Frankenstein
A Musical Tragedy:
Song I – Into the Ice

Into the Ice

This project has been in the works for a while.

It began as a simple idea—to reimagine Frankenstein not just as a story, but as a musical journey told through animated illustration. Over time, it grew into something more layered: a reflection on ambition, regret, and isolation, wrapped in music and image.

This first piece, Song I – Into the Ice, follows Victor Frankenstein into the Arctic as he searches for the creature he brought to life. The tone is quiet, melancholic, and cold—told through original music and a watercolour sketch animation style.

You can watch the full film on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/CuD5-SWCDw4

The Making of Song I

This has been a challenging piece to make. While I’ve created music videos before, this one was different—it was an original composition from the ground up. It took time, and it wasn’t a simple process. More than just finding a melody, I was trying to express emotion through the song itself, not just the lyrics.

I explored a number of methods—even singing it myself and experimenting with voice transformation—but in the end, I used a combination of techniques. The lyrics, though developed in collaboration at first, are ultimately my own. I needed to find a voice that felt honest and human, one that matched the emotional weight of Victor’s journey.

Visually, the characters were drawn in a sketch-like style, softened with watercolour to give the piece a fragile, emotional tone—even when the subject is harsh. At its heart, this story is about the creature’s soul as much as Victor’s. The monster may be strong, but the tragedy lies in his vulnerability.

This is the first in a series of videos I’m intending to create. The full narrative has been outlined in collaboration with Claire, but each episode still needs to be developed and brought to life in its own way. There’s a long road ahead, and each piece will take time—but this first chapter lays the foundation.


Behind the Scenes

There are still challenges working with AI in this kind of creative space. The monster, in particular, can be difficult to depict—sometimes flagged as unsuitable, other times rendered too beautifully, as if the tools can’t quite grasp what makes him unsettling. To help guide the story visually, I used a layered approach to the animation—placing characters like Victor on top of separate, animated scenes. It’s both a design choice and a practical one, allowing me to build moments with more control and emotion, while working within the current limits of the tools.

Another key part of this project has been working toward character consistency. In earlier pieces—like my detective music video—I trained a single AI character to appear reliably across shots. With Frankenstein, I’ve taken that further: creating a range of characters and working to maintain consistency across them all. It’s a step up in complexity, but one that helps anchor the world and its emotional tone.

Striking the right balance—something raw, imperfect, and human—takes patience and persistence. But that’s part of what this project is about: finding humanity in the rough edges.


Help Me Grow

Please do take a moment to watch the piece—I truly hope you enjoy it. It’s taken a lot of work to bring this together, and if it resonates with you, I’d really appreciate your support. A like on the video, a share, a comment – or even subscribing to the channel - helps more than you might think.

You can also follow these blog updates on Buy Me a Coffee—there’s no need to donate, following is free, and it’s a good way to stay connected as I continue developing the series.

Thank you for being here.

David