Space Cowboys Blends CG and AI in 'The Big Ship' Music Video

Bruce Brubaker’s rendition of Brian Eno's ‘The Big Ship’ reinterprets an iconic piece of music, drawing out its depth and expansive soundscapes. Bruce’s approach infuses the original composition with fresh nuance, maintaining the atmospheric nature that makes Brian’s work timeless while adding layers of innovation. In translating this into a visual experience, director Julie Reali and her team focused on how Bruce’s interpretation transports listeners to new emotional and conceptual spaces. The visuals reflect the deeply subjective nature of experiencing music, where each listener’s perception is unique, constantly evolving with the sound.

The video mirrors this journey, inviting viewers into the inner world of a piano, where each part comes alive and transforms, reflecting how music can unfold and change the way we perceive it over time. As the music progresses, this transformation guides the viewer into a dreamy, abstract space – one inspired and shaped by the sound itself. This visual approach captures the transcendent nature of music, where each note has the power to reshape reality and alter emotional landscapes, much like Bruce’s reimagining of Brian’s composition.

To bring this vision to life, Julie collaborated closely with creative director Nikolai Phalen, 3D lead John Luo and AI artist Theo Rocquancourt. Together, they used point cloud techniques to capture the layered echoes of the piano, while integrating AI-generated visuals that evoke a sense of randomness and subjectivity – mirroring the unique, unpredictable ways in which listeners experience and connect with the music.

The video’s visual journey is a blend of point clouds, CGI-rendered imagery, and AI models, creating an experience that mirrors the complex layers of musical interpretation. This technological approach honours the composition while pushing the boundaries of visual innovation, much like Bruce’s own forward-thinking approach to music-making.

Julie, John, and Theo collaborated to ensure the video captures both the emotional depth and abstract beauty of ‘The Big Ship,’ working alongside post-production house Space Cowboys to bring this immersive visual experience to life.