Align - 2D Animated Western (Music Video)
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- Two wanted criminals in the wild west team up and become much more than partners in crime - but for how long can their trust last.
In Align we tell a story about the Man of Ice and the Woman of Fire falling in love and although opposites attract, the stars don't always align. or do they. no. maybe? Watch through the film - we won't spoil. When Your Man Alex Smith reached out and asked if Skjald wanted to make a film based on the song Align there was an instant connection and a wild wild western ride began between us. It is a team effort and the film is produced by Your Man Alex Smith and Skjald, with the support of our epic Tales of Alethrion patrons.
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Stay tuned for more adventures!
High Fives!
Mikkel Mainz
SKJALD CREATIVE
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Song by Your Man Alex Smith
Written & Performed by Alex Smith
Mixed, Mastered, Produced by Nick O'Donnell
From the album "Slow Burn" available at yourmanalexsmi...
Spotify: tinyurl.com/h2...
And on all streaming sites!
Follow Your Man Alex Smith:
Facebook: yourmanalexsmith
Instagram: @yourmanalexsmith
Patreon: / yourmanalexsmith
@YourManAlexSmith
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Animation Film Team:
Mikkel Mainz, Anna Fischer-Larsen, James Cavanaugh, Darina Lapkovskaya, Elisabeth Wengstad, Jennifer Wright
Website:
www.talesofale...
www.skjaldcrea...
Instagram: @TalesofAlethrion
Facebook:
/ talesofalethrion
Twitter:
/ alethrion
Preorder Board Game:
bit.ly/3lAT0s9
Tumblr:
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LYRICS
You wanted songs…I’ll give you songs
Once upon a time there was a woman made of fire
And a man made of ice
And their love burnt bright
Like the stars at night
But the stars don’t always align
No the stars don’t always align
The man of ice
Was not always this way
Oh he had a burnin’ heart
But he traded it away
To someone who showed him nothing but distain
And his heart was not the same
Couldn’t handle the pain
Now ice runs through his veins
And his love burnt bright like the stars at night
But the stars don’t always align
No the stars don’t always align
The woman of fire Lives howling in the night
She was born into a world
That didn’t treat her right
After years engulfed in the flames
Her heart was not the same
Couldn’t handle the pain
So fire she became
And she burnt so bright like the stars at night
But the stars don’t always align
No the stars don’t always align
Oh the fire and ice
They could not get close
But despite the pain
They loved each other so
And their love burnt bright like the stars at night
But the stars don’t always align
No the stars don’t always
Align x8
Oh they could never be together
But let me tell you when they are
Woah their love burns bright
Like the stars at night!
But the stars don’t always
Align!
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SKJALD
Skjald is an animation studio and production house created by Mikkel Mainz. He is the director of the animated Tales of Alethrion series and was one of the original founders of Sun Creature. Skjald’s goal is to make great storytelling experiences for the following community and audience through original 2D film projects, graphic novels, roleplaying books, illustrations and RUclips videos.
Skjald is the Scandinavian word for "bard", a storyteller in the Viking era and Middle Ages that traveled from town to town inspiring the listening crowds through stories about epic lords and ladies, about gods, love and other extraordinary things in life.
Lmao Wilhelm went from beast Hunter to sheriff. Good to see he’s alive and well still
Wait, is this a canon ?
My favorite part was the transition between handshake to dancing. now that was smoooooth. Good job everybody!!
It’s brilliant ❤️
The fakeout with the money looking like blood for a split-second was so good.
Thank youu Karoline
Also, that easter egg with Alethrion dancing with Amerath is as tragic as you'd imagine. Such were the days...
I don't think I would've seen them if you hadn't pointed them out haha
@@tagnenjosephs3124 me neither lol it was very quick and sneaky!
I like to think this is an alternate universe where Alethirion let go of his greed and stays with Amerath.
@@davi1415 That is very plausible actually!
@@davi1415 Wholesome!
Okay how dare this end tragically?
Wasn't episode 7 enough, Skald??-
Just you wait for the next ToA episode ;) It will be glorious !
Ikr, we're trying to grasp at any high ever since that 😪😭
@@TalesofAlethrion wait? For how long 😭😭😭😭😉👍👍👍👍keep up the good work
@@TalesofAlethrion Oh no, I'm now strangly scared...
But seriously, can't wait for it to drop, but I think these other projects have slowed it down a bit, no?
@@Danikoshii hi there fellow traveling bard! It would be fantastic if we could be full time on ToA but since it is a project that is funded through patreon and Kickstarter we sometimes have to work on it in between- and during other projects. We love Tales of Alethrion and are extremely grateful for all views, shares, likes and comments since that is what grows the channel and opens up opportunities - so thank you for that! At the moment we are working on getting the Tales of Alethrion board game finished and shipped to our backers. The next episodes take place right after Daughter's Revenge and also loooong before ;) we'll keep you updated. high five!
You guys are the MASTERS of dialogue-less storytelling. I don't know why it didn't occur to me how perfect that is for a music video! And those transitions! That moment on the first "The Woman of Fire" hits SO GOOD! Bravo, Skjald, bravo (and bravo to Alex too)!
She allowed him to keep her money but not her love neither her confidence, excellent.
oof 😩
she left with the bigger pot tho
I like the start showing their styles of crime. The guy’s sneaky and uses his wit and tricks, tries to keep a cool head, while the girls more upfront and quiek to use fire, a very fiery person.
I do genuinely love the repeating theme of how greed can break apart relationships and that it’s only after the fact that those characters realize they’re poorer for all their efforts.
I would love to hear your thoughts about how you guys developed those themes and where it all started. Great video!!
Thank you! Lyra (Woman of Fire) and Orion (Man of Ice) have very different needs. They don't talk - they just do what they want. The lyrics of the song was written by Alex from a personal experience - we took the essense of the song and created two interesting characters and a storyline while respecting the original intention of the song. We needed both characters to have flaws and at the same time be likeable. We spend a lot of time at the development phase when creating the structure of the story, the characters and the designs. Characters and stories like these are of course inspired from real experiences and people - if you can't relate to characters or don't care much for them in a film, then it is because the story isn't relatable. But emotions and relationships are the same both in the wild west, Tales of Alethrion, and in our world. I hope it answered your question :) Have an amazing day!
@@TalesofAlethrion Answered my question? Far more than that, this was an absolutely amazing insight to read! I certainly felt the essence of the story and song from my own experiences - and being able to see those experiences, the good and bad, channeled into art is beyond respectable and something I strive to do myself in writing.
I'd honestly be lying if I said this didn't spawn even more questions about characterization and the creative process that you guys go through. So, while I'll try my best to restrain that impulse - I'd be remiss to myself if I didn't at least try and ask another question or two if you'll indulge me.
If not, then I'd at least like to say that ever since I saw 'The Reward' back in 2013 and later learned about the Tales of Alethrion and the world you've all created, that you guys have continued to be an inspiration to me. I wish you guys all the luck in the world and look forward to seeing what you do next. Have a wonderful night. ^^
@@chrisgray6589 Hi! I was story dev and story boarder on the project and I’d also like to elaborate further on the story’s development and themes :)
In the earlier versions of the story there was a much bigger focus on Lyra’s alcoholism as the instigator for their break-up. When Lyra drinks she gets unpredictable and dangerous, and put off by this Orion starts hiding money so she can’t keep buying alcohol and get drunk. This wasn’t supposed to frame him as the good guy but it did give him a slightly deeper motivation than just greed.
Earlier in the storyboards there were scenes where we would see the two robbing and stealing from people as a team. They would be having fun doing it but Lyra would always take it too far and shoot or even kill someone innocent. Orion starts feeling uneasy about this (he’s a thief but not really violent) and that maybe she’s too intense for him. Instead of leaving he tries to see if he can indirectly control her alcoholism (which he can’t) by hiding their money. In this version the ending scene where she shoots his hat is also scarier as we HAVE seen her shoot to kill people before, she’s not above that. But she spares him, not to intimidate him but because she still does care for him.
We wrestled a lot with this version of the story because there were so many elements we had to include for it to read clearly. It’s especially hard with no dialogue and it had to fit within the runtime of the song. Instead we decided to have a bigger focus on the fun and romantic part of the story - them falling in love :) We thought this would be more enjoyable for the viewer as the other version would only have had time for them meeting and then the next scenes would just be how their relationship is not working 😂
While it’s a shame the first version of the story didn’t work out I think what we ended up with was awesome even if it’s simpler. When developing a story you have to be prepared to sacrifice a lot to make it work and to make it read clearly to the viewer.
It has made me really happy to see so many people still emphasize and care about the characters and I hope we can bring you guys more awesome stories in the future 🤗 High-five from Skjald!
@@annafischer-larsen5859 Hi, thank you so much for the notice on the message! Considering what you've said, I can certainly see echoes of the previous version between their time drinking together and the lead-up towards the end of their relationship. Most notably in how Orion starts looking surprised and then concerned seeing Lyra drinking so much before noticing how quickly they're burning through their funds. I was guessing there was a measure of good intentions behind it, though I also like how hard his expression is to read after he's hidden some of the money - it adds to the ambiguity of his actions and real intentions.
That said, I definitely sympathize with needing to manage what goes into a story and what needs to get set aside for later projects x_x It's not easy to compress things down to manageable size and still retain core elements of the story that you want to tell. Though I think the focus on the good of their relationship was well placed, it certainly adds to the tragedy of their break up while still leaving a measure of warmth for the viewer and hope that they'll meet again someday. I also enjoyed the POV at the end, when Orion turns around to only see Lyra's frowning face and the barrel of her pistol before he's on the ground - barely able to recover from disbelief and shock before he sees her covering her face, putting out the fire, and leaving. It makes it hard to tell what Lyra is thinking or feeling from his perspective as she leaves with a blank expression and it's certainly something I imagine Orion thinks on.
Overall, Non-verbal storytelling is HARD, but you guys always do a wonderful job at conveying a lot of context in a little amount of time. And here I'd like to ask one of my questions to you all if I can: in the creative process, where does the journey start for you when creating a film or story? I often 'see' in my head where I want to end a story before I ever begin writing, but where I struggle is getting to that end and I often get bogged down just trying to reach that conclusion, the journey becoming significantly less interesting as a result. (Also, IM SO SORRY ABOUT THE LENGTHY REPLY, I'll try and shrink down future replies If I get my answer x,D). As always, I look forward to seeing what you guys do next, have a good one ^ ^b
oh my god I just realized their names are Lyra and Orion, not only keeping with theme of stars but pitting the eagle and the lyre against the hunter! I love these small little details, it just shows how much care and love you guys put into what you do!
I keep coming back to this video every couple months. It's really good!
There's art, there's good art, and then there's masterpieces like this
Yep at some point something cant be better becouse it is exacly what it ment to be
A tragic tale about star crossed lovers and how important trust can be! I hope it doesn 't end like this, it is kind of a downer, though i suppose the song was designed that way.
Yeah. I guess the stars don't always align. 🤷♂️
Criminally underrated
Very underrated! I really love this song, beautiful storytelling, and amazing animation. I’ve been listening to this 3 days in a row and at this point, I knew I had to comment something. ❤ Deserves so much more views and likes/comments!
I came here with hype, and yet still it managed to be way more than I expected
I will never not be coming back to this video. What a god damn 10/10 in everything. Incredibly good song, unbelivable animation.
I cried.
whuff. to say westerns are my favorite genre is an understatement. I loved this.
I like how they have each other’s colors. She had blue, ice and he warm colors like orange brown and gold. Though not red a closer color, showing him not fully in their relationship.
Wilhelm is immortal and that's all I needed out of life.
Anna used this video for us to analyze for the first day of storyboarding workshop today (TDA visual arts and storytelling) and it was really fun to analyze all the effort you put into this! Great job!!
I miss you my childhood
Maybe he was keeping it in his hat as spare change in case some bandits stole their money? I feel like the two could’ve talked it out or something.
Still he cannot be trusted. he’s a cheater when playing Card with her, he lies to her and took their Loots for himself without any permission.
If i were her i would actually do the same
So if your partner went into your shared bank account and took a sizable amount behind your back, but never told you. Would talking work? You can never trust that it would happen again since they proved capable to lie and go behind your back.
The simple answer is that the man never trusted the love of his life. And for the woman the man she thought was different from the rest proved to be just like all the others. She trusted him not to fleece her but he did, and continued to do so despite the cash running low. For her, their relationship was more important than the gold, but why she liked him was because she could relax around him, let her guard down... but the man never did. Letting his own selfishness, greed and mistrust guide his actions.
@@MrEmiosk Might be that, and hey I don't know what the animator was truly thinking, but I interpreted the scene of just before he takes some money and put into his hat when they are drinking. And you can see that glasses and bottles are piling up and it's more and more on here side compared to his and with here drinking all while the sack of money is shrinking. And you can see his eyes sunken in by each frame as he looks at the piling of glasses and bottles and her drinking straight from them as here spending with no care.
So I first on saw it as he was just seeing it as her wasting it with no care and she sees him taking it behind her back, and greed and glutton don't mix well.
@@TheAsgardRaven exactly for that reason I don't see his act out of pure malice. She's spending THEIR money with no care, he might as well save some for his personal use or just for emergence. It's as the song says, he was made this way because of someone who treated him with disdain, like she's doing when she doesn't give a damn if he'll end up without his share. It could be talked out easily, but as it is, I'm actually team man made of ice.
Let’s just agree that both parties of the relationship had problems
Holy hell that was amazing! great job bards of badassitued, killer song, a great story to go with it, in only the way Skjald can do it, ah it's so good. Alex Smith you legend this was something else. Catch ya next time amazing work as always!
Thanks for the kind words! ❤️
@@YourManAlexSmith Hay you earned then dude!
I absolutely LOVE this song! I can't stop playing it over & over again.😍😍
This is amazing! So deep! Amazing song amazing animation
Just gum. No more words for this
who else noticed Amerath and Alethrion dancing at 2:29? such a lovely easter egg ♥
...why?
Why do you have to hurt my heart like this?
This feels so good for my soul... just some nice ol' cowboy shenanigans
He’s still wearing the same hat. A forever reminder
This is so beautiful, I was tearing up because how the song is telling a sad story. They both were happy together, but in the end “they can never be together”.
I'm acquainted with Alex. We're both creatives in the same city. I've supported his gigs, and this video.
I very VERY impressed with this song, and your animation. It hits all the right buttons. Top-props to your whole team. & Do More!!
Hey Ged! Good to see you! ^_^
What a fantastic Piece! Congratulations. Lovely to watch!
Beautiful song and beautiful story! Will always be a fan of how you guys tell a whole tale without a single word, keep up the awesome work!!
Thank you for enjoying my song! ❤️
Loved how you included some of the characters from TOA into this video. Whether or not this story is expanded upon, it's a great way to show your creativity. Keep it up!
Now that is one familiar looking sherrif ;D
Fantastic video guys!
Ah, it brings a tear to the eye. Perfect.
Man...fucking masterpiece as always. Bravo, just...bravo.
I just realized that the Man of Ice is not cool or cold, he is slippery, like ice
And it's at an hour I'll be awake in
Finally-
I actually love it. And that's something youu won't hear from me every day.
And the legendary Wilhelm appears!
теперь хочу в русской озвучке :)
(комментарий для продвижения этого замечательного видео)
Love it. The song, the animation, the story...
holy moly this is a masterpiece!
Superb music video !
At good time they get a good story again, hopefully we can enjoy more stories of the Aling adventures. I really enjoy your channel.
It deserve more views
oh, this is so, so good. the song's great, and the animation is matched up to it just so well - great fluid, dynamic motions and character expressions. i've watched it three times now. thank you for this!
Just amazing!
Welp, time to replay this song over and over for the next couple weeks
*so good*
It's so smooth!
I got my brother to rewatch all the episodes for Altherion reaching up to now. Realizing that Wilhelm's star would be awesome if it was the eye-amulet instead xD
So hyped!
Dude! I love your thumbnail!
like always. Tche best!
uffff, me perdi el estreno, pero a pesar de eso es Fantasitco es precioso, la cancion y la maravillosa animación son magnificas, mis respetos a ese grandioso equipo, espero con muchas ganas sus futuros proyectos.
y la Canción encaja perfectamente como anillo al dedo y viceversa. mis respetos a el también.
ya quisiera ver en un futuro otro proyecto juntos de nuevo
Эта анимация, история, музыка.. все прекрасно
So awesome
animation is flawless!
nice song
Это одна из лучших ваших работ!
И да, greetings from Russia! ;)
Keep doing what you love doing, guys! Your work and passion continues to be a great inspiration!
That was a fantastic song. Really catchy, great lyrics, well sung. I love it all!
That is one the few songs over 4 minutes where I didn't notice 4 minutes had passes until it ended.
This is very high praise! ❤️
This is wonderful team! A fittingly epic music video for an epic tune!
This was amazing!
I look forward to each of your new animations like a new Christmas. And every time you do not disappoint
Hey jeg var der til grønne sammen i dag elskede din præsentation elsker hvad du laver fortsæt dit gode arbejde du har min respekt
Tak for i dag! Ja, det var en fornøjelse at præsentere for jer og sikke mange gode tegninger og ideer! Lækkert du kan lide hvad vi laver i Skjald - der er masser at dykke ned i :) Hav en skøn aften!
2:29 First hero=D
Id like to think the sheriff is the descendant of Wilhelm lol
I think it is wilhelm, he is immortal soo
I hope those two can reconcile someday.
This was a really cool collab by you guys. Loved the song and the smooth animation.
sweet music and video :)
i love wilhelm the sheriff
Love both the music and animation just hope their a part two where they meet up again
So stylish, another fun story
So proud of you guys! Congratulations!!! :)
i still think they will find each other again and get together once more
Beautiful! Thanks so much for bringing this song to life guys!
You guys are too good! 👍
Who is this here with us? 2:29 left
Great animacion, it's always a pleasure to see what you guys make, and the song is the bow that ties it all nicely.
The song is amazing but the animation feature blended the emotions perfectly! Wilhelm looks great!
Ma haht. I feel it *crack*
Excellent stuff! The transitions and composition were on point!
Truly great work on display 👍
It's the best presentation.
Wow, that was fantastic! The storytelling is just superb, and goes really well with the song 😁👍 Well done everybody!
3:19 - 3:21 My favorite face expression animation !
It’s so smooth!
Vocês fazem animações incríveis 👏🏻😍
Amazing! Kinda wished for a happy-ending though...
Best wishes!
Absolutely amazing 👏
beautiful work, as always! i wasn't sure what i was expecting, but i was definitely pleasantly surprised~
Absolutely loved it ❤️ I’m a huge fan of the song and the animation gave me chills 🥲
Aaaaaah it's Rhi! ❤️❤️❤️
So simple , I LOVE IT
Wow this is so amazing, great job!
Masterpiece, man! Great great job!
You guys are killing it. You deserve so much more views!
We'll have to share it everywhere so it gets views! 🎉👏
Nice musical animation, as well as references to some of the characters :3