Chris Hopewell
Some notable highlights of the past years might include:
Travelling extensively with punk/hardcore bands in Europe, promoting bands and producing Skate zines during the 1980s.
Graphic artist with magazines such as The Face, ID, Loaded and the NME, script writing for channel x and Mark Lamarr, running a pirate radio station during the early 90s.
More touring with bands in the USA through the 90s until after a growing interest in kinetic sculpture he decided to enroll at Newport University where he studied for a BA Hons in animation for three years. He now regularly returns to Newport to lecture on animation and short film making.
On leaving University he went to work at the infamous Bolex Brothers where he directed a series of short animated films and it was during the production of one of these in 2001 that he met a fresh faced Ben Foley and they decided to form their own animation company – Collision films.
Over the last seven years Chris has directed over 60 promos and has worked with all the major international labels including Sony, Island, Warners both in the UK and the USA. He has worked with some of the biggest bands of the past decade including the Killers, Scissor Sisters, Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand, Goldfrapp and the Zutons and most recently Brody Dalle’s Spinnerette and Blur’s Graham Coxon.
His work has been described as “highly original story telling with a darkly atmospheric folksy leaning”.
In 2003 he won MTV’s big shiny moon man award (and saw Madonna kiss Britney!) for best art direction in Radiohead’s “There, there” a video which he also directed. It also picked up Video of the Year at the NME awards that same year. Hurrah!
Chris rambles – “I love the medium of the music video – there’s no better place to put forward your crazy, beautiful, fucked-up ideas than to a soundtrack of music you love – it’s two totally disparate worlds that are made for each other and when it works there’s nothing to beat it”.
Interests include ocean kayaking, backpacking, screen print design with Jacknife posters, the Bronze Age and sculpting. Chris has been a life long vegetarian and supporter of green causes and if he wins tonight’s contest would “like to make the world a better place for everybody”
- applause – fade to black.
