Best described as a design, film and production collective, Collider was founded in 2001 by Daniel Askill, Sam Zalaiskalns and Andrew van der Westhuyzen. While based in Sydney, Collider’s creative influence is global, evident through its impressive portfolio of work and high-profile clients. Supported by a team of designers and directors including Joel Pront, Clemens Habicht, Tim Richardson, Don Cameron and Lorin Askill, Collider has established itself as a leader in contemporary film production, art direction, branding, 3D animation, illustration, high-end commercials and music videos whilst maintaining the utmost creative integrity and a truly unique style of work. Collider’s directors have been at the helm of many conceptually strong, high-end commercials and music videos both in Australia and throughout the world.
The breadth of Collider’s work can be appreciated in its collective portfolio. Having worked on large-scale, commercial projects for international brands such as Levi’s, Nike, Air France, Dior, Target, TDK and BMW, Collider has also taken on cultural projects for Sydney Dance Company, Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Collider has a proven understanding of the music industry, building relationships with record labels EMI, Virgin, Universal Music and Ministry of Sound to direct music videos for bands such as Phoenix, Placebo, Digitalism and Sia. Striking a balance between commercial success and artistic integrity, Collider’s collaborative efforts and capacity to experiment with new techniques has forged them a signature aesthetic that is consistent and unaffected but also dynamic and evolutionary.
In addition, Collider’s directors place value on a variety of personal projects and creatively satisfying undertakings. Supported by the Australian Film Commission, Collider produced a critically acclaimed and multi-award winning short film, “We Have Decided Not To Die”. Directed by Daniel Askill, the short film debuted in 2004 at Clermont-Ferrand in France, the Cannes of the short film circuit, where it won the audience prize. It has since gone on to win 14 other awards around the world, including Best Experimental at the Commonwealth Film Festival in Manchester, Best Experimental at the Brooklyn International Film Festival, Gold for Best Short Film Cinematography from the Australian Cinematographers Association and Best Short at Flickerfest in Sydney.
The latest pursuit of designer and illustrator Andrew van der Westhuyzen is a book titled Cabal. A work in progress, Cabal is the first in a series of books addressing the pertinent issues of our time: globalisation and mass consumption. Through quiet subtlety of themes, indirect dark humour of narrative and sensitivity to design nuances, Cabal is a hybridisation of genres and an effortless compromise between adult science-fiction and an object of design.
Most recently, Collider has been involved in large-scale post-production projects and has created visual effects on global campaigns for Nestle, Renault, BMW, Novartis and Marriot. Recent cross-discipline collaborations include working with Australian graphic artist Jonathan Zawada and The Presets on BMW’s new Series 1 campaign, a short film created for the show of fashion designer Michelle Jank at Australian Fashion Week in 2008, a film as part of Rafael Bonachela’s We Unfold for Sydney Dance Company, and the role of Guest Art Director in issues 16 and 17 of Poster Magazine.
Collider is guided by the belief that a company is only as good as its operational philosophy and practice. The ability to attract and inspire a talented core of creatives, while exciting clients and evolving its collective creative voice has pinned Collider as a leading internationally significant collective.
