Hasta La Motion!

Upgraded by popular internal and external demand! Check out blu‘s latest short film — BIG BANG BIG BOOM: an unscientific point of view on the beginning and evolution of life… and how it could probably end.

It revisits the stop-motion wall-painting of COMBO and MUTO, but takes it to the next level, both in terms of technique and narrative. Who doesn’t love clever hermit crabs, flying jellyfish, dino-sharpeners, katamari, and literal bullet-time?

Props to Andrea Martignoni on the nicely integrated soundtrack and ARTSH.it for production/distribution. and, of course, blu for the mind-blowing vision.

Posted on Motionographer

In Whole New World, Psyop takes a deep sea plunge into a water world full of unusual and exotic inhabitants for AT&T’s “Rethink Possible” campaign. In many ways, the piece is less stylized and more cinematic, in terms of narrative and musical score, but from a visual standpoint, exhibits many of the CG hallmarks that stay true to the Psyop playbook. While the piece begins on a dark and moody note, the visuals evolve into something more beautiful: a vista of tropical inspired colors that glow like the fluorescence of coral reefs.

As a footnote, this spot, unlike many that the studio has created, is not only for commercial output, but instead, will have a cinematic release at select, stereoscopic movie screens next week and shown before The Last Airbender and Despicable Me. It will also air on ESPN 3d.

Posted on Motionographer

Here is a recent animated video we completed for PC Tools.

The Mill NY was commissioned to do the OFFF opening titles this year, and took the opportunity to debut their integrated design and animation team. The languid journey they take us on through the forty-five titles for this years OFFF conference displays the immense potential this new division of the Mill has, especially considering the production resources they have at their disposal.

Mill NY staff Jeff Stevens (Design Director), Boo Wong (Senior Design & Content Producer) and Colin Pearsall (Executive Producer/Content) were all kind enough to answer a few questions about this piece and the new division of the Mill.

Splicing up biological elements and reforming them to create brand new species to illustrate the beauty that results from the exchange of ideas at a conference like OFFF is splendid and must have been a joy to work with as a theme…or at least that’s my take on it. Regardless, what led you to your concept and how did you go about developing it?

Jeff Stevens: The original, over arching concept was strength vs beauty and the affinity that each has for the other. At the same time, I wanted to create something that was abstract yet ‘seemingly’ natural. So, creating an environment that was underwater mixed with air began to take shape. Texture was important to me, so when Kim began illustrating, the contours and rawness of materials started to create a landscape and pattern for all of our characters. The best part was that nothing needed to be real. We could have suggested more reality but I think the blend of species, environment, and biomechanics perfectly summed up that affinity I was looking for.

More of the interview here

OFFF (International Festival for the Post-Digital Creative Culture) Opening Titles
Premiere: June 26
www.offf.ws/

The Mill NY
www.themill.com
Alistair Thompson – Managing Director
Angus Kneale – ECD
Colin Pearsall – EP/Content
Jeff Stevens – Design Director
Kim Dulaney – Designer
Rob Petrie – CG Lead
Boo Wong – Senior Producer
Moss Levenson – Editor
Fall on Your Sword – Music
Henryboy – Sound Design
Weston Fonger – Sound Mix
3D
Tom Bardwell
Ian Brauner
Jeffrey Dates
Tony Jung
Christopher Kujawa
Michael Panov
Joshua Merck
Ruben Vanderbroek
James Williams
Stanislav Ilin
2D
Emmett Dzieza
Marco Giampolo
Melissa Graff
Bashir Hamid
Lu Lin
Gigi Ng
Doug Purver
Jeff Robins
Gap Yossanun
Tim Haldeen
Brian Sensebe

Posted on Motionographer

“Lilac Wine” is a music video directed by Vanessa Marzaroli of Bl:nd to celebrate Dr. Marten’s 50th anniversary. The song is Cinematic Orchestra’s rendition of the cult classic, “Lilac Wine,” made popular in the early 90s by Jeff Buckley.

Inspired by Spencerian Calligraphy, “Lilac Wine” is hypnotic as subtle movements transition incarnations of lost love. Like sheet music, the design pairs perfectly with the drifting music, in and out of solitude. The beauty of this graphic language is no surprise coming from a company with a history of creating some of the most iconic black and white spots in the industry.

Vanessa Marzaroli, creative director of the 2006 music video for Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”,  tells us more about “Lilac Wine”

The idea for the video came to me right away. The music is moving and it really felt like some sort of a lover’s letter or testimonial to me. With that said, I wanted something that was hand written and full of beautiful flourishes. I’m very fond of typography and calligraphy, so through my research, I found Spencerian penmanship to be quite inspirational.
I actually have a much deeper connection with animation. In my heart, I treat each project like a piece of music. This worked well for “Lilac Wine”, and we really took the opportunity to do something that was compelling to us, something we’d love to create.

With its grace and striking design, ”Lilac Wine” takes us back to a time in our industry’s history when it wasn’t as important to create the most trendy work, as it was to challenge ourselves to do what we love, and be ourselves, better.

Posted on Motionographer