Top tools used
Suno AI - creative songwriting
ChatGPT 4.0 - lyrical refinement and story ideation
Vizcom - storyboard reimagining and upscaling
Kling 2.1 Pro - Editing, inpainting, and image generation for final frames to be processed into video
Veo 3 - Image to video conversion for animation
Key steps in AI image generation
Prompt generation - Concise, descriptive prompts instead of conversational language will give more accurate results
Storyboard accuracy -
SUNO AI
My multifold learning experience as AI's crash-test dummy.
01
DESIGN
CHALLENGE
My goal for this project is to create a promotional animated music video that showcases the creative songwriting ability of Suno AI, enha
02
RESEARCH
& IDEATION
Research for this project involved reviewing numerous creators highlighting their experiences in ideal prompt generation, composition control, and style control.
03
INITIAL CONCEPTS
I began two initial concepts, one oriented toward the iterative nature of human innovation, and the other describing the ethereal and abstract existence of ai juxtaposed to the very real world effects it is producing as a new technology.
This concept ended up not reaching the level of beauty wanted in the imagery by my creative director.
Unlike concept #1, this concept does have beautiful imagery but unfortunately lacks a strong concept with a powerful human message. This visual direction was chosen by my client with a request to alter the story to better support a personal message from the artist.
There tends to be a view on new technology as past miracles often taken for granted. This concept has been intended to highlight the iterative troubleshooting ne technology has experienced since humanity first began.
Ai models are becoming more accurate and results that used to be seen as dream-like hallucinations are become more tangible. Gestalt principles similarity and common fate, depicting familiar floral forms but built with unfamiliar textures, materials, and motion, all still consistent with one another.
04
CONCEPT REFINEMENT
While meeting with my art director it was decided that the imagery I had developed didn't contain enough of a human meaning to support an emotionally impactful concept. This brought me back to storyboarding and a refined concept.
A newer, more personal take
As the worlds population undergo an irreversible transition into a world with ai, we all embody a caterpillar who is approaching their time in the chrysalis. It is an open ended experience some see as hopeful and some see as dreadful. Despite how uncomfortable a transition it may be, this new technology will grant those who learn it a whole new axis of opportunity, like a butterfly gaining its wings.
05
SONG DEVELOPMENT
CHRYSALIS COLLAPSE
Suno's ai songwriting capabilities allowed me to draft a song, then refine it using Suno's own edit feature. This feature is a great showcase of how their new Pro model can iterate a song very similarly to inpainting raster imagery.
06
NEW VISUALS
After putting too much of the previsualization work on the ai programs I'd experimented with, my art director had asked me to revisit my process and create some new visuals to support the concept of this new Suno developed piece
07
FINAL RESULT
My final imagery does leave me desiring more control over ai image generation. Having the experience and mistakes behind me, I can easily see myself enjoying the process of revising a Suno Ai music video in the future. This has been a great learning experience in coming back to my roots as a designer when faced with a new technology, process, tool, etc.
08
REFLECTIONS
My design process and final imagery were quite unsatisfying yet the learning went deep with this project. Initially, I made the mistake of letting ai make me think it would handle much more of the creative process. I ended up accidentally ignoring many of my foundational previs and storytelling skills. After realizing this I went back to square one, starting the project from scratch with a new approach. This proved helpful and, while I feel there is a lot left to be desired in both content and quality of this piece, I am much more ready to adapt to using ai as a regular part of my creative toolbox moving forward.
In summary, as my first time using ai as a major component in my work process, this project felt rough around the edges the whole way through. Challenges aside, this proved to be a powerful exercise in grounding myself in my motion design skills while adjusting to using brand new technology like this. I constantly learned about the ai tools available and their best practices, leaving me looking forward to experimenting and creatively controlling ai in future projects.