Inspiration
Preta Le was inspired by the real-life story of my wife — a Black Brazilian woman who grew up in the favela, faced poverty, discrimination, illness, and countless forms of adversity. Her strength and resilience became the emotional core of a poem I wrote about her life. From that poem came a song, and from that song emerged a virtual singer whose voice carries the memories of a real woman. Preta Le is digital, but everything she expresses is rooted in lived experience.
What it does
This project transforms deeply personal memories into five animated music videos starring Preta Le, a virtual Black woman whose emotions and expressions mirror the real woman who inspired her. Each clip focuses on a different aspect of survival and hope — sickness inside a fragile shack, faith in Sao Jorge, the chaos of the public hospital, the energy of a stadium crowd, and intimate moments of fear and protection. The final work is a hybrid audiovisual poem uniting music, text and 2D animation.
How we built it
I began by writing poems inspired by my wife’s life. These poems shaped the songs, and the songs guided the visual direction. Using AI illustration and animation tools, I crafted the avatar of Preta Le and built environments that reflected her emotional world. Every scene was refined iteratively: music influenced image, and image influenced music, until all five videos felt like a single continuous narrative.
Challenges we ran into
A significant challenge was maintaining emotional authenticity while using AI tools that often distort subtle expressions. Ensuring consistency of character across lighting changes, camera angles and animation sequences required constant refinement. Another challenge was translating the complexity of favela life — tenderness, violence and faith — into stylized 2D visuals that honored the truth without resorting to cliché.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We’re proud that Preta Le feels emotionally coherent across all five clips. We were able to use AI not as a replacement for human storytelling, but as an instrument to amplify the voice of a real woman whose life deserves visibility. The process also created a unique workflow where poetry, music and animation developed together.
What we learned
We learned how to direct AI creatively rather than rely on it blindly. We learned how to keep emotional consistency across hundreds of images. We learned that personal stories, especially those from marginalized communities, gain new dimensions when transformed into music and symbolic imagery.
What’s next for Preta Le
Next steps include expanding Preta Le into a full audiovisual album, with each chapter of my wife’s life becoming a new animated piece. We plan to develop a live performance version combining projection, music and spoken word, and explore interactive installations where audiences can inhabit her world. Preta Le will continue to evolve as a symbol of resistance, vulnerability and beauty.
Built With
- elevenlabs
- freepik
- kling
- midjourney
- suno
