Dua Lipa approached The Mill with the concept of creating a 2D animated world inspired by the ‘70s disco heyday; the wacky characters, different rooms, diverse color palettes and a sense of never knowing which direction the psychedelic journey will take you on. The project took place throughout global lockdown, adding a creative challenge. Despite working with teams from Paris, London and Los Angeles, there was never a sense of being disconnected. The Mill’s global team hosted virtual brainstorming sessions and were together so often it felt like they were in one seamless digital room. 

The Mill’s Design team took time discussing how sequences would work between rough sketches and style frames to define the look and feel of each act. It was quite an interactive process where they’d post updates and questions on basecamp and Director, Lisha Tan, was able to respond and give notes instantaneously. 

To make sure each section felt authentic, they incorporated true-to-life details such as Dua Lipa’s dream scenario of hanging out in a flower field and dancing with her pet pygmy goats. The attention to detail was crucial. Dua Lipa’s choreographer, Charm La’Donna, helped them by filming choreography from her home; repeating dance moves, mannerisms and multiple reference poses to infuse authenticity into Dua’s animated character. 

Inspired by the disco aesthetic of Studio 54 and cartoons from multiple iconic eras, the end result is a trippy animation extravaganza. 'Hallucinate' has since racked up over 27 million views on Dua Lipa’s YouTube channel.