Film

UltraSky – Alison Goldfrapp

Alison Goldfrapp released a video short in portrait format to accompany the song UltraSky (acoustic version) and I took a screencap and rendered it as a widescreen image in Photoshop. I then used AI image-to-video and stock footage to create a full video for the song.

Reverberotic – Alison Goldfrapp

I created this video from a single photograph of Alison Goldfrapp. Illustrating the song ‘Reverberotic’ with AI animation and lip sync, this is a rough example of how music videos can be produced on a budget and with minimal or zero impact on the artist’s schedule.

Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks

I’ve always loved the idea of stepping inside a painting. You might recognise this one by my hero Edward Hopper – the temptation to bring it to life was too much. And with a very famous saxophone solo too. 40 seconds of noisy New York 1940s. SOUND ON!

Nightporter by Japan

Tragic magic. That’s Nightporter by Japan. A beautiful song which strangely never had a decent music video, so I fixed that using film noir (from the Netflix series Ripley) and AI to bring photos of the band to life. It’s been the closest thing to directing Japan on a big budget. The best part was building an ancient Weimar theatre and then totally trashing it at the end. But I’m telling you the plot, Michael. It’s all done in the best possible taste. See how the film was made here.

Logical Lockdown Print commercial

I built Barbary Lane from digital planks of wood in Photoshop and animated the building to make this promo for my Logical Lockdown artwork. It took two years to complete, and stands as my most ambitious creation to date.

September – David Sylvian

Every time I heard this wistful aria I saw a movie in my mind. For years I promised myself I would make that film, despite having no idea how. This is how I visualise David Sylvian’s September, starring Eleanor Rigby and James Dean, as a pastiche of the Flake advert from the 1970s.

Christmas at Chorlton Art Market

Our little shop requires an annual spectacle to rival the seasonal commercials on the tv. I created a very short clip from a digital watercolour sketch of the store, with a background loosely based on Chorlton, Manchester. The image was then separated into layers which were used much like theatrical scenery in my animation studio.

X, Oil Painting

This is a short film demonstrating the development of X, an oil painting – three weeks’ work in two minutes. WARNING: this video may not be safe for work.

Thea by Goldfrapp

I remixed Goldfrapp’s Thea from the noirish Tales Of Us album. I found the original to be lacking sticks and blades and rugby hacka’s, and my version was mistaken for an official release. It ended up being stolen, sold in India and soundtracked a runway fashion show in Canada. The video was a collage of ‘found footage’, a method I developed further in Nightporter, above.

Mint DKMS commercial

My promotional videos for The Mint Group became more ambitious with each new event. Here, avant garde performance artist and actor David Hoyle is animated on a backdrop of sequins… or are they CDs?

Mint Atomic commercial

My final event for Mint saw one of my tea towels animated in a tribute to Debbie Harry and Blondie.

House of Mint commercial

Despite never having any training, or reading the manual, I managed to create the kind of animations which stood out on ‘social media’ and helped to make our nights successful.

Mint Mardi Gras Commercial

Featuring the inimitable Paulette Constable!

Mint Animation

My very first animation for Mint was good old frame-by-frame, stop motion. All the fun of the fair, and probably my favourite.

Mint Boat Party Commercial

During Manchester Pride festival we commandeered a canal boat in the heart of the Gay Village and threw one hell of a party. Here you can see Gaytown rendered with psychedelic stylings, and my first real attempt to create a 3 dimensional environment.

Before The Dawn animation

Kate Bush performed live in London and I was lucky enough to catch her amazing show, featuring trees crashing through grand pianos and paint brushes loaded with stars. This is my tribute, an imaginary trailer and a slightly clumsy attempt at animated characters.

Christmas at Barbary Lane

A love letter to Barbary Lane, the rackety San Francisco apartment house at the heart of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series. What began as casual experiment in animation quickly became an adventure in 3D modelling and my first virtual film set. Featuring the voices of Olympia Dukakis, Laura Linney and the music of John Keane. This is the most complicated and ambitious project I’ve ever attempted, and I have to say that the author’s approval made every late night and headache worth it!

 Check out some more of my remixes and music video creations here on my Music page