Atanas Shopski: The Secret Key’s Hopeful Music
- Music and animation combine to deliver a powerful message in Soundwielder's new music video for "The Secret Key." Musician ian Cohen collaborated with animation director Atanas Shopski...
- The 2D-animated video has received several accolades, including an Official Selection of the 2025 LA Film Festival, Best Music Video and Best Song at the Oniros Film Awards,...
- Animation Magazine spoke with Shopski, who has also created videos for Filter's "Obliteration" and the Nomad Blax hip-hop poems series, about the project.
Soundwielder’s “The Secret Key” Music Video tackles Mental Health with Animation
Updated June 22,2025
Music and animation combine to deliver a powerful message in Soundwielder’s new music video for “The Secret Key.” Musician ian Cohen collaborated with animation director Atanas Shopski to create a narrative about confronting mental health challenges and finding strength through empathy and support.
The 2D-animated video has received several accolades, including an Official Selection of the 2025 LA Film Festival, Best Music Video and Best Song at the Oniros Film Awards, and Honorable Mentions from the Los Angeles Movie awards.
Animation Magazine spoke with Shopski, who has also created videos for Filter’s “Obliteration” and the Nomad Blax hip-hop poems series, about the project.
Animation Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about how you became involved with this project?
Atanas Shopski: ian Cohen, the musician behind it all, reached out after seeing my animated music video for Richard Patrick from Filter.He wanted me to create a video for one of his original songs. We instantly clicked on an artistic level. Ian has that raw passion that all great artists carry.
I listened to ian’s song catalog on repeat. I knew this could become something deeply meaningful. We had long, in-depth conversations, digging into the past and trauma, what would later become the basis for the story.
We chose the track “The Secret Key.” I thoght about our conversations, and the theme of the song, and then developed a concept on the mental-health struggle, healing and love. It became personal for both of us – which, I believe, is the key to anything that truly resonates.
What did you love about it from the get-go?
What I loved right away was the creative freedom Ian entrusted me. I had space to visually interpret the song, to do the visual advancement, and propose a style I wanted to explore – a bold, shadow-heavy monochrome look contrasted with a full-color explosion during the chorus.
This freedom gave me the chance to experiment on powerful shots. That’s the beauty of music videos-they are a playground for creative exploration. And exploration is growth.
Working with musicians brings a unique energy. It’s such a stunning moment when masters of the audio and visual world come together. Yin and yang – so diffrent, yet one.
How long did it take to make and which animation tools were used?
The pre-production, mainly developing the animatic, took about two months.
what’s next
Shopski is continuing to explore animation’s potential for storytelling, with plans to collaborate on more projects that address important social issues.