MUSIC VIDEOS Stash Media Inc. Editor: Stephen Price Publisher: Greg robins Associate editor: HEATHER GRIEVE Associate publisher: CHRISTINE STEAD Account managers: STACY JAMES FRY, APRIL HARVEY Producer: BRANDON DEMARCO Submissions coordinator: ABBEY KERR Music editor: STEVE MARCHESE Proofing editor: MARILEE BOITSON Preview director/producer: STACY JAMES FRY Preview editor: JEAN-DENIS ROUETTE Montage editor: JEFF ZEMETIS Contributing producer: ERIC ALBA Technical guidance: IAN HASKIN MUSIC

Get your inspiration delivered monthly. Every issue of Stash DVD magazine VIDEOS is packed with outstanding animation and VFX for design and advertising. Subscribe now: WWW.STASHMEDIA.TV

ISSN 1712-5928 Subscrptions: www.stashmedia.tv. Submissions: www.stashmedia.tv/submit. Contact: Stash Media Inc. 484-1641 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2J5 Canada

Legal things: Stash Magazine and Stash DVD are published 12 times per year by Stash Media Inc. All rights reserved and contents copyright Stash Media Inc. No part of this booklet nor the Stash DVD may be copied without express written permission from the publisher.

Printed in Canada. Music videos are peculiar creatures – two-headed beasts with one head focused on selling a musical act and the other distracted by the artistry of sculpting visuals to audio. This dichotomy is jumbled further by music videos created not just to promote a product but to be the product itself.

While compiling the list of music videos for this special collection, I began to wonder which of these visual treasures were made with which of those two heads. With all the marketing blockbusters and the abstract “art” videos out there, what I wanted to see was a collection of clips that fit into both categories; the chart-topping stars who choose the visually risky route despite their rank in a money-means-everything industry, and the obscure group who launches themselves toward stardom aboard a breakout marketing tool.

Stash owes a lot to both camps, so I’d like to thank all the artists, animators, directors and labels who submit their music videos to us every month. Whether they were forged out of a passion to create something of artistic beauty, or to perpetuate corporate motion, we salute you.

I also need to thank Stash’s very own music editor Steve Marchese for his input in assembling this collection.

If you discover your favorite video didn’t make the cut, I would love to hear from you – but before you jump to your email, I can let you in on a secret; this is only the first in a series of Stash music video collections. Here’s hoping they are all filled with peculiar creatures and two-headed beasts.

Heather Grieve Associate Editor Toronto, February 2008 [email protected] stash 01.29

“We Will Rock You” Music video 2:39

Record Company: Universal Licensing Music Agency: BETC EURO RSCG Directors/designers: Soandsau Production: Wizz Animation: Invisible www.invisible.fr When an Evian spot, directed by SoandSau (Jean Christophe Saurel and Sophie Deiss) and fueled by a reworking of Queen’s For Wizz: anthem, caught fire last year the Producer: François Brun agency and music label pounced. The resulting full-length video, For Invisible says the French helming duo, was Animation Super: Alexis Lavillat produced on a ridiculously short PM: Adeline Deorsola schedule but allowed them to Animation: Jean-Yves Castillon, develop ideas not possible in the David Cez, Nicolas Guilloteau, commercial. Wizz and Invisible are Gark based in Paris. Compositer: Karl Bourdin

Toolkit After Effects stash 01.30

EMILIE SIMON “FLOWERS” Music video 2:35

Music label: BARCLAY/UNIVERSAL MUSIC FRANCE Directors: No Brain Production: Cosa Animation NO BRAIN www.no.brain.free.fr French animation/direction collective No Brain have built a quick reputation for their mixed techniques and fresh vision that Cosa EP Julien Rigoulot describes as, “an incredible, precious authenticity”. Because of budget concerns, Flowers - originally pitched as a combination of stop- motion and CG - was animated entirelly in 3D except for several seconds of the music box. For Cosa EP: Julien Rigoulot For No Brain 2D: Bheu©,, Sylvain, Design: Guillaume Mat, Binjo, g-Lul Post producer: Niko Backgrounds: Isa 3D: Charly, Spawn, Editor: Delphine Boudon Bart, Rémi, Gaelle Toolkit 3ds Max, After Effects stash 03.21

BJORK “OCEANIA” Music video

Directors: LYNN FOX Production: COLONEL BLIMP Animation/compositing: LYNN FOX www.lynnfox.co.uk Words seem inadequate to describe Bjork’s music as they do this video, a product of the mercurial singer’s ongoing collaboration with UK directorial collective Lynn Fox who also handled 3D and compositing. For Colonel Blimp Producer: Anna Brunaro For The Mill Producer: Bumble Davis Telecine: Adam Scott VFX super/Flame: Paul Marangos Flame assistant: Jay Bandlish Toolkit Flame, Spirit stash 08.19

SUBTLE “FK-9” Music video

Record Label: LEX RECORDS Director: SSSR Animation: SSSR/PASSION PICTURES www.passion-pictures.com London-based collective SSSR is comprised of Kristian Hammerstad and Marc Raisbig from Norway and Yu Sato from Japan who all graduated in Graphic Design from Central St Martin’s College of Art in 2004. This video, a nightmarish haze of 2D traditional animation, CG and photography is the trio’s third for Subtle. SSSR is newly signed to Passion Pictures for commercials and videos. For SSSR Artists: Kristian Hammerstad, Marc Raisbig, Yu Sato stash 08.20

BECK “E-PRO” Music video

Record Label: INTERSCOPE/GEFFEN Director: SHYNOLA Production: THE DIRECTOR’S BUREAU VFX/animation: SHYNOLA www.shynola.com London-based directing team Shynola (Gideon, Jason, Chris and Kenny) send Beck romping through a retro-tech vector underworld that begins when he digs up the grave of his pet dog. The weightless and disorienting movements of the singer/ songwriter were created by locking off the camera, suspending him in a harness and then controlling his motions with a team of rugged For The Director’s Bureau puppeteers. EP: Cayce Cole Producer: Eric Escott DP: Eric Schmidt AD: Mark Snalgrove Puppeteers: William Guyer, Kevin Carlson, Dave Barclay, James Murphy, Michelan Sisti, Greg Ballora Post: The Moving Picture Company stash 09.20

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS “BELIEVE” Music video For Factory Films Record Label: Producer: John Madsen VIRGIN RECORDS For Framestore CFC Directors: VFX super: Ben Cronin DOM & NIC CGI super/TD: Andy Boyd Production: 3D animators/TDs: Jamie Isles, FACTORY FILMS Chris Syborn, Nicklas Andersson, VFX: Alex Doyle, Howard Sly, Anders FRAMESTORE CFC Thonell, Don Mahmood, Dean www.framestore-cfc.com Robinson, Kate Hood, Jake Mengers, Rob Holder During the shoot for the Renault Sr Inferno: Ben Cronin “Hector’s Life” spot (Stash 07), Inferno: Chris Redding Framestore CFC and directing Post producer: Rebecca Barbour team Dom & Nic shot tests using Line producer: Linda Francini Mini DV. Intrigued with the feel and hand held look of the digital Toolkit footage, the directors chose to Image Based Lighting with Mental use the format for this narrative Ray, Maya, Inferno promo that would have been too expensive in 35mm. With over 30 CG shots to do in a compressed schedule, senior TD Chris Syborn used Maya’s dynamic hair tools to handle the secondary motion required by the robot’s tail of cabling and wires. The final composite was completed in two weeks. stash 09.28

GORILLAZ “FEEL GOOD INC.” Music video

Record label: PARLOPHONE Directors: JAMIE HEWLETT, PETE CANDELAND Production/VFX/animation: PASSION PICTURES www.passion-pictures.com Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, better known as the animated band Gorillaz, are back with their first album since their multi-million selling 2001 debut. This video for the first single fuses drawn and computer animation, painted backgrounds and treated live action. All the animation was done in-house at Passion Pictures with co-director Candeland helming a team of 35 animators, designers and compositors over a 12-week schedule. For Passion Pictures EP: Andrew Ruhemann Producers: Emilie Walmsley, Cara Speller 2D animation: Robert Valley, Heath Kenny, Rikke Asbjorn AD: Daniel Cacouault Matte painter: Christobal de Oliveira CG animation: Wesley Coman CG supers: Chris Hemming, Antoine Moulineau Sr compositor: Johnny Still Compositing: Niamh Lines, Cassiano Prado, Ed Salkeld TD: Mark Wilson For Rushes VFX: Duncan Malcolm, Marcus Wood, Brian Carbin Producer: Carl Grinter Toolkit: Toonz, LightWave, Photoshop, After Effects stash 10.21

AUDIO BULLYS “SHOT YOU DOWN” Music video Record label: VIRGIN RECORDS Director: JONAS ODELL Production: NEXUS, FILMTECKNARNA Animation/VFX: FILMTECKNARNA www.filmtecknarna.com Director Jonas Odell on creating the “Shot You Down” video in which he uses archival clips of Nancy Sinatra performing the original tune: “The way they [Audio Bullys] create a sound collage out of the original song and their own dance beats is quite remarkable. Skewed, asymmetrical and uncompromising, the track is a piece of art. I felt I wanted to use the same approach visually as the band had musically when they put the track together; to work with For Virgin Records visual “samples” and loops, and Commissioner: Jane Newton hopefully to adopt the same kind For Filmteckarna and Nexus of irreverent and uncompromising Producers: Lina Stenberg, attitude towards the material. It’s Julia Parfitt neither easy listening nor easy DP: Ben Moulden watching, but it should be at all times entertaining. Call me a Video Bully if you want, I don’t care… ” stash 11.22

PHEONIX FOUNDATION “HITCHCOCK” Music video Record Label: FESTIVAL MUSHROOM RECORDS Director: REUBEN SUTHERLAND Production: JOYRIDER FILMS VFX: REUBEN SUTHERLAND www.joyriderfilms.co.uk This mesmerizing clip takes on mythic proportions when you learn it was created by one man using only a digital still camera and After Effects. Director Reuben Sutherland (a Kiwi now living in London) shot the cars and the back plates on location in New Zealand. The photo-realistic Ladas were created via multi-layered stills For Festival Mushroom Records enabling them to appear 3D, then Commissioner: Matt McLeod animated and composited with the For Joyrider Films back plates in just one layer. All EP: Spencer Friend post was completed by Sutherland Director/DOP/VFX: Reuben in After Effects. Sutherland Toolkit After Effects

stash 12.29

NINE INCH NAILS “ONLY” Music video

Record label: I NOTHING Director: DAVID FINCHER Production/animation/VFX: DIGITAL DOMAIN www.d2.com Twenty years ago David Fincher began his directing career helming videos for pop heartthrob Rick Springfield. His work during the late eighties for acts like Paula Abdul, Madonna and Aerosmith lead to his narrative feature film debut with Alien 3 in 1992. This summer, with the help of Digital Domain, he stepped back into the video genre with this piece for NIN; his first collaboration with Trent Reznor since the opening title sequence for Se7en in 1995. Digital Domain SVP Ed Ulbrich says Fincher has been toying with the pin box animation idea for almost 10 years, waiting for the right project and CG technology to coincide. According to VFX super Eric Barba “Only” contains 76 fully CG shots with ten more containing some live action (including the opening shot featuring his hand). The hyper-real rendering, which drive the procedural pin block For Digital Domain Digital artists: Chris Norpchen, makes it virtually impossible to animation. Head of production: Piotr Karwas, Richard Morton, tell the live action from the 3D Michael Pardee John Cooper, Dave Carlson, The project, which had up to 18 shots, was accomplished with VFX super: Eric Barba Patrick Perez, Rob Nederhorst, bodies assigned to it, was the first the ray tracing, HDR and global VFX producer: Lisa Beroud Jim Gaczkowski, Aaron Powell project Fincher has done at DD illumination abilities of VRay (a Digital PM: Chris House Tracking: Scott Edelstein without storyboards, choosing plug-in for 3ds Max) and a render Editor: Russ Glasgow instead to work out the interaction Toolkit farm of up to 800 machines. CG super: Jay Barton of Reznor’s performance and the LightWave, Maya, 3ds Max, V-Ray, Compositing super: The ten-week schedule included desktop set in previs and the edit. Nuke, Flame, Inferno Jonathan Hicks only six hours to shoot Reznor’s Check the Behind the Scenes Flame: James Blevins performance which was captured feature on the DVD for more on Nuke composite: Greg Teegarden, with DV on greenscreen with red this project. Janelle Croshaw and blue key lights to provide Color grader: Todd Sarsfield chroma information to help Pre-vis: John Allardice stash 13.24

SHERYL CROW “GOOD IS GOOD” Music video Record label: INTERSCOPE RECORDS Directors: KYLIE MATULICK, TODD MUELLER Production/design/animation: PSYOP www.psyop.tv Inspired by the beauty of Australia’s Byron Bay beach, New York directors Matulick and Mueller assembled a style frame while still on the road, and as they remark, “Sheryl just loved it”. With Crow available for only two days of shooting, Psyop skipped their usual previs phase working back For Psyop Tracking: Joerg Liebold, Chris Hill, For wild(child) and forth with editor Brett Nicoletti Flame: Eben Mears Jan Cilliers Editor: Brett Nicoletti of wild(child) to lock a cut. Crow EPs: Justin Booth-Clibborn, Designers: Douglas Lee, Toolkit was so pleased with the video she Cath Berclaz Daniel Piwowarzik, Babak Radboy Flame, Maya, Photoshop, retained the team to create the Producer: Mariya Shikher 2D: Josh Harvey, BeeJin Tan, After Effects cover art for Wildflower, her CD Live action producer: Mats Aanderson and DVD released in September. Paul Middlemiss Roto: Chris Halstead, Adam Van Lead 3D/TD: Domel Libid Dine, Ella Boliver, Joshua Bush, 3D: Chris Bach, Kevin Estey, Alvin Chad Nau, Kirstin Hall, Bae, Pakorn Bupphavesa, Laurent Danielle Leiser, Stefania Gallico Barthelemy, Todd Akita, Vadim Storyboard: Benjamin Chan Turchin, Maurice Caicedo, Eric Lampi, Gerald Ding, Hay-yeun Lee Junior Flame: Jaime Aguirre, Joe Vitale stash 13.26

ALIAS “SIXES LAST” Music video

Record label: ANTICON Director: ARVIND PALEP Animation/VFX: 1ST AVE MACHINE www.1stavemachine.com Working from an open brief, NYC’s 1st Ave Machine creates the contents of an alien greenhouse where evolution has been coaxed off course. “[The video] is about how artificiality is creeping into the modern day world,” explains director Arvind Palep, “We were looking at a merge between synthetic biology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and what could spawn from them.” The live action was shot on HDV at New York’s botanical gardens with the alien flora added with 3ds Max and rendered in VRay . For 1st Ave Machine Director: Arvin Palep Producer: Serge Patzak Toolkit 3ds Max, VRay, Sony HDV Camcorder stash 13.28

FUNKSTÖRUNG “PUNK MOTHERFUCKER” Music video (student film) Director: JAN MATHIAS STEINFORTH www.mateuniverse.de School: HAWK HILDESHEIM, GERMANY www.fh-hildesheim.de Global Student Animation Awards winner of the VFX category and Best of 2005. version of the track, animated and composited the VFX and While many of the scores across documented the entire process as the three GSAA categories where required by the university. very close, this music video for the German band Funkstörung was Steinforth had some very specific given superlative marks by almost ideas about the effect he wanted every judge with several scoring it for the hallucinagenic poster, a perfect 40 out of 40. “The effect had to be automate- able and had to be based on Working with the idea that one live-action source footage. But it cannot run away from oneself, couldn’t look like a cheap plug-in, German graphic design student so I did extensive work exploring Jan Mathias Steinforth invokes a possibilities to achieve stunning nightmare worthy of Kafka for the visuals with different programs and last project of his academic career. approaches. This final approach Laboring to stay within the is done by kind of misusing Maya three-month deadline, Steinforth Fur. I especially like this idea of developed and storyboarded using a technology in a way it isn´t the idea, cast the actor, secured meant to be used to achieve an the locations, recruited the crew, interesting effect.” directed the two-day shoot, designed the featured poster, got the band to do a special For !K9 Records Music: Michael Fakesch, Chris DeLuca (Funkstörung) For Mateuniverse Production: Dominika Hasse, Hans-Friedrich Müller Camera: Udo Sauer Best boy: Sven Windszus Cast: Ingmar Skrinjar Toolkit After Effects, Maya stash 17.20

U-ZIQ “FALL OF ANTIOCH” Music video

Record label: PLANETMU VIRGIN RECORDS Directors: STEPHAN BETZ, MEGID HOFF, FLORIAN WITZEL Production/animation/VFX: GEORG-SIMON-OHM- FACHHOCHSCHULE NÜRNBERG www.fh-nuernberg.de FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE www.iis.fraunhofer.de Post: DAS WERK www.das-werk.de Three students from the University of Applied Sciences Nuremberg found their inspiration for this video while listening to the U-ziq track on Windows Media Player with Particle Visualisation: “We were instantly thinking of some kind of For Georg-Simon-Ohm- For Virgin Records pixels falling on urban landscapes.” Fachhochschule Nürnberg Rights releasing: Bencur Zon After viewing the trio’s animatic/ Directors: Stephan Betz, ripomatic for the video, the artist For Das Werk Megid Hoff, Florian Witzel and his label agreed to donate the Da Vinci: Florian Wold Set support: Semin Kaynak, rights to the track. Total production Inferno: Florian Decker, Ute Engel |Ingo Walde time: 4 months. Conceptual/technical support: Toolkit Watch Behind the Scenes on Gerhard Walliczek, Softimage XSI, Da Vinci, Inferno the DVD Jorgen Schopper stash 20.22

COLDER “TO THE MUSIC” Music video

Record label: OUTPUT RECORDINGS CD: MATT CLARK Production/design: UNITED VISUAL ARTISTS www.uva.co.uk Based in London, United Visual Artists produce an eclectic range of work mixing elements of animation, live performance, motion-capture, sculpture, design and programming into both fine and applied art. This piece for Parisian electronic act Colder – UVA’s first music video – uses custom software to expand on the aesthetic of broken 3D scanning and motion capture demos of 20 years ago. UVA CD Matt Clark says the striking look was inspired by what he describes as the group’s “interest in the beauty of digital errors.” stash 21.22

JEREMY WARMSLEY “DIRTY BLUE JEANS” Music video Record label: TRANSGRESSIVE RECORDS Director: BEN ROLLASON Production/VFX: For Transgressive Records DRAW PICTURES Commissioner: Tim Dellow, Toby L www.drawpictures.co.uk For Draw Pictures The disquieting angst of the Producer: Will Misselbrook semi-frozen characters in this PM: Andy Bell video is a result of the director’s 1st assistant director: Adam Morris obsession with blending video 2nd assistant director: Ian Hughes frames together – as many as DOP: Stein Stie 700 at a time – and the purposely Focus puller: Karl Hui awkward poses he inflicts on his Camera assist: Raquel Mayumi actors. Director Rollason, who AD: Aimee Paton says he “wanted to create a kind Art assist: Leah of paranoiac sense of having fallen Production runners: out of the world,” opted for a green Eduardo Twouse, Louis Gill screen shoot after discovering a Hair/make-up/styling: rear projection system would cost Anastasia Pappas more than the £5K he had for the Backdrop photography: entire video. Johanna Ruebel Additional backdrop photography: Sarah Severson, Ben Rollason Editor/VFX: Ben Rollason Toolkit Sony Digital Betacam, After Effects stash 22.17

GNARLS BARKLEY “CRAZY” Music video

Record label: DOWNTOWN RECORDS, WARNER MUSIC Director: ROBERT HALES Production: HSI Design/VFX: For HSI BL:ND Director: Robert Hales www.blind.com Line producer: Coleen Haynes Director Robert Hales’ pitch for DP: Damien Avecedo Crazy was based on the song’s Editor: Ken Mauwe title and he won the gig because For Bl:nd Cee-Lo, a member of the Gnarls CD: Vanessa Marzaroli Barkley duo, underwent an EP: Santino Sladavic actual Rorschach test when he Line producer: Susan Harris was a child. With only 14 days Designers: Christine Kim, to complete the project, Bl:nd Bryan Louie, Atsusuhi Ishisuka, CD Vanessa Marzaroli says she Lawrence Wyatt, Vanessa and her crew of nine designer/ Marzaroli, Po Thientuma animators, “worked up until the Animators: Atsushi Ishisuka, very last minute.” The video is one Lawrence Wyatt, David Yan, of the most seen of all time with Trevor Shepard, Andre Salyer, over four million views on YouTube Jesse Franklin, Benji Schuup, in its first month. Crazy was also Bill Sneed, John Robson the first song to hit the top of the Flame: Joel Ashman UK charts from download Mattes: Owen Hammer sales alone. Tools After Effects, 3ds Max, Final Cut Pro HD stash 24.17

THOM YORKE “HARROWDOWN HILL” Music video Record label: XL RECORDINGS Director: CHEL WHITE Production/animation: BENT IMAGE LAB www.bentimagelab.com Director Chel White curates a series of disparate filmmaking techniques – including digitally simulated swing tilt lens cinematography, structuralist stop motion, high-speed underwater footage, time lapse, and a custom- filtered film transfer process – into an enigmatic and emotional clip for the first single from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke’s debut solo album. From the first listen White says he saw the song in different For Bent Image Lab Digital colorists: Jim Barrett, chapters, each with a distinct EPs: David Cress, Chel White, Jake Buff, Orland Nutt visual approach, “I was concerned Ray DiCarlo Producers: Tsui Ling Toomer, that one single technique for the Eagle animation: David Russo Isham Martin entire four and a half minutes Time-lapse photography: Assistant editor: Ryan Jeffery would not only get a little tiresome, Mark Eifert Small-gantics team: but wouldn’t do justice to what I Editor: Kelly McClean Carlos Stevens, Loren Judah, saw as the evolving nature of the Small-gantics development: Jonny Hamilton, Brian Kinkley, song.” Jim Clark Steve Blazer, Alan Winston Small-gantics leader: CG flock of birds: Fred Ruff For XL Recordings Jalal Jemison Stock footage research: Video commissioner: Dilly Gent Underwater DP: Zach Lewis Christopher Pearson Assistant director: Laura McGie stash 24.27

THE HORRORS “SHEENA IS A PARASITE” Music video Record label: LOOG/POLYDOR Director: CHRIS CUNNINGHAM VFX: GOLDEN SQUARE www.goldensq.com Seven years after his landmark work for Bjork on “All is Full of Love”, director Chris Cunningham returns to music videos with this low-budget effort for a band he found on MySpace. The majority of the piece, which features an unbelievably intense performance by Samantha Morton, visceral explosions and gag-inducing facial prosthetics, was shot in studio on DV CAM with additional elements shot later by the director Director/editor: Chris Cunningham at home to fit into his edit. “The Producer: James Wilson post work involved multi-layer For Golden Sqaure composites, seamless transitions Inferno: Rachel Mills between takes and cleaning up backgrounds,” says producer Toolkit James Wilson. “One of the Inferno challenges of working on the video was the frame accuracy of the visual/audio synchronization. This predetermined the necessity to use multiple takes for the shots to sync perfectly.” stash 24.28

MADONNA “GET TOGETHER” Music video

Record label: Meanwhile, the 3D team was WARNER BROS. constructing an array of growing, Director: pulsing, melting, psycho-surreal LOGAN 3D environments. The treated concert clips were then tracked Design/animation into those environments. As LOGAN complex and engaging as the www.hellologan.com video is, Conrad is upfront about It took six weeks of work by what the fact the challenge on this co-director Ben Conrad calls an project was to dress up a club “endless army of animators” to track and went with a treatment create this visually chewy piece of that felt appropriate – citing erotic eye candy. All the work was done comic artists like Italian Milo in-house at Logan’s Venice studio Manara as influences. One of the and began with the extraction pitch frames that won Logan the of Madonna’s performance out job is at the bottom of the page. of existing concert footage then For Warner Bros. converting those frames to hi-con Commissioner: Lydia Sarn images and colorizing them. stash 24.31

THE WHITE STRIPES “THE DENIAL TWIST” Music video Record label: XL RECORDINGS Director: MICHEL GONDRY Production: PARTIZAN Post: THE MILL NY www.the-mill.com For the optically warped fourth music video collaboration between director Michel Gondry and Detroit rock duo The White Stripes, the team at the Mill NY had more than their hands full. To work with the anamorphically adjusted set where props, furniture, and backgrounds For Partizan Smoke: Jeff Robbins were all half or double their normal Producer: Julie Fong Post producer: Melanie Wickham height, Flame artists Angus Kneale Director: Michel Gondry 3D producer: Asher Edwards and Richard de Carteret digitally Telecine: Tom Poole expanded and compressed the For The Mill Telecine producer: Angela Botta rooms and characters to give the CD: Angus Kneale CGI: Doug Luka, Arlene Persaud, correct distortion, while the CG Lead Flame: Angus Kneale, Sam Kim, Wyatt Savarese team was kept busy with extensive Richard de Carteret Shoot super: Aron Hjartarson, tracking, 3D reconstruction Flame: Tara DeMarco, David Westley Sarokin and match moving to the single Parker, Westley Sarokin, steadycam shot. According to Jamie Scott Toolkit Kneale the entire project was Flame assist: Jeanette Williford, Flame, Spirit, Combustion, Shake, worth it just “to be a part of Anu Nagaraj, Greg Gilpatrick Maya, 3DE, Photoshop another one of Michel’s simple, yet ingenious ideas”. stash 26.08

CONSTANTINES “WORKING FULL-TIME” Music video Record label: SUBPOP / THREE GUT RECORDS Director: DREW LIGHTFOOT Production: THE REVOLVER FILM COMPANY For what may be the world’s first MV featuring performance footage of stop-motion rocks, Toronto animator/director Drew Lightfoot shot the band against white on DV to generate strong silhouettes and had two weeks to animate them. For The Revolver Film Company Animators: Dale Hayward, Drew Lightfoot Editor: Jaron Albertin DP: Jeremy Benning Producer: Nick Sorbara EP: Jannie McInnes Corporate evil: Stewart Jones Toolkit Canon Super 8mm, Nikon D70, After Effects, Final Cut Pro

Watch Behind the Scenes material on the DVD. stash 27.09

I LOVE YOU BUT I’VE CHOSEN DARKNESS “THE OWL” Music video Designer/director/animator: Record label: Emmanuel Ho SECRETLY CANADIAN Special thanks: Chris Abbey, Director: Susan Brennan, Yussef Cole, Todd EMMANUEL HO Fuller, Micah Hahn, Nathan Neely, Jaan Shenberger Animation: EMMANUEL HO Toolkit www.emmanuelho.com After Effects, Photoshop, Blender Working alone and with an open brief, Canadian designer/animator/ director Emmanuel Ho creates a tense, emotional mini-masterwork for the band I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness and their label Secretly Canadian. Bold compositions, a restricted palette and sharp editing all contribute to the power of this comment on blind faith and cruelty. “The entire project was fairly difficult to pull off in almost too many ways to mention,” reveals Ho. “I ran into a lot of dead ends. Thankfully the band and label were not pressuring me in any specific direction which allowed for experimentation and finessing.” The clip opens the show for the band’s 2006 European tour. Schedule: one month. stash 27.17

GNARLS BARKLEY “GONE DADDY GONE” Music video Record label: DOWNTOWN RECORDS, WARNER MUSIC Director: CHRIS MILK Production: @RADICAL MEDIA Animation: SABOTAGE DEF2SHOOT www.def2shoot.com LA-based director Chris Milk (chrismilk.com), who has built a client list including Kanye West, Chemical Brothers, Courtney Love, Modest Mouse, Jet and Audioslave in his three-year MV career, takes this cover of the Violent Femmes track “Gone Daddy Gone” in a direction the band probably never anticipated. With the help of a dozen artists in the CG/VFX department of Def2shoot in Paris, Milk, who admits to feature film aspirations, creates an aura of over-the-top cuteness tempered with an unexpected creep factor that gets under your skin and stays there. Toolkit 3ds Max, After Effects, Flame, Avid stash 28.15

THE SOFTLIGHTES “HEART MADE OF SOUND” Music video Record label: MODULAR RECORDINGS Director: KRIS MOYES kmoyes.com Post: FRAME SET AND MATCH www.fsm.com.au Sydney-based Kris Moyes, an art grad who started helming music videos 12 months ago, is making a name for himself as a fearlessly experimental director. This overly ambitious stop-motion piece from The Softlightes first album (released January ‘07) burned through 164 set-ups (and an art director) in 14 straight shoot days. Did he sleep at all? “Yes, I slept very well. I’m pretty organized so we were only shooting nine-hour days.” Post took another week. Director/producer/DOP/editor: Kris Moyes ADs: Kris Moyes, Jonathan Zawada For Frame Set and Match Toolkit Camera operator: Sam Hendel Producer: Bec Cubitt Canon EOS 1DS Mark II, Fkane Props buyers: Cameron Peters, Flame: Phil Stuart-Jones Sharon McDonald HD colorist: Tristan La Fontaine stash 28.16

SUBTLE “THE MERCURY CRAZE” Music video For Lex Records Managing director: Tom Brown Record label: Label manager: William Skeaping LEX RECORDS For Passion Pictures Director: SSSR: Kristian Hammerstad, SSSR Marc Raisbig, Yu Sato Animation/design: Toolkit PASSION PICTURES After Effects, boujou, Cinema 4D, www.passion-pictures.com Final Cut Pro, Maya, Photoshop, “The Mercury Craze”, a moody 3D Studio Max mix of 2D traditional animation, CG and photography, is the fourth collaboration between Oakland’s Subtle sextet and the Norwegian/ Japanese directing trio SSSR. Sian Rees of Passion Pictures says the video’s enigmatic narrative simply follows the lyrics of the song. “It describes a series of situations as the richest people in the world try to get hold of our hero’s blood to heal their sick children. His rare blood is abused and our hero becomes just another rich fool by the end. It’s a poem about the notion of selling your soul – if you sell off part of yourself to everyone, then one day what will you have left?” SSSR’s three previous promos for Subtle were released as a DVD called “Wishingbone” and won best music video at the British Animation Awards 2006. stash 29.09

SKANK “ONESONG” Music video

Director: LOBO Production: THE EBELING GROUP Animation/VFX: LOBO www.lobo.cx In 1994 an escapee from MTV Brasil’s On-Air Graphics department named Mateus de Paula Santos founded Lobo with two friends. Twelve years later their adventures in relaxed inventiveness continue with this delightful integration of 3D and live action for popular Brazilian pop/ rock/reggae band Skank. For Lobo EP: Luiz Carlos Reis Director: Mateus de Paula Santos stash 29.16

COLDCUT “SOUND MIRRORS” Music video

Record label: NINJA TUNE Director: UP THE RESOLUTION Animation/design: UP THE RESOLUTION www.uptheresolution.co.uk “This wasn’t the usual pitch/fight for a promo,” says Andrew Griffin of UTR about landing the video for the title track from Coldcut’s first album in eight years. “But instead we were invited by [Ninja Tune commissioner] Vez to work on our own interpretation of the track. As a result, the brief was entirely open (subject to them liking it!). The concept was to show an For Ninja Tune ambiguous organism that evolves Commissioner: Vez with the music, travelling to the eponymous Sound Mirrors where For Up The Resolution it then blossoms.” The finished Director/producer/animation/ clip is a mix of 2D, 3D and heavily design: Up The Resolution manipulated live action. Due to the Toolkit low budget the promo was created After Effects, Maya, Photoshop, in downtime between other jobs Illustrator over the course of a year, which Griffin estimates as six to eight weeks of actual production time. stash 29.22

THE KNIFE “LIKE A PEN” Music video

Record label: MUTE RECORDS Director: ANDREAS NILSSON Animation/design: ANDREAS NILSSON www.silverbullit.se/andreas “Like A Pen” marks the fourth video by Andreas Nilsson for Swedish synth pop group The Knife. A long time collaborator and friend of the band, Nilsson is also the art director of the audiovisual component for their live performances. He admits his creative approach to this video, for which he created all the graphic components, was to “keep a sense of logic in something unlogical.” Schedule: three weeks. Director/animator: Andreas Nilsson B-Camera: Marcus Dimbodius Costume design: Britta Törner Animation assistant: Kristofer Nilsson Toolkit After Effects, Photoshop, Sketchup, Nikon d200 stash 29.25

“LOOK HERE KID” Music video (spec)

Director: WES RICHARDSON Animation: WES RICHARDSON http://lookherekid.com “Look Here Kid” is NYC-based Wes Richardson’s little experiment with 3D and live action. The challenge was choosing where to add the graphic and 3D elements. “My solution lay within creating elements that mirror my personality and interests and placing them into the video where they best complimented the dancing. I developed a logo minimally representing the letter ‘L’ ( for lookherekid.com) which became the backbone for most of the graphics in the piece.” Richardson directed, composed, animated and stars in the film. His mother, Carol, ran the one-woman hair and makeup department.

Director/editor/animation/dancer: Wes Richardson Hair/makeup: my mom Carol Music by “The Roots” Toolkit After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Illustrator stash 30.08

CLARK “HERR BARR” Music video

Record label: WARP RECORDS Director: R JAMES HEALEY Production: COLONEL BLIMP Animation/VFX: R JAMES HEALY UK director/animator R James Healy has spent plenty of time in the 3D animation trenches of London at Glassworks, MPC, and currently, at Framestore CFC. He recently took three months off to complete this mesmerizing work for Warp Records and subsequently took top honors at the 2006 Radar Festival. “The look of this piece is a continuation of previous experiments, manipulating Writer/director/editing/ images by sampling,” reveals compositing: R James Healy Healy. “The technique is largely 3D: R James Healy, Hege Berg, influenced by the Vorticist paintings Duncan Robson of David Bomberg, specifically, ‘In Programming: Graham Jack the Hold’. Bomberg drew a grid Pearl scripting: Katherine Roberts over his canvas then fragmented the picture into geometric shapes whilst retaining the dynamic of the original scene.” stash 30.19

U2 “WINDOWS IN THE SKIES” Music video

Record label: INTERSCOPE RECORDS Agency: MODERNISTA! Director: GARY KOEPKE Post/VFX: THE MILL NY www.the-mill.com After a monumental search through hundreds of hours of archival footage and the tedious matching of dozens of lips to snippets of lyrics, Modernista! CD/director Gary Koepke and his editing team began collaborating with the Mill NY to finesse the illusion of famous vocalists singing U2’s Windows in the Sky. They used time warps, speed changes and, in a few cases, complex mouth manipulations to hit the required sync. For Modernista! For The Mill NY Aska Otake, Cole Schreiber Creatives: Gary Koepke, CD: Angus Kneale Smoke: Jeff Robins, Tristian Wade Nathan Naylor Producers: Dan Williams, Combustion: Jeanette Willford, DOB: Charles Wolford Verity Grantham Anu Nagaraj, Winston Lee Associate producer: Joyce Chen Lead Flame: Dan Williams Art support: Gigi Ng, Mary Casey Editors: David Brodie, Max Koepke Flame: Dirk Greene, Richard de 3D animators: Ben Smith, Pete Assistant editor: Julian Wadsworth Carteret, Westley Sarokin, Hamilton, Kevin Ives, Jin Choi, PA: Alejandra Ravassa Gavin Wellsman, Mark French, Emily Meger, Wyatt Savarese stash 32.16

FAITHLESS “MUSIC MATTERS” Music video

Record label: COLUMBIA RECORDS Director: LUIS NIETO Production: PARANOID US Animation: MIKROS IMAGE www.mikrosimage.fr Colombia native Luis Nieto studied visual communication and worked as an art director for several agencies before moving to France where he went back to school and shifted his focus to film direction. His inventive and shockingly hilarious student film Carlitopolis (www.carlitopolis.com), better known as the mouse in a box For Paranoid US project, won him wide recognition EPs: Claude Letessier, and representation with Paranoid Phillip Detchmendy US. This new video for UK hip Director: Luis Nieto hop/dance group Faithless (who For Mikros Image were not available for a shoot) was President: Maurice Prost created in just seven days and five nights at Mikros Image in Paris. Toolkit According to Paranoid EP Claude After Effects Letessier, the brief from the label for the video was simply, “Make it cool”. stash 32.26

TRANS AM “TESCO V. SAINSBURYS” Music video Record label: THRILL JOCKEY RECORDS Director: LUNG Animation: LUNG London director Chris Harris, aka LUNG, says he didn’t want this promo for US trio Trans Am to be obviously recognizable as a music video. “I wanted the final product to be something you could stop anywhere and take a frame and it could stand up as an interesting image. The idea was to offset Trans Am’s aggressive track with a series of relentless four second segments, with no obvious style links and the concept coming from the continuation, i.e. the object enters left side and exits right, to Director/animator: LUNG form a barrage of ill eye assault. Catering: The soft mechanics As the track is pretty relentless in league its linear style, I wanted to create Toolkit rules linking the visual to the audio Final Cut Pro, After Effects, “Casio in concept alone, not stylistically. Elixim bottom of the range don’t- I had the flu while I did it. I make know-what cos I put a sticker over no apologies, I think it helped.” the serial code.” Schedule: one week, plus a day for editing. stash 33.01

For Chased by Cowboys GROOVE ARMADA “GET DOWN” Director: Pleix Music video Producer: Katharina Nicol Record label: For Mac Guff SONY BMG VFX director: Sebastien Rey Director: EP: Jacques Bled PLEIX Producer: Thomas Jacquet Creative team: Amelie Guyot, Production: Guillaume Glachant, Laurent CHASED BY COWBOYS Pancaccini, Damien Viatte, Jeremy VFX: Delchiapo, Niklaus Bruneau MAC GUFF Motion capture: Quantic Dream www.macguff.fr Toolkit There are only a handful of Proprietary software: Trukor, high-end VFX studios that have Symbor managed to stay vital for a single decade let alone two, and with this project for French directing collective Pleix the Paris studio of Mac Guff (they also have an LA office) demonstrate maturity has not slowed them down or dulled their sense of humor. Using their own software – Trukor for compositing and Symbor for rendering – the Paris studio render, multiply and integrate these motion-captured CG bunnies into 90 shots so well many in the industry (including the editor of this magazine) had believed the effect was achieved with a few excellent bunny suits and crowd replication. Schedule: one day mocap, one day shoot, four weeks post. stash 34.20

Justice “D.A.N.C.E.” Music video

Record labels: Ed Banger Records Because Music Director: Jonas&François Production: El Niño @ 75 Animation: El Niño @ 75 www.elnino.tv This music video for French electronic duo Justice might have died a predictable, gimmicky death well before the thirty second mark but the young directing team of Jonas&François keep the surprises/sec high and prove themselves not just hip but also technically adept. Once the tracking was perfected, the duo found their carefully crafted animations were lost among the For El Niño @ 75 turbulent movements of the band Director: Jonas&François members – so the choice to go Illustrations: So Me black and white not only looks Animation: Jonas&François cool, it also keeps your attention Producer: Greg Panteix on the t-shirts. Schedule: three weeks. Toolkit Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects stash 34.21

The Fratellis “Ole Black ‘N’ Blue Eyes” Music video Record label: Univesal Island Records Directors: Jon Yeo, John Sunter Production: Weilands Animation: For Universal Island Records The Mill Commissioner: Dave Graham www.the-mill.com For Weilands The brief was simple enough Directors: Jon Yeo, John Sunter – create a promo with the The Producer: Rhun Francis Fratellis band members as PA: Lauren Dark animated characters – the real challenge, according to co- For The Mill director Jon Yeo was to find Producer: Gilbert James “a talented team with enough Colorist: James Bamford resources, who were willing to Lead animators: François Roisin, take on the job for the budget and Jules Jenaud timescale.” Turns out that team Animators: Grant Walker, Clement was hiding at The Mill in London – Bolla, Matthieu Bessudo, Lucas 10 animators including two out of Vigroux, Richard Costin, Douglas three members of directing team Laissance, Nora O’Sullivan Bif (François Roisin, Jules Jenaud). Smoke: James Pratt As for Tina, the burly bank-robber Compositing: David Wahlberg, in drag, Yeo and Sunter drew Mark Payne inspiration from Pete Fowler’s Animation editor: Daniel Budin Monsterism illustrations and from Toolkit Mongo the loveable oaf from Flash, Photoshop, After Effects, Blazing Saddles. XSI, Combustion, Final Cut Pro, Watch Behind the Scenes on Spirit the DVD. stash 35.15

Justin Timberlake “LoveStoned” Music video Record label: Jive Records Director: Robert Hales Production: HSI Animation: Bl:nd Subvert www.blind.com www.subvert.us For their fifth collaboration ­– and their follow-up to 2006’s phenomenon “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley – HSI director Robert Hales and Santa Monica studio Bl:nd were asked to, “present a physical representation of Justin For HSI and his music directly interacting,” Director: Robert Hales For Subvert says Bl:nd CD Vanessa EP: Coleen Haynes Designer, VFX super, modeling, Marzaroli. “After the project Post producer: Oualid Mouaness tracking, lighting, compositing: was green lit, it was a whirlwind Editor: Ken Mowe Dylan Nathan Sakona Kong, Gabriel Pulecio, from supervising the shoot in DP: Jake Polonsky Post super, keying/roto, color Paul Lee Manchester, England straight into correction, modeling: For Bl:nd Design exploration: two weeks of production. The Eva Flodstrom CD: Vanessa Marzaroli Lauren Indovina, Christine Kim, design and construction of the Animator, modeling: Paul Nilsson EP: David Kleinman Lawrence Wyatt, Christian 3D environments, tracking and EPs: Christopher Buckley, Michele Producer: Claudina Mercado DeCastro, Angela Zhu compositing in the latter part of the Maples (Continuum Content) Designers/animators: Yan Ng, Keying/post assistant: Lin Wilde video were handled by Venice, CA, Maithy Tran, Craig Tollifson, Prod coordinator: Toolkit studio Subvert. Christian DeCastro, Jesse Franklin, Vincent D’Angelo After Effects, 3ds Max, Maya, Angie Tien, Lawrence Wyatt, Flame: Alan Latteri Shake, Flame, Photoshop stash 36.17

Fujiya & Miyagi “Ankle Injury” Music video Record label: Groenland Records Client: Martine McDonaghy @ Management Director: Wade Shotter Production: Factory Films Animation: Yukfoo www.yukfoo.net Former freelance illustrator and agency creative turned director For Factory Films Wade Shotter gives us the 411 Director: Wade Shotter on his intricate ode to pixilation: Producer: Paul Fennelly “There were no instructions from DP: Sam Brown the client, which can be a good or For Yukfoo: a bad thing but in this case it was Team: Alan Dickson, Julian good. Most of it was created frame Stokoe, Glen Real, Dan Sumich, by frame in Photoshop. Initially Kristin Sagli, Tom Gravestock, Karl I was going to shoot everything Wills, Hamish Beachman, Alex in camera, but the timeline and Dron, Thelonios Veltman budget didn’t allow this. So I did the next best thing, which was to For Digital Distortion animate the clip with photographs Animator: Dan Sollis of dice. Three animators, including myself, created the whole project Toolkit in two months.” After Effects, Photoshop stash 36.19

Liars “Plaster Casts of Everything” Music video Record label: Mute Records Inspiration. Everywhere. Director: Patrick Daughters Production: MUNICH JAKARTA MINNEAPOLIS SAN DIEGO LIMA The Directors Bureau BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR SANTA MONICA HONG KONG TORONTO NEW YORK LONDON TEL AVIV VFX: Method www.methodstudios.com Method, Santa Monica’s innovative VFX masters, take a vivid and jagged step off their familiar path of high-end spot work with this video for director Patrick Daughters of The Director’s Bureau. Recalling a mutational mix of Chris Cunning- CAPETOWN ISTANBUL SINGAPORE TOKYO VANCOUVER CARACAS PARIS GHENT ham and David Lynch, the spot uses intricate compositing and 2D NEW DELHI BANGKOK SHENZHEN BELO HORIZONTE HAMBURG light effects to rouse a disturbing comic creepiness that hurls the track high above the usual video channel clutter. Schedule: Shot For Method June 24th, delivered July 20th. Lead 2D VFX: Katrina Salicrup For The Directors Bureau 2D VFX: Jake Montgomery, Director: Patrick Daughters Kyle Obley, Ryan Raith, Sarah Eim, Head of music videos: Lana Kim Zach Lo DP: Shawn Kim EP: Neysa Horsburgh Producer: Anne Johnson HOP: Sue Troyan Producer : Sabrina Elizondo For Final Cut Find a Stash retailer near you at www.stashmedia.tv/community Editor: Mike Colao Inspiration. Everywhere.

MUNICH JAKARTA MINNEAPOLIS SAN DIEGO LIMA BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR SANTA MONICA HONG KONG TORONTO NEW YORK LONDON TEL AVIV

CAPETOWN ISTANBUL SINGAPORE TOKYO VANCOUVER CARACAS PARIS GHENT NEW DELHI BANGKOK SHENZHEN BELO HORIZONTE HAMBURG

Find a Stash retailer near you at www.stashmedia.tv/community NEWS, INSPIRATION, STUFF TO WATCH

feedhere.com