John "Run" Wrake (24 November 1965 – 21 October 2012) was an English animator, film director, graphic designer, and music video director. He was best known for his 2005 short film, ''Rabbit''.

Early life and education

Wrake was born in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

on 24 November 1965. His father was a chaplain assigned to the British army there. He grew up in Sussex. He studied graphic design at the

Chelsea College of Arts Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

, later graduating with an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in animation from the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

in London. His 1990 animated student film from his days at the Royal College, ''Anyway'', aired on MTV's ''

Liquid Television ''Liquid Television'' was an animation showcase that appeared on MTV from 1991 to 1995. It has served as the launching point for several high-profile original cartoons, including ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' and '' Æon Flux''. The bulk of ''Liquid ...

'' in 1994.

Career

After graduating, Wrake worked freelance, illustrating and designing album covers and tour visuals for artists such as U2 and

Howie B Howard Bernstein (born 18 April 1963, Glasgow, Scotland), professionally known as Howie B, is a Scottish musician, producer and DJ who has worked with artists including: Björk, U2, Tricky, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soul II Soul, Robbie ...

, in addition to directing commercials for companies such as

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 Atlant ...

throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He also directed music videos, many of which were for Howie B. He later began working with Animate Projects, which commissioned him to direct animated short films. In 2005, he released his animated short film entitled ''Rabbit'', his most notable work. ''Rabbit'' tells a morality tale about the dangers of greed through a

Dick and Jane ''Dick and Jane'' are the two main characters created by Zerna Sharp for a series of basal readers written by William S. Gray to teach children to read. The characters first appeared in the ''Elson-Gray Readers'' in 1930 and continued in a sub ...

art style. Wrake's main inspiration for the film was an envelope he found in a thrift shop containing children's educational stickers, illustrated by Geoffrey Higham, from the 1950s. The film received numerous awards and nominations, including a BAFTA nomination for Best Short Animation Film at the 2006 BAFTA Awards.

Death

In November 2011, Wrake was diagnosed with lung cancer. This inspired him to direct the short film, ''Down with the Dawn'', with music by Howie B. On 21 October 2012, aged 46, Wrake succumbed to the illness.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website
*
Run Wrake
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrake, Run 1965 births 2012 deaths Advertising directors Album-cover and concert-poster artists Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Alumni of the Royal College of Art British animated film directors English animators English film directors English graphic designers English illustrators English music video directors People from Sussex