Dezeen Magazine

Red and blue graphics represent an emotional journey in Um de Nós music video

Music: Brazilian director Fabricio Lima's animated music video for Marcelo Jeneci's track Um De Nós depicts a heartbroken man's journey to recovery using red and blue hues (+ movie).

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

The collaboration came about after Lima first heard Brazilian composer Marcelo Jeneci's album while living in Buenos Aires in 2013, and felt a personal attachment to Um de Nós – which translates from Portuguese to "one of us".

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

"I asked if he would be interested in creating a music video for that track," Lima told Dezeen. "He was thrilled with the idea, we met up in person in São Paulo and it all started."

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

The animation follows the journey of a broken-hearted man, who begins the video upset and travels down an escalator that represents depression.

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

However, the next part of journey sees him take a cable car up into space – symbolising his lifting mood as he starts to get over the heartache.

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

"Since this song was so heartfelt and personal for us both, I wanted to explore these feelings," Lima said. "I wanted to highlight the feeling in forgetting someone you love to finally then be okay with yourself and to heal from a tough heartbreak."

Throughout the video there is a strong focus on blue and red tones, which were used to highlight the differences between worry and realisation that are presented in the song.

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

"It was to show this transition, from sadness to acceptance," said Lima. "Going down on the escalator, and going up in the stratosphere; a limited perspective at the beginning then the entire galaxy towards the end."

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP
Each frame in the video was drawn by hand, and Lima studied human movement to replicate the full range of motion that he desired. The sequence of drawings was then compiled into an animation using Adobe After Effects software.Each frame in the video was drawn by hand, and Lima studied human movement to replicate the full range of motion that he desired. The sequence of drawings was then compiled into an animation using Adobe After Effects software.
Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

"It was very organic, and not very planned to be honest," he said. "The decisions regarding colour, some animated bits and even 'what will happen next' was being decided as I was working."

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

The project took 10 months to complete while Lima was in between jobs and travelling around Argentina, Brazil and New Zealand. However, it was a personally driven project for the director, who has long admired Jeneci's music.

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

"I've been a huge fan of his work for some time, and getting to know him better, I realised how alike we were, in our own artistic mediums," said Lima.

Um de nos by Jeneci DMP

Um de Nós is taken from Jeneci's 2013 album De Graça.