I personally think Tyree is being modest about the number of views Read a Book received so far. Of the clips currently still viewable on YouTube, there’s a good 3 million views, and previous clips accounted for millions more. I’d argue that Read a Book was one of the most viewed web clips of 2007.
I also want to direct your attention to Tyree’s Flash-animated short film Differences, which was also produced at Six Point Harness.
As part of the ongoing CHF Radiohead/Aniboom Interview Series, we visit with Andrew Kauervane, an artist with a history of music videos, and also a man with some skin in the game. He recently submitted this Flash-animated piece below to the contest. This is Andrew’s take on Radiohead’s moody track All I Need.
Here’s some concept designs Andrew sketched out before diving into production:
AARON SIMPSON: Tell us about the concept of your Radiohead contest submission?
ANDREW KAUERVANE: My concept really revolves around the concept of loneliness and love. I know it sounds corny but that’s what the lyrics did for me. My video exhibits a bit of a self-help message: There is someone out there for everyone. A rainbow to add meaning to your life. You just have to look for it; don’t mope.
AARON: How did this differ from your work on the SheBeats video you produced?
ANDREW: It’s significantly different because I’m doing something I like. I get to be as versatile as I want with the artwork and concept. With this one I’m going for a more avant garde look. I have flashing splatters serving as fills for items, film grain over the animation, and old black and white photography of wars, outdoors, and even newspaper clippings. I’m having alot of fun with this.
AARON: So, how is the process of directing a music video different from other animated work you’ve directed? Read the rest of this entry »
We were already impressed. Tom Neely didn’t need to go become an award-winning graphic novelist, or launch an amazing gallery show. His self-published graphic novel The Blot was received with an abundance of rave reviews, and his gallery show at the Black Maria Gallery was packed with 34 new paintings and scores of people at the opening. But now we’re more impressed.
Neely at the Black Maria Gallery
Before all that, Neely wowed us with his film Brother, Can You Spare a Job?, which resulted from the success of his entry into the 2003 Bush in 30 Seconds contest, where he placed as one of 4 finalists in the Animation category. His follow-up was an eye-popping music video for the band The Muffs - again in the Fleisher-style. In this Radiohead Contest interview below, Neely details the production of this video as well several other projects he has his fingers in now.
AARON: Why are music videos often so “experimental?”
TOM: I guess there’s just more freedom because it’s film done on a small scale with fewer people involved. I think that’s the best way to get really creative ideas made. Music often lends itself to more abstract ideas, so experimental visuals work well with that. It’s more accessible for a short video to be abstract or experimental for some audiences because the music gives them an anchor to help understand the film. Looking at music videos on TV these days, I think we need a lot more experimentation to come up with some better ideas.
AARON: How is the process of directing a music video different from other animated work you’ve directed?
TOM: Well, I’ve only really done 2 cartoons. Stylistically, my two cartoons are very similar, but the differences between The Muffs video and Brother, Can You Spare a Job? were pretty significant. For Brother… I animated the whole story without sound. When it was near finished, Greg (co-writer on this cartoon) picked out a lot of music that he thought would fit. In many cases we were amazed that some musical cues just fell right in place perfectly. Others had to be edited, or the animation would be tweaked to fit a little better. With the music video, the music came first and was the inspiration for much of it. When I heard the opening chords of Don’t Pick On Me I immediately saw the opening scene of the Villain tying Kim to the tracks while a train was chugging along in time with the music. The whole idea came to me pretty easily the first time I heard the song. Brother… was my first cartoon, and the animation is much more limited and relies heavily on Flash tweens and symbols. I think I made some significant improvements when I did The Muffs video. But looking back at it a few years later, it looks a little too “Flashy” to me… Not that there’s anything wrong with Flash, but when you’re using it to make something that looks more like old animation, the limitations become obvious. Read the rest of this entry »
In October of 2007, CHF featured M. Wartella’s psychedelic music video for The Go’s track You Go Bangin’ On. He joins us today for a very insightful interview into his process, his past music videos and his recent work on Adult Swim’s upcoming series Superjail.
AARON SIMPSON: How did the You Go Bangin’ On music video land on your plate?
M. WARTELLA: Well, we’ve been friends with and following The Go since their Sub Pop days. We try to catch their shows when they come through town (New York City), you know, hang out, drink their beer, and over the years we’ve just kind of become friends. Since they were looking to do something different for their latest record, they asked me to do the album art. Of course, as soon as I heard the new tracks, I was happy to oblige because I think this is their best release to date, and the critics seem to agree so far. But basically, the band decided they wanted to have an animated music video too, so that is how it came about.
AARON: Did you “pitch” your animation concept to the band before starting?
M. WARTELLA: At first, we wanted the whole video to be animated, kind of like a Yellow Submarine or Josie & The Pussycats thing where the band is drawn as cartoon characters. But as I started thinking more about it, I realized that most people, especially the band’s fans, would probably want to see real pictures of the group, not my drawings. So we started playing around with more of a Terry Gilliam/Monty Python paper cut-out approach. Of course, I realized that this was going to involve a photo shoot, and once I knew we were gonna have to do a shoot, I decided that we should just film the band “live” against a black backdrop, and then superimpose a “psych-out” style animation on top of them, like an old Jefferson Airplane or The Strawberry Alarm Clock type thing (below). Read the rest of this entry »
A few familiar faces have started submitting their animatics to the Radiohead Animated Music Video Contest over at Aniboom. Have a look, and then go submit your own - only 12 days left!
Not inspired enough yet to submit your video to the Radiohead Video Contest? Well perhaps Motomichi Nakamura can whip you into shape. His new Flash-animated music video for Temposhark’s track Blame keeps it simple - using black, white and red colors to create a lasting impression. Head over to SubmarineChannel to watch the full video.
A little over a year ago, we featured James Reitano’s brilliant music video for Cut Chemist’s single Spat. He’s now joining us for a Radiohead/Aniboom Contest interview.
AARON SIMPSON: How did you “pitch” the concept of the Spat video to Luke MacFadden, otherwise known as Cut Chemist?
JAMES REITANO: I actually wanted to make an educational video with Jurassic 5, kind of a Schoolhouse Rap thing. Luke had seen the All Caps video, and wanted one for his upcoming solo record. After a failed start in early 2005, we revived the idea in spring of ‘06, and got it going.
AARON: How did this string of animated music videos all come about?
JAMES: I think I fell into it by accident. KutMasta Kurt talked me into doing an animated video for his Masters Of Illusion LP with Kool Keith. I had never taken on 3 minutes of animation before, so I was hesitant. Kurt kept assuring me that it was doable and we wrapped it up in 2 months, and the reception was really good. From there, Biz Markie asked for one, and, the ball just got rolling. And I also have a deep love for music, so it’s kind of not too surprising that I’d be involved in one way or another. Read the rest of this entry »
ANDREW KAUERVANE: My concept really revolves around the concept of loneliness and love. I know it sounds corny but that’s what the lyrics did for me. My video exhibits a bit of a self-help message: There is someone out there for everyone. A rainbow to add meaning to your life. You just have to look for it; don’t mope.
When it was near finished, 
So we started playing around with more of a 
Not inspired enough yet to submit your video to the 
