Isaiah Saxon | |
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Born | 1983 (age 33–34) Aptos, CA |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Academy of Art University |
Occupation | Film director Co-founder, Encyclopedia Pictura Co-founder, DIY.org |
Years active | 2003–present |
Website | isaiahsaxon.com |
Isaiah Saxon (born 1983) is an American film and music video director. He co-founded the animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura, and the online community DIY.org.
Saxon was born and raised in Aptos, California. He majored in film directing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch founded Encyclopedia Pictura as a directing duo in 2004, before expanding into a trio when Daren Rabinovitch joined in 2007, and ultimately transforming into an animation studio. Through Encyclopedia Pictura, Saxon has directed music videos, short films and commercials. The studio is known for creating ambitious music videos and short films with an organic, handmade quality.
In 2007, Saxon and Hellfritsch directed the music video for the Grizzly Bear single "Knife". The video was filmed in Death Valley, CA and Brooklyn, NY. Their first major video, it was listed at #26 on Pitchfork's list of the top 50 music videos of the 2000s.
Following the "Knife" video, Saxon got a call from Björk, asking Encyclopedia Pictura to direct a music video for her single "Wanderlust". Their concept was inspired by the work of Hayao Miyazaki, Stanley Kubrick, and Walt Disney's work from the 1930s. The video was shot at Matthew Barney's studio in New York City, in stereoscopic 3-D using a 3-D camera rig they designed and built. Combining handmade puppetry, scale modeling, CGI and live action, it took over nine months to complete. The "Wanderlust" video premiered at the Deitch Projects gallery in Long Island City, Queens, and was shown in 3-D at Saatchi & Saatchi's 2008 New Directors Showcase. It won three D&AD Yellow Pencil awards and the UK Music Video Award for Video of the Year.Spin magazine named it the best music video of 2008, and Pitchfork ranked it #21 on its list of the top 50 music videos of the 2000s.