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Balloonerism

Celebrating the enduring legacy of Mac Miller, Hornet produced a 24-minute animated film in collaboration with the posthumous official release of the album “Balloonerism”

In the CG epic that spans 5 tracks of the album, a group of school friends are launched into a shadow world where they grapple with their inner demons and fears of adulthood. Director Samuel Jerome Mason built the narrative of the film around Mac Miller’s lyrical musings about innocence, self-sabotage, and looming uncertainty of the future.

  • Samuel Jerome Mason
    Director
  • Greg Bedard
    Executive Producer
  • Michael Feder
    Executive Producer
  • Hana Shimizu
    Executive Producer
  • Miller McCormick
    Executive Producer
  • Heather Hardin
    Producer
  • Stephanie Demeautis
    Producer
  • Daniel Callaby
    Animation Director
  • Minseok Kim
    Editor
  • Richard Kim
    CG Supervisor
  • Samuel Jerome Mason
    Writer
  • Roland Kennedy
    Writer
  • Alejandro Diaz
    Designer
  • Amália Lage
    Designer
  • JP Rooney
    Designer
  • Kelechukwu Nwakudu
    Designer
  • Laurie Herman
    Designer
  • Margherita Premuroso
    Designer
  • Matthew Corsillo
    Designer
  • Mike Altman
    Designer
  • Natalie Labarre
    Designer
  • Sami Healy
    Designer
  • Simone Noronha
    Designer
  • Karina Ochoa De Baker
    Costume Designer
  • Paris Powell
    Design Intern
  • Patrick Sholar
    Design Intern
  • Esther Yeseul Lee
    Graphic Design Intern
  • Soren Bendt
    Storyboards
  • Joseph Comar
    Storyboard Editor
  • Joseph Chen
    CG Technical Artist / Render TD
  • Natalie O'Leary
    Pipeline
  • Rui Zhu
    Pipeline
  • Joseph Chen
    Pipeline
  • Nikita Shtarkman
    Pipeline Development
  • Frank Lee
    Character Lead
  • David Vardanian
    Modeler
  • Giovani Kososki
    Modeler
  • Angeline Rivera
    CG Generalist
  • Jay Asava
    Animator (Titles)
  • Jin Jindawitchu
    Animator (Titles)
  • Christina Ku
    Lighter
  • Jonathan Lee
    Lighter
  • Joseph Ibrahim
    Lighter
  • Laney Lai
    Lighter
  • Natalia Perez Mendelez
    Lighter
  • Nicole Noel
    Lighter
  • Rui Zhu
    Lighter
  • Saad Moosajee
    Lighter
  • Samuel Jerome Mason
    Lighter
  • Weichieh Yu
    Lighter
  • Thomas Boileau
    Lighter
  • Andrea Laffont
    Lighter
  • Margo Lopez
    Lighter
  • Lucas Payet
    Lighter
  • Joseph Chen
    FX Artist
  • Stephen Hallquist
    FX Artist
  • Samuel Jerome Mason
    FX Artist
  • Rui Zhu
    FX Artist
  • Natalie O'Leary
    CFX
  • Jesus Fernandez
    Groom Lead
  • Jon Chun
    Talent Coordinator
  • Karen Lawler
    Director of Production
  • Kristin Labriola
    Head of Creative Development
  • Dez Stavracos
    Head of Production
  • Daniel Callaby
    Previs Editor
  • Milo Hustache-Mathieu
    Previs Editor
  • Alex Gredzinski
    Previs Supervisor
  • Hugues Daumail
    Previs Artist
  • Simon Diebold
    Previs Artist
  • Chloé Fabre
    Previs Artist
  • Milo Hustache-Mathieu
    Previs Artist
  • Alexandre Daumail
    Animator
  • Alexandre Dumez
    Animator
  • Simon Diebold
    Animator
  • Nico Debon
    Animator
  • Benoît de Geyer d'Orth
    Animator
  • Kevin Ducrot
    Animator
  • Chloé Fabre
    Animator
  • Mikolaj Janiw
    Animator
  • Steeve Manangou
    Animator
  • Clément Pierre
    Animator
  • Andrea Resera
    Animation Intern
  • Mariia Taranova
    Animation Intern
  • Luca Amorosi
    Rigging Supervisor
  • Margaux Huve
    Rigger
  • Eloi Morlet-Decarnin
    Visual Development & Texturing Artist
  • Antione Fromager
    Character Modeling
  • Julien Paris
    Character Modeling
  • David Vardanian
    Character Modeling
  • Aymeric Rondol
    Set Modeling Supervisor
  • Alex Gredzinski
    Set Modeler
  • Elliot Lequertier
    Set Modeler
  • Luc Belliard
    Set Modeler
  • Boris Watrin
    Groom
  • Melissa Armangau
    Groom
  • Michael Larue
    Lighting Supervisor
  • Max Soreau
    Look Development / Surfacing
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Music Video, Short
  • Runtime:
    24 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 17, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    France, United States
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Amazon Prime
Director Biography - Samuel Jerome Mason

An obsessive world-builder, Sam Mason's inspiration stems from artists like Terry Gilliam and Jim Henson. His journey began at Central Saint Martin's, where his student short garnered attention, leading to a mentorship with director Pete Candeland. This propelled Sam into directing global campaigns for notable brands and music videos for Sofi Tukker.
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Sam's craft reflects a lo-fi/hi-fi hybrid approach, often using emerging technologies to add texture and realness to his films, as seen in his collaboration with Hugo Marie for Little Things. His work, echoing the Baroque and Bauhaus movements, aims to create a blend of animation and traditional film, focusing on creating moving paintings rich with emotion and detail, while retaining a playful and romantic essence.

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