An animated music video for a single titled 'Ethereal' by the rock band Alamance.
The symbolic story follows a young broken man as he journeys through what seems like an abandoned town while struggling to break free from an unknown puppeteer.
Production
Seeing as the music track is all about going through the daily motions of life while stuck in an apathetic state, I immediately knew I wanted to use some kind of a visual symbol that would express this idea.
The concept which I eventually settled on features a young man walking in circles in a ghost town while being controlled by puppet strings which descend from the sky -- a pointless mundane task being carried out not by one's will but rather 'just because'. The main character feels stuck but is too consumed by dullness to break free. The main storyline is broken up by visions of the young man trapped in a floating box which supports the overall message of the video.
I started the project off by sketching out some ideas I had of the story, environment and overall atmosphere.
Concept exploration of the main character
Storyboard
Testimonial
"Working with Jaromír on this music video was absolutely more than I imagined it would be. He spent several hours with me on voice chat and through email discussing his take on the meaning of our song. Aside from the incredible result we got, this was my favorite part of working with Jaromír. He really invests the time into understanding the artist and the message, and he was a great listener.

People have told me they liked our song, but when they saw the video, it moved them in a way the music by itself couldn’t do. One person even said they cried a little at the end.

Other than that, he was extremely punctual with the project, he always responded to communication within a day or two, and he was willing to make any and all changes even after sending a final render. I am definitely going to use his services again in the future and you should too."

- Josh Sorhagen, lead singer of Alamance