Heavystar

Alt-Hip Hop Visual Identity & Video Series

HEAVYSTAR is an experimental, alternative hip-hop project created during the isolation of COVID by Gary Hedrick + Mike Joliat. What started as a small creative escape quickly turned into a full-scale collaboration—writing, producing, directing, and designing an entire visual and sonic universe from scratch.

The Challenge

Build a distinct world for a brand-new music project with no existing identity, no label support, and no genre box to fit into. We wanted HEAVYSTAR to feel raw, cinematic, and a little unstable—like a signal coming through distortion.

My Role

I led the full creative process alongside Mike Joliat, including:

  • Lyrics, arranging of music + production

  • Creative direction + world-building

  • Brand identity + visual language

  • Video concepting, editing, and animation

  • After Effects + Final Cut direction and implementation

  • Social + release campaign art

Every video, graphic, and texture was handmade, pulling from street art, analog distortion, and layered motion experiments. The goal was to blur the line between music video, visual art, and experimental film.

The Work

Across the project I produced:

  • The HEAVYSTAR brand identity

  • The EP teaser (visual smoke & typography concept)

  • Three music videos, each with its own visual treatment:

    • EP Teaser – Atmospheric, color-driven motion piece

    • Heart of the Matter – Glitch art, graffiti textures, layered portraits

    • Why – Handheld storytelling mixed with chaotic layering and rhythmic cuts

The visuals were created using Final Cut Pro, After Effects, custom photography, and found-object textures pulled from the environment—mirroring the improvisational nature of the music.

The Result

HEAVYSTAR became a fully realized alternative hip-hop experience with its own visual and emotional fingerprint. The project still resonates with fans as one of our most unfiltered, instinct-driven bodies of work.