Chris Bjerre is a mutli-talented Danish art director and motion designer who’s work pushes the boundaries of futurism in film and music. From working with contemporaries like Ghost In The Shell and Nike, to powerful personal projects on his own, (Echoes), Bjerre has a powerful mind for innovation in 3D, design, art and motion graphics.
Chris sat down with S3R and gave us a peak inside his ever-evolving mind as to what inspires him and where he’s looking to go next.
S3R: Tell us a little about your background and how that’s led you to your current state of discovery and inspiration as a visual artist?
Chris Bjerre: I’m a big film fan and a lot of classic Science fiction has had a big impact on me for a long time. Films like Space Odyssey 2001, Solaris and Ghost in the shell have had a huge influence on my personal taste and the type of work I prefer to do. I spent 8 years working for a small motion graphics company in San Francisco where all the work was for local tech companies. It was a great learning experience but I’m currently a little burned out on tech and therefore focus mostly on work that is more cinematic.
S3R: The ‘Echoes’ video is a hi-fi immersive experience of dynamic shapes and lines in cohesion. Love. What’s your personal connection with geometry?
Bjerre: I’m not particularly good at math but I love geometry. As a designer I’m always drawn to structured paradigms. There’s something satisfying about 3d geometry that looks endlessly complex yet created in a simple way. I also like shapes that can have a certain flat graphic design quality from one angle and look completely different from another.
S3R: Two things you learned working on the set of Ghost In The Shell?
Bjerre: While working on Ghost In the Shell, Ash and I had to produce a large quantity of animated concept art in a fairly short amount of time. I didn’t really learn anything new, but I certainly had to utilize everything I had learned up till that point to be able to create things fast and efficiently. We used a lot of different techniques and experimented a lot with creating different glitch textures to make the final holograms seem worn and dated.
S3R: Loved seeing your design work in film. Curious as to what motivates and inspires you in working with new artist in music?
Bjerre: Cinematic work is the most interesting to me and I also tend to prefer that type of music to go a long with things I produce. I listen to a lot of film scores when I work as well.
S3R: What are some 3d motion design techniques that are currently intriguing you?
Bjerre: As everything is getting easier to create in a generative way I really appreciate when I see artist that take the time to make detailed custom models. I’m trying to learn software like z-brush just in order to get better at that myself, but it’s hard to find the time.
