Julia The Whale — Martin Brooks

JULIA THE WHALE - Campaign Design

I created a series of designs and animations as a campaign for my own EP: Julia The Whale.

The title track is based on the true story of the 52 Hz Whale: a unique and mysterious whale discovered by marine mammal researcher Bill Watkins. This illusive mammal emits sound at 51.6 Hz - a frequency no other whale can hear. She seems fated to swim the lonely seas, calling out to potential mates who are deaf to her voice. It is for this reason that she has become known as ‘The 52 Hz Whale’. I contacted the PMEL acoustic programme, and was granted permission to use Watkins’ original recording of the 52Hz whale, pitched up so it’s more audible for our hearing range. I like to think of Julia The Whale as a human-whale duet that allows an unheard voice to be heard again, albeit by a different species.

Although the other EP tracks are more personal, for the campaign design I focused on the title track, Julia The Whale, to form a self driven brief. Directly below are the final covers and animation EP teasers, please read on for the design process.

Julia The Whale - the music

Animation

A short EP teaser animation I created with Cinema 4D and Adobe Premiere Pro.

Inspiration

My concept was inspired by iconic imagery of scientists like Richard Feynman teaching students with an, almost comically, enormous blackboard filled with complex formulae on it.

I aimed to replicate the scientific rigour and enthusiasm present in these images by posing as a scientist teaching a class about the 52 Hz whale. The resulting design aims to both suggest gravitas to the narrative, while playfully communicating the EP’s messaging.

Preparatory Sketches

Front Cover Initial Sketch

A sketch of how I envisioned the front cover would come together. Key features include: huge blackboard filled with sonic scientific formulae and EP messaging; myself in a lab coat; and a series of technical audio or scientific props on a table.

Back Cover Initial Sketch

The back cover replicates the front cover, but the messaging on the blackboard shifts focus towards the EP content and credits, while retaining some formulae.

Execution

In order to execute the concept, I worked through these four phases:

1 Research and Planning

I researched lots of sonic scientific formulae, as it was very important to me that the content on the blackboard be an expression the physics of sound, and not just random ‘science’.

2 Blackboard and Content Creation

I bought four large mdf boards, and painted them with primer and blackboard paint. Then, with the help of Lea Aubertin, used white Posca pens to write and draw all the content onto the boards. They were then photographed in high res for further manipulation. I believe that by doing this work by hand, a much more authentic end result is created than by doing it all digitally.

3 Photoshoot

I hired the talented Colin Ross for a photoshoot. Here Colin took a range of photos of me, a mockup table and my own audio equipment such that I could comp everything together in order to create the finished artwork.

4 Comping and Post Production

I used Photoshop to comp together all the elements: myself, a new table, props and to tidy up and arrange the blackboard content, which we photographed in high res for that purpose. Here is an early mockup that tested the concept, below are the finished images and animation.