The WASA nominated music video for The Scotch of Saint James’ track was quite a purty little effort so Brains? tracked down the pixel-pusher behind it, who turned out to be Ben Berkhout. Or did he track Brains? down coz the editorial policy is a tad lax? Either way he’s on the up-and-up and we thank him for his time.

Who am I?
My name is Ben Berkhout and I’m the creator of Benja-mind Images. I was born and raised in a sleepy little hollow called Perth in Western Australia and am currently a “Beaufo” living in the film mecca of Mt Lawley. I started out playing in various bands and moved into band photography which later led me into film. My love of music, imagery and story telling has taken me on a journey throughout my life and has allowed me to incorporate all of my eclectic passion into directing and shooting films and music videos.

What do I do?
I have been a Cinematographer for a little over 4 years now and run a small independent production company Benja-mind Images. Although I am still a young pup in the film world I’ve been luckily able to feed my eclectic tastes having worked on a number of various films and music videos spanning a range of visual styles and musical genres. Recently I have delved into the world of Directing with my first major debut directing the music video for “Thomas Thomas” by up and coming local rockers The Scotch of Saint James.

What have I done?
I’ve recently shot two films that are complete polar opposites to one another; “Here Lies Augustine Morelli” a dark and claustrophobic film that looks at the different forms of violence within cinema, directed by Peter T. Clarke. The second is the soon to be released short “The Right Track” which is a light hearted film about one man’s journey to realise what is important in his life, it was shot in the wide picturesque expanses of country WA and directed by Justin Walters.

At the same time I’ve been working on a number of music videos for such bands as Kill Teen Angst “The World or Nothing”, Claim The Throne “Set Sail on Ale”, Voyager “The Devil In Me”, The Scotch of Saint James “Thomas Thomas” and the soon to be released Felicity Groom “New Years” and The Meaning Of “For You”.

What am I doing next?
I am currently in pre-production for Voyager’s next music video “Lost” which will be coming out sometime in early June and am eagerly awaiting the release of The Meaning Of’s and Felicity Groom’s music videos which are having the final touches done on them as we speak. Film wise I am finishing off the colour grading for “The Right Track” which will be released later in the year. Justin and I are in the developing stages for our next short film together which will be an Australian spin on the Western genre. I have also been having talks with local Producer/Writer Brad Major about his short film “The Edge of Life” which will hopefully be my directing debut. Both films I am extremely excited about.

Where can you find me?
You can find me mainly on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/Boikout or MySpace http://www.myspace.com/neologic26, or being a “Beaufo” hanging out along the many cafes and pubs along the Beaufort street strip.

Last words?
Support the local WA film, music and art industry! The more interest the public shows in our local talent, the more money will be pumped into the industry that helps feed these brilliant artists, and we need to eat!