Stephen Arnold Music Underscores Its Vision For Sonic Branding In AI-Assisted Creative Reel

Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) has produced a new creative reel combining sonic branding with AI-generated animation. Created in association with transmedia company Elevate Pictures, SAM says the short piece “integrates the studio’s work for leading brands into the story of a young woman who is taken out of her morning routine and transported to a surreal world of sonic immersion and brand audio.”

“We wanted to present Stephen Arnold Music and sonic branding in a new light,” says Chad Cook, the studio’s president. “We were after something that would demonstrate our creativity across diverse industries in a way that’s both instantly familiar and incredibly progressive.”

Although the visuals have the colorful, stylized look of Japanese anime, it was produced by processing imagery of a live actress, shot on green screen, through a generative AI engine. “We worked closely with Elevate Pictures to develop a story that shows how sonic branding influences our lives in more ways than we realize,” explains Russell Boiarsky, SAM director of brand strategy. “Brands use audio strategically to connect with consumers across touchpoints from marketing and advertising to content, apps, technology and product sonification. We’re raising awareness of that in an engaging, playful way.” The soundtrack is composed entirely from Stephen Arnold Music’s wide-ranging client work.”

A variety of AI tools were used to capture the actress’s image, place her in different 3D environments and show her from a range of perspectives. The results look a lot like traditional anime, only the animators had more control over design and aesthetics and could produce results much faster and more economically. “We’re still learning about the possibilities of this process,” says Elevate Pictures’ Jeremy Hughes. “It gives us more creative freedom by allowing us to do things we couldn’t do before. It doesn’t replace traditional animation, but it’s an exciting, new tool.”

The reel features Stephen Arnold Music’s sonic branding work across a broad array of industries such as entertainment, broadcast, gaming, news, experiential, advertising, and many more. “It does more than showcase our work, it demonstrates our creativity and expertise, and our unique position in the sonic branding industry,” Cook says. “It shows how our company brand has evolved and where we’re headed.”

View the creative reel here.