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Celebrating the enduring legacy of Mac Miller, Hornet developed an animated film in collaboration with the posthumous official release of the album "Balloonerism".
In the 24-minute CG epic that spans 5 tracks of the album, a group of school friends are launched into a shadow world where they grapple with their inner demons and fears of adulthood. Hornet Director Samuel Jerome Mason built the narrative of the film around Mac Miller's lyrical musings about innocence, self-sabotage, and looming uncertainty of the future. The film is packed with visual metaphors and includes nods to Mac Miller's hometown of Pittsburgh, with the famed Blue Slide Park
The visuals for Balloonerism are both a fantastical metaphorical narrative of the groups’ tumultuous journey into adulthood as well as an homage to Mac Miller, including key elements of the artist’s story, such as Pittsburgh’s famed Blue Slide Park. Samuel Jerome Mason retains the dark grittiness he imbued into the first collaboration between Hornet and Mac Miller’s estate- the 2021 music video for “Colors and Shapes”.
“This album immortalizes Malcolm’s distinct spirit—as all wizards live forever through their magic—and I tried to do his legacy justice. The project is in debt to Malcolm and the work surrounding the album—the artwork and plans laid, the maps drawn. As animators and filmmakers, we feel immense gratitude in joining ranks of collaborators and contributors to this album.” – Director Samuel Jerome Mason
The team also developed the 3D model of the album artwork, which became an AR filter for the release
The full film is streaming on Amazon Prime
Featured in Rolling Stone Variety Vulture Billboard
Production Co Hornet
Director Samuel Jerome Mason
Executive Producer Greg Bedard, Michael Feder, Hana Shimizu, Miller McCormick
Producer Heather Hardin
Animation Director Daniel Callaby
Editor Minseok Kim
CG Supervisor Richard Kim
CG Lead Rui Zhu
Story Sam Mason, Roland Kennedy
Designer Alejandro Diaz, Amalia Lage, JP Rooney, Kelechukwu Nwakudu, Laurie Herman, Margherita Premuroso, Matthew Corsillo, Mike Altman, Natalie Labarre, Sami Healy, Simone Noronha, Seongjin Yoon
Costume Designer Karina Ochoa De Baker
Design Intern Paris Powell, Patrick Sholar
Graphic Design Intern Esther Yeseul Lee
Storyboards Soren Bendt
Storyboard Editor Joseph Comar
CG Technical Artist/Render TD Joseph Chen
Pipeline Natalie O'Leary, Rui Zhu, Joseph Chen
Pipeline Development Nikita Shtarkman
Character Lead Frank Lee
Modeler David Vardanian, Giovani Kososki
CG Generalist Angeline Rivera
Animator (Titles) Jay Asava, Jin Jindawitchu
Lighter Christina Ku, Jonathan Lee, Joseph Ibrahim, Laney Lai, Natalia Perez Melendez, Nicole Noel, Rui Zhu, Saad Moosajee, Sam Mason, Weichieh Yu
FX Artist Joseph Chen, Stephen Hallquist, Sam Mason, Rui Zhu, Zongyi Xie
CFX Natalie O'Leary
Groom Lead Jesus Fernandez
Talent Coordinator Jon Chun
Director of Production Karen Lawler
Head of Creative Development Kristin Labriola
Head of Production Dez Stavracos
WOBBLY WAY - ANIMATION & MODELING
Producer Stephanie De Meautis
Previs Editor Daniel Callaby, Milo Hustache-Mathieu
Previs Supervisor Alex Gredzinski
Previs Artists Hugues Daumail, Simon Diebold, Chloé Fabre, Milo Hustache-Mathieu
Animators Alexandre Daumail, Alexandre Dumez, Simon Diebold, Nico Debon, Benoît de Geyer d'Orth, Kevin Ducrot, Chloé Fabre, Mikolaj Janiw, Steeve Manangou, Clément Pierre
Animation Intern Andrea Resera, Mariia Taranova
Rigging Supervisor Luca Amorosi
Rigger Marguax Huve
Visual Development and Texturing Artist Eloi Morlet--Decarnin
Character Modeling Antoine Fromager, Julien Paris, David Vardanian
Set Modeling Supervisor Aymeric Rondol
Set Modelers Alex Gredzinski, Elliot Lequertier, Luc Belliard
Groom Boris Watrin
STIM - LOOK DEVELOPMENT
Lighting Supervisor Michael Larue
Lighters Thomas Boileau, Andrea Laffont, Margo Lopez, Lucas Payet
Look Development/ Surfacing Max Soreau
Groom Melissa Armangau
WARNER RECORDS / 4 STRIKES
Executive Producer Remember Music, Warner Records, 4 Strikes
Warner Team Tom Corson, Aaron Bay-Schuck, Jeff Sosnow, Akila Gray, TJ Landig
Thank you to Brunch Studio!
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