Channel Frederator Blog

I grew up a child of MTV. Not the MTV they are now… but back when all they would show was just Music Videos and the occasional Kurt Loder/Tabitha Soren MTV News Flash. Long gone are the days of 120 Minutes, Headbanger’s Ball, and Alternative Nation.
You just don’t see the good type of music videos anymore, unless you’ve been searching online for hours on end, or have something passed along to you by your friends.
Channel Frederator was Lucky to receive Deeper from Animator/Director/Musican/Singer Coretta Singer & her alter ego “Siren”.
Thanks for taking the time to answer a few of our questions Coretta!

1) Where did you get the inspiration for the music video Deeper? Did the music inspire you or did your images inspire the musician?
This is gonna be kinda funny…Siren is actually my alter ego…the part of me ppl don’t get to see everyday. It’s not that I’m narcissistic…It’s just that here in Jamaica I don’t get the opportunity as a music Video director to express my creativity. So i used myself as a creative Ginuea pig. So the weirdo singing is actually..well..me…*blushes* When I listen to any piece of music a story always unfolds in my mind’s eye. Getting the weirdness in my mind on film is the challenge.

2) How long have you been animating? How long did it take you to complete Deeper from start to finish?
I’ve been animating for about 7 years now and i am still learning as I go along. Deeper actually took me about two and a half months of rigorous cramming and rendering.

3) Can you explain a bit of your process in creating Deeper?
Well, I had the song for a while and had this crazy visual. (I like robots…can you tell?) I wanted to use the concept for another local Jamaican artist but they were skeptical on how it would look, and worried about how ppl would respond to it, being that it’s so different to what people are used to here in, so I used my song instead…now they are sorry. I started off with a few sketches, then the modeling. In the editing I wanted it to feel like watching a fuzzy video feed, intermittent signals and crossing signals. I wanted the robots to look more alien than human, hence the elongated arms and the insectoid legs etc. The story was pretty straightforward. I was a bit fuzzy on the “kiss” until i got to it. I thought…electricity!

4) Can you name a few of your influences in the art of the Music Video? It seems you enjoy the work of Chris Cunningham, Mark Romanek, Michel Gondry,etc. ( I love those directors!)
Well, I was inspired by the work of Chris Cunningham in his video for Bjork. I’ve always loved his work…even before I knew who he was. The idea that machines can feel emotions deeper than humans, is a curiosity in itself, and leads the viewer to start to question Humanity and the direction it’s taking.
Also people have told me that this video has a lot of H.R. Giger’s influences as well…although it’s not what i was thinking…

5) What are you working on currently, and what is next for you? Any new music videos in the works?
Well, I’m working on a few commercials…MEGA-YAWN! But I have an animated series that i am working on, It would be the first ever animated series for Jamaica…BUT…That ..is another story. The first episode of this Series was the first thing I ever entered into competition. It’s about a Cyborg rasta man…oops…I’ve said too much already. Once I work up the balls…again. I’ll submit it as well.

We will honestly be looking forward to it! Thanks again Coretta.
To see more of Coretta’s work, check out her website:
http://www.freewebs.com/correttasinger/
-Jeaux Janovsky