Juliet
2021 – present
Juliet is a Hanoi-born singer-songwriter. This project captures the journey of building her brand: from run-of-the-mill babydoll aesthetics, to East-meets-West exploration of colonization, and beyond.
Branding, Social Media, Motion Media, Film & TV, Group Project.
“Any Other Way” (Single)
2023
Creative Director: Julie Tran
Photographers: Ha Tran, Zoe Nguyen
Stylist: Chi Huynh
Continuing this trend of visual juxtaposition between the East and West in my other works (American Child, Last Time In New York), I took inspiration from the curbside restaurants of Vietnam, putting it somewhere it’ll be painfully out of place: a subway station in New York. The set up is a blend of classic Vietnamese and classic American visual identifiers, creating a sense of confusion that mimics identity crisis of immigrants in America. At the same time, it is a tribute to New York City.
The photoshoot
Absurdist concept photoshoot with editorial fashion influence.
“I Know It All” (Single)
2023
Animator & Designer: Julie Tran, Photographers: Julie Tran & Emmy Truong
For Juliet’s song about a bad relationship coming to an end, inspired by my on-going project The Rooms of Women and the hand-painted movie, “Loving Vincent,” I created a 4K hand-drawn animation piece depicting the process of a woman reclaiming her own body and her own space.
“I Know It All” is a full-service production project including animation, photography, social media coordination, and marketing and PR design.
The animation
Loop animation at 8fps, hand-drawn in Photoshop to recreate the painterly, textured style.
“Let’s Stay in Love” (Single)
2022
Team: Julie Tran, Emmy Truong, Tran Quynh Chi, Bach Duong, Lac, Hue Phuong.
As the songs talk about narcissism and the artist’s ego, the concept for this photoshoot is based on the death of Narcissus, who, while admiring his reflection in the lake, fell and drowned. The mirror frame was always going to be part of the shoot, but we decided to use a plastic sheet instead of a mirror, as there is no substance in narcissism and no self awareness in the narcissist, who looks in the mirror and see, ultimately, nothing.
“Last Time in New York” Lyric Video
2022
Team: Julie Tran, Emmy Truong, Chi Huynh, John Warner.
The lyric is video is largely inspired by Henri Matisse’s Odalisques paintings: a brilliant series of work that nevertheless bears imperialist overtone and objectifies the women that it depicts.
“Last Time in New York” aims to reclaim the room. The video uses Matisse’s frame-in-frame techniques, his color palette, and his focus on interior design, but switches up the narrative by filling the room with items of Vietnamese everyday life: the graffitied wall, the calendar, the Van Nghe magazines, the 1980s TV set. All in all, the lyric video shows a collision of Vietnamese culture and Western influence.
“American Child” Music Video
2021
Team: Duc Viet, Kosmos & Nova, BaoChau Nguyen, David The, Thuy Van, Zinemo Productions, Julie Tran, Tra My, Hue Phuong, Ha Ba Quynh Anh, Au Huong Giang
“American Child” speaks of disillusionment with the American Dream manifested in modern dating culture: how it is too fast, too much, and eventually meaningless. The narrator’s partner is painted as too carefree to the point of being emotional Teflon — hollow, so to say. We decided to use a body pillow dressed as a person to play this dream partner: full of stuffing, but is nothing of substance.
The dinning table scene is Juliet’s first experimentation with East/West juxtaposition — a table full of American food, with an “American boyfriend" vs. chopsticks — to heighten the narrator’s feeling of otherness.
Art Direction, Storyboarding, Prop Design, Typography.
Concert Posters
2022 – present
Concert Lyric Booklets
2023 — present
Created to let audience members follow the songs more easily.
Print.
