Adam Smith/Marcus Lyall: Don't Think

Date
24 January 2012

So many elements come together to create an unforgettable dance music event that trying to capture the experience on film has always felt fairly futile…until now. Director Adam Smith used 20 cameras to capture the Chemical Brothers’ headline set at the Fujirock Festival and has created a fully immersive cinema experience where his Adam and Marcus Lyall’s jaw-dropping visuals are as much the star of the show as the world-famous DJs themselves. This is arguably the most authentic dance music experience ever captured for those of us unlucky enough not to have been there.

Filmed in July last year, Don’t Think follows The Chemical Brothers set start to finish, and also uses trippy visual effects to follow an audience member away from the action and recereate her holistic festival experience which makes for a neat break from the all-action pulsating crowds.

And we also get up-close and personal with individual audience members, sharing some of the emotions that these die-hard dance music fans are so dedicated to. As Adam Smith explained: “By using small unobtrusive cameras – and with thanks to the kindness of the amazing Japanese crowd – we were given privileged insights into the private moments of joy, fear and ecstatic escapism from reality that this show induces.”

The sheer range of digital effects used to help bring Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands’ big, anthemic tunes to life is breathtaking, eclectic electronic special effects that dazzle, delight and disturb in almost equal measure – the net effect of the film is so powerful, that it would work as well as an experiential piece in a gallery as in a cinema.

Don’t Think is released is in cinemas for one night only on February 3, although there’s preview screenings on Friday.

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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