BENT IMAGE LAB (or BENT) is a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

and animation studio specializing in story development, television, commercials, visual effects, music videos, short films, experimental techniques and tech development in

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

(AR). Located in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, the company was founded in 2002 by partners David Daniels,

Ray Di Carlo Ray Di Carlo is an American producer, executive producer, director, and co-founder (along with Chel White and David Daniels) of the Portland, Oregon based animation studio Bent Image Lab. History Since 2002, Di Carlo has acted as Executive Prod ...

, and

Chel White Chel White (born May 30, 1959) is an Americans, American film director, composer, screenwriter and visual effects artist. In his independent films and music videos, White is known for his stylized, often experimental use of images, animation and ...

. Director Rob Shaw joined the company in 2006. The studio is known partly for its popular music videos for

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...

At the Drive In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drums) ...

and Chrysta Bell/

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

, as well as commercials for

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

Nike Inc. Nike, Inc. (stylized as NIKE) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is head ...

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

, Kellogg’s, Hershey’s and the

American Indian College Fund The American Indian College Fund is a nonprofit organization that helps Native American students, providing them with support through scholarships and funding toward higher education. The fund provides an average of 6,000 annual scholarships for ...

. Beginning in 2010, the studio began the production and development of television projects, including half hour animated holiday specials for the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

and animated segments for ''

Portlandia ''Portlandia'' is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Broa ...

'',. The company is also known for its

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

work in motion pictures and television, as seen in

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...

's ''Paranoid Park'', ''Restless'' and ''

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

'', in

Todd Haynes Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...

' ''

I'm Not There ''I'm Not There'' is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, and co-written by Haynes and Oren Moverman. It is an unconventional biographical film inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors de ...

'', as well as NBC's ''

Grimm (TV Series) ''Grimm'' is an American fantasy police procedural drama television series created by Stephen Carpenter and Jim Kouf & David Greenwalt and produced by Universal Television for NBC. The series aired from October 28, 2011, to March 31, 2017, for 1 ...

''. In 2015, BENT directors Joshua Cox and Solomon Burbridge started a division of the company called Bent Design Lab, dedicated specifically to contemporary design work for clients that include

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

, and

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

. Since 2014, the studio has been developing

(AR) technology and plans to launch their convergent

computer vision Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the hum ...

library in fall of 2019.

Work and techniques

Dubbed a "creative clubhouse", Bent Image Lab is known largely for its

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animation, CGI/

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

, character design and multi-technique projects. Bent's multi-technique approach can be seen in the

music video ''Whale Song'' (director Nando Costa), the

music video ''

Harrowdown Hill "Harrowdown Hill" is a song by the singer Thom Yorke, released on 21 August 2006 as the first single from his debut solo album ''The Eraser''. Yorke wrote it about the death of David Kelly, a British weapons expert who told a reporter that the B ...

'' (director

), the Coca-Cola ad ''Hidden Formula'', the Lux soap ad ''Provocateur'', a commercial for

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

Rice Krispies and a 2017-2019 campaign for Honda which utilizes a mix of live action, puppetry, CGI, and

animation. One early and notable example of a BENT

project is ''Blue Christmas'' (a.k.a. ''Santa and the States'')(season 30, episode 8), a parody short for Robert Smigel's '' Saturday TV Funhouse'' on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. The short, airing December 18, 2004, was directed by Bent co-founder

, written by

Robert Smigel Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer, known for his ''Saturday Night Live'' " TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic D ...

and Michelle Saks Smigel with additional material by

Rich Blomquist Rich Blomquist (born July 27, 1977) is an American writer, producer and occasional actor. He was a former staff writer for ''The Daily Show''. The show won six Emmy awards during his employment; in 2003–2006, 2009 and 2011. Career He has also ...

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

Scott Jacobson Scott Jacobson (born 1977) is an American comedy writer and winner of four Emmys for contributions to ''The Daily Show'' with Jon StewartSerota, Maggie (2010)The Oy of Sex, ''New York Press'', September 22, 2010, retrieved 2010-10-17 and two Emmys ...

, and Matt O'Brien; voices by

Maya Rudolph Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), and later played supporting roles in the films '' 50 First Dates'' ...

Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy trou ...

, Erik Bergmann, and

. The short is a parody of the 1964 holiday TV special ''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

''. Bent Image Lab has since replicated the same style and original characters in television advertisements for AT&T, AFLAC, Bing and in a series of 2014 holiday promos for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

commemorating the 50th anniversary of '' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.'' In 2016, the studio produced a ten-minute remake of ''

'' as a 4D attraction film for

SimEx-Iwerks SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment specializes in high-tech entertainment systems, films, film technologies, film-based software, Simulation Hardware Systems and services. The company has partnerships with various institutions, parks, and destinations. T ...

. Another significant

project is '' Jingle All the Way (TV special)'', a holiday special for

. In reviewing the 2011 television holiday programs, Mike Hale of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' newspaper called it "By far the best of the bunch...honest emotion, and a combination of retro holiday spirit with adventurous animation." Other notable BENT stop-motion productions include director Rob Shaw's ongoing ''Rats'' segments for the IFC show ''

'', (with ''

'' cast member

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

, and

Carrie Brownstein Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney. During a long hiatus ...

), as well as commercials for

Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

Lux The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the ...

OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S ...

Kelloggs The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

Tinactin Tolnaftate ( INN) is a synthetic thiocarbamate used as an anti-fungal agent that may be sold without medical prescription in most jurisdictions. It is supplied as a cream, powder, spray, liquid, and liquid aerosol. Tolnaftate is used to treat ...

, and an anti-smoking campaign geared towards children for the

Washington Department of Social and Health Services The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is Washington's social services department. The agency has its headquarters in Office Building Two (OB-2) in Olympia, the state capital. Annually, 2.2 million children, families, vulnerable adu ...

. BENT's CGI work can be seen in the 2015

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desig ...

nominated '' Polariffic'' (director Rob Shaw), as well as in their commercials for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

, Koodo,

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco's ...

, Puffs, and the

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History The organization was founded in 1904 to figh ...

Founders and directors

Bent Image Lab co-founder and director David Daniels invented an animation technique he termed Strata-cut, a unique form of clay animation in which internally packed "loaves" of clay are animated in thin slices, revealing the movement of the pre-sculpted images within. The technique of strata-cut was first used in Daniels' 1985 short film, ''Buzz Box'', then later in animated segments of the ''

Pee Wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's p ...

'' series during the mid-90s, and in the music video for '' Big Time'' by

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

(1986). In September 2016, Daniels gave a demonstration of his unique Strata-cut technique at the

Anthology Film Archives Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema.M&M's M&M's (stylized as m&m's) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter "m" printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M ...

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

Fanta Fanta is an American-owned German brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are more than 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as ...

and broadcast promos Fox NFL. Bent co-founder

is an independent director who has been making films since the mid-1980s. His 1991 experimental short film, '' Choreography for Copy Machine (Photocopy Cha Cha)'', is widely considered the first film to make use of a technique in which people and objects are animated directly on the glass platen of a photocopy machine. White's other films include the shorts ''

Dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a genera ...

'', ''Magda'' and ''A Painful Glimpse Into My Writing Process (In Less Than 60 Seconds)'', and the feature film ''Bucksville''. Among White's notable commissioned projects are his 2006 music video ''

'' for

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

lead singer

, which features the first use of the Smallgantics technique, as well as the 2007 short film, ''Wind,'' commissioned by Radiohead's creative director Dilly Gent and the climate change awareness group Live Earth.

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

describes ''Wind'' as “(a) beautiful film, very moving, set to a poem by Antonio Machado and narrated by Alec Baldwin.” Along with eight other Live Earth commissioned films, ''Wind'' made its world premiere in the opening night program of the 2007

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

with keynote speaker

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

. Since 1999, three of Chel White's short films have screened as part of the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

(''Dirt'', ''Choreography for Copy Machine (Photocopy Cha Cha)'', and ''Passage''). His other festival screenings include the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

, Ottawa Animation Festival,

Annecy Animation Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

and the

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens around 230 films ...

. Bent Image Lab co-founder and executive producer Ray Di Carlo got his start in the film industry working on special effects in feature films. His first project was ''

The Abyss ''The Abyss'' is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, a US search and recovery team ...

'' (1989), where he came on as Lead Man for Donald Pennington. More recently Di Carlo produced visual effects for ''I'm Not There'', '' Paranoid Park'' (2007), and ''

'' (2008). He has been Executive Producer for Bent Image Lab since its inception. He has also co-directed several of the company's commercial productions. Along with Bent Image Lab co-founder David Daniels, Di Carlo has spearheaded the studio's augmented reality (AR) division. Among other things, Bent director Rob Shaw is known for his innovative music videos and the ability to mix different forms of media such as stop motion animation, CG, live action and 2-dimensional animation. He has directed several animated television shorts for IFC's ''Portlandia'', television specials for Hallmark, and commercial campaigns for

Koodo Mobile Koodo Mobile is a Canadian mobile flanker brand started by Telus in 2008 and mostly oriented toward younger customers. Koodo differs from its parent Telus by not requiring a fixed term contract. Koodo currently provides postpaid, prepaid, and w ...

, and

, as well as music videos for

The Uncluded The Uncluded was an American indie folk rap group, formed by rapper Aesop Rock and singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson. In 2013, they released an album titled ''Hokey Fright'', through Rhymesayers Entertainment. The band name is a reference to the Mi ...

and several videos for

(including the song ''Rings''). Shaw's animated short film, ''The Machine,'' a modern-day cautionary fable about humans and machines, won Best Animated Short from the 2010

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is a long-running, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a ...

. Bent director Solomon Burbridge's work includes short, mature-themed segments for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, the ''Bacon Wars'' segment on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's ''

Disjointed ''Disjointed'' is an American television sitcom created by David Javerbaum and Chuck Lorre and starring Kathy Bates. Twenty episodes of the series were ordered from Warner Bros. by Netflix, with the first 10 episodes premiering on August 25, 2017 ...

'' series, and commercials for

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

Tums Tums (stylized as TUMS) is an antacid made of sucrose (sugar) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) manufactured by Haleon in St. Louis, Missouri, US. They are also available in a sugar-free version. It is an over-the-counter drug, available at many re ...

, MasterCard, Arrowhead and

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

. He has been a director at BENT since 2007. His film ''Phase 5'' screened in the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Burbridge has often co-directed projects with director/designer Joshua Cox, who joined Bent in 2010. Their commercial clients include

, Bogs,

and a film for the Advertising and Design Club of Canada called ''The No Shit Show''. Joshua Cox's short film ''Proximity'' was winner of the Animation Award in the 2014

New Orleans Film Festival The New Orleans Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the nonprofit organization New Orleans Film Society, a film society founded in 1989. The festival has been held since the society's inception. The festival takes place in mid-Oc ...

. Argentine-born director Carlos Lascano is an accomplished filmmaker known for his short films, music videos, and commercials. His work includes a noteworthy ad for

''Spirit of the Euro'' produced at Bent Image Lab, the studio where Carlos Lascano is represented for commercials in North America. One of Lascano's characteristic techniques makes use of real actors' eyes, captured in live action, then digitally composited onto animated characters, as seen his short films ''Shadow of Blue'' and ''A Short Love Story in Stop Motion'', as well as several of his commercials. Bent Image Lab and/or its directors have won awards from the Clio Awards,

The One Club The One Club is an American non-profit organization that recognizes and promotes excellence in advertising.Dougherty, Philip H. (May 11, 1981). One Club Honors Agencies. ''New York Times'' Founded in New York City as The One Club for Art & Copy ...

D&AD Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. I ...

, Promax BDA awards,

Cannes Lions The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

, and several awards from the Chicago International Television Awards. Two commercials directed by Chel White (OfficeMax ''Santa's Helper'', and Fila ''Mash'') were included in the program ''The Art and Technique of the American Television Commercial'' The AICP Show at

MoMA Moma may refer to: People * Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist * Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician * Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher Places ; Ang ...

and are included in the permanent collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York. Film festival awards include 'Best Television Program for Adults' from the 2012

Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...

for Bent Image Lab director Rob Shaw's ''Rats'' (stop-motion segments for the IFC show ''

''), Best Short Film from the 1998

Stockholm International Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival ( sv, Stockholms filmfestival, italic=no) is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November. The w ...

for Chel White's ''Dirt'', Best Animated Short for Rob Shaw's ''The Machine'' from the 2010 Atlanta Film Festival, and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Animated Short for White's ''Magda'' from the 2004

Florida Film Festival The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Overview The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and educational forum ...

. Chel White's music video ''

'' for Radiohead's lead singer Thom Yorke won Best Music Video in the 2007

Bent Image Lab's roster of directors

* David Daniels * Rob Shaw *Solomon Burbridge *Joshua Cox * Carlos Lascano * Stefan Nadelman *Bernie Roux *XYZ (Australia) *Yolanda Centeno *Julien Vanhoenacker

Visual effects

Since 2006, Bent Image Lab has created visual effects for feature films, television and more. The company was in charge of visual effects for film director

's films '' Paranoid Park'' (2007), ''

To Each His Own Cinema ''To Each His Own Cinema'' (french: link=no, Chacun son cinéma : une déclaration d'amour au grand écran) is a 2007 French comedy-drama anthology film commissioned for the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival. The film is a collection of ...

'' (segment: First Kiss)" (2007), '' Restless'' and the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning ''

'' (2008), as well as title effects and animation on director Todd Haynes' film, ''I'm Not There'' (2007).

acted as Visual Effects Supervisor on all four Van Sant films. For its first two seasons, Bent produced visual effects for NBC's ''

''. In 2006, along with his team and co-founders at Bent Image Lab,

pioneered the Smallgantics technique that was used for the first time in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

he directed for Thom Yorke's song ''

''. An incarnation of Smallgantics was also used in the Bent production of ''Hidden Formula'', a commercial for

, directed by David Daniels and

Augmented reality

In 2014, Bent Image Lab founded YOUar, an internal group of engineers and developers dedicated to providing software for the production and distribution of AR applications, spatial maps and the AR Cloud. Their AR offerings include a convergent computer vision library, a relocalization service for globally positioning mobile devices, and a universal spatial browser for AR content. In spring 2018, YOUar was a founding member of the Open AR Cloud, a standards group dedicated to promoting an open and interoperable AR ecosystem. YOUar has 2 patents awarded regarding AR technology; ''Accurate Positioning of Augmented Reality Content'', and ''Planet-Scale Positioning of Augmented Reality Content'', with a further 6 applications pending.

Television, films and online programs

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

''Witch Sisters'' (2018) *

'' "Bacon Wars" segment (2017) (directed by Solomon Burbridge) * IFC ''

'' "Rats" and other animated segments (2011-2017) (directed by Rob Shaw) *

'' Polariffic'' (2014) (directed by Rob Shaw) *

''Jingle & Bell's Christmas Star'' (2012) (directed by

) *

''Hoops+Yoyo's Haunted Halloween'' (2012) (directed by Rob Shaw) *

'' Jingle All the Way (TV special)'' (2011) (directed by

) *

'' Saturday TV Funhouse'' "Blue Christmas" (a.k.a. "Santa and the States)" (2004) (directed by

)

Music videos by current and former Bent Image Lab directors

At The Drive In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drums) ...

''Hostage Stamps'' and ''Call Broken Arrow'' (2017) (directed by Rob Shaw) *

''Rings'' and ''Shrunk'' (2016) (directed by Rob Shaw) *

Starfucker Strfkr (a disemvowelment of "Starfucker"), stylized in all caps, is an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. It began in 2007 as a solo project of Joshua Hodges. History Members include Joshua Hodges of Sexton Blake (vocals, keyboards, gu ...

''Beach Monster'' (2013) and ''Bury Us Alive'' (2012) (directed by Joshua Cox) *

''Organs'' and ''The Aquarium'' (2013) (directed by Rob Shaw) * Chrysta Bell and

– ''Bird of Flames'' (2012) (directed by

) *

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (dr ...

''Drunk Girls: Holy Ghost Remix'' (2010) (directed by Daniel Garcia) *

''Computer Assisted Design'' (2010) (directed by

Rob Shaw (filmmaker) Rob Shaw is an American film director, television director, commercial and music video director, and animator. He is a graduate of University of the Arts (Philadelphia). Career In 2006, Rob Shaw joined the animation studio Bent Image Lab, Portl ...

) *

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

''Space Shot'' (2010) (directed by Daniel Garcia) *

''The Whale Song'' (2009) (directed by Nando Costa) *

''True Love 1980'' (2009) (directed by Daniel Garcia) *

''I'm Impressed'' (2007) (directed by Rob Shaw) *

.'' (2006) (directed by

) *The Apparitions ''God Monkey Robot'' (2006) (directed by Rob Shaw)

Noteworthy commercials produced by Bent Image Lab

- ''Saved By The Scan'' (directed by Adam Floeck) (2019) * Dairy Farmers of Canada - ''Merry Christmas'' (directed by Rob Shaw) (2017) *

Yellow Pages The yellow pages are telephone directories of businesses, organized by category rather than alphabetically by business name, in which advertising is sold. The directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for ...

- ''Dine'' campaign (directed by Rob Shaw) (2017) *

- ''Utility'' (directed by Joshua Cox) (2017) *

- ''One Percent'' (directed by

) (2015) *

Oatmeal Crisp Oatmeal Crisp is a breakfast cereal from General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi Riv ...

- ''One Upmanship'' (directed by Solomon Burbridge) (2015) *

- ''Rudolph'' campaign (directed by

) (2015) *

- ''Recover'' campaign (directed by Rob Shaw) (2015) *

- ''Always Advance'' (directed by

and Joshua Cox) (2014) *

Koodo Koodo Mobile is a Canadian mobile flanker brand started by Telus in 2008 and mostly oriented toward younger customers. Koodo differs from its parent Telus by not requiring a fixed term contract. Koodo currently provides postpaid, prepaid, and ...

- ''El Tabador'' campaign (over 30 spots directed by Rob Shaw, with a few co-directed with Solomon Burbridge) (2009-2014) *

Arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

- ''Recycling Is a Beautiful Thing'' (directed by Solomon Burbridge) (2013) *

- ''Summer'' campaign (directed by

and Marcus Swanson) (2013) *

Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

- ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (directed by Ken Lidster) (2011

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

campaign) *

- ''Spirit of the Euro'' (directed by Carlos Lascano) (2011) *

- ''Hidden Formula'' (directed by David Daniels and Ray Di Carlo) (2008) *BC Dairy Foundation - ''Must Drink More Milk'' campaign (web shorts, 2008) (various directors) *

- ''Monster Foot'' (2007–2008) (directed by David Daniels) *

- ''Provocateur'' (2006) (directed by

and Ray Di Carlo) * Washington State Dept. of Health - ''Park'' and ''Rec Room'' (2005) (directed by

) *

Tractor Supply Company Tractor Supply Company (also known as TSCO or TSC), founded in 1938, is an American retail chain of stores that sells products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, livestock, equine and pet care for recreational farmers ...

- ''The Stuff You Need Out Here'' campaign (2006) (directed by Paul Harrod) *

- ''Santa's Helper'' (2005) (directed by

) *

Reese's Pieces Reese's Pieces are a peanut butter candy manufactured by The Hershey Company; they are oblate spheroid in shape and covered in candy shells that are colored yellow, orange, or brown. They can be purchased in plastic packets, cardboard boxes, or c ...

- ''Center of Attention'' (2003) (directed by David Daniels and

)

Notable awards and screenings

*2018: A Bent Image Lab retrospective and masterclass (presented by

and Rob Shaw) at the

. *2015: Promax BDA awards, Art Direction and Design: Program Bumper, Cartoon Network "Over the Garden Wall", directed by Solomon Burbridge. *2014: Ottawa Animation Festival, Best Cartoon for Adults, IFC's ''

'' "Rats" segment, directed by Rob Shaw *2007:

, Best Music Video,

, ''

''., directed by Chel White. *2006: The AICP Show at

, Office Max ''Santa's Helper'', included in the program ''The Art and Technique of the American Television Commercial'' and in the permanent collection of the

in New York. Directed by Chel White. *2005:

, Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short, ''Magda'', directed by Chel White. *2004: Clio Awards, Bronze,

''Center of Attention'', directed by David Daniels and Chel White.

External links

* * * * * *

References

{{Animation industry in the United States Television production companies of the United States Film production companies of the United States American animation studios Companies based in Portland, Oregon Mass media companies established in 2002 Privately held companies based in Oregon 2002 establishments in Oregon

Work and techniques

Founders and directors

Bent Image Lab's roster of directors

Visual effects

Augmented reality

Television, films and online programs

Music videos by current and former Bent Image Lab directors

Noteworthy commercials produced by Bent Image Lab

Notable awards and screenings

See also

External links

References