I am a fool for practical magic in films and ads. And when Spike Jonze has an Apple level budget and FKA Twigs in front of the lens, I click on play faster than my shadow.
And then comes Danilo Para and brings us this 7 minute look into the work done behind the cameras. And it is incredible.
The following is borrowed from Adweek, mentioning credits and creatives.
we get immersed in the choreography (Jonze, choreographer Ryan Heffington and movement coach Theo Lowe all work with FKA twigs on her irresistible interplay with the apartment, and herself) and the production design (the set expanded on hydraulics to allow Jonze to shoot practically). But we also see how other elements came together, like the lighting, music and VFX (it turns out there was very little CGI).
There are other little gems in here, too, like FKA twigs auditioning for Jonze via FaceTime, and Jonze himself dancing with an office chair. (He never stops moving throughout, and you get a real sense for how physically plugged in he is to the ideas here.) We also catch a glimpse of Dunkirk cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema working with Jonze on the film—he also shot the “It’s a Tide Ad” spots for the Super Bowl (working with directors Traktor).
“It’s like a magic trick,” Heffington says of the piece in one of his interviews. It’s a delight, in the end, that the magicians decided to reveal their tricks like this—a worthy companion piece to one of the year’s most enchanting productions.