Wow, 2011 was the year of the lyric video, so when independent label Morse Code Management asked me to make one for up and coming artists East Arbor 19, I jumped at the chance. The initial idea was simple, incorporate an instrument line up refelecting the band members, add some elements from the song and blow them all up.

I really liked the visual treatment I had started to develop on a previous experimental project The letter ‘R’, so I decided to evolve that further incorporating lyrics. The approach of restricting the colours to 2 + black & white, and adopting a print makers look is an interesting and challenge self constraint. Especially in the world of motion graphics in the digital age where the whole spectrum is a mouse click away. I think the results benefited from this approach and the whole piece has a Mod movement, punk aesthetic  which is in keeping with the bands sensibilities.

The typography is (and should be seen as) a clear homage to the godfather; Saul Bass… and especially the elegant yet simple hand drawn lettering on Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. In fact argueably a direct lift from that work.

One notable similarity and an unintentional one is with the Never Mind the Buzzcocks title sequence. Half way through the project and after a lot of 3D modelling and dynamics trial and error, a friend nonchalantly mentioned the similarity. Having not seen the work before I quickly checked YouTube and was mortified at the similarity. I think some of the models where even the same ones from the same source. I don’t no whether you could call it a Zeitgeist, just a really obvious idea, or maybe I had seen the work before… forgot it… then thought of it again, but it I think the two although similar are distinctly different enough to feel like separate works.

watch East Arbor 19 – Ooh La La