Isaiah Saxon (born 1983)Mike Sager
"These Are the Directors of the Future,"
''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', November 19, 2009. is an American film and music video director. He co-founded the animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura, and the online community DIY.org.

Early life and education

Saxon was born and raised in

Aptos, California Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, Rio del Mar, and ...

.Jon Kalish
"Making Cutting-Edge Animation On A DIY Homestead,"
NPR, July 16, 2011. He majored in film directing at the

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Career

Encyclopedia Pictura

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.Jenna Wortham
"The Making of Bjork's 3-D 'Wanderlust' Video,"
''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

'', April 21, 2008. 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."25 New Faces of Independent Film,"
''

Filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

'', Summer 2008. In 2007, Saxon and Hellfritsch directed the music video for the

Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos hor ...

single "

Knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evide ...

". The video was filmed in Death Valley, CA and Brooklyn, NY. Their first major video, it was listed at #26 on

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

's list of the top 50 music videos of the 2000s.Scott Plagenhoef
"The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s,"

, August 30, 2009. Following the "Knife" video, Saxon got a call from

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, asking Encyclopedia Pictura to direct a music video for her single "

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...

". Their concept was inspired by the work of

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

, and

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's work from the 1930s. The video was shot at

Matthew Barney Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...

's studio in New York City, in stereoscopic 3-D using a 3-D camera rig they designed and built. Combining handmade

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...

scale modeling A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

, CGI and

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

, it took over nine months to complete.Melena Ryzik
"Bjork in 3-D: The 'Wanderlust' Video,"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', April 1, 2008. The "Wanderlust" video premiered at the

Deitch Projects Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ...

gallery in

Long Island City, Queens Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, and was shown in 3-D at

Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...

's 2008 New Directors Showcase. It won three

D&AD Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. I ...

Yellow Pencil awards"Wanderlust,"
dandad.org, 2009. and the

UK Music Video Award The UK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for ...

for Video of the Year.2008 winners
ukmva.com, 2008. '' Spin'' magazine named it the best music video of 2008,Abigail Everdell
"The 20 Best Music Videos of 2008,"
'' Spin'', December 15, 2008. and Pitchfork ranked it #21 on its list of the top 50 music videos of the 2000s. Saxon directed the animated music video for the Panda Bear song "Boys Latin", which premiered on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

in 2015. It was nominated for the UK Music Video Award for Best Animation in a Video."UK Music Video Awards 2015: here are the nomination…"
Promo News, September 30, 2015.

DIY.org

In 2011, Saxon began developing a feature film titled ''DIY'', about a group of kids that rebuild their town after a flood.Nick Bilton
"Disruptions: A Beacon to Silicon Valley, From a Start-Up for Children,"
''New York Times'', May 20, 2012. The following year, Saxon,

Zach Klein Zach Klein (born ) is an American entrepreneur and investor, and currently the CEO of Dwell. He co-founded DIY.org, and is best known for co-founding and designing Vimeo. He created the Cabin Porn phenomenon, which was initially an online proje ...

, Andrew Sliwinski and Daren Rabinovitch founded DIY.org, an online educational community for kids, with a storefront in San Francisco. Saxon served as

chief creative officer A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated w ...

from the company's founding in 2012 through 2014. He creates the skill patches that are sent out to community members.

Trout Gulch

Starting in 2008, Saxon, Hellfritsch and Rabinovitch transformed 10 acres in the wooded hills in

, into Trout Gulch, a community where they built their own houses, farmed, and produced digital animation. The intent was to blend technology with nature. At its peak, 18 people lived at Trout Gulch.

Honors and awards

* Named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by ''

'' magazine, 2008 *

Yellow Pencil for Best Music Video, Music Video Art Direction and Music Video Special Effects ("

"), 2009 * Named one of 25 "Best and Brightest" by Esquire magazine, 2009 *

UK Music Video Awards The UK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced fo ...

Video of the Year (for "Wanderlust"), 2008 * #1 on '' Spin'' magazine's 20 Best Music Videos of 2008 (for "Wanderlust") * #21,

's Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s (for "Wanderlust") * #26, Pitchfork's Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s (for "

") * Nominee, UK Music Video Awards Best Animation in a Video (for "Boys Latin"), 2015

Filmography

Music videos

Short films

References

External links

Official website

Encyclopedia Pictura website

DIY.org website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxon, Isaiah Living people 1983 births Film directors from California American music video directors Academy of Art University alumni People from Aptos, California