Dezeen Magazine

Azel Phara's Green music video depicts a military chase using brightly coloured geometric shapes

Music: tanks, helicopters and jets chase a group of people across a shifting landscape of colourful circles in this animated music video directed by London duo Bif for electronic artist Azel Phara (+ movie).

Azel Phara – Green music video

Fabrice Le Nezet and Jules Janaud — who together make up the directing duo Bif — have created an action-packed chase sequence using a colour palette at odds with the violent scenes depicted in the video.

Azel Phara – Green music video

"We wanted to create a contrast between a happy, colourful look and very violent actions," Le Nezet told Dezeen. "We thought Azel Phara's track Green was complex enough to develop different atmospheres."

Azel Phara – Green music video

The video starts with a group of human characters running through a forrest, which — like all the settings throughout the video — is made up entirely of coloured circles.

Azel Phara – Green music video

It soon becomes apparent that they are running away from a fleet of helicopters and tanks, which tear up the landscape as they move through it.

Azel Phara – Green music video

"Listening to the track, we thought it would be interesting to create an action sequence between humans and war machines in nature," Le Nezet said.

Azel Phara – Green music video

Soon fighter jets and even a huge submarine join the chase, which culminates in a huge explosion.

Azel Phara – Green music video

Bif used motion capture technology to make the movement of the humans realistic, but the rest of the animation was entirely computer-generated.

Azel Phara – Green music video

"We worked with a large number of shots to build rich and intense cinematic action sequences," Le Nezet explained.

"The track is somehow minimalist while complex at the same time. The challenge was to translate that visually."

Azel Phara – Green music video