The Chemical Brothers - 'Don't Think'

In selected cinemas this Friday is Don’t Think, a new film documenting The Chemical Brothers’ famously hypnotic live show. Shot during one continuous live performance at Fuji Rock festival in Japan, Don’t Think is one of the few films to successfully capture the dance music concert experience. Featuring the psychedelic visuals that are an integral part of their live shows, intercut with shots of the duo twiddling knobs and triggering samples and fantastically honest close-ups of members of the crowd, the film does a terrific job of giving the viewer an experience akin to being at one of their shows. Key to the sensory bombardment that the film provides is the razor-sharp editing.

With hundreds of almost imperceptible edits in a single song, Editor, Mark Whelan gave some background to our film specialist, Tom Linay, into what it’s been like living and breathing Don’t Think for the past six months.

Tom: How did you hope to translate the experience of a live concert to work within the constraints of a cinema?

Rather than seeing it as having constraints, we saw cinema as presenting opportunities, and that Don't Think is a unique experience, rather than a just a translation. Although, saying that, the live experience is a huge element of what you feel watching the film hopefully. When you're at a really good concert you feel completely immersed in the music. Different songs will have a different effect on you, but also at different moments within in a song you could be intensely watching the show, then you might be jumping up and down, screaming and shouting, more aware of the people around you, then the next you're mesmerised in your own internal perception of the music. With TV concert footage, which is restricted to 3 or 4 fixed cameras, you generally feel very detached from that feeling. For Don't Think, on the other hand, there were 20 cameras all around the show, and in the crowd getting their reactions. Then we had all the visuals and the various pieces of footage and animation that made up those visuals as well, so we could focus on any element we wanted to, at any given moment, which is something unique to film I think. All the way from the very first conversation I had about it, well before the shoot in Japan, it was clear that both Adam (Smith – the Director) and The Chemical Brothers were focused on the fact that this was going to be a FILM, not just a filmed concert.

Tom: Did you watch any other concert films before planning and editing Don’t Think? If not, what, if anything, did you have in mind as a benchmark for what you wanted to achieve?

I decided that I didn't want to be influenced into over-thinking any decision by basing any thoughts on how the "genre" works. What the Chemical Brothers do live is unique, so the film needed to be unique too. The benchmark, from my point of view, was to make something as enjoyable as the live show, although in a different way, rather than attempt to be like any previous film. I've seen a number of concert films, including Stop Making Sense, and I have memories of what I think are the best elements without consciously making an effort to research them. That seemed like a better way to approach it.

Tom: Were certain songs in the set harder to film and edit than others?

In terms of editing, it wasn't really the songs themselves but sections of the film needed more thought in terms of how the film worked as a whole. The start involved a lot of attention to make sure we were kicking it off properly. When I watch the finished film now, I always get excited when the first big chord comes in, and I've seen it hundreds of times, so I think we nailed it! Star Guitar was a lot of work, but it wasn't "harder" than any other song as such. Once we'd decided that it was going to be an almost impressionistic, multi-layered and textured section then it was always going to take a while to complete because there's more to do.

Tom: Some people in the crowd seemed completely unaware that they were being filmed. Was it hard to get people to completely let go in front of the camera?

Not at all, believe it or not. They really were an amazing bunch of people. I still feel grateful every time I see it that they allowed themselves to be filmed with no hint of self-consciousness. The camera operators out in the crowd were briefed by Adam to move away from anyone that was showing off and they did an amazing job of finding the right people. If you think about how embedded they were in an incredibly excited crowd, yet still managed to capture all that excitement and frame it all so well, without being a distraction or a hindrance to anyone's fun, and all the time being knocked about with everyone else. It's incredible really.

Tom: Personally, I thought you perfectly captured what it’s like to be at a gig like this, particularly on the quieter moments, where you notice your surrounding or perhaps pop to the bar or food court. Was that a conscious decision?

Yes, it's part of the experience after all. The music takes you off into your own little world, and sometimes that means your thoughts take over and you’re in a different place altogether, and in turn the music alters how you're viewing the world around you.

Tom: What response are you hoping from the audience of the film?

I hope that anyone watching [the film] just loses themselves to the joy of it more than anything else. There's some fantastic footage on YouTube of an advance screening in Hollywood where everyone is dancing around like they're in a club, with complete disregard for where they are and how they're supposed to behave in a cinema. That felt like a success! It was like that at the London preview too, and that was an incredible thing to see.

Tom: Did The Chemical Brothers have much say into the editing process?

They had as much say as they wanted, after all, the film is a representation of them and they felt very strongly about the project. Adam's been working with The Chemical Brothers for so long that they really trust him and in turn, the team around him. So with Adam at the helm, they were happy to leave us to it a lot of the time, being kept in the loop with new developments. They had some really helpful ideas and their input was always really positive. It was great to have them involved as we worked, especially as we were all on the same page about how the final film should be, and being a fan, I was always quite excited when they came in. I was very cool about it all on the outside, but internally I was thinking, "it's the f---ing Chemical Brothers"!

Don’t Think is in selected cinemas from Today.