Isaiah Saxon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1983 (age 40–41) Aptos, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Academy of Art University |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Co-founder, Encyclopedia Pictura Co-founder, DIY.org |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Website | isaiahsaxon.com |
Isaiah Saxon (born 1983) [1] is an American film and music video director. He co-founded the animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura, and the online community DIY.org.
Saxon was born and raised in Aptos, California. [2] He majored in film directing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. [1]
Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch founded Encyclopedia Pictura as a directing duo in 2004, before expanding into a trio when Daren Rabinovitch joined in 2007, [1] and ultimately transforming into an animation studio. [3] Through Encyclopedia Pictura, Saxon has directed music videos, short films and commercials. [2] The studio is known for creating ambitious music videos and short films with an organic, handmade quality. [4]
In 2007, Saxon and Hellfritsch directed the music video for the Grizzly Bear single "Knife". [4] The video was filmed in Death Valley, CA and Brooklyn, NY. Their first major video, [3] it was listed at #26 on Pitchfork's list of the top 50 music videos of the 2000s. [5]
Following the "Knife" video, Saxon got a call from Björk, asking Encyclopedia Pictura to direct a music video for her single "Wanderlust". Their concept was inspired by the work of Hayao Miyazaki, Stanley Kubrick, and Walt Disney's work from the 1930s. [3] The video was shot at Matthew Barney's studio in New York City, [3] in stereoscopic 3-D using a 3-D camera rig they designed and built. [1] Combining handmade puppetry, scale modeling, CGI and live action, [1] it took over nine months to complete. [6] The "Wanderlust" video premiered at the Deitch Projects gallery in Long Island City, Queens, [6] and was shown in 3-D at Saatchi & Saatchi's 2008 New Directors Showcase. [7] It won three D&AD Yellow Pencil awards [8] and the UK Music Video Award for Video of the Year. [9] Spin magazine named it the best music video of 2008, [10] and Pitchfork ranked it #21 on its list of the top 50 music videos of the 2000s. [5]
Saxon directed the animated music video for the Panda Bear song "Boys Latin", which premiered on Adult Swim in 2015. [11] It was nominated for the UK Music Video Award for Best Animation in a Video. [12]
In 2011, Saxon began developing a feature film titled DIY, about a group of kids that rebuild their town after a flood. [2] [13] The following year, Saxon, Zach Klein, Andrew Sliwinski and Daren Rabinovitch founded DIY.org, an online educational community for kids, with a storefront in San Francisco. Saxon served as chief creative officer from the company's founding in 2012 through 2014. [13] [14] He creates the skill patches that are sent out to community members. [15] [16]
Starting in 2008, Saxon, Hellfritsch and Rabinovitch transformed 10 acres in the wooded hills in Aptos, California, into Trout Gulch, a community where they built their own houses, farmed, and produced digital animation. The intent was to blend technology with nature. [1] [2] [17] At its peak, 18 people lived at Trout Gulch. [18]
| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Soo Tall" | Zion I | Director |
| 2006 | "Haven't Been Yourself" | Seventeen Evergreen | Co-director |
| 2007 | "Knife" | Grizzly Bear | Co-director |
| 2008 | "Wanderlust" | Björk | Co-director |
| 2015 | "Boys Latin" | Panda Bear | Co-director |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Grow | Director | |
| Micro/Macro | Director | ||
| 2008 | How Will You Create the Universe? | Co-director | Trailer for Spore video game [20] |
| 2010 | The Internet | Co-director | Soundtrack by Dan Deacon [20] |
| 2013 | Jay Nelson: Fort Builder | Director | |
| 2016 | The Tale of Hillbelly | Co-director | |
Chris Cunningham is a British video artist and music video director who directed music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin and Björk. Early in his career he worked as a comic book artist. He has created art installations and directed short movies. In the mid 2000s, Cunningham began doing music production work, and has also designed album artwork for a variety of musicians. Cunningham worked on a never completed movie adaptation of William Gibson's cyberpunk novel Neuromancer.
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Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and sometimes eccentric public persona, she has developed an eclectic musical style over a career spanning four decades, drawing on electronica, pop, dance, trip hop, jazz, and avant-garde music. She is one of the most influential pioneers in electronic and experimental music.
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Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk has released 67 music videos, 6 concert tour videos, 6 music video compilations, 3 television performance video albums, 4 documentary videos and 2 video albums box sets. She also appeared in 4 feature films as an actress and has made several television appearances and cameos, in addition to providing music and score to multiple movies. In 1992, Björk left her previous band, the Sugarcubes, and started her solo career with the release of her album Debut. Her first music video taken from the album was "Human Behaviour", directed by French director Michel Gondry, with whom she started a career-spanning collaboration. The video, followed by "Big Time Sensuality", "Army of Me", "It's Oh So Quiet", the latter two from her second studio album Post (1995), received heavy airplay on MTV channels and popularised her image. Starting with the videos taken from Homogenic (1997), as stated in a retrospective review from Philip Sherburne, her videos became "crucial" to build the world of her albums. She also started to experiment with CGI elements, as shown by videos like "Jóga" or "Hunter". "All Is Full of Love", directed by Chris Cunningham, received general acclaim from critics, went on to win two MTV Video Music Awards and was included in MoMA permanent collection.