About two or three years ago I think a lot of people were fearing for the fate of the music video. The art that it once was has slowly been in decline over the years, as social media calls for shorter and more easy-to-consume content.
There was a time when music videos were living, breathing extensions of a track; visual counterparts to the creative process. Artists were turning them into stories; they were using bold aesthetics as a way to experiment and ultimately to offer listeners a momentary dream-state.
Because that’s what music videos are if you really think about it. They’re a whole art form unto themselves; the perfect reduction of structure, narrative and character. Things don’t have to make sense like in a movie. You just wake up abruptly when the music stops.
So if the music video is dying, where does that leave the army of directors, editors, animators and creatives who call this their bread and butter? Are music videos really a dying art form? Michael Robertson would certainly disagree.
Founder of Toon53 Productions, they’re a boutique animation and production studio established in 2008. Having initially focused on film and television they quickly transitioned their focus to the music industry, responding to a gap in the market; a need for more creatives that could hone the art of the music video to produce the highest-quality content.
Dubbed “Africa’s Animator to the Stars” they’ve built up a tremendous portfolio in the music and lyric video industry, having worked with the likes of P!nk, Seth Macfarlane, Chvrches, David Guetta, Aloe Blacc and James Arthur, just to name a few.
In fact, they even made a lyric video for Marshmello & Anne-Marie’s hit single “Friends” which amassed over one billion views on YouTube.
They were the recipients of the Best Music Video Award at the Hollywood Boulevard Film Festival, Best Music Video Platinum Award at the Hollywood Film Competition, Best Music Video at the Chandler International Film Festival and Animation Winner at the Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest, again, just to name a few.
With a focus on animation and animation effects, their videos convey a provocative, high energy aesthetic that has become a distinct, perhaps signature style; now synonymous with the name Toon53.
Robertson first found his way into the industry after he won an MK Award with DSTV, but animation was always his first passion.
“We have created hundreds of videos and there are so many different achievements,” Robertson tells me.
“A few highlights have included our work being aired on The Ellen Show and on ComedyCentral in New York,” he continues, “and working for Seth Macfarlane was also huge. But if I had to choose one it would be the short film we did with Ryan Tedder (lead singer of OneRepublic) which had us animating a group of BoredApe NFTs owned by artists like Ryan, Kygo, Snoop Dogg and Jimmy Fallon.”
Following their fruitful collaboration with Tedder, OneRepublic subsequently asked Robertson to make a video that felt like the Spiderverse.
I ask him what the most important ingredients are for making a great music video, and he tells me one thing, “There are no rules.”
“Just work with a great team on every production,” he continues. “Find people that are passionate and creative and all of the pieces should fall into place.”
“Work is work even when it seems like a ton of fun,” he says. “Each and every production is different and comes with its ups and downs. It’s how you navigate those issues that makes the end result great or not.”
Their work within South African spheres is equally ambitious, and the results equally impressive. Check out two of their most recent videos below, for lovelorn pop boy CHXRL and the man with the really long cap, Mr. Jack Parow himself.
With dedication to their craft, Toon53 prove that the music video art form is alive and well. In fact, it has been for many years, even when the demands of social media and label budget cuts were looming. Now, it’s plain to see that this industry is thriving.
