Hasta La Motion!

Mr X. and The Three Musketeers

Paul W.S. Anderson’s take on The Three Musketeers mythology is a steampunked reinvention of the swashbuckling tale, complete with airborne battles and all in native stereo. Visual effects studio Mr. X Inc. delivered the bulk of the work with 274 shots, and fxguide got the details from VFX supe Dennis Berardi. Warning: contains spoilers.

Also, the film opens with a main titles sequence that literally maps out the conflicts of Europe at the time of Louis XIII, as the camera flies above miniature soldiers caught mid-battle on a parchment map. Mr. X Inc. creative lead James Cooper takes fxguide through the distinctive 1,642 frame, tilt-shift inspired opening.

Partizan’s Antoine Bardou Jacquet directed “Wünderful Stuff,” a comically epic spot for yogurt brand Müller and agency TBWA\London. The Mill slam-dunked the VFX work, making me wish I’d been one of those lucky pedestrians caught in the hail of magical yogurt.

From The Mill’s blog:

The biggest challenge faced by our VFX team was the integration of the cartoon characters into each scene, especially the “splat” sequence. Richard continues, “Each character had to still feel cartoon and graphic-like, whilst actually be part of the shot. The splat shots consisted of a live action plate, real fruit shot at high speed against blue screen and of course, the 2D cell animation. The animators, after taking our timings and position of each character, created a very clever morph which literally unfolded each figure into the shot. This helped us create a seamless transition from bureaucrat to Mr Man.”

Thanks to Josh Spool for the nudge.

Posted on Motionographer

The Blender Foundation has just released Blender 2.60. Most notable in this release is 3D audio, UI translation, improved weight p…

I’m pretty sure my mom still doesn’t know exactly what I do. Mom, if you’re reading this, please watch the video above (French version here). It gives a nice overview of motion design with a healthy dose of history thrown in for context.

But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Paola Boileau and Kook Ewo, who edited the video, are using it to raise awareness for a project they’re leading in Paris. I picked Kook’s brain for some more details, and here’s what he had to say.

Even though this information is on the Motion Plus Design website, can you tell me in a couple sentences what you are trying to achieve? What’s the goal of your project?

Our main goal is to open the world of motion design to the public. The little film you watched is the first step: We tried to define what motion design is and we tried to say it in a very clear way.

The second step is to create a center dedicated to the motion design world, a place where people can discover, meet and learn. The entry will be free and we will set up monthly exhibitions dedicated to an artist, a studio or a theme. We would also keep a section for exhibiting other artists (photographers, graphic designers, typographers, small editors … ) so people from different worlds would cross in the center.

We want to do that in Paris right now, but we would also LOVE to help that happen in other countries/cities …

Why do you feel this project is important?

We think motion design is not considered at its right level now. This art form is creatively exploding. It is very important for us to consider that right now and not wait until all these brilliant artists are dead to be exhibited.

We want these artists to share their knowledge, their reflections, their analogies with other arts; we want these artists to meet people who love their work, and we want to try to define more and more what motion design is. Also, it can be very encouraging for young people to have a place to build and share their passion.

Are you asking for donations?

No, we won’t ask for any personal donations. Money will come from public or private sponsorship. One or another will be fine with us as long as long as we are 100% free to exhibit who we want.

Who will curate and manage the museum space?

Paola and I will curate the center. We’ll also need at least four people to organize sessions, keep the place open and do artist interviews.

Good luck to you guys!

Posted on Motionographer