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If you’re going to release a new album paired with a Netflix film, you’d want it to look like Entergalactic.
Entergalactic: A Unique Visual Experience
The animation in Entergalactic is probably like nothing you’ve seen before. The closest comparisons might be Spiderman: Enter the Spiderverse or Arcane. It’s a technical triumph with hypercolour frames, clashing textures, and vignettes of city life. Cudi and Moules even worked with late Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh on the costume design.
A Moving Painting
Director Moules aimed to hide the computer’s role as much as possible, creating a handmade feel for Entergalactic. Everything was handpainted, including character textures and color maps in Photoshop. The movement was also carefully crafted by hand, without motion capture, to ensure a relatable and emotional portrayal of the characters.
To be honest, without those songs it wouldn’t be the same story! Cudi had the songs first, which is pretty different for any feature length project. He also had the concept of a love story set in Manhattan. The songs set the tone when writers Ian and Maurice got underway. They were able to take the tracks and build the main emotional beats and arcs around them, only in a few cases was it the other way around. The songs were immediately so captivating, and to me, evoked a world I just wanted to swim in.
### Authentic Vision of New York City
Writers Ian and Maurice are both New Yorkers, so they kept us honest. A scouting trip in late 2019 was crucial for capturing the authentic essence of NYC, which became a love letter to the city in the show.
### Surrealism and Psychedelic Sequences
The team started painting graphic space scenes as a reaction to the music, which evolved into a visual device to convey Jabari’s emotional POV. The different visual styles in the show aim to give clearer insight into the characters’ feelings.
### Navigating Physical Intimacy
Animating physical intimacy with believability and beauty onscreen required careful planning and execution. Starting with single paintings and transitioning into animation with minimal, suggestive movements helped to ensure the scenes furthered the realistic and relatable story.
