Music Video creation

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Storyboards

For our animation assignment, we had to create a music video that incorporated elements of surrealism. From the very start, we knew we wanted to take inspiration from I Saw the TV Glow, a film that deeply resonated with us. The eerie, dreamlike aesthetic fit perfectly with our vision, so we chose a song from the movie as the foundation for our music video.

Our creative process began with brainstorming and sketching. On the first day, we filled our sketchbooks with rough ideas, exploring different visual styles and concepts. Once we had a direction, we refined our ideas into a series of storyboards, mapping out key moments and transitions in the animation.

These storyboards helped us visualize the eerie and unsettling atmosphere we wanted to create. We played with perspective, symbolism, and distorted environments to enhance the surreal feeling. The imagery we developed, such as the eerie faces, confined spaces, and flickering lights were all designed to evoke a sense of unease and mystery.

This project was an exciting challenge, pushing us to think beyond conventional storytelling and embrace a more abstract, atmospheric approach. Seeing the final animation come to life was incredibly rewarding, and we are proud of the unsettling, dreamlike world we were able to create.

Watch the final result here: Music Video

Inspiration

Our music video draws heavily from some of our favorite films and shows, all of which explore surrealism in unique and striking ways.

One of the biggest influences was I Saw the TV Glow, a movie that means a lot to me personally. Its use of symbolism, haunting music, and incredible acting create an atmosphere that lingers long after watching. The film leans heavily into surreal storytelling, blurring the lines between reality and fiction something we aimed to capture in our own work. Naturally, we also chose a song from the movie to serve as the soundtrack, further tying our project to its eerie and dreamlike essence.

Another major inspiration was Severance, which is quickly becoming one of, if not my absolute favorite, TV shows. Its sci-fi world and unsettling, dreamlike quality make it the perfect example of how surrealism can be used to create both intrigue and unease. I’m obsessed with the show and constantly talk about it, so it was a must-have influence in our project. A direct nod to Severance appears in the opening of our video, where a flying squid-like version of our friend Jelle drifts by, an idea directly inspired by the floating balloon sequence from the show’s intro.

Alongside these, we also drew from other surrealist works that played with distortion, looping visuals, and eerie, liminal spaces. These inspirations helped us craft a world that feels detached from reality yet strangely familiar, immersing the viewer in a space that is both fascinating and unsettling.

Through these influences, we created a piece that doesn’t just tell a story but evokes a feeling. A sense of being lost in a world that doesn’t quite make sense, much like the media that inspired us.

The Map

Before diving into the animation process, Sijb and I created a detailed map to plan out how the video would play out. After finishing our storyboards, we wanted a clear visual representation of the flow of our animation—how each scene connected, how movements transitioned, and how different animation techniques would blend together. This map acted as our creative blueprint, allowing us to structure our surreal vision while still leaving room for improvisation and experimentation.

Mapping everything out beforehand proved to be incredibly useful. It helped us stay organized throughout the two weeks of intense work, preventing us from getting lost in the complexity of our multi-technique approach. By visualizing the pacing, key moments, and transitions ahead of time, we were able to work more efficiently and maintain a cohesive feel throughout the animation.

This experience taught me the importance of pre-production planning in animation. Having a solid foundation not only saved us time but also gave us more creative freedom when animating because we weren’t constantly second-guessing the structure. I also realized how crucial it is to balance planning with flexibility—while the map provided direction, we still allowed ourselves to refine and adjust as new ideas emerged during production.

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