We defined the aesthetics and the design of Tha Supreme’s world through 2D animated music videos, illustrations, and motion graphics content.
Client:
Me Next
Executive Producer:
Hell Raton, Dj Slait
Director:
Pietro Polentes
Script:
Pietro Polentes, Riccardo Galimberti
Storyboard:
Marta Sofia Marzullo
Design:
Pietro Polentes
Animations:
Marta Sofia Marzullo, Riccardo Galimberti, Paolo Arisi, Claudia Giorgini, Giacomo Rinaldi, Luca Barberis Organista, Francesca Pietrobelli, Laura Perfetto, Dileep Lippi, Sara Mizzi
Background:
Teodolinda Cotti Gelati, Alessia Garofalo, Elena Meneghetti
Sony Music Italy and management company Me Next Agency, part of the Machete Crew, were supporting the launch of a promising new voice in the Italian music scene: the young rapper and producer Tha Supreme.
The artist wanted to create a visual universe of his own — something that could represent and define his identity through 2D animation, drawing inspiration from the visual language of adult animated series such as Rick & Morty.
The goal was to establish this universe, defining its characters, visual identity and rules, through a series of music videos designed to introduce and launch it.
The definition of Tha Supreme’s visual universe developed in parallel with the concept for his first music video, which became the place where the rules of his world were first brought to life.
Tha Supreme provided the initial ideas and creative cues, which we then explored, expanded and developed into the script for the first video, S4uola.
This approach became the foundation for all the videos and productions that followed. Initial ideas were further developed by us and shaped into different types of content, from web promos created for collaborations with other brands — such as Alexa — to the static imagery developed for the artist’s social media editorial plan.
Tha Supreme provided us with sketches and ideas to define his animated alter ego. Once the main character was established, the rest of the world was developed around him.
All the supporting characters — from Tha Supreme’s friends to the teacher and the bully — were designed starting from the visual language of the protagonist, creating a coherent cast with its own distinct personalities.
The same approach was applied to props and environments. Flat colours and dark outlines became the visual foundation for every element, while the shapes and colour choices were designed to evoke a distorted, surreal and slightly psychedelic world, faithful to the rapper’s vision.
We created a wide range of different content for the project. From an animation standpoint, everything was produced using traditional 2D animation, hand-drawn on twos in Toon Boom Harmony, while all the artwork and imagery were created using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
All motion design and compositing for the videos were handled in Adobe After Effects.
Our collaboration with Tha Supreme and his management lasted several months and allowed us to create a wide range of content: three music videos, promotional videos for web and TV, social content, promotional illustrations for social media, Out-of-Home materials such as billboards and posters, interactive activations, as well as vinyl toy and statue designs.
