BEN RADATZ is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, designer, photographer and writer with an interest in experimental animation, new technologies, visual research and nostalgic influence. He is also a founding member and seventeen-year partner at MK12 Studios, a design & animation collective headquartered in Kansas City with acclaim in the film, TV, game and advertising industries, and on the international film festival circuit.
His primary areas of interest include title sequence / vignette / UI | UX design for film and TV, game promotion & cinematics, short film development, and network stunts / branding / promotion. As a representative of MK12 he has worked with most major film studios, networks and agencies.
A '98 Kansas City Art Institute Photo | Video major, Ben has received several awards and grants for his work, including the Princess Grace Foundation's "Young Filmmaker's Award" in 1998 and the Linda Lighton Foundation's "International Artist's Exchange" grant in 2006, for which he traveled to Ukraine to photograph Chernobyl and the abandoned city of Pripyat.
He takes an active interest in the history and genealogy of title design industry and is a frequent contributor to Art of the Title, where he often writes about the history of the craft and its relationship to film and pop culture. He is also a vocal advocate for fair industry practices and recently moderated a panel on the topic at the Style Frames conference in New York City.
He is a frequent speaker and keynote presenter at design and film conferences worldwide, including at SemiPermanent, SXSW, ProMax BDA, FITC and at the Guggenheim.
Incidentally, the Guggenheim has in its permanent archives a short film Ben created in collaboration with friend & artist Brian Alfred in 2004, titled Overload.
A fan of rural folklore, urban exploring and lost history, Ben is an avid road-tripper and ghost town hunter and is currently on a mission to patronize every last remaining drive-in theater in the continental US, and photograph those that didn't survive the digital switchover.
PROFILES
2015: Cinema Eye Award: Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation for MK12's contributions to the documentary Particle Fever.
2015: SXSW: Outstanding Title Design nomination: Semipermanent Conference Titles.
2014: Art of the Title: Top Ten Title Sequences of 2014: Semipermanent Conference Titles.
2013: Vimeo Staff Pick: Beauty in Danger (short film).
2013: Mile High Horror Film Festival: Most Innovative Short Film: Follow the Sun (short film).
2010: Miami Short Film Festival: Best Experimental Film: Telephoneme (short film).
2009: Grammys: Best Short Form Music Video: Jack White and Alicia Keys: Another Way to Die.
2006: Linda Lighton Foundation | International Artist Exchange Grant.
2005: MTV Video Music Awards: Best Hip Hop Video nomination: Common: Go.
1998: Princess Grace Foundation | Young Filmmaker’s Award.
2016: New York, NY: STYLE FRAMES conference: panel moderator.
2015 & 2012: Austin, TX: SXSW Film Fest: Title Sequence Awards jury panel.
2013: Los Angeles, CA: ProMax BDA: Shaken, Not Stirred: The History of the Bond Titles.
2011: Graz, Austria: SPRINGFEST: MK12 overview.
2011: Amsterdam, Netherlands: FITC DESIGN CONFERENCE: MK12 overview.
2007: Buenos Aires, Argentina: TRIMARCHI DESIGN CONFERENCE: MK12 overview.
2007: Sao Paulo, Brazil: RESFEST: keynote speaker.
2006: Torino, Italy: VIRTUALITY conference: keynote speaker.
2006: Singapore: OneDotZero digital film festival: MK12 overview.
2005: Chicago, IL: RESFEST: keynote speaker.
2005: Kharkov, Ukraine: National Academy of Art and Design: MK12 overview.
2004: Bilbao, Spain: Guggenheim Museum: MOTION GRAPHICS SYMPOSIUM: MK12 overview.
2004: Sydney, Australia: SEMIPERMANENT design conference: MK12 overview.