KATY PERRY "ROAR"

JONATHAN WU
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
2ND UNIT DIRECTOR
Production: Motion Theory
Post Production: Mirada Studios
Awards & Recognitions:

• People's Choice Awards: Favorite Music Video
• Over 1 Billion hits on YouTube

The video opens with Katy and her boyfriend stepping out of their crashed plane in the middle of the jungle. Katy's boyfriend is eaten by a tiger, forcing her to face exotic jungle obstacles on her own.  Timid at first, she increasingly befriends (and beautifies) jungle animals and transforms from city girl into a female Tarzan.

Once her fears are conquered, she's at home in the jungle. She challenges the legendary tiger to a roar-off in the ultimate battle of power. We end the story with a victorious Katy as the Queen of the Jungle, surrounded by her animal friends.

Production

Coupled by the vision of Directors Grady Hall and Mark Kudsi to make a mini-blockbuster film, we collaborated to create a narrative thread of empowerment. We developed story options using "Katy-isms," many concept frames for set design, and inspirational pulls to pay homage to vintage heroines.

Live-Action

As 2nd Unit Director, I shot several "Katy-ism" beats and captured many animal performances along with the environments and double.

Post Production

To achieve this thematic music video, I led a team of the industry's top artists consisting of: editors, designers, animators, compositors, matte painters and FX. I collaborated alongside VFX Supervisor Michael Shelton, Art Director Daryn Wakasa, and Post Producer Derek Johnson, who were also involved in the Production and Live-Action processes.