Isaiah Saxon

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Isaiah Saxon
Isaiah Saxon 2006.jpg
Saxon in 2006
Born1983 (age 4142)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Academy of Art University
Occupation(s)Film director
Co-founder, Encyclopedia Pictura
Co-founder, DIY.org
Years active2003–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.

Contents

Early life and education

Saxon was born and raised in Aptos, California. [2] He majored in film directing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. [1]

Career

Encyclopedia Pictura

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]

DIY.org

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]

Trout Gulch

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]

Honors and awards

Filmography

Music videos

YearSongArtistRole
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

Short films

YearFilmRoleNotes
2005GrowDirector
Micro/MacroDirector
2008How Will You Create the Universe?Co-directorTrailer for Spore video game [20]
2010The InternetCo-directorSoundtrack by Dan Deacon [20]
2013Jay Nelson: Fort BuilderDirector
2016The Tale of HillbellyCo-director

Feature films

YearFilmRoleNotes
2025 The Legend of Ochi Director

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mike Sager, "These Are the Directors of the Future," Esquire , November 19, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jon Kalish, "Making Cutting-Edge Animation On A DIY Homestead," NPR, July 16, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jenna Wortham, "The Making of Bjork's 3-D 'Wanderlust' Video," Wired , April 21, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 "25 New Faces of Independent Film," Filmmaker , Summer 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Scott Plagenhoef, "The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s," Pitchfork, August 30, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Melena Ryzik, "Bjork in 3-D: The 'Wanderlust' Video," New York Times , April 1, 2008.
  7. Ann-Christine Diaz, "Saatchi Remembers Arden, Toasts Fearlessness," Advertising Age , June 19, 2008.
  8. 1 2 "Wanderlust," dandad.org, 2009.
  9. 1 2 2008 winners Archived 2016-05-14 at the Wayback Machine , ukmva.com, 2008.
  10. 1 2 Abigail Everdell, "The 20 Best Music Videos of 2008," Spin , December 15, 2008.
  11. Daniel Kreps, "Panda Bear Shares Trippy 'Boys Latin' Animated Video," Rolling Stone , December 15, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "UK Music Video Awards 2015: here are the nomination…" Archived 2017-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Promo News, September 30, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Nick Bilton, "Disruptions: A Beacon to Silicon Valley, From a Start-Up for Children," New York Times, May 20, 2012.
  14. Ashlee Vance, "DIY.org: Be Prepared for 21st Century Scouting," Bloomberg Businessweek , July 11, 2013.
  15. Jennifer Champagne, "Isaiah Saxon Creates Awesome New Merit Badges for Kids," Paste , March 3, 2015.
  16. E.D.W. Lynch, "Adorably Nerdy Merit Badges for Kids," Laughing Squid, February 25, 2015.
  17. Chris McDonnell, "Artist of the Day: Encyclopedia Pictura," Cartoon Brew , April 17, 2013.
  18. "Make: Talk 018 – An interview with Isaiah Saxon of DIY.org," Make: Talk, November 20, 2012.
  19. "2009's Top 23 Radicals and Rebels Who Are Changing the World". Esquire. 2009-11-20. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  20. 1 2 Liv Siddall, "Pictura's Best Pictures: Encyclopedia Pictura talk us through some of their best cinematic works," It's Nice That, Spring 2015.