A blast from the past! The youthful Terry Gilliam explaining the methods behind his cutout animations.This has been circulating the interwebs for a bit, and we thought we’d share it with you all. Should be a treat for all you Monty Python fans out there.
This one’s got a bit of the old ultra-violence, so be fore-warned. It’s all in a good bit of fun, though. No-one truly gets hurt. Videogioco, which means videogame in Italian, combines 2D drawings and flipbook-style action with a stop-motion filming process for a really unique, new take on a cartoon, action fighting sequence. The character (well, really just a part of him) moves across the paper getting stabbed, cut, hit, swallowed and kicked through the air only to be finally re-united with his body for a closing punch. The ending loops back to the beginning scene, starting the whole process, and cycle of violence, over again. Brilliant! Kudos to the makers of this amazing short.
Animation and Concept by Donato Sansone
Sound Design by Enrico Ascoli
Tip to Michael Lebowitz for spotting this!
Mainframe’s “One Day…” is the latest film in the Challenge Your World 20/20 series, brought to you by Motionographer and Challenge Your World.
Each year, 20 video artists create 20 wild, whimsical, and unconventional machines that solve environmental issues. These videos reject the status quo, explore crazy ideas, and blast beyond boundaries.
Head over to the CYW 20/20 page for full credits and more info on Mainframe’s project, along with all the other films released so far.
I gotta be honest, the real reason I was first attracted to Mesai’s “Alarm,” was for its beautifully soft lighting and rendering. On second pass, I noticed some of subtle character animation. But the story, I felt, dragged.
After talking it over with fellow Motionographer Greg Herman, though, I realized that was exactly the point. We’re pulled into this world where everything is punctuated by alarms, where every moment of stillness is just a preamble to the spine-wrenching squeal of a bell. Thus, the near real-time toaster sequence feels excruciatingly slow, the long ride in the elevator feels like a devilish trick.
Watching it a third time with this in mind, I found myself grinning wildly, enjoying the entire experience immensely.
You can download a 720p version of the film from Mesai, the animation partnership of Moohyun Jang and Jungoo Choo that created “Alarm.” You’ll also find some pre-production stills and a bevvy of test renders in the Alarm Introduction area of the site.
Although the end falls just a little flat for me, I’m still in love with Baptiste Sola’s “L’échange.” It’s a brilliant testament to a kind of Mondrian-esque minimalism, showing just how much can be said with so little.
The main drivers of narrative here are the sound design; slight variations in animation (the square’s ever so subtle hesitation is loaded with meaning); and, of course, the introduction of the pink square. Everyone who’s had a pink square in their lives know how they can so happily upset your routine, how they stick with you, how they keep you up at night.
L’échange reminds me a bit of Grant Orchard’s “Love Sport” series, which used a similar minimalist approach.
Sometimes a great project comes your way, and you know you’ve just got to do it—budgets and deadlines be damned. That’s how London studio The House of Curves must have felt when Grasshopper Films and agency TBWA tapped them to create this showstopper for Zurich’s Europride gay festival coming up in June.
The House of Curves’ Andrew Daffy tackled quite a few tasks for this labor of lust: editing, previsualization, modeling, animation, lighting, compositing and even co-writing the lyrics with director Richard Hickey, who maintained a pitch-perfect balance between magic and kitsch throughout the spot.
Watch “Pufff” a couple times to catch all the subtle interactions with the physical space and the transformations of the objects surrounding the sleeping couple.
Just to prove that Andrew (who looks like a cross between John Cusack and Seth McFarlane) was fully committed to the spot, he even dolled himself up in drag for a little character research. Head over to the theater page for all the action, and keep your eye out for a making-of podcast from The House of Curves.
School’s out at Supinfocom, and the end of year projects keep rolling in. Everything we’ve seen so far is astounding, and “Café Serré” only adds to the school’s already imposing reputation.
Created by Vincent E Sousa, Bertrand Avril, Yann de Préval and Denis Bouyer, the film ticks along with a series of brilliant sight gags that fit together like a finely crafted puzzle—all with just two characters and a single set.
I love the lighting in the establishing shots. Drink in the architectural details of the interior and the soft interplay of light on its various surfaces. Lovely.
The camera work, while mostly stationary, moves the story forward with confidence, using simple two-shots, close-ups and some subtle rack-focus to keep the action tight in the frame.
“Café Serré” was made for the Canal J Contest, created five years ago. Its participants are all from French Animation Schools, so you know the competition is stiff. This year, 7 schools participated, contributing 54 different short films. You can see the other competitors here.
Want more? Check out this selection of work from other Supinfocom students:
Every web-nerd’s favorite comic strip xkcd just wrapped up a 5 part series called “The Race” featuring stick figure likenesses of Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau and chock full’o inside VFX/Sci-Fi geek humor. It’s laugh out loud funny. if your into that sort of thing.
(LINK) to Part 1
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Ever get sick of being referred to as a “3d Guy”? Well if you have you may enjoy an open letter rant posted on cgpov.com. It’s got some gems including.
Please do not ever again refer to us as “3D guys, THE 3D guy” or the particularly nauseating “3D Guru”. It’s dismissive, degrading, and just sounds f**king dumb.
The fun continues from there.
LINK to the whole rant
(via Eric Alba)
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As someone who has an intense love-hate relationship with New York, this sweetly animated film from Andy and Carolyn London tugged hard on my heartstrings. It’s a simple concept: Interview New Yorkers and then animate objects in the city to match their personalities. The result is a compelling short that helps me see the city—and its people—in a new light.
If you like this, you might also like Aardman’s candidly charming Creature Discomfort animations.
Via Laughing Squid. Thanks to Todd for the tip!
Posted on Motionographer
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