Video Projects
“It has been said that next to hunger and thirst, our most basic human need is for storytelling”
– Khalil Gibran
Showcase of Video Projects up until now
Music Videos
Music and film (animation in particular) meld together in the same way as paint swirls around in a bucket of water. They dance magically, complimenting one another perfectly. As the creator, one has complete control over the flow of visuals and is able to synchronize each keyframe superbly with the beat and rhythm of the music. I love visualising music, as I’ve always been able to vividly picture music when I close my eyes, ever since I was little, so getting into music videos was a natural step for me.
The Deadfly Ensemble – Flight of the Invisible Siamese Three-Year-Olds
I created this animation as part of my final major project for my BA(Hons) in Illustration and Animation at the University of Gloucestershire. All of the characters and backgrounds were drawn or crafted by hand, then cut up in Photoshop and animated using After Effects. I took a particular interest in visualising the lyrics of The Deadfly Ensemble‘s beautiful song ‘Flight on the Invisible Siamese Three-year-olds’, honouring the eerie and mysterious subject-matter and atmosphere.
Swamp Doctor – Tarantella
This video was made for Swamp Doctor, a band in Wellington, New Zealand. It was my first videography project, and the first time using Premier Pro to edit it. Needless to say I enjoyed playing around with the blending effects a lot….maybe a little too much! This was a beautiful, collaborative effort, with the band members, who are very creative friends of mine, all contributing ideas, from the story to the little shadow puppetry scenes. No drugs required with this one.
Feraliza – Welcome to Wonderland
Feraliza is another very good friend of mine and a very talented musician. She approached me to see, if I was keen to make a music video for her song ‘Welcome to Wonderland’ and I was very excited about the idea. It was perfect timing, because when she decided to come down to Oamaru, where I was based at the time, it was the weekend of the famous Steampunk Festival of Oamaru. The setting for this particular song could not have been more fitting. It was such a blast running around the festival, camera in hand, capturing her curious and intriguing interactions with the steampunk folk and the many things to play with.
Promo Videos
After making the music video for Feraliza, which was filmed at the Steampunk Festival in Oamaru, a member of the committee saw it and got in touch. They commissioned me to do a long promo video of the whole event, as well as a short video of the Steampunk Fashion Show. This was a great opportunity and challenge.
Animation Workshops
During my studies in England I lived with a school teacher, who was keen to get me into the school to run a stop-motion animation workshop with the kids, as part of their activity week before the holidays. It was an absolute blast watching the children become completely absorbed with this ancient technique of bringing a story to life. It seemed second nature to most of the children, to the point that, even after hearing the break bell ring, hardly any of them stirred; they were so preoccupied with getting the characters and sets ready for shooting. They loved it so much that the teacher asked me back again the following year.
I have since ran the workshops a few times here in New Zealand as well; at the Karamea Area School and at the Lincoln Library, with equally as many happy and enthusiastic participants. For me it is very important to teach children the traditional art form of bringing inanimate objects to life and showing them, you don’t need fancy software and CGI animation, all you need is a good story and a bit of imagination!
