Newcastle International Animation Festival teams up with Daniel Johns in latest project via Guts

New creative branding agency Guts has worked with fellow Novocastrian Daniel Johns to launch one of Newcastle’s largest creative collaborations as part of the Newcastle International Animation Festival.

A team of 37 talented animators – including students from the University of Newcastle and artists from the Newcastle region – were selected and each given five seconds of footage to animate. The resulting 2494 frames were combined to create Daniel Johns’ official music video for ‘Going on 16’ from his acclaimed debut solo album ‘TALK’.

VIEW THE MUSIC VIDEO

Says Johns: “I’ve always enjoyed stuff that’s a bit trippy and surreal and there’s plenty of that happening in these animations; they’re the perfect visual accompaniment for a song like this.”

The clip premiered on Friday 31 July, the sold-out opening night of the festival and was part of a bigger campaign. The brief from the primary festival sponsor, the University of Newcastle, was not just to promote the festival, but raise the profile of creativity in Newcastle and highlight the commitment the University has to building the creative industries. Kelly Boulton and Kara Sullivan from Guts Creative had the idea for the Animate Daniel Johns Competition as a way not just to talk about the incredible local talent, but show it in action.

They approached the singer/songwriter with the concept, and Boulton shot and directed Johns performing the track, working with an amazing UON crew.

Says Boulton: “Daniel was really open to the idea of a local collaboration and was so keen to see how animators would bring his track to life.”

With the help of Jane Shadbolt – an internationally renowned animator and University of Newcastle lecturer – Guts also curated and mentored the animators throughout the project.  

As part of the competition, the winning animation was selected by a festival panel including Johns himself. Dan Smith took out the top prize – $1000 cash, a yearly VIP pass for two to the local cinema, and an animation masterclass delivered by Boulton and Shadbolt for his efforts.

Boulton is currently writing and directing a segment for season 46 of Sesame Street, a follow up from her debut on the show last year. And this is just the beginning for Guts. Both Sullivan and Boulton can’t wait to tackle their next project.

Says Sullivan: “This one has been so rewarding. We’ve been blown away. Not just by the phenomenal talent, (some of whom are just starting out), but by what can be achieved through creative collaboration. They took the track to a place we could never have dreamed of.”

Director: Kelly Boulton

Camera assistant: Stuart McDonald