James Herbert is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 painter and director most known for directing a series of classic music videos for the band R.E.M.. He has also made over forty short films, including John Five (1992) and Jumbo Aqua (2001), and directed four independent features: Scars (1997), Speedy Boys (1998), Rabbit Pix (2005) and Abandoned House (2007). Some of his short films have been collected on the video compilation Figures (1990).

Herbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied with the abstract expressionist painter Clyfford Still

Clyfford Still

Clyfford Still was an American painter, and one of the leading figures of Abstract Expressionism.-Biography:...

 and the experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage

Stan Brakhage

James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....

. Herbert was R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe

Michael Stipe

John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...

's art professor when he studied at the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

 (which is also where Stipe met his future bandmates). Stipe greatly admired Herbert's films, and in addition to having him helm R.E.M.'s earliest music videos, he later cited Herbert as a significant influence on him individually and artistically. http://snow.prohosting.com/crasio/rem/9009rem.html

Music video filmography

• "Wolves, Lower" (live), R.E.M. (1982)
• "Carnival", Limbo District (1983; 12-minute film featuring four songs: "Those Devil Eyes", "A la maison", "Rhythm Forward", and "Daydreaming" http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9019804148245771374 http://www.redandblack.com/news/1999/06/24/UndefinedSection/Notebook-2590851.shtml)
• "Left of Reckoning", R.E.M. (1984; 20-minute short film)
• "Pretty Persuasion", R.E.M. (1984; segment from "Left of Reckoning", excerpted as a standalone promo for play on MTV
  MTV
  MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
  
   and music programmes)
• "Green Grow the Rushes", R.E.M. (1985)
• "Driver 8
  Driver 8
  "Driver 8" was the second single from R.E.M.'s third album, Fables of the Reconstruction. Released in September 1985, the song peaked at #22 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart...
  
  ", R.E.M. (1985; co-directed with Michael Stipe
  Michael Stipe
  John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
  
  )
• "Life and How to Live It", R.E.M. (1985; editor(ial advisor) Jackie Slayton is often credited as co-director)
• "Feeling Gravity's Pull", R.E.M. (1985; editor(ial advisor) Jackie Slayton is often credited as co-director)
• "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
  It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
  "It's the End of the World as We Know It " is a song by the rock band R.E.M., which appeared on their 1987 album Document, the 1988 compilation Eponymous, and the 2006 compilation And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S Years 1982–1987...
  
  ", R.E.M. (1986)
• "The First Fish to Walk on Land", dance film collaboration with Elle Udaykee Trapkin and music by Allen Welty-Green (1988)
• "Turn You Inside-Out", R.E.M. (1989)
• "Low", R.E.M. (1992)
• "Revolution Earth", The B-52's
  The B-52's
  The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
  
   (1992)
• "Fish and Boots" (1995; interstitial footage between music videos on R.E.M.'s video compilation Parallel
  Parallel (video)
  Parallel is a video feature compiling all of R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People and Monster-era promotional videos, as well as several recorded for this release alone...
  
  , excerpted from R.E.M. 1995 tour films)
• "All the Best", R.E.M. (2011)

External links

• James Herbert at the Music Video DataBase
• http://www.mostra.org/23/english/filmes/42.htmSpeedy Boys São Paulo International Film Festival
  São Paulo International Film Festival
  The São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
  
  entry page]