Dezeen Magazine

Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun animate an acrylic landscape for Tropicool music video

Directors Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun depict the journey of a young man and his psychologist in the music video for French band Gable's Tropicool.

Larrivé and Malbrun were contacted by Gablé's label Ici d'ailleurs, which was looking for directors who specialise in animation.

Gablé Tropicool music video by Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

As the band didn't want to be in the video, Larrivé and Malbrun decided to create an illustrated landscape by creating each component by hand with acrylic paint. These were then cut out and scanned into a computer before being digitally animated.

Gablé Tropicool music video by Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

"The label and band gave us a lot of artistic freedom on this project; they simply wanted the music video to correspond well with the song's mood and that it would be wacky," Larrivé and Malbrun told Dezeen.

"The band also preferred to not appear in the music video, so we decided to work with the song's lyrics, which are very visual."

Gablé Tropicool music video by Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

Larrivé and Malbrun interpreted the song to be from the perspective of a young man speaking with his psychologist.

"We tried to transcribe what each moment of the song evoked in us," the duo told Dezeen. "We felt like the music pulls you into a realm of pure absurdity by placing you in the heart of playful yet bizarre scenarios."

Gablé Tropicool music video by Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

"We imagined that the story of the song could be told from the point of view of a young patient speaking with his psychologist ... In this dream he meets different people and travels through many varying landscapes."

Gablé Tropicool music video by Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

The video begins with the man arriving at a hospital for an appointment with his doctor. While in the session, he begins to fall into a dream state where he becomes a bird, swims on a dolphin, sets a priest on fire and is eventually abducted by aliens.

Gablé Tropicool music video by Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

Aiming to give the story momentum, Larrivé and Malbrun linked the 900 hand-painted components using tracking shots – a technique where a camera follows a moving person or an object.

Gablé Tropicool music video by Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

From writing the script to the delivery of the finished product, the video took around three months to complete.

Tropicool is out now on Ici d'ailleurs records and is available to purchase through iTunes.