OK Go puts its music in the Blender

Never ones to do things by halves, OK Go and frontman/producer Damian Kulash have taken the animated promo to the next level, collaborating with Blender Studio to create a film that not only features generative animation video, but also puts the tools in the hands of viewers.

Directed by Lucas Zanotto and Will Anderson – both experienced Blender creatives, with Zanotto known for his playful design style and Anderson a BAFTA-winning animator – Impulse Purchase sees an adorable avatar of Kulash bop along a track; its facial movements mirroring the captured footage in the corner.

After launch, the studio made the video an open project, publishing the exact file used in production. That means that the procedural models, camera setups and animation tools - including a live facial capture system - are available to give fans and creators the chance to study or repurpose the same tools that powered the film.

For the more technically minded, the method used to create the film allows the entire animation to run in real time from a single .blend file, with procedural setups and live facial motion capture (via OSC) making it possible to generate endless playful variations.

If you want to give it a try, head here: https://studio.blender.org/blog/impulse-purchase-production-file/. 

OK? Go!