Don't Say Sorry - Animated Music Video

In this project I will present to you a music video I animated for my single “Don’t Say Sorry”. It’s a frame by frame animation that took me 6 months to complete. It’s in 10fps and about 2500 hand drawn frames in total.

A Brief Animation History

I’ve been doing animation for a relatively short amount of time (2 years approximately), and in very short formats raging from 10 seconds to 1 minute max. So this music video was a challenge. But I had a clear concept to follow.

I confronted a lot of “firsts”. Most movements of the main character, like when he falls downstairs or flys away I’ve never attempted before this video. I learnt ways to tackle this obstacles by following my intuition which, of course, sometimes failed me, but this is the way I tend to find my path.

The more detailed the storyboard I made was, the easier time I had during the final animation… And yet I think some of the best moments come from free improvisation.

I find that my method of frame by frame animation is fueled by hope. One can only hope one’s idea will translate once various frames are finished to finally see what’s really been done.

Narrative Concept

This song narrates (and the video illustrates) an early 20th century romance set somewhere in the mid-western woods. The protagonist and voice of the song laments not knowing how to help her sick lover. An old pain has come to torment her. Neither him or her know the origins of said anguish. After many failed attempts from the narrator himself to clarify or sedate his lover's suffering he comes to the realization that even if it's only her pain that she has to offer to him, he will welcome it regardless.

And yet he still feels defeated. All his failed efforts might reveal a defect in his character. His proclivity to help might be hiding a deeper desire to sanctify his strive and therefore render his passion as "pure".

He starts drinking heavily and taking long drunken strolls late at night in the woods. One of those nights he finds her lover unexpectedly amidst other ghostly creatures… 

The Song

It's a pop ballad with moments of great intensity. But I should point out that with "pop" I'm referring to an old annealed kind, more typical of the 60s and 70s than of today.

The recording of “Don’t Say Sorry” on the other hand has a multitude of collaborators that I’ve added to the track through a two year production process.

I originally composed it for a class assignment in the musical degree I attended for two years (@taiarts). I formed a class band that played the song with me to then record it in a studio, here in Madrid (@renostudios). Afterwards I also added instruments like a Theremin by my german friend that calls himself on the internet “Amus” or a Steel Guitar by my Spanish friend Miguel Sempere.