David Bates Jr

David Bates Jr. is a director, video producer, videographer, and editor based in New York City. He works in live, on-the-scene storytelling, moving fast, filming in real spaces, and cutting for emotion and humor. He has been creating work online since the mid-1990s.

His work spans experimental shorts, music videos, portraits and interviews, documentary pieces, and commercial campaigns. He received Interview Magazine’s Web Superstar “Award for Making People Talk” and Billboard’s “Music on the Move” award. Clients and collaborators include IBM, W Magazine, MTV, Capital One, Starburst, Acura, Puma, JetBlue, and others. His projects have featured conversations with artists and actors including Christian Slater and Robert Wilson.

Bates’ work has been exhibited internationally with Streaming Museum and partnering organizations across seven continents, from Times Square to Hong Kong, Dubai, Bucharest, Sao Paulo, Antarctica, and on 23 BBC public screens throughout the UK. His video NFT “Her Way” was featured in the audience-award-winning official SXSW metaverse by Ristband (2023). He is currently experimenting with AI, human-led and AI-assisted, to push new film, music, and visual work.

“Just put yourself out there and see where the Velcro sticks.”

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ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a New York City-based video artist, director, producer, and editor working in visual storytelling since the mid-1990s. My practice centers on composing on-the-scene observations, unexpected viewpoints, and unscripted moments in authentic settings, alongside imaginative story scenarios.

I have created experimental shorts, music videos, interviews, and documentary portraits ranging from high-profile individuals to everyday people around the world. My work has been recognized by major media and industry platforms, including Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, where I received the Web Superstar “Award for Making People Talk.”

My approach aligns with observational artistic lineages. Like avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, I construct continuity through movement and psychological association, allowing moving imagery to evolve organically. The work also reflects Baudelaire’s conception of the flaneur, the attentive observer of modern life who experiences public space as a living social stage.

I am particularly interested in how AI can function not as an autonomous author but as a creative tool and interpretive collaborator. Working with evolving AI systems, I create scenarios imagining future human-AI hybrids infused with emotional presence. I execute all stages of production, including story creation, directing, filming, editing, and AI integration, aiming to create embodied, emotionally resonant experiences that connect people, technology, the environment, and the future.