Caviar & Nicographics for Towa Tei’s ‘Mind Wall’

mindwall

The Japanese did it again!

Been a while since I watched a music video that ticks all the right boxes. Is well-paced, not draggy. Has delightful, visual transitions. Accompanies a great song. Puts a smile on my face, making a drab workday afternoon much more bearable.

This video for the new single ‘Mind Wall’ by DJ Towa Tei (feat. Miho Hatori) did all these and more. Refreshingly kooky, with a marker-pen like texture that reminds me of those brilliant 80s/90s Japanese stationery graphics and adolescent scribbles, it’s such a visual treat. Exuberant and clever, almost effortlessly.

From what I could decipher, thanks to Google Translate, it was directed by Takeshi Nakamura for the Japanese production company ‘Caviar,’ illustrated by Hiroshi Hisashi and Yuko Yasunaga from Nicographics.

This article at White-Screen.jp outlines the production process, and some background info on Nicographics. I find it interesting that the illustrations are done using Cintiq 21 UX,, and it seems that the project’s workflow is quite different to that of a western studio.

The automatic translation is rather confusing, however. So if any of you is fluent in Japanese, do help us out with deciphering the info!

Thanks to Graham Cross for the tip! Oh, and don’t forget to click ‘watch in high quality’ option.

Posted on Motionographer

Caviar & Nicographics for Towa Tei’s ‘Mind Wall’

Carolina Melis

carolina-melis2

Director/illustrator/designer Carolina Melis (with Nexus Productions) has been quietly tinkering with her site for a while now, but we recently got the green light to share it with the world.

Carolina’s portfolio—and I mean all of it, not just the motion work—is a sheer joy to behold. By following her muse through whatever medium it dictates, Carolina has developed a distinctive voice that’s as playful as it is sophisticated.

Characters are both the stars and the medium of Carolina’s work.  They trot about the screen while simultaneously acting as design elements, pleasantly blurring the line between figure and ground.

Carolina’s background in dance and choreography is evident in her work. Through repetition and rhythm, simple forms coalesce to form complex compositions that augment the soundtracks in nearly all her projects.

With that in mind, don’t miss Carolina’s abstract video for Efterklang’s “Polygyne.” (It’s only mentioned in the News section of her site.) And keep an eye on Galinanova, a fashion and design project that draws on Carolina’s Sardinian roots.

Posted on Motionographer

Carolina Melis