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San Holo 'Black And White' by Martyn Thomas

Rob Ulitski - 7th May 2021

Martyn Thomas directs an impressive animated promo for Dutch DJ and producer Sander van Dijck - aka San Holo. 

The visual for Black And White is made up of thousands of 2D rotoscoped frames, starts as a series of simplistic line drawings, before exploding into a succession of breathtaking collage images, packed full of texture and colour. 

A tremendous visual feat, the craftsmanship evident in each moment is awe-inspiring, and the concept as a whole reflects the yearning soundscapes in the track. And remarkably, Thomas completed the whole job to an eye-wateringly tight two-week deadline.

MARTYN THOMAS:

I knew I just had to draw like a madman - 300-400 frames a day.

"San Holo and the label team really liked some of my animation work and approached me with a brief for this music video. They wanted to capture the essence of San's lyric videos, while at the same time carving a new path for him visually.

"The deadline was a massive challenge for a hand-animated video - 14 days. The remote shoot for the video was actually the easiest part - San is Holland-based and the Bitbird team hooked up a remote shoot within 24 hours of our initial call. Thanks, Thorwald!

"The short timeline meant that I had to be strict with myself and make decisions quickly. Every creative idea had to be broken down to its raw process and then time-budgeted. If a frame couldn’t be drawn in under a minute, I had to find a better approach. In the end I knew I just had to draw like a madman - 300-400 frames a day.

"This informed much of the look of the video. I really enjoyed finding out what I could make by being purely instinctive about my line work and focussing on what details really matter.

"It was actually creatively freeing to know that whatever idea I had for each shot had to be a commitment as there was no time to go back and replace anything. This need for permanence made the whole digital process feel a lot more organic and closer to my roots as an artist."

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Rob Ulitski - 7th May 2021

Tags

  • Animation
  • Dance
  • Electronic
  • Line Drawing
  • Collage
  • montage
  • Hand Drawn
  • Frames

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Credits

Production/Creative

Director
Producer

Camera

Director of Photography
Thorwald Van Den Akker

Animation

Animator

Editorial

Editor

Agent

Director's Representation

Commission

Label
Ninja Tune

Rob Ulitski - 7th May 2021

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