Commercial film and design company Hornet Inc. welcomed Peter Sluszka for exclusive representation, the renowned stop-motion artist that recently collaborated with director Michel Gondry on a music video for Steriograms single Walkie Talkie Man (from the debut album SCHMACK!). The music video is nominated for Best Short Form Music Video of the year by the 47th Grammy Awards (taking place Feb.13).
Sluszka also collaborated with Gondry and co-director Laurie Faggioni on the music video A RIBBON from surreal folk rocker Devendra Banharts album NINO ROJO.
I was aware of Hornet and admire the companys body of work, commented Sluszka. Stylistically Hornet approaches projects differently than I do. This is a chance for me to benefit from the companys artistic environment and joining with them makes for an interesting fit. At the same time, Ill have something different to offer. My first project with Hornet was a small pitch. I liked the time and energy and level of detail that Hornet was willing to pursue in executing the piece. That made me optimistic about continuing to work with this up-and-coming company.
Sluszka is the recipient of many industry awards, including a 2003 nod for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation at the 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for his animation achievements on the HBO Family stop-motion series I SPY from Scholastic.
For the Steriogram video, which is a mixture of live action and stop-motion, Gondry devised an inventive treatment: placing the band in an imaginary woolen world and forcing them to face a terrifying monster made from knitting needles and wool.
Sluszka led the development of the intriguing stop-motion in the music video, bringing the band's wooly nemesis and yarn universe to life. He recently created a group of original spots for Sesame Street, and finished work on a new music video for Regina Spektor.
Hornet (www.hornetinc.com) maintains fully staffed production studios in New York City and Los Angeles.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
