Ellen Frances

Ellen Frances
Ellen Frances on set in New York City, 2011
Born	July 30, 1981 (age 33) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Residence	New York City
Occupation	Creative director, video director, artist
Years active	1994–present

Ellen Frances (born 1981 Kansas City, Missouri) is an American artist, creative director, film producer,film director and music video director. She currently lives and works in New York City. Ellen studied design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and later attended Parsons The New School for Design on scholarship. She initially worked as a studio assistant for Ryan McGinness, but soon after went on to work for major companies such as DKNY, Atlantic Records / WMG, Fuse TV, VH1, and Madison Square Garden, Inc.. Her experimental work has been on display at Art Basel Miami, Envoy Gallery New York, Museum of Transitory Art Ljubljana, Slovenia and Anthology Film Archives in New York.

In 2013 Frances founded ORB Pictures, an independent production company specializing in fashion films, music videos, experimental films and performance art.

Contents

  

• 1 Career
  • 1.1 TV, film and video
  • 1.2 Music videos
  • 1.3 Experimental Films
  • 1.4 Fashion Films
• 2 Background
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Career

TV, film and video

Frances gained an introduction to motion through working within the promos department for major networks such as MTV and Fuse TV early in her career. Later, Frances went on to direct and produce commissioned music videos, short films and experimental art films on her own. She is closely tied to the music, fashion and literature worlds, having collaborated with a variety of creatives such as Jason Lescalleet, Lauren Flax, Shane Jones (author), Kimberly Ovitz and Tao Lin.

Her videos have frequently been featured on AOL Music, VH1.com., MTV Networks, The Huffington Post, Stereogum, Interview Magazine and VICE. The music video for "Vertigo" by CREEP, which features vocals from Lou Rhodes (Lamb (band)), showcases original fiber optic costumes designed and built by Frances,^[1] and marked the onset of her production company ORB Pictures.

In 2014 Frances directed a fashion film for Chromat which was projected during the runway show for New York Fashion Week.

Frances contributed to critically acclaimed sound artist Jason Lescalleet's "Trophy Tape" with her video for "Old Theme", which toured the US and Europe in 2014. The New York City show, held at Anthology Film Archives, also showcased other experimental work by Frances as part of a series.^[2]The program included her collaborations with Tao Lin, and with costume designer Jenni Hensler.

Music videos

• Memory Tapes / CREEP Remix "Green Knight" (2011)^[3][4][5]
• DJ Rekha feat Zuzuka Poderosa & Meetu Chilana (with appearance by Panjabi MC) "Pyar Baile" (2012) Beat Bazaar Music ^[6]
• Bella "Off With Their Heads" Bare Noize Remix (2012) Ultra Records
• ROOM8 "Right Way" feat. Ian Young of M83 (2012)^[7]
• Black Marble "Cruel Summer" Hardly Art (Sub Pop Records) (2012)^[8]
• The Reflections "Disconnected"(2012) ^[9]
• CREEP "Vertigo" feat. Lou Rhodes (2013)^[10]
• Curses! (Drop The Lime) & Star Eyes "Gotham City Creepers" (2013)^[11]
• Jeremy and The Harlequins "Trip Into The Light" (2014)^[12]
• The Colourist "We Won't Go Home" (Republic Records) (2014)^[13]
• Computer Magic "My Love" (2014)

Experimental Films

• "Drowning Flying Falling Down" (2008)
• "Wet Space Blanket" Envoy Gallery (2008)
• Very Beautiful Woman for Pangur Ban Party (2011) ^[14]
• Old Theme Collaboration with experimental musician Jason Lescalleet (2013)
• Matthew Savoca's Hair (2013)
• When I Leave This Place A Collaboration with Tao Lin for The Huffington Post (2014)

Fashion Films

• Kimberly Ovitz S/S13 ^[15]
• Chromat A/W14 Bionic Bodies ^[16]

Background

Frances began dancing at the age of four at a local ballet studio in Kansas. She began training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet at the age of twelve and later went on to attend the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She attended the Harid Conservatory in high school. She has performed in touring Broadway shows, with the Kansas City Ballet (under Todd Bolender), the Joffrey Ballet, and worked with famed choreographer Karole Armitage before retiring from her dancing career in 2002. She continues to use performance in her personal work, often making appearances.

From 2010-2014 she worked as Creative Director on the 1 billion dollar renovation of Madison Square Garden; overseeing design aesthetics, art program curation, production, multi-media and experiential design for the arena. Frances has recently sat on panels with some of the industry's leading creatives to discuss collaboration, art and commerce for SVA, The NY Photo Festival and Maker Magazine.