Modern Mixed Media
Along with the music, I love messing around with all kinds of media, sounds, visuals, and technology. I get inspired and think, “I wonder what it’s like or even possible to create something with this vibe?” And usually… it is. It’s an amazing time to be making things.
Below are some of the wild concoctions that came out of building up Pulse of Avalon. Some started as ideas I couldn’t shake. Just messing around. But each led somewhere surprising.
1. The Kitchen Sink: “Meet The Band” Promo
Why I Made It
A fake band intro with real voice acting, animated faces, and old-school TV vibes — built to make the Pulse of Avalon universe feel alive. I was really investing in the avatar band idea.
What I Used
Live Portrait, Loeonardo.ai, ElevenLabs (narrator performed by me, voice-to-voice), Suno (backing track), Studio One, and Final Cut Pro for iPad.
2. Stop Motion: “The Holiday Special”
Why I Made It
It was the holidays. I love those classic Rankin & Bass holiday stop motion films. I was promoting After Christmas and came up with our very own Holiday Special. 😂 It actually got 1700 views on TikTok!? (No, not viral, but come on!)
What I Used
Live Portrait, ElevenLabs (more voice acting), Runway ML, Minimax, Leonardo.ai, Suno (intro song), Studio One, Final Cut Pro for iPad.
3. Let’s Try This: Stretch-a-Sketch™
Why I Made It
It seemed like a cool thing to do. Record me making a silly sketch, then take the last frame and animate it using an image-to-video prompt. Would it work?! I don’t know, but I was surprised.
What I Used
Leonardo.ai (for video animation at end), SketchClub for iPad, webcam, Davinci Resolve, VEED
4. A Lesson: “Nia Teaches Closed”
Why I Made It
Maybe if one of the avatars gave a tutorial on an album song it would help promote the song? Or … again, I don’t know what I am doing. A nice “guitar hero” challenge — remembering what a phrygian scale is.
What I Used
Live Portrait, ElevenLabs (more voice acting), Leonardo.ai, webcam, Gibson Les Paul Standard, my hands, Final Cut Pro for iPad.
5. Visualizing a Song: “Cupid”
Why I Made It
I was curious how far I could push image generation and image-to-video tools. This was one of three short promo videos inspired by “Cupid” from the debut album — and I wanted it to feel like a visualized mood, not just a clip.
The hardest part? Getting two consistent characters to exist in the same generated world. It’s a problem that current tools struggle with, but one that’s slowly getting easier with time.
No one will ever truly know how hard this was to pull off. 😢
But I do. And I’m proud of it.
What I Used
Leonardo.ai, Runway ML, Minimax, Studio One, Final Cut Pro for iPad.