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14th December 2012
Dig your own hole
Title of film: Goyte - Dig Your Own Hole
Director: Saiman Chow
Production Company: Blacklist
Following Saiman Chow's brilliant music video for Goyte we ask the animator about his creative process. Take a look in Related Content for a showcase of some of his other wonderful pieces

What a glorious train ride through your mind. How did the narrative come about and can you explain it please – or is it a surreal journey and down to the viewer’s own interpretation?

The song “Dig Your Own Hole “ is a very catchy, multi-layered pop song, yet the lyrics suggest a darker tone with a more complex reading. My idea for the video revolved around the interpretation of one’s own psychological struggle against the problematic scenarios we create for ourselves.

After multiple listens, we had a conversation with Wally (Gotye) and he revealed that the lyrics were written with personal reasons in mind. Creatively, we decided to focus the tone of the treatment on creating something more cinematic, dark and moody. When I began designing the overall style and narrative for the video it was a challenge to find a suitable visual language that spoke to both his lyrical intent and my artistic sensibility.

It was also important to marry the visuals with Wally’s lyrical hooks and to create synchronicity with the rhythm and beat throughout the song. I decided to use the visual metaphor of a train travelling in an empty, uninhabited landscape to reference someone’s internal state of mind. A train only travels where the track is laid and always ends up back on the same route. I thought this would bring out the feeling of self sabotage — a psychological, unproductive routine we create for ourselves, over and over again. Visually speaking, the movement of the train also seems to work well to the pacing and rhythm of the song.

How did your collaborative relationship come about with Goyte? Had he seen your earlier work and was there anything in particular he referenced or were you given creative freedom?

Wally aka Goyte and I had multiple conversations about the song. He had some concrete ideas about the look and feel of the piece, specifically; he wanted to create something that felt handmade with a dark tone and mood. Other than that premise he really left all creative choices up to me, it was a great working dynamic and I was really pleased to be trusted to make creative decisions.

Did you work in a linear way, from beginning to end, on Dig Your Own Hole?

I didn’t work in an entirely linear way – say start to finish. Firstly, I created a rough animatic for the video focusing in on hooks and rhythms of the song. At that point a lot of the visual style had not been determined. We would work from that animatic and fill in from that rough outline.

And what were the major challenges of the production and how did you resolve them?

One of the most difficult challenges was to seamlessly integrate the world of 3D CGI and flash cell animation together. The technical challenge of making sure each element retains its hand-made and painterly quality was an important “must” for both Wally and myself. We felt this visual styling was really important to the piece. After the cell animators completed their vector-based animation, we would go back and redraw every frame, adding texture and colour on top of each drawing. It was a very labour intensive and time consuming process.

Additionally the finished piece would also be projected behind the band while they played live during a concert, therefore, the other challenge involved was making sure each beat in the song was synchronized precisely to fit the visual hook.

Can you tell us please about your creative process, starting from the idea and how do you evolve that please? Do you sketch on paper first, jot words down or do you work straight onto the computer?

My creative process is very typical. I like to walk around my neighbourhood in the morning to mull over ideas for a specific project, just allowing ideas to percolate naturally and without pressure. Once I have a general idea or sometimes I don’t, I start to draw, or rather doodle to let my mind go. I also do a lot of research online, gathering pertinent images and stylistic references that relate to the sensibility I have in mind. Lastly for me, using the computer is the last step to create artwork for the project.

Do you work to a disciplined time frame? Or once you have started a project do you disappear into that world and only see the light of day once it’s completed?

For this particular project, we had a pretty tight time frame from start to finish. A little bit over a month to finish the animation and visuals in time for Gotye’s tour. To be completely honest I am not very disciplined when it comes down to time management. It was very overwhelming trying to tackle a four and half minute long animation with limited time and resources. To compensate for this we applied an overall rough animation throughout the piece and refined each shot as we went.

When you left Hong Kong for the States as a teenager was it to study art or did you immigrate with your family? Two completely different cultures, do you feel torn between them or is a comfortable fit to be part of Eastern and Western cultures? And how does this impact on your work?

Yes, I do think my work is influenced by my Chinese upbringing, both consciously and subconsciously. Hong Kong is a giant melting pot of cultures and histories that makes it a very special place. We borrow a lot of pop culture from our Japanese neighbours and the Brits colonized us until 1997. Recently I’ve been working on more personal works that reflect my experiences growing up in Hong Kong and my position as an immigrant; I’m fascinated by Chinese mythology, rituals and symbolism.

LINKS:

Saiman Chow

Independent

Credits
Gotye: Dig your own hole Production Company: Blacklist Director: Saiman Chow Executive Producer: Adina Sales Producers: Hilary Downes, Nathan Jew Asst Producer: Patrick Gantert Lead Design: Saiman Chow Lead Animation: Saiman Chow 3D Animation: Vinh Chung 2D + Cell Animation: George Conkin, Danny Hynes, Alexandra Poston, Sophie Gate Designers: Saiman Chow, Helene Park, Sophie Gate 3D Modeler: Lee Wolland, Vinh Chung Storyboard Artist: Morgan Schweitzer Compositors: Carlos Foxworthy, Vinh Chung, Helene Park Music: Wally De Backer   Rayban, Neverhide Spot title: Rare Prints Agency: Marcel, Paris Creative Director : Sebastien Vacherot Writer : Sebastian Piacentini Art Director : Bastien Grisolet Account Manager : Shannon Eddy TV Producer : Cleo Ferenczi Director: Saiman Chow Production Company: Blacklist Executive Producer: Michael Neithardt Producer: Patrick Gantert Associate Producer: Sophie Gate Compositor: Fred Kim Animation: Studio Nos Creative Directors: Mathew Amonson, Jeremy Bronson Producer: John Bega Stop Motion Director: Mathew Amonson Animators: Mathew Amonson, Luca Vitale Model Fabrication: Junko Shimizu, Zack Williams, Mathew Amonson Director of Photography: Mathew Amonson Music and Sound Design: Antfood Executive Producer: Sean McGovern Production Service Company: Wam Treasure Hunt Jingle video for Yo Gaba Gaba. Music by Camera Obscura. FUEL Network, Looking Thru the Bsides Directed by Sean Dougherty and Saiman Chow Producers: Mark Groeschner, Josh Libitsky, Jennifer Brogle-Jones Lead Animation (Stop Motion): Chad Colby, James Dunlap Animation (2D): Joe Vaccarino, Chad Colby, Sean Dougherty, Saiman Chow Compositing: Joe Vaccarino, Chad Colby, Ken Edge Cell Animation: Jonathan Trueblood, Albert Chow, Saiman Chow Production Assistants: Alexandra Elmquist, Dylan Thuras, James Bollenbaugh Set/Prop Production: Albert Chow, Peter Schmitt, James Dunlap, Dan Waller, Saiman Chow, Sean Dougherty, Chad Colby, James Bolenbaugh, Patricia Burges, Evelyn Lee Puppet Wardrobes: Julie Ho, Nick Anderson Puppet Fabrication: Peter Erickson, James Dunlap Costumes: Suzanne Couture Editor:Eli Mavros Storyboard Artist: Wes Simpkins Talent: Jennifer Brogle-Jones,Jason Jones Intern: Alexandra Elmquist Special thanks to: Kevin Robinson, Dennis Go, Josh Libitsky FUEL TV: CJ Olivares: SVP & Asst GM Jake Munsey: VP Marketing & Promotion Todd Dever: Creative Director Special Thanks to: Andrew Hale, Joyce Lee, Mary Traina, Li Hen Lin, Dennis Go, William Ismael Music by Freefarm (Simon Pyke) & (final scene) by xmassound (Christmas Jang) Adicolor Director: Saiman Chow Producer: Nathan Jew Lead Animation: Chad Colby Director of Photography: Li Hen Lin Character Designer: Saiman Chow Production Designers: Chad Colby, Erica Bettencourt, Pete Schmeat, Saiman Chow Animation: Chad Colby Compositing: Chad Colby, Saiman Chow Music Supervisor: Peymon Maskan Music & Sound Design: Tim Koh, Jimi Hey Cadbury, Cornered Agency: The Hive VP, Chief Creative Officer: Simon Creet ACD, Art Director: Paul Parolin ACD, Copywriter: Jess Willis Producer: Jennifer Cursio Group Account Director: Michelle Prowse Account Supervisor: Daniel Langer-Hack Account Manager: Lauren Zigelstein Director: Saiman Chow Production Company: Blacklist Executive Producer: Andrew Linsk Producer: Hana Shimizu Stop Motion Animation Directors: Mathew Amonson, Jeremy Bronson Director of Photography: David Griffiths, Mathew Amonson Gaffer: Perry Styga Best Boy: Jarrod Kloiber, Chad Battinelli Production Designer: Saiman Chow Art Director: Taylor Jordan Fabricators: Hayley Morris, Taylor Jordan, Jeremy Bronson, John Bega, Eric Duke, Bronwyn Fraizer, Mike Sullivan Animators: Zack Williams, Josh Mahan, Eric Duke, Jeremy Bronson, Production Coordinator: John Bega Art PA: Eric Duke, Bronwyn Frazier TD/Lead Compositor: Andrew MacFarlane Compositors: Saiman Chow, Alex Mapar Music and Sound: Apollo Studios Creative Director: Yan Dal Santo Sound design & Foley: Harry Knazan Producer: Melissa Doyle Executive Producer: Charlie Janson