Okay, so, "the weeknd end of an era," huh? Man, where do I even start? It's been a wild ride, let me tell you.
First things first, I got obsessed, like seriously hooked, on The Weeknd's music back in... well, let's just say a while ago. "House of Balloons" days, you know? The whole vibe, the mystery, the lyrics... it just hit different. So, when he started teasing "After Hours," I was already counting down the seconds.
Then the album dropped. Holy crap. I remember listening to it for the first time, driving around late at night. The synthwave, the darkness, the storytelling... it was a whole mood. I immediately started diving deep. I mean, really deep. I started reading interviews, watching music videos obsessively, trying to understand the whole "After Hours" persona.
I began sketching out ideas. Like, what if I could visually represent the journey he was taking us on? It started with simple doodles, just shapes and colors that felt right. Red, obviously, was a big one. And black. And a kind of hazy, dreamlike purple.
Next, I decided to mess around with some graphic design software. I hadn't really done anything like that before, but I figured, "Hey, why not?" I watched a bunch of tutorials on YouTube, learned the basics of layers and blending and all that jazz. It was frustrating as hell at first, but slowly, I started getting the hang of it.
I played around with different images of The Weeknd, photos from the music videos, concert stills. I wanted to capture that raw, vulnerable feeling he was conveying. I used some filters and effects to give them that surreal, distorted look.
Then, I started experimenting with typography. I tried out different fonts, sizes, and colors, trying to find the perfect way to display the song titles. I ended up using a bold, futuristic font that felt both retro and modern at the same time.
It went through like, 50 different versions. Seriously. I kept tweaking things, adding details, taking things away. I was never really satisfied, but I knew I was getting closer.
Finally, I decided to create a video montage. I took all the images and graphics I had created and put them together in a video editing program. I added some clips from the music videos, some live performance footage, and a few other random things I found online. Then, I synced it all up to the music.
I messed with transitions, did some color grading, and added some visual effects to make it even more trippy. It took forever to render, but it was so worth it!
Once I had the video montage ready, I shared it on social media. I was nervous as hell, but people actually seemed to like it! Some even said it perfectly captured the essence of the "After Hours" era. That made me feel pretty damn good, I'm not gonna lie.
I realize that "After Hours" era is kinda done, and he's moved on. But for me, it's like, a snapshot of a particular time in my life, you know? So yeah, that's pretty much it. From getting obsessed with the music to creating this whole visual project, it's been a really cool experience.
Lessons Learned:
- Don't be afraid to try new things. I had never really done graphic design or video editing before, but I just jumped in and learned as I went.
- Don't be afraid to experiment. The best ideas often come from messing around and trying different things.
- Don't be afraid to share your work. Even if you're not perfect, getting feedback from others can help you improve.
Anyway, that's my story. Hope you enjoyed it!
