Directing
A still from Chris Friend's award winning short film, "Geneva Jacuzzi's Casket". Featured at Slamdance Film Festival 2022
Geneva Jacuzzi's Casket
(Password: Casket2021FF)
(2013) 5:26 min.
Written, Directed, Edited, VFX, and additional photography by Chris Friend
“Rose Tattoo” is the Dropkick Murphys MOST viewed video at 177 MILLION views as of 2023. Eight times more than their second most popular video at 22M.
Rose Tattoo
(The Dropkick Murphys)
(2013) 5:26 min.
Written, Directed, Edited, VFX, and additional photography by Chris Friend
“Rose Tattoo” is the Dropkick Murphys MOST viewed video at 177 MILLION views as of 2023. Eight times more than their second most popular video at 22M.
Strike Three
(Black Deer)
(2013) 3:20 min.
Written, Directed, Edited, and VFX by Chris Friend
An entire cyberpunk universe from Chris’s own $BURN$ mythos.
Smash Shit Up
(The Dropkick Murphys)
(2020) 3:44 min.
Written, Directed, Edited, and VFX by Chris Friend
Chris’s original vision for this video transposed homelessness next to the luxury of Beverly Hills fashion and jewelry shops. Unfortunately, the band requested a dramatic change of tone toward light-hearted destruction.
Out of the Game
(Rufus Wainwright)
(2012) 3:41 min.
Written, Directed, Edited, and VFX by Chris Friend
“Out of the Game” was the official lyric video the Rufus Wainwright’s song. The challenge here was that it was part of an Instagram challenge in which fans would send in photos they had taken. Chris incorporated these photos as Poloraiod-like shots scattered in forgotten places.
Every Road
(Richie Sambora)
(2012) 4:48 min.
Written, Directed, Edited, and VFX by Chris Friend
Out on his own with a bicycle, the subway, and a Canon 5D, Chris visually tells the story of a man trying to find his way back home.
Chris Friend
When Chris was a young child, he was hooked on books. His mother would take him to the library once a week, allowing him to get up to six books. These stories fueled his imagination. His father had a vast VHS collection of movies ranging from the James Bond films to all the John Hughes movies, so of course, Chris wanted to grow up to be a director and bring these visions to life.
Beginning junior college at 17 at Orange Coast College, renowned for having an excellent film department, Chris shot his first films on 16mm using film tape to make the edits.
When Chris joined the Oscar-winning production company Dirty Robber in 2010, he quickly found his way into being given small-budget music videos to direct. His music video “Rose Tattoo” for the Dropkick Murphys (2012) is now their most viewed video, at 175 million views, more than five times as many views as their second most viewed video.
His four-year passion project, “Geneva Jacuzzi’s Casket,” was featured at the Slamdance film festival 2022 and over 70 other festivals around the globe receiving over 40 first-place awards.
Directing
- Geneva Jacuzzi's Casket
- Dropkick Murphy's Rose Tattoo
- Dropkick Murphy's Smash Shit Up
- Black Deer: Strike Three
- Richie Samboa: Long Road Home
- IG Photo One
- Demonologist Book Trailer
Work Experience
Mr. Robot Season 4, Los Angeles 2019
VFX Artist
Brought in mid-season to assist small, core VFX team.
- Handled large workload of shots
- Precise stabilization of shots using SynthEyes tracking software
TeamWin, Los Angeles 2017 – 2019
Carried shots from start to finish. Trained, coached, and managed VFX juniors.
Senior VFX Artist
- Contributed to VFX for Lady Gaga’s “Joanne” world tour in 2017
- Led VFX on several Black Rifle Coffee commercial spots
- Produced 1:30 minutes of C4D animation for BackBone corporate explainer video.
Coyote Post, Los Angeles 2014 – 2015
Senior VFX Artist
Carried shots from start to finish. Trained, coached, and managed VFX juniors.
- Led VFX team for Nike “feels” campaign with six unique spots, seamlessly integrating 2D animation with 3D real world space.
Dirty Robber, Los Angeles 2010 – 2013
Carried shots from start to finish. Trained, coached, and managed VFX juniors.
Senior VFX Artist, Director
- Directed small budget projects. Led and trained VFX juniors on projects. Oversaw execution of shots from start to finish
- Directed Dropkick Murphys' “Rose Tattoo” official video, 177M views, (band’s most highly viewed video)
- Produced all VFX on the Simon & Schuster "Endless Knight" book trailer directed by Olly Riley-Smith.