Sophie Merry
Encyclopedia
Sophie Merry is a Dublin-based Irish animator, director, dancer and part-time model. She is known for her "Groovy Dancing Girl" videos.
channel, BandyToaster ("two random words stuck together"), with a video titled "Groovy Dancing Girl", featuring Merry dancing to "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
" by Daft Punk
. She danced to a slowed-down version of the song, then increased the speed of the footage to match the song played at normal speed (called undercranking). The video was shot in her friend's garden and posted in February 2007. She has since shot three more Groovy Dancing Girl videos. Her videos have received more than eight million hits. Her short film "Solo Duet" was funded by the Irish Film Board and was shown in October 2009 at the Darklight Film Festival, a digital film festival
. In 2008 she appeared in a music video for Autoban's single Sirens, and in 2009 appeared in The Riptide Movement
's video for their single "Cry Cry Baby". In October 2011 a film she made with Sigmedia and shot in stereoscopic 3D, Clockhead, premiered at Darklight.
campaign for social networking site Whispurr
in 2010, and produced an interactive installation for the Biorhythm exhibition at Trinity College Dublin's Science Gallery.
. She did ballet and modern dance as a child. Merry has natural red hair
. Her mother and father, Mary Reynolds and Brian Merry, are artists, and she has a brother and three sisters.
Videos
She first came to attention on her YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel, BandyToaster ("two random words stuck together"), with a video titled "Groovy Dancing Girl", featuring Merry dancing to "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk. The single was first released on 13 October 2001. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from the album Alive 2007 on 15 October 2007. This version won a Grammy Award for Best Dance...
" by Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
. She danced to a slowed-down version of the song, then increased the speed of the footage to match the song played at normal speed (called undercranking). The video was shot in her friend's garden and posted in February 2007. She has since shot three more Groovy Dancing Girl videos. Her videos have received more than eight million hits. Her short film "Solo Duet" was funded by the Irish Film Board and was shown in October 2009 at the Darklight Film Festival, a digital film festival
Digital film festivals
Digital film festivals emerged in the mid to late 1990s, to showcase artists and filmmakers utilizing the nascent tools of desktop digital filmmaking....
. In 2008 she appeared in a music video for Autoban's single Sirens, and in 2009 appeared in The Riptide Movement
The Riptide Movement
The Riptide Movement are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 2006 by vocalist and guitarist Mal Tuohy, guitarist John Dalton, bassist and harmonica player Ger Mc Garry and drummer Gar Byrne.-Members:...
's video for their single "Cry Cry Baby". In October 2011 a film she made with Sigmedia and shot in stereoscopic 3D, Clockhead, premiered at Darklight.
Education and work
She received a BA hons. in Spanish and Sociology from University College Dublin in 2004 and a higher national diploma in computer and classical animation from Ballyfermot College of Further Education in 2007. Aged 16, Merry appeared on the cover of U Magazine after winning a competition. She is a life model, and did a photo shoot and viral video for the French company Etam in a jeans campaign launched in April 2008 that ran in 51 countries. She previously worked for Jam Media and has worked as a director for Jumper Productions in Dublin since the company launched in early 2010. She worked on a viral videoViral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
campaign for social networking site Whispurr
Whispurr
Whispurr is a "macro"-blogging website which allows members to send 'Whisps' which are 300 character messages to individuals or groups of people via SMS text message or online messaging. Whisps can be public or private and include the '@' character followed by the user's name e.g...
in 2010, and produced an interactive installation for the Biorhythm exhibition at Trinity College Dublin's Science Gallery.
Personal life
Merry is from Shankill, Co. DublinShankill, Dublin
Shankill is a suburb in the South-East of Dublin located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It has a population of 13,242 .-History:-Name:...
. She did ballet and modern dance as a child. Merry has natural red hair
Red hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
. Her mother and father, Mary Reynolds and Brian Merry, are artists, and she has a brother and three sisters.