martin pyper - mathematics - stop-motion video clip

Our latest project:

A stop-motion video for British spoken-word artist, poet & performer Hollie McNish; who recently collaborated with (my client) the Metropole Orkest & conductor Jules Buckley.

Their new album 'Poetry Versus Orchestra' is out now, and it's a true one-off - a magnificent exploration of the way sound and words can interact.

Here is the video for 'Mathematics', a piece Hollie wrote to expose the faulty logic used by those who protest against immigration.

I was asked to create the intricate stop-motion clip, fresh from working on the album artwork for 'Poetry Versus Orchestra'.

"The idea of using an icon of an eye for the album art (see below), seemed relevant to her message and the feeling I got from the music. The eye represents Hollie’s poetry and the way she looks at the world but it also asks us to open our own eyes and see what is happening around us."

"Using icons for the clip was a deliberate choice, the prejudice she talks about is often a simplification of complex issues and graphic icons are themselves, also a simplified or even clichéd shape that is used to depict something often much more complex. The icons tell their story in a very basic and direct fashion."

"The clip was created using a stop-motion technique and was built entirely by hand. The 1,900 stills used to make the film were incredibly labour-intensive to make and the whole process took roughly 200 hours to complete, including making the original artwork, building the set, weaving the wool, photographing the frames and editing the video."

"A minimal amount of retouching was done to stay true to the original idea which was to keep it as simple, real and as handcrafted as possible. The technique with steel pins and string also felt right for this particular album and the personal, direct and unpolished message it brings."

enjoy...