“Red Head Speedskater” and “Spaceman Stu” by Oliver Conrad

Terrific photo-collage style and overall art direction in “Red Head Speedskater,” a music video for Airpushers directed and animated by Oliver Conrad at the New York studio Kompost. I love the movement of the titular character, which has a video game influence. Sophisticated design choices abound in this video; note how the director maintains interest by varying the timing of the skater’s movement and also by cutting the camera frequently while maintaining the illusion of a smooth ride.

I’m ashamed to say that I was unfamiliar with Kompost’s work until now. In fact, the video is from two years ago and I only learned about it because it was featured on Vimeo’s front page over the weekend. Here’s a more recent spot that Kompost recently completed for McDonald’s. It’s also directed by Conrad, and it’s one of the most genial and artistic spots I’ve ever seen selling hamburgers: