark Konstantinas Klepikovas

Spark Marius Navaric

Art Director Aurimas Aksys

Dressers & Props Assistant Andrius Kulvinskas

Dressers & Props Assistant Antanas Dubauskas

Dressers & Props Assistant Jevgenij Sizych

Dressers & Props Assistant Justas Cechovicius

Dressers & Props Assistant Tomas Kulesa

Dressers & Props Assistant Michail Blinov

Dressers & Props Assistant Kristijonas Zungaila

Set Construction CINEEFFECTS STUDIO

Construction Supervisor Vytautas Gecas

Picture Vehicle Manager Lukas Skimelis

SFX Supervisor Artiom Grigorian

SFX Technician Gintaras (Edvardas) Tamulevicius

SFX Technician Pijus Tamulevicius

SFX Technician Domas Lukosius

SFX Technician Andzejus Seipunas

SFX Technician Egidijus Pliaskis

SFX Technician Jaroslav Caplin

Wardrobe Supervisor Ugne Smalskyte

Costumer Monika Buivydaite

Costumer Akvile Jancauskaite

Makeup Assistant Auguste Kuzaite

Location Manager Orestas Gurevicius

Location Assistant Martina Kryzeviciute

FPV Drone Operator Algirdas Rumbaitis

Inspire Drone Operator Povilas Stankunas

Inspire Drone Operator Domantas Kancleris

BTS Photographers "Audrius Solominas

Imantas Boiko

BTS Videographers Lukas Tijusas, Ronaldas Burokas

Storyboard Artist Guy Perez

Graphics (Titles and Credits) Simón Sepúlveda

Unit Supervisor Leonid Radzevic (UNIT.LT)

Unit Manager Mantas Lileikis

Unit Runners & Facility Transport "Olegas Lobacevskij

Edvinas Dijankovas

Edgaras Marcinkevic

Ugnius Dedynas"

Medic Andrej Podkopajev

Transport Coordinator Dainius Augunas

Valdemaras Lozovojus

Kazimieras Pileckis

Alikas Levanovicius”

Catering Manager Gediminas Rudys (MUCH MORE LT)

Catering Coordinator Maryna Borovlova

Catering Assistants "Klim Reva

Aivaras Bartoska

Yurii Cheporniuk

Radmila Korolova

Edit Company The Assembly Rooms

Edit Producer Daniel Breheny

Edit Assistant Bruna Manfredi

Visualiser "Chris Day

Eden Read

Post Production Company Mathematic

Executive Producer Rebecca Rice

VFX Producer Claire English, Nicolas Bianchi

VFX Supervisor François-Xavier Pourre

Houdini Olivier Colchen, Cosmin Gengeu, Alexeis Ossipov, Thomas Renault

3D modeling, texturing, lighting, render Orlane Brouillet

3D Animation Emma Lebourgeois

Ornella Luzzi

Compositing "Emeric Samier

Ronan Broudin

Fabien Delavous

Philippe Nalet

David Espada

Graphic Design and Art Direction Clémence Bol, Louise Levallois

Color Grading Emiliano Serantoni

Edit, Grade & Conform Assistants Benjamin Mack

Thibault Chanet

Selim Meddeb

René Samoel"

Tracking Adrien Delecroix

Andréa Hevert

Éva Clerc

Kerian Le Corre

Hamza Kabtni

Mondher Marzougui"

Additional Post Production (CANADA) Álvaro Posadas, Marta Castillo

Post Production Coordinator (CANADA) Javier Botella, Elisabet Meoz

Post Production Assistant (CANADA) Mateo Bravo Mir

Image Researcher Susi Paz

Cast

Dancer Tania Dimbelolo

Elevator Person Phyllis Ho

Knifeman Kestutis Cicenas

Baby Benas Butauskas

Smoker Sarunas Banevicius

Gas Station Worker Ramunas Kalinauskas

Hunter Jonas Gricius

Grandma Nijole Bizanaite-Mazuriene

Angry Teen Dziugas Dambrauskas

Extra Ryo Ishimoto

Extra Nakul Sharma

Extra Taonga Ngoleka

Fireman Jezy Gruzevski

Fireman Stanislav Buinovskij

Directors Rep Hands

Suppliers Prorent, LT (Kino technikos nuoma)

Special Thanks:Beavertown Brewery, Steam Films, Darko Skulsky, Nicolas Méndez, Lope Serrano, Charlotte Woodhead, Victor Mata, Javi Arizu, Jonas Lagerstedt, Ian Bach, Andrea Celda, Laylee Salek