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Our semi-regular roundup of interesting, creative and original animated music videos.

“Birthday” directed by Renata Gąsiorowska (Poland)

Music video for Alphabets Heaven.

“The Mystery of You” directed by Eric Deuel (US)

Music video for Spencer Day.

“Been Too Long” (“Duurt te Lang”) directed by Job, Joris & Marieke (The Netherlands)

Music video for Fit

“G.O.D.” directed by Tom Bunker and Nicos Livesey (UK)

Music video for Binary.
Lead Animators (2D & 3D): Blanca Martinez de Rituerto & Joe Sparrow
Secondary 2D Animation: Andy Baker, Tom Bunker, Nicos Livesey

“Joy” directed by Hayley Morris (US)

Music video for Iron and Wine
Behind-the-scenes video HERE
Director/Animator: Hayley Morris
Fabricators: Hayley Morris, Denise Hauser and Randy Bretzin
Color Correction: Evan Kultangwatana
Model for watercolor animation: Louise Sheldon

Currently on display at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, Spectacle: The Music Video is the first ever exhibition to celebrate the artform that was once the bread and butter of MTV. Curators Jonathan Wells and Meg Grey Wells put together an impressive spread of 300 music videos in beautifully designed exhibition.

While most music videos in the exhibition were featured in looped groupings on wall-mounted monitors, the videos that received their own, stand-alone installations were ones that had accompanying props or assets left over from production. For example, the four jumpsuits worn in the video for OK GO’s “This Too Shall Pass” are hung on the wall next to a video monitor. Another corner is filled with a giant model of the anthropomorphic milk carton from Blur’s “Coffee and Tea.” Also on display are a few pieces from “Tonight, Tonight,” the Smashing Pumpkins’ homage to Georges Méliès’ “A Trip to the Moon.”

Stop motion and 2-D animation are heavily represented in the show. Piles of colorful yarn and original storyboards comprise an installation for Steriogram’s “Walkie Talkie Man,” directed by Michel Gondry. As one of the most prolific and creative music video directors in the past two decades, Gondry’s work received the most gallery space by far. Another corner is accented with bold LEGO pieces while an accompanying monitor plays “Fell in Love With A Girl,” the iconic music video that pulled The White Stripes into the mainstream.

Original drawings from “Take On Me” by A-ha are on display as a reminder of the video’s landmark status in pop culture. Director Steve Barron combined pencil-sketch animation, rotoscoping and live action for a total of 3,000 frames that took four months to complete. It is still one of the most memorable music videos of all time, and was the first to push a song to number one one the charts.

Several monitors around the gallery space display curated lumps of animated music videos, but there were a few notably absent or barely mentioned: Kanye’s Bakshi-inspired video for “Heartless,” Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” and anything by The Gorillaz. Of course it’s impossible to satisfy everyone’s expectations, so the curators devised a lounge provided by Vevo where patrons can select and watch their favorite music videos.

Approaching this exhibit, I wondered how the curators, who are self-proclaimed products of the MTV generation, could keep their nostalgia in check. At times they can’t, and the exhibition is more celebratory than critical. The present and future of the music video is never fully confronted, specifically in the context of a digital era with services like YouTube and Vimeo. A small installation of Arcade Fire’s ventures into interactive music videos was perhaps the most current exploration of the medium on display.

Where the exhibition shines, however, is establishing the history of music videos, tracing their roots back to the earliest sound films of the 1920s. Included was a mention of “Colour Box” by Len Lye, a 1935 experimental animated short set to a Cuban dance beat. The narrative thread continues on, showing how The Beatles, Queen, David Bowie and several experimental artists contributed to the establishment of the music video as a definitive medium.

The exhibition, which is absolutely worth seeing, is currently on loan from Contemporary Arts Center in Cinnicinnati. With any hope, the show will become even more accessible and take part in a national tour. And now that Billboard has decided to include YouTube views in its rankings, the music video could once again be a driving force worth rediscovering.

Chad VanGaalen is a Canadian artist and musician who records music under his own name primarily and additionally as Black Mold.

Much of his music is multi-track recorded with himself performing on multiple instruments, circuit-bent synthesizers and vocals. His animation work often is composed of continuously morphing, intricately formed loops that he draws both digitally and traditionally. Naturally he animates music videos for his own tracks and several for other bands as well.

Websites with Chad’s music and some tracks to sample are here and on Sub Pop.

“Metal Spiderwebs” video for Black Mold:

“Fuck eBay” video for Black Mold:

Spend some time with Chad VanGaalen via this ‘video zine’ produced by Lifetime Collective (which incidentally has other animation connections as well):

Here is a playlist of two music videos that Chad animated for others, first track by J. Mascis, the second by Love as Laughter:

Encyclopedia Pictura is the creative association of Isaiah Saxon, Sean Hellfritsch and Daren Rabinovitch that has been producing striking, playful work since its inception. One of their early shorts, “Grow,” shows off the power of a simple, clever idea executed well:

The team has produced several music videos including work for Björk and Grizzly Bear. Here are a few stills from Grizzly Bear’s “Knife” video, which features their multimedia, practical/digital effects combination approach to direction:

There is a load of interesting behind the scenes footage and photos also on their website, such as this video:

Their claim of working in “film, art, game design, community building, and agriculture” is not a bit of bombast. From their about page:

From 2008-2011, EP led an effort to build a unique hillside neighborhood and farm called Trout Gulch. They lived and worked there along with 15 others. In 2012, they co-founded DIY in San Francisco, with Vimeo co-founder Zach Klein and OmniCorp Detroit co-founder Andrew Sliwinski. Saxon also volunteers as Media Advisor to Open Source Ecology.

They are passionate about gardening, farming, construction, villages, augmented reality, science visualization, social ecology, technological empowerment, adventure, and country living.

DIY is both a feature film in development as well as more recently a new and growing online community that encourages young people to become “Makers” and share their work, gaining confidence in their creativity and earning digital badges for their profile as they go. DIY meets kids where they already are, on connected devices, and encourages their natural creativity while learning real-world, off and online skills. The DIY “anthem”:

The Do It Yourself/Maker attitude is perhaps the most valuable thing that is being nourished as young people challenge themselves to new experiences inspired by the site.

When a person grows up understanding that they can create and mold the media and environment around them, they don’t have to resign to an existence of passively consuming at the corporate trough. An individual’s confidence in their own creativity is an essential survival skill for the future.

Our weekly roundup of the most interesting, creative and original animated music videos.

“Latter Days” directed by Matt Christensen (US)

Music video for The Middle Eight. Go to Matt’s website for a behind-the-scenes photo album.

“We Can Be Ghosts Now” directed by Tom Jobbins (UK)

Music video for Hiatus feat. Shura.
Art Director: John Jobe Reynolds
Cinematographer: Matthias Pilz
Colorist: Danny Atkinson
Compositor: Jonathan Topf
Editor:Robert Mila

“Magdalena” directed by Lucas Borras (Spain/US)

Music video for Quantic & Alice Russell.

“Separated” directed by Mark Borgions (Belgium)

Music video for Stan Lee Cole.

Dreams die quickly and magic fades in the cruelest way possible in John Cozart’s (aka Paint) latest a cappella medley. Focusing on the fates of some of Disney’s most loveable ingenues, their post-happily ever after lives take a grim turn when blended with political issues of the modern day like environmental destruction, the war on terror and bestiality. In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, Cozart explains his motivation for the song and video, which took five weeks to record and film, “To just put those characters in our world — our dark, terrible, sad world; hilarity ensues.”

Dark, terrible and sad, yes. Hilarious? Sure, ok.

The weekend is almost over, but it’s not too late to check out these quality animated music videos that have recently come to my attention.

“Katachi” directed by Kijek/Adamski (Poland)

Music video for Shugo Tokumaru. Watch the making-of video.

“the light that died in my arms” directed by Alan Foreman (US)

Music video for Ten Minute Turns. Song written and recorded by Alan Foreman and Roger Paul Mason

“Easy” directed by Wesley Louis and Tim McCourt (UK)

Music video for Mat Zo and Porter Robinson. Credits:

Directed By Louis & McCourt
Art Direction by Bjorn Aschim
Animators: Jonathan ‘Djob’ Nkondo, James Duveen, Sam Taylor, Wesley Louis, Tim McCourt
Backgrounds and Layouts: Bjorn Aschim, Mike Shorten
Compositing: Sam Taylor, Jonathan Topf
3D VFX Directing by Jonathan Topf
Graphic Design by Hisako Nakagawa
Producers: Jack Newman, Drew O’Neill
Produced by Bullion

“Time to Go” directed by Darcy Prendergast and Seamus Spilsbury (Australia)

Music video for Wax Tailor produced by Oh Yeah Wow. Credits:

Animators: Sam Lewis, Mike Greaney, Seamus Spilsbury, Darcy Prendergast
VFX supervisor: Josh Thomas
Assistant animators: Alexandra Calisto de Carvalho, Joel Williams
Compositors: Josh Thomas, Jeremy Blode, James Bailey, Alexandra Calisto de Carvalho, Keith Crawford, Dan Steen
Crotchet sculptor: Julie Ramsden
Colour grade: Dan Stonehouse, Crayon

Putty Boy Strut is a new music video for Flying Lotus, animated by UK-based Cyriak Harris who teamed up with friend and illustrator Sarah Brown. “She made the robots and I made them go horrible.” ‘Horrible’ never looked so cool…

The Ancestor is Brooklyn-based Keith Boynton and Mike Lavoie’s Crazy Lake Pictures second video for NY band Darlingside and its first in collaboration with San Francisco-based Chinese Takeout. Chinese Takeout reps Timothy Hahn, Pixar employee by day, producer/editor by night – and Abraham Dieckman, writer-director who recently made a splash on the festival circuit with the animated short film Cadaver, featuring the voices of Christopher Lloyd, Kathy Bates and Tavi Gevinson.

CREDITS
Music by: Darlingside
Director: Keith Boynton
Producer: Mike Lavoie
Producer/editor: Timothy Hahn
Lead animator: Abraham Dieckman
Lead artist: Pamela Goodman

One of the coolest videos I’ve seen in a while – this entire video is essentially a walk cycle of an anime girl running through all kinds of art-styles. It’s actually quite hypnotizing. Music by Livetune, directed by Fantasista Utamaro and Kubotabee.

(Thanks, Vivian Lee)

Music video for These United States, directed and animated by Philadelphia based stop-motion animator Maxwell Sørensen. Maxwell told us how he created the piece:

It’s a hybrid of the handmade stuff I usually do and the computer stuff I’ve been getting into more recently. Basically I photographed handmade characters and many fabric textures and then put everything back together in the computer. About 80% of this project was done in After Effects with a little bit of Illustrator and Photoshop work along the way….and a ton of rendering at the end.

I hope this brings some sunshine to our readers on the rain-soaked east coast.

Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger, who created some of the most iconic music videos using animation ever – including A-Ha’s Take On Me, Suzanne Vega’s Luka and Paula Abdul’s Opposites Attract (with MC Skat Kat) – created this beautiful new piece for musician/composer Jeff Lynne, based on Lynne’s 1977 ELO track Mr. Blue Sky.

Patterson and Reckinger, both now teaching animation at USC, were approached by Lynne, whom they worked with on a previous project, to create the video as a collaboration with their students.

Paris-based Oerd van Cuijlenborg made this music video for Miho Hazama’s debut album Journey to Journey. The synesthetic visuals, which exploit the tension between flatness and three-dimensional space, provide an elegant accompaniment to the music.

Gina Thorstensen and Nacho Rodriquez are very cool. Their Barcelona-based Thorstencoo Productions made this “experi-mellow” music video for Gotye. It was produced over the course of five months and is a mix of flash and hand-painted illustration.

Even cooler than this video – I’m going to be interviewing Nacho Rodriquez in person at CTN Expo on Saturday November 17th. Be there!

Jayden Dowler of Melbourne, Australia-based Oh Yeah Wow directed, designed and co-animated (with Andrew Bowler and Keith Crawford) this bit of techno/break-dancing music video madness. Darcy Prendergast produced.

This music video, animated by Czech Republic-based artist/designer Jan Šrámek for experimental electro-acoustic performer Pjoni, feels more like an art piece. I mean that in a good way. I like the way it establishes an appropriately somber mood, using mostly straight lines and sharp angles.

CREDITS:
Direction: Jan Šrámek, Martin Búřil
Illustration: Jan Šrámek, Veronika Vlková
Animation: Jan Šrámek, Martin Búřil, Martina Chwistková

Very cool new video for Kris Meance and Miss Kittin involving rotoscope and abstract geometric animation. Entirely 2D and hand drawn by French artist Mathieu Bétard:

Director : Mathieu Bétard
Production : WIZZPROD / QUAD . Paris
Producer : Sonlan Tran
Animation : Mathieu Bétard, Jonathan Djob Nkondo, Pierre Ruitz

Nicholas Chatfield-Taylor’s new music video “Do the Devo” is a frame-by-framer’s delight. Chatfield-Taylor directed the piece for Unstoppable Death Machine during a 22-day residency at the Clocktower Gallery in Manhattan where over 160 people helped him draw frames. To catch all the creative (and NSFW) things happening in the video, make sure to switch the settings to high-def because the compression is awful on the default version.

(via Animal New York)

We’re going to start featuring the most interesting, creative and original animated music videos every weekend in a new section we call the Weekend Groove. Submit you vidoes HERE.

“Gangsta Riddim” directed by about:blank (Belgium)

Audio excerpt of “Gangsta Riddim” remix by Roel Funcken. Gangsta Riddim (Original) by SCANONE.

“Over You” directed by Drushba Pankow (Germany)

“Over You” is a music video clip originally made for the song “Nobody’s Fool” by Parov Stelar. The Berlin-based musician Michal Krajczok wrote and produced his song “Over You” especially for this video, featuring the voice of Larissa Blau. The video is directed, designed and animated by Drushba Pankow (Alexandra Kardinar and Volker Schlecht), with additional animation by Maxim Vassiliev.

“A Very Unusual Map” directed by Loup Blaster (France)

A music video for Hibou Blaster

“Teapot” directed by Clem Stamation (Australia)

Cantaloupe are a synth-guitar/bass-drums trio from Nottingham, UK, formed in January 2011. Drawing influences from Afro-pop to Krautrock to the avant garde, who aim to make infectuous and thoroughly pleasing instrumental pop music.

“Cirrus” directed by Cyriak (UK)

“Yamasuki Yamazaki” directed by Shishi Yamazaki (Japan)

“Tourniquet” directed by Jordan Bruner (US)

Music Video for Hem. Animated by Greg Lytle and Jordan Bruner.

Geoff McFetridge creates images that land on billboards, skateboards, sneakers, wallpapers, and move on screens. Often his work features simple pencil line drawings or clean, boldly shaped designs. The clever concepts behind the images is part of the power of Geoff’s work.

See Geoff’s company Champion Studio and sample a few of the animation productions that Geoff creates, such as the music video for Whitest Boy Alive or the OK Go music video featuring 2,430 slices of toast.

An animated music video for the Midnight Woolf song Skin You Alive by illustrator Lluis (Fuzzhound) Sanchez (last seen on Cartoon Brew in Marooned on Watango Island).

Cartoon Brew | Permalink | 4 comments | Post tags: Lluis Fuzzhound

Related posts:

1. “Marooned On Watango Island” By Lluis Fuzzhound
2. Kaj Pindal Alive and Well
3. A French Skin Flick That Gets Up Close (NSFW)

gavin mouldey said, on 9/7/2012 2:53:00 AM

Awesome design!

Like - 1 others like this comment

uncle wayne said, on 9/7/2012 6:27:00 AM

An EXcellent film. I hadda watch it thrice. Luv it style, its black and white, and EVERYthing!!

Like - 1 others like this comment

Pedro Vargas said, on 9/7/2012 10:43:00 AM

This is great!! Loved it! Lluis Fuzzhound is the best!!

Like

Greg said, on 9/7/2012 2:51:00 PM

Yeah yeah I love how god kicks him out of heaven, where everything’s supposed to be free and easy, ha ha

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An animated music video for the Midnight Woolf song Skin You Alive by illustrator Lluis (Fuzzhound) Sanchez (last seen on Cartoon Brew in Marooned on Watango Island).

This charming music video for the Australian bearded folk-rock quartet The Beards (who only perform songs about beards) was written and directed by Chris Edser with Joshua Fielder, Joel McMillan and Tom Bettany, Michael Bidstrup. Funny song, funny animation. Enjoy!

This literally hand drawn music video, made for the group Goodron by Swiss artist/animator Simon Eltz, features an entertaining selection of various walk cycles, heads and body shapes – and a darn good little song.