In 2022, I teamed up with fellow animators to found the environmental justice-focused animation studio Jersey House Studio. Among a variety of other work, a standout piece during my time in the studio was a music video made for the singer-songwriter Hila the Killa, a climate change activist who educates the world about the earth through eco-rap.
The visual direction for the video was to jam pack as many different styles and mediums throughout.
I was responsible for lighting and texturing of the 3D animated segment, two 2D animation segments, motion graphics, and a stop-motion portion.
Production Process
Computer Animation
The music video begins and ends with a computer animated sequence, visualizing "the real world" before Hila enters the world of her song. For these sequences, I was responsible for lighting and additional texturing and modeling. All character animation was done by Felipe Sanchez.
2D Animation and Motion Design
For two sequences in the video, I was responsible for all the 2D cel-animation featured. Additionally, I created motion design sequences to showcase the different elements in compost, as well as the end credits sequence. Backgrounds featured in this reel were painted by David Klos and Cloud Yu.
Visual Development
Early in production, I was tasked with designing an animated version of the singer Hila.
She is known for wearing a globe costume in all of her performances, so its inclusion was a must.
For two 2D sequences, I also designed and painted backgrounds. Since Hila's song plays with a lot of double entendre, we tried to create landscapes that were a mix of human and natural elements, as if the world itself is an extension of Hila herself.
Stop Motion Animation
Since I have background in stop motion animation, I was also tasked with adding a touch of clay animation to the video. I created and animated the stop-motion assets for this sequence.
Credits
Jersey House Studio
Alyssa Concannon
David Klos
Jack McCaffrey
Felipe Sanchez
Sandra Shim
Simpleton
Cloud Yu