King of Sea
2022 · 5m · France
Directed by Stéphane Berla
Genres: animation, fantasy, musical
Tones: melancholic, surreal, tender
Inspired by Celtic legends and the cursed lighthouse of Tévennec, an animated music video follows a fisherman who goes to sea never to return, and years later his grown son feels the same mysterious pull of the ocean, only to discover something sinister in the depths.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Animated music video tied to a cursed-lighthouse Celtic legend, using Quill plus Blender — interesting workflow, but a five-minute music video is still a music video. Mild interest.
Berla pairs the cursed Tévennec lighthouse legend with a Quill-Blender hybrid pipeline that gives the animation a tactile, stop-motion fragility — a music video, yes, but the formal innovation in the toolchain is genuine. Worth a look.
Five-minute Kwoon music video combining VR illustration tool Quill with Blender 3D to mimic stop-motion fragility — that specific hybrid technique inspired by the real cursed Tévennec lighthouse is exactly the kind of tool-driven experiment I want to see. Music-video constraint also forces visual economy.
Reviews
King of Sea is not just a masterclass in innovative animation techniques, it's a masterpiece.
Stephane Berla discusses the making of stunning 'King of Sea' music video, combining VR illustration tool Quill with Blender 3D into a dramatic maritime narrative with a stop-motion feel.
Festivals
- Prague Music Video Festival 2022, Best Animation Music Video
- Brno Film Festival, Winner
- AXD Film Festival, Fantasia Award for Best Animation Film
- London International Animation Festival