Swinburne student makes Kisschasy hit clip

When a competition posted by Australian band Kisschasy offered the opportunity to create a music video clip Swinburne Film and Television student Chris Scott Baker didn't miss a beat.

Receiving the deadline and brief only two weeks before the end of semester, Chris knuckled down to the task.

"All my other films for the semester were due that week," said Chris, who put the clip together in just three days. "I loaded up on coffee and got to work, and in those three days I must have slept a maximum of six hours."

With several projects on the go, Chris's determination had him vigorously putting together the paper styled animation for a ballad about a dinosaur fighter pilot hell bent on saving the world and his girlfriend from killer asteroids.

"This was only the second music video clip I'd ever made," Chris said. "The brief had only two requirements: that it be animated and that it not feature any members of the band. Other than that it was all up to me. The song was a fairly simple love ballad played on an acoustic guitar and you can't go much more bare bones then that for a song."

With the video making regular appearances on TV shows Rage and Video Hits, as well as scoring many hits online, Chris feels it has been well received by the band's fans, but is a bit ambivalent about prospects for working in the music industry.

"I'd love to keep working in the industry, but I know I can't just focus purely on music videos. Unfortunately the industry in Australia is incredibly small and competitive. So my priority is making sure I'm qualified enough in various other areas so that I can always fall back on something on set or in post-production."

Some of Chris's other projects include the Optus/MTV One80project and the MAFMAD film competitions. He is also putting the finishing touches on a graffiti awareness DVD that he produced with the help of other Swinburne film students, to be distributed to select primary schools across Victoria.

Chris is currently undertaking an industry placement at Fancy Films in St Kilda focusing on post-production.

"Working with people who have worked in the industry for years has taught me the mindset you need to achieve great results and has given me great insight into how the industry operates. The practical tasks including editing, animating, filming, sound mixing and graphic design have really helped to refine my skills."

Watch the dinosaur video clip here