Chel White
Chel White
Chel White (born May 30, 1959) is an American film director, film producer, commercial director, composer, screenwriter, and visual effects supervisor. He is co-founder of the international production company Bent Image Lab in Portland, Oregon, along with co-founders Ray Di Carlo and David Daniels. White is known for his stylized, often experimental use of images, and first-person narratives told from the perspective of the estranged individual. He frequently uses allegory and black humor to depict the human experience, exploring topics of love, obsession, alienation and dreams. He describes his own work as “images that reside on the brink of dreams, or linger on the periphery of distorted memories.” He has made three films based on the work of Peabody Award-winning radio personality and writer Joe Frank (Dirt, Soulmate, and Magda).The Austin Chronicle says, "(Chel White's) work seems to dispatch itself in some secret, subversive code, flashing messages amid animation, obscure stock footage, and actors with crazy eyes." Chale Nafus of the Austin Film Society says, "I have been amazed at the stylistic and thematic diversity in (Chel White’s) films. Surreal, ethereal, wistful, and witty are some of the descriptions that come to mind. Mainly I just allow my imagination to be taken into his complex, mysterious worlds.”In the realm of commissioned work, Chel White has directed music videos for Radiohead's lead singer Thom Yorke, The Melvins, Tom Brosseau, Chrysta Bell & David Lynch, and collaborated with the Oregon Symphony. He has worked extensively with Academy Award nominated film director Gus Van Sant, creating visual effects on several of Van Sant's projects. White began directing commercials in the early 1990s, and directing television programs in the early 2000s, including two parodies for Saturday Night Live.