ABOUT
On Earth, and in Heaven is the eighth studio album by singer and songwriter, Robin Thicke. Thicke states,
"When I saw the phrase 'On Earth, and in Heaven,' I realized that's what I'm singing about: the people who aren't here and the people who are here that made me who I am. This music is the sunshine coming out after the rain."
This case study showcases lyric music video creative treatments designed for two singles from this newly released album. The creative direction collectively encompasses an earthy, transformative, and soft feel to be in unison with the vibe of the album's sound and artwork.
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February 2021 | 14th and Market
CREATIVE
Creative Direction, Graphic Design
CREDITS
John Petty III, Creative Direction
14th & Market, Animation
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beautiful
The initial direction for Beautiful was intended to bridge the gap between distressed vintage image treatments, earthy 1960s/1970s textures, and a color palette that still captures the intensity of the lyrics while maintaining an elevated vibe. The visual package went through several rounds of revisions and ultimately moved towards removing footage of individuals and objects to focus solely on the supporting artwork, and the true message of the song. Here, you'll see the graphic elements, color palette, typography, noted ideas, and storyboard used to create the lyric video, which was then sent off to the animator to transform this into the video you see above.
Intro | Frame 1
- going with the flowgentle
- fades/swift/soft movementlyrics
- peaking through the shadows & grunge
Hook | Frame 2
- closeness
- unity, holding onto the good in humanity
- lyrics highlighted by light leaks
Hook | Frame 3
- flower representing delicateness
- hoping for brighter days, wishing upon a flower
- camera zooming away from the flower/hand
Chorus | Frame 4
- working together
- creating a better day, a beautiful life
- showing change + a journey transition to a new frame
Hook | Frame 5
- eyes holding the vision to a better future
- close up on the eyes in slow motion
Verse 2 | Frame 6
- cloudy/foggy thoughts invading a clear mind
- nature’s storm/war/a battle within humanity
- beating the odds against you
Verse 2 | Frame 7
- time running out/going crazy/showing impatience
- sun/star shining and morphing into a better day
- metamorphosis / kaleidescopic
Chorus | Frame 8
- acknowledging “the beauty in the struggle”
- or the unique beauty in everyone
- the beauty in imperfections
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lucky star
The creative direction for Lucky Star was developed by minimal hand-drawn nature-driven elements to capture the softness and organic feel in the instruments and lyrics. We didn't want it to feel like the lucky star Thicke referred to was simply a morning or night star, since the video goes through both night and day and has listeners/viewers feeling like they're continuously guided and supported through the lyrics. The overall direction was inspired by the cover art as seen here and intended to feel as though we were gathering all the elements and having them come together at the end to conclude with the album art.
Verse 1 | Frame 1
- sun star, abstract night star
- shooting star/light ripples through sky
- star twinkles
Hook | Frame 2
- cloudy skies
- sky opens up for a better day
- and to emphasis lyrics in the hook to come
Chorus 1 | Frame 3
- illuminating sun rays
- directional light in motion
- light shows a journey along a path
Verse 2 | Frame 4
- wind blowing/waves crashing
- birds showing a sense of freedom
- going with the flow and disintegrating
Bridge | Frame 5
- primary focus on type/lyrics
- accompanied with twinkling stars throughout
- stars = hope, wishing upon a star
Verse 3 | Frame 6
- star amongst land and water/sunset
- ambiguous shapes of nature
- star to be the focus
Outro | Frame 7
- beautiful natural landscape
- birds representing freedom
- finale sunset to close out to album artwork
