NEW YORK (Dyna-Mic Records/ www.dyna-mic-records.com) - Dyna-Mic Records (UK) announces the release of the animated music video "Moving Along" by the enigmatic UK hip-hop group "The Planets." The video was animated and directed by New York City-based animator Patrick Smith, recognized for directing the MTV animated shows "Daria" and "Downtown." Smith is also known for his independent films and iconic commercial work (the Zoloft "Blob," AOL's "
Running Man").
The music video has already garnered numerous awards worldwide. Recently, it won the Jury Prize at the China Cartoon Festival, as well as awards from IMVF (Independent Music Video Festival) and ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film D'Animation). It was named "Best Animated Music Video" by the Urban Media-makers Film Festival in Atlanta. "Moving Along" has been featured on MTV, MTV-2, Channel U (UK), and VIVA-TV (Germany) and will screen this March in the prestigious South By Southwest Film Festival, Austin, Texas.
The imagery in "Moving Along" is truly the defining factor in the video's success. It starts off with a band of menacing figures, which look like a group of bizarre dolls, stitched out of cloth. They peer over a pulsing globe before a painterly backdrop. The video continues with imagery such as a pair of strutting characters walking into one another and stretching apart, reminiscent of the hallucination sequence in Disney's Dumbo. The video ends with the now-familiar group peering over the same pulsating globe.
The technique is very traditional and hand drawn, although Smith cites the extensive use of computers in the coloring process: "My goal was to make it look like cel animation, very hand-drawn. This matches the underground feel of the music." The style and technique of the video is practically identical to Smith's independent films, a familiar presence at film festivals world-wide. Specifically, Smith's 2001 film "Drink" is evident in the video's abstract, morphing segments. Smith cites, "One of the things I really enjoyed about this project is the complete freedom to animate and create within my own personal style." Smith adds, "It's the best scenario an animation director could find themselves in."
"This video is an attempt to describe the lyrics and poetry in visual terms," says producer Matthew Reeve, cofounder of Dyna-Mic records, and son of the late actor Christopher Reeve. He continues, "Animation lends itself perfectly to this task. The artwork and images that Patrick has created are a perfect complement to the complex nature of the lyrics."
The Planets' vocalist Ayman Raze states, "Rather than saying exactly what we wanted, we told the director what we DIDN'T want ... and we came out with a banging video. Animator Pat Smith is serious - it's gonna get a lot of play simply because it's so different, and you can't go wrong with a nice catchy tune to sing along to!"
For more information, contact:
Barbara Kearney, Producer
Blend Films
(212) 406-1631
61 Warren St. 5th floor
New York, NY 10007
