Kieran Walsh loves accidents. Walsh, creative director/senior visual effects artist at post house Manhattan Transfer, New York, explains why he likes surprises. A lot of the things we do cant be fully storyboarded. A lot of what happens, happens in the edit when youre actually building things together, he says. Walsh believes that leaving things open for those accidents is how the best work occurs.
Walshs use of accidents reflects his receptivity to the world around him. The Liverpool, England, native carries a video camera wherever he goes, using it as a sketchpad. The texture of an old wall or the play of city lights can serve as an inspiration. Walsh says, I try to bring in as many influences as possible. I think the one constant is trying to use as many techniques as possible.
Walshs impressive work can be seen in spots like What It MeansaPart 1 and What It MeansaPart 2, (which Walsh also directed) for The University Hospital, Newark, N.J., via dKb and Partners, Morristown, N.J.; and Reeboks Lightning, directed by Kyle Cooper of Imaginary Forces, Hollywood, via The Heat, a division of Heater Advertising, Boston. Walshs skills are also on display in a series of station identities for two digital cable MTV Network channel launches: MTV X, which airs hard rock videos, and MTV S which features Latin music fare. Walsh collaborated on the IDs with Simon Dixon, creative director at the San Francisco office of bicoastal/ international design outfit The Attik, and James Sommerville, The Attiks group creative director who is based in the companys New York office.
Walsh will do whatever it takes to get the right image. He mentions a recent example of what can be a down and dirty approach. Just last week, he says, we were drawing, letrasetting and scratching filmaliterally pulling it through the telecine gate to achieve the right look. Much to the telecine technicians dismay, Im sure, he adds with a laugh.
Walsh explains how using hands-on methods can open up the creative process. I use low-tech methods as well as the high-tech equipment we have here. When you manipulate something under a camera, you get real-time feedback that you just dont get from computers. There are more opportunities to have a happy accident or a mistake that catches your eye, he says.
For the What It Means spots Walsh created elements under the camera, then shot them into the Henry, where they were treated and colorized. The resulting images were video-projected onto the actors and set during actual filming. Walsh used this technique to integrate the spots graphic elements with the filmed material, as opposed to simply laying one over the other. It was a good way to meld the two together. You dont always get the opportunity to do that sort of thing. The fact that I was directing the spots gave me the chance to make it seamless, says Walsh, who sometimes isnt brought aboard a project until its last stages.
Perhaps the most dazzling spot on Walshs reel is Meth, a PSA for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America via The Martin Agency, Charlotte, N.C. Walsh collaborated with The Attiks Dixon on the :30, which is a visual storm of light bursts, hyperkinetic graphic elements and high-tech text. The spot, which resembles a video game in overdrive, was designed to target the youth market and it promotes a new Web site set up by the PDFA. The idea was to bombard the viewer with a real density of three-dimensional information so youre moving through graphic environments, says Walsh. Rather than the graphics being layered on top, youre actually moving through an entire environment.
Green Card
Walsh studied art and graphic design at the University of the West of England, Bristol. About halfway through his studies, he worked on a CGI project that set him on his future path. I never wanted to go back to print work again, he says. Walsh went on to spend four years in Bristol at ITV, a commercial British television network.
He says, Im glad that I started at ITV, because you do get a good general grounding. You have to do a bit of everything, from editing to 3-D animation. I used to direct a lot of things as well.
Walsh, who won a green-card lottery in England before moving to the U.S., joined Manhattan Transfer as a visual effects artist/ designer in 1994. It was like a one in 8,000 chance to win the contest, says an amused Walsh, who became a creative director at the company last month.
In his new post, Walsh is responsible for overseeing projects, but he continues to work directly on some jobs. I actually enjoy the work, he says, and sometimes I find it more efficient to do it myself. When asked whether his workload has increased since becoming creative director, Walsh responds with a laugh, Its been about as heavy as it can possibly be for the past year and a half. Walsh is currently working on a pair of spots for Sprint via Grey Advertising, New York, and is collaborating with The Attik on an HBO campaign.
Walsh, who moved away from print design long ago, still continues to draw inspiration from the still medium. Theres a lot of print designers who do amazing work with photographic, collage and static elements. A lot of that work is inspiring to me, and its something Id like to bring to life and make move.
Walsh says he wants his moving images to retain the level of subtlety and texture that you see in print work. Its always a challenge to do that with NTSC. I look forward to the day we get high-definition TV and we can really get some complexity and detail in there and have it show. Its hopefully not too far away.
