John Carpenter
My Favourite Music Memory: a Primavera Sound series
Client
Primavera Sound
Year
2017
Categories
2D Animation
Characters
Illustration
Motion Design
Testimonials
Art
Entertainment
Music
Music has always had this inner magic: it brings memories from a very long time ago back to the present. Have you ever suddenly recalled an old memory right after hearing one specific song? That’s the nostalgic feeling that John Carpenter had when he listened to the classical concerto which his father played with the violin that night in the living room.
Primavera Sound created a series of episodes named “My Favourite Music Memory” to illustrate this sensorial experience, which included different stories from some incredible musicians who had played in the Festival. Among them, there was John Carpenter, James Rhodes, Interpol and Kiasmos. When Primavera Sound team approached us to create John Carpenter’s episode, we couldn’t feel more joyful! We didn’t only admire his music and films but also were completely moved by John Carpenter’s story.
Look Development
“Try to remember one of your first vital experiences with music and let you evolve by John Carpenter’s story”
Technical approach
We conceive memory as a compilation of infinite fragments, hidden or visible, inside our heads, therefore we thought that the most accurate approach to graphically reach this idea was the Cubism art movement. Being highly influenced by its concept of multi-perspective, we wanted to build up a defragged yet unitary composition to suggest the memory’s nature. The Cubist tone also carried out a touch of old avant-garde which hinted at John Carpenter’s analog music style, and conveyed an unrealistic, dreamlike point of view, just as memories are.
The animation was key to disclose our own reinterpretation of the artistic movement since it enabled us to actually portray those volumes that Cubism is visually representing through a static image. Thus, we used mainly 2D animation along with some 3D and cel, working by blocks through the animation of layers and even colours, in order to be faithful to the cubist style and give the story a coherent character and identity. Transitions were a really challenging element in this project considering that the actions needed to be literally unfolded from one to another, using original twists and unusual merging techniques.
Rough Animation
Memories, like a cubist painting, have plenty of faces that change every time you stare at them, depending on time, distance and mood, they show up differently in front of you. In the end, the viewer’s look is everything that matters, and for that, we are so glad and thankful to John Carpenter, who has watched our film and told us how much he enjoyed it.
Credits
Directed by
Device
Commissioned by
Primavera Sound
Original Idea
Joan Pons
Campaign’s Creative Director & EP
Alex Julià
Directors
Ibran Trassierra
Pol Solà
Production Company
Igloo Films
Design
Ibran Trassierra
Lead Illustrator
Ibran Trassierra
Illustration
Ibran Trassierra
Pol Solà
Raül Peix
Lead Animator
Pol Solà
Cel Animation
Genís Rigol
3D Animation
Raül Peix
Edit & Compositing
Pol Solà
Voice-Over
John Carpenter
Concerto Extract
Tor Aulin
Sound Design
Raül Peix