Mike Patterson is an animator and director of music videos, commercials, and blended media projects. He began his career in 1985 by animating the epic MTV hit, Take On Me for A-Ha. Teaming up with his wife Candace Reckinger, they directed a string of MTV hits that include, Suzanne Vega's "Luka", Sting's "Be Still My Beating Heart" and Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract", which won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

As a director at Rhythm & Hues Studios, he worked extensively with blending live action with animation and visual effects. Specializing in combining live action performance with animated characters and fx, his work has received numerous awards including Clios and appearances on the Superbowl. A DGA veteran since 1993, he continues to direct and design commercials internationally.

Patterson studied animation with Jules Engel at CalArts where he produced his Student Academy Award winning animated film "Commuter". In fall of 2006, Commuter was added into the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection along with seven Patterson-Reckinger music video clips.

Mike and Candace recently directed a large-scale visualization of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" for the gala opening of Frank Gehry's New World Center in Miami. The 35-minute, 5-screen, live animated program was a collaboration with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and 11 USC animation students and recent grads.

The work premiered January 2011. 
http://www.adobe.com/education/resources/articles/usc-creates-five-screens.html

In April, Mike produced the live outdoor event, "Rhythms + Visions - Expanded + Live" on the Cinematic Arts campus. It featured performances by cutting edge international VJ's and live musicians. as well as multi-screen installations and stereoscopic architectural mapping.