BJÖRK | NOTGET VR | 2017
In These Six Minutes, Every Viewing Is Different / BJÖRK "NOTGET VR"
Say "a music video in VR" and you probably picture something — but this probably goes beyond it. Six minutes where the experience changes every single time you watch. This piece won the Grand Prix in the Digital Craft category at Cannes Lions 2017.
The problem
"Notget" is a track from Björk's 8th album, Vulnicura. A group of VR experiences based on this album was first unveiled as "Björk Digital" in Sydney in 2016. Björk had been experimenting with VR since 2014, and she thought that Vulnicura's structure of tracing emotions over time suited the intimate, theatrical quality that VR has.
The insight
The jury chair praised how the space itself was built around the perspective of a single person standing inside a room. The directors said they aimed for "a shift from confinement to ecstasy" and "an inner, earth-like place that holds wounds" — an attempt to translate the music's emotional ups and downs directly into space.
The idea
Björk was motion-captured in a studio in London and turned into an avatar as a giant moth goddess. The mask was a collaboration with James Merry. As the viewer moves, the scenery changes, and getting closer to Björk makes her voice grow louder. Thanks to programmed randomness, no two experiences are ever the same.
What happened
At Cannes Lions 2017, the jury chair stated plainly that the Grand Prix win in the Digital Craft category was "unanimous." Björk Digital toured the world, and in 2019 it was also released on Steam as Vulnicura VR.
Afterthought
I think the real power of this piece is captured in one line from a juror: that it "embodies everything you'd want to say about craft in general, not just VR." The technology was just a means — behind it was a real design of experience and emotion. Without Björk, the map of VR music videos might still be blank.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2017
