Isaiah Saxon
Born1983 (age 40–41)
Aptos, CA
NationalityAmerican
Alma materAcademy of Art University
Occupation(s)Film director
Co-founder, Encyclopedia Pictura
Co-founder, DIY.org
Years active2003–present
Websiteisaiahsaxon.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.

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

  • Named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker magazine, 2008[4]
  • D&AD Yellow Pencil for Best Music Video, Music Video Art Direction and Music Video Special Effects ("Wanderlust"), 2009[8]
  • Named one of 25 "Best and Brightest" by Esquire magazine, 2009[19]
  • UK Music Video Awards Video of the Year (for "Wanderlust"), 2008[9]
  • #1 on Spin magazine's 20 Best Music Videos of 2008 (for "Wanderlust")[10]
  • #21, Pitchfork's Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s (for "Wanderlust")[5]
  • #26, Pitchfork's Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s (for "Knife")[5]
  • Nominee, UK Music Video Awards Best Animation in a Video (for "Boys Latin"), 2015[12]

Filmography

Music videos

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

Short films

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

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, 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.
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