NSQK @ SPARK Concert
I created motion graphics and helped with lighting and stage design for NSQK, a dance team at USC, for their performance at USC's SPARK Kickoff Concert.
The Rundown:
About one week before USC's concert that welcomes back the entire student body and welcomes incoming students, a fellow member of NSQK reached out to me, asking for help with making NSQK's performance a full experience that sets them apart from the other performers. I said yes (of course!) and got to work on an animated backdrop for NSQK to dance in front of.
The Research:
When I asked the dancers what they had in mind for visuals, they responded with the scariest thing you can tell a creative - "We don't know, surprise us!" They gave me full creative control. That's a blessing and a curse.
Luckily, I had seen and recorded the set that NSQK was performing, so I used that as my main source of inspiration. There were three separate parts to the set with three songs, so I followed that structure with my visuals.
The parts/songs were:
Walk It Out by Unk - grand entrance, loud, bass-heavy, energetic
Frontin' by Pharrell Williams feat. Jay-Z - smooth, romantic, groovy, sensual
Drop Remix by Timbaland & Magoo feat. Fatman Scoop (R.I.P) - grand finale, different energy from entrance, bouncy, MUST make a lasting impression
I looped these songs and the performance for a day, and got started working the day after.
The Response:
As I looped my source material, I slowly began building out a timeline to follow for creating the animation in After Effects:
It's a little hard to follow, but it made enough sense to execute!
Part 1:
For the first part, I decided to use warm and bright colors to represent the summertime - a specific way to bring energy that I could branch away from for the final section.
Part 2:
The second part was my personal favorite. From highlighting Pharrell's iconic 4-beat intro as a transition to the next section, to matching the red and blue waves to the beat of the song, this section was all about catching and riding the groove of the song and performance.
Part 3:
For this final part, I decided to use bright neon colors that contrasted the beginning, but still brought the energy. The constant movement with the combination and glow of the colors created a bouncy and high-impact final piece.
The Results:
The craziest part of this experience was that I wasn't in town to watch or create this experience in person! However, 5000+ students were there and they helped create an even more electrifying experience out of this performance.
Here's the full animation:
And the performance:
