Kylie Minogue's eighth album Fever spawned the huge international hits Can't Get You Out of My Head and Love at First Sight. Both singles were given prime, futuristic videos by creative directors. For Come Into My World, Michel Gondry brought Kylie down to present-day Earth - France, to be exact - and updated his concept for Neneh Cherry's Feel It to create a stunning and complex visual feast.
Come Into My World was an elaborate and expensive production. Shot in the Parisian suburb of Boulogne, in an area called Point du Jour, the video required the area to be closed off and manned by 50 extras (including actress Sacha Bourdo). Michel and company filmed Kylie with a large motion control rig which followed her as she strolled around the intersection. All the while the townsfolk were immersed in their own stories.
To complicate matters, as Kylie circles the square she returns to the same point four times. Each time the camera reaches this point Kylie meets up with her former self and becomes multiplied. The towns people multiply as well, and the screen is eventually full of people and stories which develop on top of each other.
It took fifteen takes until everyone was satisfied at the shoot. After the Sept. 7 rehearsal and Sept. 8 shoot, 15 days of special effects were performed by Michel's brother Twist and his Twisted Labs, with post by Mikros and Duran in Paris.
While Come Into My World shows that, yes, four Kylies is pretty neat, Gondry has a very unique way of showing us how dynamic and interesting we are. The townsfolk are very colorful: A woman throws her recent ex-boyfriend's belongings onto the street below. A fight ensues over fallen motorcycles. A woman hops playfully on some concrete cylinders. A man pastes posters onto a wall. Try walking down your main street and notice similar traits in the folks of your town. (You can sing "I need your loooove" too if you want.) The truth is that these things are visible in any town. We just aren't lucky enough to see them all happening at the same time.
Credits
released October 2002
producers Charlotte Lepot and Yannick Dupas (France)
executive producer Dan Dickenson (UK)
cinematographer Alex Lamarque
motion control operators Ian Menzies, Ben Goldschmied
production designer Pierre Pell
stylist de kylie minogue William Baker
costume designer Karen Baird
make-up/hair Caroline Barnes
casting director Catherine Venturini
first assistant director Isabelle Henry
assistant de michel gondry Cyril Merle
post production Mikros, Paris; Duran, Paris
editor Olivier "Twist" Gondry
visual effects Olivier "Twist" Gondry at Twisted Laboratories
production company Partizan Midi Minuit
