Pixar Artist Matt Nolte Directed This Indie Music Video ‘Hell Or High Water’
The music video “Hell or High Water” is a freshly made stop-motion passion project created for Mike Campbell, former guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Shot in evocative black and white, the film channels a distinctly Western cinematic atmosphere. It tells the story of an intimate, fateful night at a small hotel, where a lone guitar slinger crosses paths with a mysterious woman. Their encounter, set against a backdrop of music and whiskey, unfolds in a “he said/she said” narrative that leaves much open to interpretation.
The lo-fi visual aesthetic — built from cardboard and various handmade cut-out materials — elegantly mirrors the uncertain, winding journey of the video’s flawed and troubled characters.
Nolte told Cartoon Brew:
This production was a dream from start to finish. My brother, Brad, gave me the album Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty when I was 12. Ever since then that band has been a huge influence on me. They have been playing to my whole family all of our lives pretty much. On a whim, I reached out to Mike Campbell’s team, hoping for a collaboration. To my surprise, his producer, Laurence Freedman, responded, and the idea for a music video was born.
Nolte teamed up with his brother Bryan to write and storyboard, and longtime friend (and fellow Pixar veteran) Greg Dykstra joined as co-director. “With a tight deadline and limited resources, friends and family joined in, transforming weekends into build days,” Nolte said. “We made props, figured out handmade tech for flying birds and trains, and brought in new collaborators. We completed a shot a day for three months in the most collaborative environment I’ve ever experienced. Each shot feels like magic — a shared vision full of human imperfections.”
Nolte graduated from the character animation program at Calarts. He joined Pixar as an intern in 2004, working as an animator on Cars (2006). During the production of Ratatouille, he transitioned to the art department, eventually taking on the role of character art director for Brave. Since then, he has continued to work as an art director at the studio.
