Animation & Motion Design
Seán Parnell
Did You Hear That?
Did You Hear That? Is a surreal animated short about a musical presence in a supermarket. As customers are distracted by the strange melody, a shop manager searches for the source.
This film explores the intrusive thoughts experienced in public during the COVID-19 lockdown. Using a cohesive audiovisual style, the piece follows a range of characters as they carry out mundane activities during social distancing, and how they are affected by subconscious tension, expressed in the form of music.
When approaching this project, I knew its soundtrack would be an integral part of the piece. The track fades in with a faint reverberating guitar, that is carried with sweeping strings and vintage synth lines before reaching a crescendo of distorted chords and layered vocals. By featuring a lyrical element in the piece, a chanting of “Did You Hear That?”, I wanted to blur the line between song and soundtrack and create a definitive tagline.