Dezeen Magazine

Tessa Chong contrasts Japanese landscapes and cityscapes for Super Magic Hats video

Music: inspired by her travels to Japan, Melbourne-based director Tessa Chong has depicted a "moving tapestry of city life" for Super Magic Hats' track Transpose (+ movie).

transpose-by-super-magic-hats-video-by-tessa-chong_dezeen_sq2

Illustrator Chong was brought on board by Super Magic Hats' Rob Masterton after he saw the album artwork she had created for another band.

Tessa Chong's music video for Transpose by Super Magic Hats

"I had dabbled in animation, but never done a music video before so it was lucky he was willing to take that risk," Chong told Dezeen.

After Masterton had sent Chong his reference material, such as photos from his travels and other film clips, the pair decided to base the video on Japanese cityscapes and landscapes.

Tessa Chong's music video for Transpose by Super Magic Hats

"It all began with the idea of animating footage from a train window," she said. "From there, I decided it should be based around Japan, since we both had been reminiscing about our travels there."

"The idea is that it's kind of a moving tapestry of city life," she continued. "It captures the feeling of being in a new city for the first time, trying to take everything in, feeling overwhelmed yet excited at the same time."

Tessa Chong's music video for Transpose by Super Magic Hats

Each element of the video was drawn in Illustrator and Photoshop, with watercolour brushes used to add texture.

In some frames, rolling landscapes in pastel colours were used to reflect the "dream-like" feel of the track.

Tessa Chong's music video for Transpose by Super Magic Hats

Other scenes are much faster in pace and feature cityscapes in contrasting black and neon colours – a reference to the Vaporwave music genre, which celebrates retro video game aesthetics.

Each scene was then edited together according to changes in the music. It took around four months to complete.

Tessa Chong's music video for Transpose by Super Magic Hats

Transpose is out now on Hush Hush Records and is available to purchase through Bandcamp.