Here are some recent additions to my portfolio:
1. Submission to Australian INfront Visual Response Project
2. Moving image piece for The Silver Black Exhibition. Title: Silver Black Cycle Audio: Cypheraudio Director: Rhett Dashwood
Hornet directors, Mixtape Club and Yves Geleyn, recently collaborated on this project for St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s ‘Pursue Knowing’ campaign. The clever transitions and mixed elements illustrate how rich and full of possibilities a child’s imagination can be when learning about the world around them.
“When Mixtape Club and Yves set about defining the look and feel of the spot, they knew they wanted it to be tactile and playful. The directors individually fabricated elements like the paper lighthouse, origami birds, and a quilted globe. When animated and composited into each scene, these physical models replicated how a child’s imagination creates entire fantastic worlds from familiar surroundings.”
Directed by: Mixtape Club & Yves Geleyn
Agency: McKee Wallwork Cleveland
Executive Producer: Michael Feder
Producers: Zack Kortright & Jan Wohrle
3D Artists: Ylli Orana, Erwin Riau
Rotoscope Artist: Tiffany Chung
Designer: Ben Plouffe
Compositors: Julien Koetsch, Gabe Pulecio
Animators: Connie Li Chan, Aaron Stewart
Fabricators: Nathan Asquith, Erika Bettencourt,
Connie Li Chan
Editor: Anita Chao
Music by: Huma-Huma
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Agency: McKee Wallwork Cleveland
Creative Director/Copywriter: Bart Cleveland
Agency Producer: Tom Garcia
Associate Creative Director: Daniel Andreani
Design Director: Michael Powers
Copywriter: Carly Shearer
Art Directors: Ashlee Powers, Chris Love
Project Manager: Elizabethe Reed
Intergration Director: Emily Howard Griebel
I’m sure this is just the first chapter, but there are some exciting things happening since the launch of Xbox Kinect. Artists, developers and engineers have started to get creative by modifying and hacking into the intended use of Kinect to do new and fun things.
Video embeds below:
Light Saber
Interactive Puppet
Body Dismorphic
Head tracking for laptop hologram
3D Drwaing
Further inspiration here:
http://kinecthacks.net
http://www.creativeapplications.net
Kim Dulaney is back with her first update in over three years, and it is quite a massive update at that, with almost 50 new projects on display. She is one of the most talented artists in our industry and her work has only grown more sophisticated over the years.
Much of the work shown was completed during her stay at Psyop, where she was a fulltime designer. Kim is currently lending her talents to all who need it as a freelancer working out of New York.
Also, as if her design work wasn’t daunting enough, Kim has also begun her own line of beautiful jewelery and fashion wear under the name Fortune, which she currently sells on Etsy.
Happy Thanksgiving from Nathan Love and NBC! In collaboration with NBC Artworks, the studio, once again, resurrects their feathered friend, but this time, for a fun, holiday greeting. I was able to catch up with Creative Director and founder of Nathan Love, Joe Burrascano, where he elaborates:
“We found ourselves with a week of downtime and decided to have some more fun with the NBC Peacock. He’s quick to render, and with Thanksgiving coming up, we couldn’t resist. After giving the team a few hours to brainstorm on their own, Ryan, Anca and I sat down and conceived the story in about 10 minutes. The rest was 5 focused days of hard work and lots of laughs. In the end, it was all worth it – especially when working with the musical genius that is Drew Skinner. I always love seeing how his sound design pulls it together in the end. This time our feathered friend is wishing the world a very Happy Turkey Day, and we hope there’s many more to come.”
LAIKA/house animation director, Mark Gustafson (fresh off his work as animation director for Fantastic Mr. Fox), teams up with Ringan Ledwidge to create a great stop motion spot for Planters. A nice departure from the old look for Planters, this spot evolves the brand into a more quaint and charming style. There is also a making-of video which includes both a real making of and an additional mock making of brought to you by Mr. Peanut, whose voice was brought to life for the very first time in the brands history by Mr Robert Downey Jr.
1989 was a big year. It marked the fall of the Berlin wall, the year of the first ever liver transplant, and the release of “Like a Prayer” by Madonna. It was also the year that Brian Yuzna’s revealed his twisted fantasy horror “Society” to the world.
Once seen, never forgotten, it’s certainly stuck in the mind of London-based music video director Saam Farahmand (Simian Mobile Disco – Cruel Intentions, The XX – Islands, Soulwax – Part of the Weekend Never Dies) with his most recent video for long-time collaborators The Klaxons.
Interestingly, considering Society was so highly acclaimed for its make-up and physical effects, Farahmand has chosen to execute his video with clever use of motion control rigs and computer blending. Using techniques of the modern combined with inspiration from the old, Saam creates a wonderful homage to “Society” in this no-holds-barred NSFW video for the band.
This piece also highlights the current trend in directors and commissioners being able to push the censorship boundaries. Although there have always been controversial promos, it begs the question as to whether the MTV censors are factoring as highly in creative decisions now that we have the level playing field of the online community, or, dare I say it, are more controversial videos being commissioned in order to stand out from the online crowd and rack up the hits?
Containing nudity and graphic scenes, this wonderfully executed piece transports you into a world where flesh is as versatile as rubber. Hold onto your hats! It’s a twisted triumph.
Klaxons – Twin Flames (Polydor)
Director: Saam Farahmand / Partizan
Producer: Ella Sanderson
Production Manager: Julie Crosbie
1st AD: Rob Thorpe
DP: Dan Bronks
Art Director: David Lee
Asst Art Director: Laura Marsh
Dir. Assistant: Shiny
Hair & Makeup: Lisa Mustafa, Pamela Cochrane
Stylist: Heather Noir
Editor: Gus Herdman @ Trim
Lead Visual Effects Artists: Ric Comline & Jasper Kidd @ Blind Pig
2D VFX: Tim Andrews, Michael Brown, Mark Pinheiro @ Blind Pig
Flame Artists: Phil Oldham, Michael Smith, Ben Robards, Richard Bainbridge, Simon Holden, Anthony Walsham @ Blind Pig
Combustion Artists: Owen Saward, David de Min, Krissy Nordella, Betty Cameron, Rob Drury @ Blind Pig
3D VFX Artists: Christopher Holmes, Guillaume Julien @ Blind Pig
Post Producers: Dan Bennett, Aimee Safko @ Blind Pig
Commissioner: Ross Anderson & Emily Tedrake
Editor’s Note: The Big Think Series attempts to step back from our frame-to-frame existence and look at the bigger picture. This post is from Austin Shaw, a designer and director currently serving as a Professor of Motion Media Design at the Savannah College of Art & Design.
Motion Media Design Fractal © Austin Shaw 2010
This is a question that many Motion Media Designers struggle to answer. Is it Motion Graphics? Is it Animation? Is it Branding? The Theory presented in the fractal diagram above seeks to answer some of these questions.
Motion Media Design builds on the tradition of many creative disciplines. To break it down to its essence, I have constructed a fractal image that is essentially a set of cross continuums. Each continuum represents a pair of complementary opposites. Being complementary means that each opposing end of a continuum completes and/or balances its opposite. That means that an aspect of Motion Media Design such as “Motion” is not complete without its complementary opposite, “Stillness.”
This theory is expressed through the idea that a beautiful motion piece begins with a beautiful still image. A single Style Frame is most often the genesis of a Motion Design piece. In practice, I typically begin a Design Board striving to achieve a frame with a dynamic composition. Once I have a great composition, I will create another frame in the sequence, either before or after my first ‘Hero’ frame. Creating beautiful motion becomes an extension of creating beautiful compositions in still frames. The process of animating can be a journey from one amazing composition to the next as planned out in a Design Board.
If you look at the fractal diagram you will see the words “Change” and “No Change” at either end of the Motion / Stillness continuum. These serve as tipping point guidelines to know where a piece stands along the continuum. The question to ask to determine where a piece is located along the continuum is “Is it changing?.” If it is changing then it is tipping towards Motion. Conversely, if it is not changing then it is tipping towards Stillness. Let’s have a look at an example of each…
"MASKS" Panda Panther for Zune
Now take a moment. Reflect on what you just experienced. Then take a look at an example of Stillness…
"Still Life"
To be clear, I am not placing a value judgment on either Motion or Stillness. Rather, I am attempting to highlight their differences as to better understand their respective strengths. In the Panda Panther piece, I am amazed at the richness of Change. The music and sound design creates movement through emotion. The camera angle is constantly changing from wide to medium to tight shots. The point of view of the beings of the opposing armies changes as they exchange masks, not to mention our view of these beings as semi-savage warlike critters, to cute and childlike characters. Change can be experienced both externally in what we see, and internally in how we perceive and feel.
Now, contrast the experience of ‘Masks’ with the still life of the flower. Silent and calm is what I feel, especially heightened immediately following the viewing of the Motion piece. There is a serenity rooted in the Stillness, a theoretical snapshot of a moment in time. Both pieces may share many similar qualities, but there are fundamental differences.
It is important to note that the notions of absolute Motion or absolute Stillness exists only in theory. You will indeed find moments of Stillness in Motion as well as Motion in Stillness. However, the overall quality of a piece will tip towards one end of the continuum or the other.
I am curious to hear your responses to the experience of Motion compared to Stillness.
To be continued in Part 2: Art & Design
For its second birthday, F5 is throwing a big party with all its friends. (That’s you.)
Since the initial fest in 2009, we’ve seen the reform of strategies in our industries, our landscapes, and our lives. It’s ripe time to bash that piñata and celebrate our collective artistic rebirth. April 14th and 15th, we’ll throw down again in NYC with full two days of incredible presenters, workshops, original motion work, a full bar and a killer after party.
We’re lining up enough inspiration, enough surprises, and enough cake to make the event well worth it. If you were an attendee in 2009, check your inbox today for the extra special first surprise. If you’re a first-timer, tickets will go live next Monday, November 29th. And make sure to sign up for the F5 mailing list to get the latest news. We’d hate for anyone to miss out.
F5 is founded on the belief that true change occurs when you look outside your world and explore new horizons. The festival fosters creative collisions—unexpected insights from sources you didn’t see coming. The goal is nothing less than to change the way you think about your work and your life. Our ethos:
Full disclosure: We don’t make any money from this. We have no sponsors and keep our ticket prices to an absolute minimum. There is no commercial involvement today or tomorrow. It’s about community and creativity.
Seriously. That’s not bullshit. We mean it.
We also don’t pay speaker fees and don’t allow agencies, studios or reps to sponsor the event. Purity matters. We don’t want dollar signs clouding anyone’s judgment.
It’s all about the attendees: Creative spirits on fire. Cream of the crop artists, designers and storytellers looking for some way to connect with each other and with the world at large. You are the most passionate people on this earth, and as such, you embody the essence of F5.
This isn’t “another design conference.” It’s a meeting of great minds—it’s about diversifying our perspective. In addition to top studios and individuals you know from Motionographer, we’ll be mixing the party up with talents from places and spaces that exist outside our comfort zones. All in the spirit of creative collisions—those moments of lasting insight and inspiration that occur when we smash into something unexpected.
Yes, there is a bar at the venue. Yes, we will be giving out plenty of free drinks. Yes, that means you’ll have to pace yourself. I mean, seriously… it’s a birthday party.
Friendships will be formed. Connections will be made. Ideas will take flight.
Ever since releasing their first in-house short in 2008, Katelyn, the crew at Autofuss has been toiling diligently in their San Francisco offices, building a body of work that thoughftuly blends live action and CG. In this post, we review their latest output and get some behind-the-scenes goodness after the jump.
Autofuss’ latest effort, a collaboration with agency AKQA, is an interactive installation promoting the newest entry in Microsoft’s Halo franchise.
Autofuss puts it nicely:
Visitors [to the Halo Reach website] were able to remotely control the robot by assigning their name to one of 64,000 points of light. The robot would then proceed to physically plot the light in a studio space in San Francisco. Through long exposure videography, a 3D monument of light depicting the game heroes emerged.
It’s one of those intriguing ideas that hinges entirely on execution. What I like about the end product is the way it presents the robotic arm and the light sculptures on equal footing. Both are the focal points, and yet one never upstages the other. Technology making art—and vice versa.
For Autofuss, the project signals a definitive entry into the world of interactive design, one that is increasingly becoming a second home to many motion design firms.
For more making of info on Halo Reach, read Machima’s excellent article.
Autofuss has been steadily releasing an elegant series of spots for the University of Phoenix and agency Pereira & O’Dell. The first spot, “Thought Leadership,” presents an abstracted world of architecture and typography populated by University of Phoenix students going about the business of learning.
Still from “Thought Leadership”
The newest two spots, “Quality” and “Access” add new dimensionality and richness to the universe of “Thought Leadership.” We had a chance to chat with Autofuss about the spots, and they generously shared some making-of goodies (after the jump).
Still from “Quality.” Note the increased dimensionality compared to “Thought Leadership.”
What was your favorite aspect of these latest spots?
University of Phoenix students are all over the country, but they are all part of this bigger thing. We got really into thinking about what this thing might look like, and how we might show something that feels big, but also interconnected and approachable.
Once we decided that amazing architecture was going to make this spot cool, we created a reference library of buildings and public spaces by architects like Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Louis Kahn, Richard Meier, Santiago Calatrava, and Renzo Piano. We even brought in some architects and worked with them for a month or so to help us concept the buildings. It was also fun to think in terms of dimensionalizing our previous work. We got to finally break all the boundaries we set up for ourselves last time.
What were some of the technical challenges you faced?
For the shoot, we did a lot of worrying about perspective and lenses, measured everything we could think to measure, calibrated and re-calibrated our automotive robot, pre-vised everything in Maya with a to-scale replica of our studio, sent the camera moves to the robot, built a rig to attach the camera to the roof, built some green sets, programmed a real time compositing system in Max/MSP to get an idea of how it would look, and brought in our actors.
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