jonah ep

“JONAH” is a personal and emotionally intimate EP by Jordi Polycarpe depicting the joys and trials of young love. I was enlisted to help with creating promotional materials, mainly social media teasers, for the 5-track EP.

design X motion graphics x ar

album art and background

The EP cover, created by Jordi Polycarpe, features many hints of purples, accented by the faint orange text used to adorn information on the edges of the cover. The design is inspired by the 80’s VHS look and is something we wanted to show throughout the promotional materials.

We agreed that some short, 10-15 second visual teaser for each of the songs would be great for promoting the project.

Album art shot and created by Jordi Polycarpe

exploration

For the social media teasers, I decided on creating 3D objects to be the main focus of each visual. These objects were created in Cinema 4D and utilized a purple chrome material (I went with chrome to help bring a subtle 80’s vibe to the project). These teasers were also refined and finished (color, text, VHS style filter, etc.) in Adobe After Effects.

The overall look for all of the teasers were defined and refined with the first single, Cadillac.

social teasers

Cadillac

This song is an upbeat, beach song that depicts the fun of Miami life as well as the early infatuation one has with a new love interest.

Visually, it was important to keep the teaser bright. The slight sway of the palm tree is surrounded by a horizonless sky, showing the endless possibilities one might have with a new romantic partner.

milky

Milky depicts one falling for another – from them always being in your thoughts to being lost in the idea of becoming a couple.

Visually, I wanted to convey this surreal, dream-like world. Roses, a flower often associated with romance and romantic gestures, are used for the teaser to convey a desire of a relationship. The floating rose pedals are used to drive home a surreal/dream-like atmosphere. The slight blur on the edges and orange vignette helps to drive home that feeling.

p.o.

P.O. deals with frustration and an early need to set boundaries against someone who doesn’t fully grasp the need to give someone space. The song revolves around the romantic interested being upset/frustrated that their calls and attempts to communicate aren’t being received. This is the turning part of the EP, where this fun and idealistic fantasy is realized as only that… a dream.

Visually, I focused on cell phones, since its the main source of contact of people today. As the phone goes deeper into the void, it becomes fragmented and breaks away, paralleling the frustration of dealing with someone that doesn’t respect boundaries.

With the EP dealing with darker, more personal themes, this visual dones a dark atmosphere. The name of the songs are also capitalized from here on out to emphasize a more serious, frustrated, and hurt tone.

asteroids

Asteroids, a personal ballad, parallels Milky. While Milky talks about daydreaming about someone and being completely infatuated with them, Asteroids is the aftermath of when that vision/dream is shattered. It deals with heartbreak and the frustration one has with their dreams with someone being crushed.

Visually, I wanted to use the same object as I did in P.O., to help show the parallels of the song. This visual is grounded – the rose, now modelled with thorns, centered on the ground; the rose pedals are also strewn throughout. All of this is reflected on the surface, forcing the once infatuated romantic to face a tough reality. The dark, contained background helps to further the dark reality the individual is facing.

throw hands

Throw Hands, the last song of the EP, depicts someone struggling with their loss – in a way, longing for a chance they could’ve had with them. However, this is also a quiet acceptance to this song – a subtle realization that they need to let go.

Visually, I wanted to convey this quiet acceptance with the use of a stylized wave. The movement is slow, but the visual otherwise feels kind of still. This helps to show the disappointed but calm acceptance of this romantic fantasy never happening. Additionally, it provides a moment of reflection for the artist, allowing them to sit with the feelings they once had and release them into the world.

snapchat filter

Created this to help promote the EP on social media. The filter utilizes the colors seen throughout the teasers and EP cover, as well as tie in the 80’s VHS vibe with the use of a grain filter (created by me in After Effects) and 8-bit text (the same seen in the EP cover).