He blended genres, he broke tabus, he surprised his audiences making them always expect the unexpected even if that meant a psychedelic journey encapsulated in a seemingly classical live action short. He is David Wilson and he is the epiphany of what the 'blending' concept means for the music video industry. Which is exactly why he simply had to join us in 2019 on the Blend stage!
David Wilson is a London based director. More than a decade ago, he was one of the people re-vamping and rescuing from oblivion the music video format, back in the days when promos were struggling to once again become relevant story-telling environments. He made artistic cutting-edge videos look sexy, mesmerizing and appealing to large crowds. Through a series of hilarious making-ofs he taught regular people what terms like “stop-motion” “stratacut” and “praxinoscope” mean for animation.
He’s most well know for his music video work, but his output spans various mediums including commercials and even VR installations. He takes great enjoyment from crossing disciplines between animation and live action, often combining the two to create something totally unique. David has created work for artists such as Arctic Monkeys, David Guetta, Lady Gaga, Metronomy, Royal Blood, We Have Band, The Maccabees, Japanese Popstars and Tame Impala, receiving copious accolades including being crowned Best Director at the UK Music Video Awards and a Grammy nomination in 2015 for his video for Arcade Fire, ‘We Exist’. He was one of the flagship directors of Colonel Blimp production company, a Blink segment specially dedicated to highly creative music video projects.
Aside from music video duties, David is also known for his innovative personal projects as well as his unique innovative approach to advertising. In December 2012 he for instance created a unique personal project called Alternative Advent where he released a marathon 25 new films in 25 days, all soundtracked by exclusive tracks from a jukebox of musical artists including Metronomy, Les Savy Fav, Battles, Caribou, Van She, Woodkid, Jon Hopkins and Spiritualized. David was also responsible for creating an IKEA series of commercials, where he brought flat-pack Swedish home-furnishings to life through a variety of hand-drawn, physical and CG animation effects. The 2 minute adventure depicts a young leotard clad woman throwing shapes and taking a seamlessly choreographed, psychedelic journey through her studio flat. He is also know for making bold statements with his works, such as the Race For Life – Cancer Slam ad, or the What Are Girls Made Of campaign for Nike in which he discusses feminine mass media representations. His efforts for the latter even landed him a Cannes Gold Lion.
David’s work crosses disciplines between hand drawn animation and live action, often combining the two to create something totally unique. Along with directing, he also regularly VJs with his home-made visuals at clubs and music festivals.