Hed Kandi Summer Mix

Spent a week in the MoS-TV last month animating scenes for the new Hed Kandi Summer Mix CD. This one was somewhat more elaborate than the last HK spot, which involved only one scene reworked for several shots. The concept of this one, worked up by art director James Worsely from illustrations by regular HK cover artist Jason Brooks, involved a handful of vignettes following some characters on a brief sojourn in the balaerics, presumably taking time off from their jobs as giraffe lingerie models. The speedboat, crashing wave, leaping fish and flapping silks were most fun to animate.

Bringing illustrations to life requires an eye for stylised movement – the temptation sometimes is to make things look more realistic, but it’s such an artificial world that if you don’t observe its internal logic your real-world textures or physics will jar with the artwork. The silhouettes were shot in the club against greenscreen and keyed out in After Effects – and yes, that really was a real saxophone. Go clubbing without a brass section? Have a word with yourself mate.