Michael Patterson
Michael Patterson is an American director, designer and animation artist working in visual music. He currently teaches at the Division of Animation and Digital Arts at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He animated the A-Ha "Take On Me" music video and created the characters MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob.
After graduate studies with Jules Engel at CalArts, Mike was brought to the attention of record executives with his Student Academy Award-winning animated short 'Commuter'. He began his career in music videos in 1985, directing a-ha's videos for "Take On Me" and "Train of Thought". He then animated and directed Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract", which was nominated for six MTV awards and won the Grammy for best music video of the year.
In 1990, Patterson created some characters for the Take It Back Foundation's public-service video about recycling: Yakety Yak – Take It Back!
In the 1990s, Mike shifted his focus to commercials, combining animation with live action. During 1993-2002 he directed at Rhythm and Hues Studios.
Patterson earned his M.F.A. from the program in Experimental Animation at the California Institute of the Arts, and received his BFA from University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana in 1980.
Patterson served as a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
His son Jasper records music under the name Groundislava
