Motion · Art · Feeling

Commissioned: "Hive Mind" — A Dystopian Visual Engine for Sick at Heart

I recently collaborated with post-hardcore outfit Sick at Heart to engineer the official lyrics video for their latest single, “Hive Mind.” This was a deep dive into Cyber-Dystopian aesthetics — not a standard lyric scroll, but a full visual engine paying homage to The Matrix, They Live, and the high-tech/low-life grit of Cyberpunk 2077.

The Vision: Decoding the "Hive"

The “Hive Mind” concept demanded a visual identity that felt urgent and fractured — like a signal being intercepted mid-broadcast. Rather than designing around the music, I designed against it, letting the chaos of the sound dictate the visual logic. The goal was to make the viewer feel surveilled, glitched, and pulled into a collapsing system.

The Process: Three Influences, One Engine

Engineering a video with this density required a high-performance workflow and a clear creative north star. I drew from three distinct visual languages and fused them into a single coherent aesthetic:

01

The Matrix — Digital Rain & Simulation

Built custom particle systems in Adobe After Effects to mimic cascading data-streams — green-tinted terminal aesthetics implying a world being decoded in real time, but with a more aggressive, distorted edge to match the band's sound.

02

They Live — Subliminal Typography

Layered Envato Elements glitch overlays with custom-distressed fonts to create "obey-style" kinetic typography. The lyrics don't just appear — they flash like hidden commands breaking through a hijacked broadcast, shattering and rebuilding with every bar.

03

Cyberpunk 2077 — Glitch & Chrome Finishing

Final color grading and noise textures in Adobe Premiere Pro. Pushed the blacks hard and saturated the cyans and magentas to hit that signature Night City high-contrast look — UI elements, chromatic aberration, and neon palette giving the video its glitch-in-the-system energy.

The Result: A Visual Hijack

The final product is a high-octane visual assault. By bridging cult-classic sci-fi with modern technical execution, “Hive Mind” delivers a commission that perfectly encapsulates the band’s identity — chaotic, deliberate, and impossible to look away from.

“This wasn't just a lyric video — it was a digital hijack. We merged the visual language of 80s subversion with modern cyberpunk architecture to create something that feels like it's breaking through your screen.”

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