Picnic, the multidisciplinary studio founded by writer/producer/directors Mina Song and Liam O'Connor, have created a marvellous dual animated video for J Hus where viewers can follow the exploits of Brutal Boy and Alien Girl, flipping between Brutal and Beautiful 'galaxies', courtesy of an interactive platform. 

Produced by Partizan Studio, with the interactive experience designed by P4SD Laboratory, Picnic take us into a sexy sci-fi fantasy, with the option to journey with one or the other, or switch repeatedly between the two, as the protagonists progress on their respective mind-boggling adventures before finally connecting.

The concept of having two videos brings to life a track from Beautiful and Brutal Yard (B.AB.Y), J Hus's acclaimed album from last year. Each scene from one is mirrored in the other, where the animation style and narrative structure remains a constant, but some of the content and the colour palette differs. It's wonderfully executed, following the merging of the aesthetics of east and west animation, for which Picnic are renowned.         

"We listened to the song and absorbed the lyrics - playful innuendos about sex and sci-fi - and it spawned a whole concept of two videos in two worlds playing out in the exact same time and composition, but with two differing ends of the sexual anxiety spectrum," Picnic explains.

"We were inspired by the separate art departments used on Alien, where Ron Cobb and HR Giger answered their briefs without seeing each other's work until way into production.”

It's not often that such well-realised interactive visuals pop up, and this one truly is a visual feast. Brilliant, trailblazing work - and an exciting use of the capabilities of interactive video.