Dan W Jacobs is creating an animated music video for Kero Kero Bonito
The Princess and the Clock is the new single from the London band Kero Kero Bonito. New animator and director Dan W Jacobs created an adorable video for their release. "I've worked with KKB's management, Verdigris MGMT, on a few animation projects for their roster over the years," says Jacobs. "They were looking for something with a handmade and traditional feel that would match some of the other things I was working on at the time, so it turned out to be fitting and timing!"
"When we first saw Dan W Jacobs' work, we couldn't believe that an animator with such a relevant style was right under our noses," adds Kero Kero Bonito. "The story was already written – it's all in the song. When planning the video, it was just a matter of sketching our vision and having Dan work on the script."
The Princess and the Clock is based on a myth of the band's own creation, which is said to emulate well-known fables and originate from East Asian folklore. "The pictures of the song – towers, kings, sails, crowds – would have been difficult to convince personally even without Covid. Therefore, it is appropriate that this was our first animated video," says the band.
Since the song tells a story set in the past, a traditional, hand-drawn route was set and the key was that it felt timeless and simple, but not cheesy. “Traditional animation is the foundation of my practice and it was nice to stay close for this video,” says Jacobs. “The storyboard was key. I wanted to be able to tell the narrative and convey key points in still images. It makes him feel like a picture book and also helps with the workload. It was also designed in a pretty casual style that the band was keen on. They wanted it to feel almost like outsider art, or for the frames to come from an old tapestry. Once the band was happy with it, it was relatively easy to work it out. "
Jacobs used a mix of hand-painted textures and Photoshop animation for the clip, and created hand-painted arrangements for some of the longer ones, such as: B. the cloud sequence, first a reference sequence in 3D. "I work a lot in 3D and at the moment I find it very pleasant," says the director. "Ultimately, I like to work in a way that leaves room for imagination and space for the viewer – be it in a 3D land or just with a few brushstrokes."
Jacobs worked with a team of animators to create the video, but was initially reluctant to delegate it to anyone else. "I work alone most of the time, so I was concerned about getting other people to do it as I'm a bit of a control freak," he says. "But the team smashed it and I couldn't have done it alone. I learned a lot from that."
Jacobs is a musician himself, so he understands how important it is that Kero Kero Bonito wants to convey her vision. "When I work for other people, I see myself very much as a channel for their vision and by far the most satisfying thing is knowing that the artist is happy with the result," he says.
"We're really grateful to Dan, ”adds the band. "We couldn't have dreamed that Kero Kero Bonito's first animated video would be this good, and it's one of our favorite projects we've worked on. We're really proud that it represents our new single and we think it does will stand the test of time. "
The Princess and the Clock comes out today along with the band's upcoming April 21 E Civilization II EP announcement, a sequel to their 2019 EP prequel, Civilization I.
danwjacobs.com; kerokerobonito.com