Makoto Shinkai: Neko no Shuukai

Roughly translated as “Kitty Gather Together,” this gem from the Far East comes from anime director Makoto Shinkai. Admittedly it’s a few years old now, but that doesn’t make it any the less amusing! Personally I would really love it if channel idents in the Western world took a few more risks like the chaps at NHK.
On a side note, the narrative has a waft of similarity with the recent Cravendale Cats with Thumbs campaign. There’s just something unnerving about cats banding together…

Posted on Motionographer

Takashi Murikami + Château de Versailles

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Fumiko no Kokuhaku


Hailing from the land of the rising sun, this quirky independent short film is about the confession of Fumiko. It’s a simple plot but, extremely well executed and will be sure to raise a smile. I’m not entirely sure on what the girl says at the end, but if you are able to understand Japanese then we’d be super grateful for the translation.
The dialog at the beggining and at the end is the same. The girl asks “Would you like to go out with me ?” The boy answers “Sorry, I have to focus on baseball training …”

For more information and staff translation check out Catsuka.

Be sure to check out their amazing Making of to see all the storyboards, character development and research.


Credits:
Animation / Artwork / CG / Audio: Hiroyasu Ishida
Artwork / CG textures: Yuko Iwase, Kazuhiro Murakami
Anim: Tatsuro Kawano
CG Modeling: Yusaku Nagata

Posted on Motionographer

Interview: Capacity “Upgrade + Mobilize”

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In the words of Capacity’s Ellerey Gave, “Before we became designers and animators and communicators, we were painters and illustrators and dreamers.”

Over the course of the last year and a half, Culver City-based Capacity has been working on an in-house short film while juggling client projects for companies like NBC, Cartoon Network and Toyota.

At long last, “Upgrade + Mobilize” is ready for the masses, and it’s definitely worth the wait. Mixing inspiration from Asian animation and art with their own polished aesthetic, Capacity has created a high energy, two and a half minute preamble to an epic battle of good vs. evil backed by beautiful audio from Plaid.

Motionographer was fortunate to get an advance interview with Ellerey about “Upgrade + Mobilize.” Check it out, along with some process work showing the development of this ambitious short film.

Read on…

Posted on Motionographer