browsing eric henry

"To My Surprise" music video by Syd Garon + crew (feat. Slipknot members)

Posted on September 11, 2008 10:42 AM |


Today's dose of Boing Boing tv is an experimental rock animation oddity featuring one of our favorite directors, Syd Garon. It's a music video for To My Surprise, a band led by The Clown (Shawn Crahan) from nu-metal heavyweights Slipknot.

The video was directed and animated by Syd Garon and Eric Henry with illustrations by Doug Cunningham (of Morning Breath), Lee Ballard, Cristie Henry and The Clown's daughter, who was 6 years old at the time.

Part of what makes this so interesting to us is the crazy backstory. Syd explains:

The record was produced by Rick Rubin and had some pretty good Beatles-inspired tunes on it if memory serves.

The Clown had a bizarre list of things -- completely unrelated to our treatment -- which we were required to have in the video. The items were so strange we decided not to even try to fight it. That is why the final video has a pilgrim and a turkey, a rubber dog head, and a rat eating a taco among other oddities.

In addition to "the list" we had to incorporate a bunch of black and white drawings made by his 6 year old daughter. Oh yeah, the drawings had to be playing dodgeball.

We actually had a conversation with an assistant at the record label and spoke the words, "yes there is a rat eating a taco in the video".

One of the band members refused to have his cartoon likeness anything other than completely realistic. That is why a goddamn imaginary band has a robot with bunny ears, a three eyed Rastafarian and one totally fucking normal guy.

In retrospect, having one normal guy makes the band even stranger in a way I never would have thought of. So, hats off to you, normal guy.

To our surprise the video didn't totally work. The kids drawings were actually awesome and if I had a time machine I might go back and try making a video just around them instead combining our ideas with The Clowns.

We made this video with the mighty Doug Cunningham at Morning Breath and it was fun to get the Wave Twisters crew back together again.

Also: Previous BBtv episodes featuring the work of Syd Garon.
posted in: Doug Cunningham ,  Slipknot ,  To My Surprise ,  animation ,  eric henry ,  music ,  syd garon ,  weird
Discuss ( 0 )
Favorite this! ( 1 )
Send

Syd and Eric: music videos for Dan The Automator and Buckethead

Posted on April 20, 2008 9:19 PM |


Today on Boing Boing tv, a pair of classic works from the animation and filmmaking duo Syd & Eric (Syd Garon and Eric Henry).

Together, they are probably best known for the animated hip-hop classic DJ Qbert's Wave Twisters -- and Garon directed the opening animation sequence that appears in each and every BBtv episode.

First up in today's show, "Bear Witness III, Ego Trippin'" an animated music video for Dan the Automator. The video includes work from illustrators Lucasz Ataman, Aaron Piland Joshua Ellingson. Co-director Eric Henry describes the video as "[A] four-part study in hubris. Each section explores a different 'ego trip'— military, cosmetic, scientific, and engineering/industrial — and takes it to its logical conclusion. Pride cometh before the fall."

Part two of today's BBtv is an animated video for Buckethead, the eccentric metal guitarist who wears a bucket on his head. For his song "Spokes for the Wheels of Torment," Syd & Eric brought the hellish Rennaisance paintings of Hieronymus Bosch to life. Sinners are plucked apart by demon birds; unrepentant souls are tortured, sliced, and diced, in an epic headbanger's nightmare.

posted in: animation ,  art ,  eric henry ,  music ,  syd garon
Discuss ( 4 )
Favorite this! ( 1 )
Send