Legaci’s Barricade: A Kinetic Typography Music Video
Legaci on tour w/ Justin Bieber
My favorite aspect across every artistic medium, is that they all create a personal experience. It doesn’t matter who the audience is, an artist possesses the potential to draw anyone into their story. Whether you’re an illustrator, musician, or fine artist, we each share a powerful ability to communicate globally without ever needing to learn a second language. This is most evident in music. From a catchy hook, a great beat, to a funky riff, a song can speak to you on different levels.
I’m not a musician. I wish I was to some degree, but I lack the mental wherewithal and deft touch needed to take ownership over musical instruments–particularly the one I own. go figure. So I dabble. I stumble through guitar tabs and enjoy my share of karaoke. Suffice to say, most of my experience in music defines me more as a general listener. But I’m a passionate listener at that. I know what I like. I also love how music makes me feel. How it can play along to your mood or shift it entirely.
The Pitch
A year ago, Legaci offered me a commission to create a “Lyrical Music Video” to one of their singles. Essentially they were asking me to create “Kinetic Typography.” Which if you aren’t familiar with the term, is just a way to creatively visualize the words of a song. Think “fun captioning” but using imagery, animation, and transition in conjunction with the words. In college, I had done a similar assignment, where I was tasked with using Adobe After Effects to creatively caption an audio snippet. I was never proud of what I came up with, but it was great practice. Most importantly, it at least informed me of the process and would eventually inform my approach with my new project.
I took the opportunity. It was a chance to incorporate my passion in art within the stratum of Music. Where I likely would never post my rendition of a song on youtube, at the very least I could elevate the artistic quality of one. That was more than enough incentive for me to run with this project.
The Project
I listened to Legaci’s song “Barricade” several times, in order to grasp the meaning of it. They gave me creative to see what I could come up with on my own. Which is entirely understandable, as seeing how someone else interprets your creativity is fun. Once I felt like I had a good handle on what the song was trying to express, I started to visualize the words and match them to the beats and flow of the music. I began to separate what lines would best be expressed literally, and those that would benefit from something more abstract. I likened my process to choreographing a conductor for an orchestra. Thinking that my words were conducting the music was really helpful in producing a cohesive visual and auditory experience. Outside of several rendering nightmares, it was smooth sailing. I’m way happier with what I produced versus what I made in college. Which is a great because it means that I’ve grown.
The Render