Pink Lemonade by Silyla (2023).
Served as Creative Director.
Problem
Outer Voice Records artist, Silyla, needs to see her music video's creative process through end-to-end within 4 weeks.
Solution
Work with Silyla to finalize and execute all aspects of the creative process within the defined timeline and release the music video by the given date.
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Exhibit A.
Timeline of creative process. This shows all phases the team needs to follow, what actions need to be taken, and ideal outcomes for each phase. We had 4 weeks to execute this top to bottom and make sure it was also released on time.
Mood boarding, visual research, and treatment
As creative director, I took lead on constructing the music video treatment deck.
Music video treatment: A music video treatment deck, also known as a pitch deck or treatment, is a document that summarizes a music video idea and is often required by potential clients. It's a way to share a vision with other creatives and can serve as a de-facto agreement between artists and producers. The goal is to convey the video's point in a concise and enticing way, and to make it stand out from other treatments. (From Google AI)
Click below for the treatment deck.
Like any visual project, music videos require a deep understanding of their industry's landscape and a strong vision. This means the creative director needs to conduct heavy market research on what artists have already released in order to make sure ideas/visuals in the project at hand are unique and authentic to the artist.Here, I took the opportunity to mood board what I envisioned the song to represent. After speaking with Silyla and understanding what artists she was inspired by and identified with the most sonically, I dug through their social media platforms, discography, and music videos. It's important to note that while these are great for inspiration, they are not meant to be sources of direct copy.
Exhibit B.
Mood board that displays various ideas including set, artist comps, styling, and projector backgrounds. Silyla's artist comps, based on production, sonics, desired career trajectory, and location were Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, among other R&B artists (this is a sample of a mood board - the full deck contains more).
Cross-Functional Collaboration, Final Results, and Takeaways
We worked with director Oliver Asadi to finalize the sequence of the clips in chronological order based on the video treatment. Given time, budget, and location constraints, some of the original ideas were unable to be filmed. However, the team was thrilled to find that the desired look and feel of the video could be achieved with the footage captured. After 3 rounds of reviewing, passing commentary back and forth, and reviewing the final cut, the creative team, Silyla, director, and label team were all satisfied. With this completed and ready to roll out, the label team began to focus on the marketing and distribution of the single and video.
Pink Lemonade received praise from BBC Radio stations, social media, and put Silyla one step closer to the sound and look she was hoping to achieve early on in her career. You can watch the final music video below.