Four years ago, his stunning video for Venetian Snares’ Szamar Madar heralded the arrival of a singular, extraordinary talent.

Ever since David OReilly has shunned music videos in favour of developing an awe-inspiring body of work in short animation – including WOFL 2106, Octocat Adventures and Please Say Something – winner of the Golden Bear for best short at this year’s Berlin Film Festival – and also collaborating with the likes of Garth Jennings on Son of Rambow, and Adam Buxton, for good measure.

It’s taken some famous fellow Irishmen, to lure him back to videos. The result is probably not the first U2 animated video, but almost certainly the first U2 video that doesn’t feature the band. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight combines OReilly’s distinctive (and quite classic) character animation and visual aesthetic – this was designed in collaboration with Jon Klasson, who’s day job is with Dreamworks in Hollywood – and a multi-strand, multi-character narrative inspired by the storytelling style (if not the content) of The Wire.

For the first time ever David was in charge of a small team of animators – from new company Lumiere – who helped him make it happen. The result is marvellous and beautiful, the next stage in the development of this remarkable visual artist’s career. And he’s still only 24.

U2
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight (Mercury)
Prod co: Colonel Blimp
Director/Head Animator: David OReilly
Producer: Georgina Fillmore
Animation: Lumiere
Design: Jon Klasson
Commissioner: Tom Bird
Watch: Quicktime movie