Hasta La Motion!

Mild mannered animation studio, Tiny Inventions, have lifted the veil on their latest opus and introduced Electric Car – a stop-motion style music video for the sugary children’s band, They Might Be Giants (TMBG). Showcasing a foxy sense of craftsmanship, Tiny Inventions is true to form, and has a knack for detail that’s put up for show in each one of their rustic-themed characters and makeshift environments.

The aesthetic here is homestyle – nothing too pretentious or embellished in flowery trimmings. Instead, Electric Car is a throwback to the good ol’ days of educational shorts; when Saturday mornings were for play; when School House Rock was a staple. Electric Car keeps it simple, but does it in a big way – a watermark to their authenticity, and a badge of honor for the studio.

“Making of”

Posted on Motionographer

The Mill’s renowned directing trio, Bif, has conceived a dark and eerie short-film in Dix. Dix, which is French for “ten,” highlights Mark, a tortured man who suffers from an obsessive-compulsive disorder that forbids him from physically stepping on lines beneath his feet. In many ways, the main characters unnerving anxiety is reminiscent of the childhood mantra that, “If you step on a crack, you break your Mother’s back.” Modernized by Bif, the directorial threesome makes certain to inject their own personal flavor, and does so in a way that is both startling and sobering. Indeed, Marks thoughts become so chilling that, when venturing into his psyche, viewers can fully experience the hellish agony of its main character, and witness a ghastly account of his volatile journey to recovery.

With accolades galore, and enough industry awards to shake a stick at, the appeal of Dix comes from it’s harmonious marriage of storytelling and CG. Incubating within the creative hothouse of The Mill, Bif exemplifies a knack for storytelling that is only matched by their technical savvy, and accentuates The Mill’s loyalty to producing non-commercial, and experimental ventures.

Update: Despite coming across this undeniable gem a bit late, we have, after thoughtful consideration, decided to post it, and even upgraded this former Quickie to a Main course. Better late than never! Bon appétit!

Credits
Production: Autour de Minuit
Actors: Ian Faure (Marc), Lucien Momy (Marc as a child) and Alain Choquet (Monsieur X).
Directing Collective: Bif (Jules Janaud, Fabrice Le Nezet and Francois Roisin).
Producer:Nicholas Schmerkin, Autour de Minuit,
Director of photography: Reynald Capurro.
Post production:The Mill, London,
Post producer: Stephen Vennin.
Sound design: John Baptist St Pol at Dune Sound
Sound mix: Guillaume Leriche.
Music: Raphael Martinez-Bachel (Azel).

Posted on Motionographer

1st Ave Machine’s Asif Mian, in association with Warm & Fuzzy, captured the dark fantasy of a Victorian nightmare in his latest music video for Emilie Simon’s “Dreamland.”

As usual in Asif’s work, the VFX work never gets in the way of the storytelling, letting the strange logic of the video unfurl like, well, a dream.

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The karmic balance of the creative universe has just been pushed a small degree out of the black with the creation of Michael Langan’s recent spot for Skoda. The piece is well executed and charming, however the real impact was made for me in the way the project materialized.

We posted Michael’s hugely successful, undergraduate thesis-film, Doxology, almost a year ago. About a month later, Michael was approached by Puente Aereo (a Barcelona-based production company) to adapt the car tango scene from Doxology for Skoda.

So often, agencies are inspired by non-commercial work, include these references in their creative briefs and then go to a much more established or safe director to execute an often watered-down version of the original. On this occasion, the student film from 2007 became a paying commercial homage a year later. Not only should this be the ethical standard amongst the advertising community, but this is proof to production companies that personally initiated work can be a commercially viable investment — something the innovators have always understood.

Michael is currently a director and creative at SF-based Mekanism.

Client: Skoda Auto
Title: Skoda Superb Tango
Agency: Road
Concept: Michael Langan
Production Company: Check In by Puente Aereo
Director: Michael Langan
Executive Producer: Silvia Sala
Producer: Santi Borras
DP: Mario Montero
Music: Dan Radlauer

Posted on Motionographer

Photo by altemark

Over the last couple weeks, we’ve gone through the usual chaos of voting for our summer update to the Cream O’ the Crop. We’re nearly ready to roll out our latest choices for Motion Design Studios—but this time, we thought it’d be fun to cut you all in on the action.

Introducing the first ever Cream O’ the Crop People’s Choice Poll. The three studios with the most votes will be listed alongside our picks on the Cream O’ the Crop page.

Everyone gets to vote for three studios, but you only get to vote once. Choose wisely.

Voting ends on Friday, September 11th.

Posted on Motionographer