HardLife (previously Easylife) ‘A Message To Myself’
Animated music video for Easy Life's 'A Message To Myself' supported by mental health charity CALM.
Agency: Island Records
Press: thecalmzone.net
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Director: Andy Baker
Executive Producer: Lucia Davies
Production Company: Andy Baker Studio
Storyboard Artist: Andy Baker
Character Designer: Andy Baker
Background Design: Guy Field, Andy Baker
Background Design Assistance: Mica Warren
Background Painting: Andy Baker, Guy Field
Lead Animators: Hozen Britto, Frankie Swan
Animators :Bishoy Gendi, Yino Huan, Andy Baker
Colour & Clean-up Animators: Charlie Lane-Bush, Qiao Joe Cheng, Eloise Garlick, Freddie Griffiths, Jamie Hobbs, Ned Mackness, Ed Smith
Animation Intern: Felix Alteus
Compositor: Linus Kraemer, Andy Baker
Compositor Titles: Tim Marriott
Title Design: Charlie Drinkwater
Sound Design: Father
The music video for ‘A Message to Myself’, the opening track off UK band Easy Life's* debut album 'Life's A Beach', evolved from a deeply personal creative collaboration between the lead singer-songwriter and director Andy Baker.
The short film centres on mental health struggles and finding that inner positive voice to remind you to keep doing you, a celebration of individualism at all costs. The music video for ‘A Message to Myself’, the opening track off UK band Easy Life's* debut album 'Life's A Beach', evolved from a deeply personal creative collaboration between the lead singer-songwriter and director Andy Baker. The short film centres on mental health struggles and finding that inner positive voice to remind you to keep doing you, a celebration of individualism at all costs.
In the film we follow the lead protagonist singer-songwriter Murray Matravers through various suicidal set-ups as his inner voice (the goldfish) encourages him to keep going. Set in a mix of fictional and real-life locations in Murray’s hometown of Leceister, the animation was heavily researched and features various Easter eggs that nod back to Easy Life’s previous music videos and Murray’s wardrobe and hairstyles.
Given the sensitive subject matter that the music video deals with, it was important to partner with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), the charity "on a mission to unite the UK against suicide" – the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.
The entire music video and film script created by Andy Baker Studio also became the impetus and inspiration behind the songwriting, album art and promotional campaign for Easy Life’s 2021 debut album ‘Life’s A Beach’. The 8-bit video game that features in the closing credits of the music video was also turned into a real-world game for fans to play online as part of the promo campaign around the track release. glitch.ge/easylife/swimmer
Easy Life are now known as hard life.
