WATCH THE VIDEO:
WHY AND HOW WE MADE THIS:
Introduction
Project Overview
Promoting my band's new single.
Developing an animated music video to promote my
band's new single, during Covid-19.
Developing an animated music video to promote my
band's new single, during Covid-19.
Goals
Developing a sense of connection with fans, against the background of quarantine isolation.
My Role
Acting as creative lead:
Developed concept for this campaign, as creative director
of the band.
Directed video creation process, and acted as lead
animator and editor.
Developed concept for this campaign, as creative director
of the band.
Directed video creation process, and acted as lead
animator and editor.
Project Challenge
Our 6-feet-apart rehearsal space:
Problem
Creating growth around our new single with limited budget, and without access to promotion via live shows.
Solution
Developing an animated music video, with the help of fans across the world.
Challenges
Running a band and a social media account can be very expensive.
In the past we’d worked with professional music video directors, and found that these looked great, but didn’t speak to fans on an emotional level — thus they didn’t move the needle.
It’s critical to create content that’s low-budget, and as
stretchable for growth as possible.
stretchable for growth as possible.
Covid-19 severely limited our options.
We were unable to produce a video in all conventional ways—
with sets, actors, etc.
with sets, actors, etc.
Research
Key Finding
The punk genre relies on cult followings, and personal connections with fans.
*The hierarchy of genres.
*The power of touring.
Challenges
Punk rock is niche. *
Building an audience depends on building a personal connection with this group of self-perceived outsiders.
In the absence of touring, fans feel disengaged. *
How do you connect with fans without meeting in person?
Findings
Successful bands have a core of evangelist fans.
These fans feel heard and personally invested in the growth and success of the band. They feel the band speaks for them and cares about them.
Next Steps
Building a video that gives fans ownership.
Championing the individual creativity of each of our audience-members, and hosting an opportunity for expression.
Inspiration
Key Finding
Music videos from PUP made us feel special as fans.
Findings
These videos showcase that the band cares about their fanbase across the world.
They focus on storytelling, that takes viewers on a journey and makes them feel personally invested in the success of the band.
Their use of fan-generated content was inventive, and fans were delighted to participate.
Each fan provided an entirely different take on the song and its genre — our fans are likely just as creative, individual, and inspiring.
Next Steps
Building our own interactive single campaign.
We borrowed inspiration from PUP to invite our fans to be active participants in the band.
Ideation
Key Finding
We utilized online communities and platforms to connect with existing and new fans.
Goals
To attract as much fan-generated content as possible:
Through Discord and Twitch, and through guerilla marketing to fan-art creators, who supported similar brands.
Findings
Fans loved having a direct conversation with us through our livestreams.
Fans deepened their sense of community, sending artwork back and forth, and ideating together on how to create this video.
The request for artwork galvanized existing, and new, fans to demonstrate their support in ways we never expected.
Strangers we’d never met were excited to take part in this project.
Development
Key Finding
We were thrilled at the creative license of the fan submissions.
Findings
Our fans were incredibly creative, prolific, and showed a deep sense of connection.
We were so inspired at the level of detail and originality in each piece of artwork.
Challenges
Finding a way to thread these together into one cohesive look and story.
The images still lacked an engaging and connected throughline.
All of the content felt fun and creative on its own, but disparate and disjointed when seen together.
Working to make this true to PV’s brand:
Counter-culture
Playfulness
Youthful energy
Unabashed individuality
Playfulness
Youthful energy
Unabashed individuality
Next Steps
Rotoscoped live performance would allow us to tie the rest of the imagery together.
This provides a bridge between animation and live-action imagery.
Incorporating frame-by-frame animation provides a humanist and personal touch.
This arduous process proved rewarding in fostering a feeling of human connectedness.
Goals
To make the art contributors feel even more valued and connected to the process.
Animating these still images highlights our genuine appreciation and reverence for the detailed contributions we received.
To create moments of transition within the video.
I felt that these photographs could be a great transition point, as the camera could zoom through them and join into the next scene.
Drawing people into the world of the video.
The added detail in every frame contributes to a feeling that this world of inanimate drawings comes to life.
Key Finding
We refined the story to be uplifting and emotional.
