GALLERY

Show off your work

03

Neil Horner, "Music Video"

NEIL HORNER
LOCATION London, UK
JOB Design consultant
CONTACT www.imageynation.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Illustrator and 3ds Max

When he was 26, design consultant Neil Horner worked as a head chef in a restaurant. He enjoyed his job, but decided to try and create a career path that he was more passionate about – art and design.

“I worked full time as a chef and also picked up a National Diploma course in Art & Design,” Neil remembers. “Undertaking a fulltime job and a full-time course was tiring, but it paid off and it led to my acceptance into the London Institute for Art & Design, where I studied for a degree in Animation & Illustration.”

After his graduation, Neil started working at the BBC, but later left to start up as a freelance designer for a range of big-name clients. “I am now 30, have started to venture into the music video industry and have also recently started my own small design company,” he says. “It’s a far cry from my days as a chef.”

So what’s his design philosophy? “I believe you are only as good as your last piece of work, and it is therefore important to select the right projects, those that will keep you inspired and you can be proud to add to your portfolio,” says Neil. “I am not in this business just to make a quick profit.”

MUSIC VIDEO “I have been trying to break into the music video industry for a while now, and it was a very tough nut to crack. After many rejections I was finally offered the chance to work with an unsigned band from Aardvark Records. I tried to give the CGI and the live action for the If I Look I See You video an animated look. I didn’t have the budget to create an on-stage set, so I knew I would have to create the whole environment in 3D animation, and film the band in live action against greenscreen. I decided to paint the band’s faces black and white so that when I keyed out the greenscreen, they would blend more naturally with the 3D environment. Shortly after the video was created, the band was signed by the record studio and the single (and video) will be released this month.”