HAPPY F5 – RE:PLAY FILMS 01

We’re very pleased to get this first batch of Happy F5 – RE:PLAY films online. We’ll be sharing three films at a time, one batch each Wednesday. Consider it F5 Wednesdays from here on out.

This first group includes work from Daniels, Kristoffer Borgli and Nomint. Each artist/studio has provided us a peek into the creative process for the work.

Our sincere thanks to all the artists behind RE:PLAY. Commissioned by F5, each team created unique and inspiring nuggets of creative expression. Perfect compliments to all of the other pearls that made up Happy F5 this year.

DANIELS – “PUPPETS”

PUPPETS – Daniels from F5 on Vimeo.

“RE:PLAY is a wonderful chance to be creative with no boundaries.  When given total freedom as a storyteller, we (daniel&daniel) found ourselves battling between a desire to make something meaningful and honest and a desire to make something perverted (which is also in our case honest).  Entirely by accident, Puppets became a perfect analogy for our self aware creative process.  But mostly it’s lots of butt jokes.”

KRISTOFFER BORGLI – “I EXPECT NO ONE”

I EXPECT NO ONE – Kristoffer Borgli from F5 on Vimeo.

“There was so little time for the creative process, so the first thing I did was to limit myself. The theme was “happy”, so initially I wanted to do something outside in the sun, but at the time in Oslo there was still snow. Being fed up with snow after a long winter, there was no inspiration to be found outside. But I had seen this Villa drawn by Arne Korsmo, and wanting to film there for a long time. Also I had just watched the documentary “L’enfer d’Henri-Georges Clouzot”, which led me to buying a Slinky toy. So I limited myself to write something about a Slinky-toy inside this Villa.
The main theme is about a resourcefull young woman, not being able to have fun, even though she has all these material posessions. It’s not untill she is in an extreme situation where she can connect with her feelings. Slinky made the day after all.
Thank you DP Jon Gaute Espevold, my friends the actors, the Norwegian Foundation for Design and Architecture and the post production team at Storyline Studios!”

NOMINT – “MAHAHULA THE GIANT RODENT OF HAPPINESS”

MAHAHULA THE GIANT RODENT OF HAPPINESS – Nomint from F5 on Vimeo.

“When we where asked to make a video about happiness, we decided that we should take it from the very beginning, when it first appeared in the world.

We find happiness to be a very serious matter, definitely worthy of an awesome deity like Mahahula, an ancient gigantic infant rodent born from an alien space traveling seed that crash-landed on primordial earth. We wanted to depict happiness in all its glorious complexity: obscure, hard to find, huge and colorful. Is it more of a constant personal pursuit or is it a fortunate offering by others?

Mahahula came about with the sole purpose of spreading joy to the world, only there was no one around to hear her say so, as this was a long-long time ago. As we speak, she might or might not still be around warming our hearts for eternity.”

Posted on Motionographer

F5: YOU WERE HERE

F5 Live Titles – Made by Buck from F5 on Vimeo.

Let’s just address F5 from the heart. It’s been a little over a week and we still can’t get it out of our heads. Ping-pong between the speaker sessions, re:play films, installations, drinks, the massive balloon logo, and above all…the atmosphere.

From Friday morning forward, you brought warmth and curiosity to Roseland. You engaged with each other and the world-at-large. You helped build a village of inspiration that will live far into the future.

Judging from what’s been said, what’s been written, what’s been posted…you also walked away with something new. It could have been an appreciation for artists you just discovered – or those you already knew. You might now be working on a project through a different lens with some new friends. You may have lifted one of the pinatas and have it there, staring at you while you read this. There are so many possibilities and opportunities that came from the festival.

And you got the spirit of F5 from Day One. The minute that Buck’s titles rolled, it was clear that this was like no other conference before. We had puppets, peacocks and robots — DJ’s, VJ’s and MC’s — severed goat heads and happy face avatars — banjos and turntables — a laser harp — and countless perspectives on the creative process.

As Kid Koala finished his set with Moon River, the beauty of our collective spirit was fully awake and you all stood as one – until the balloons fell late on Saturday.
The dreamers and the doers came out. And your smiles said it all. Thank you from the bottom of hearts.

(Our countless thanks to Buck and music/sound design team, Antfood, for an incredible title sequence that brought down the house and set a new benchmark for the future of titles. Basil and Noodles are the new mascots of F5! Check out the full version — and photos from the event)

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HAPPY F5 – FINAL SPEAKERS AND FULL LINE-UP/SCHEDULE

Happy F5 April 15 – 16 2011 by Hi-Sim from F5 on Vimeo.

If you’ve been patiently awaiting this post, thank you.

To clue you in on the behind-the-scenes since November, we’ve been working NON-STOP to reach out and secure the speakers who you’ve all wanted to see. There have been hundreds of recommendations – tons of outreach emails – and so many wonderful responses from artists who see F5 as the gateway to new playgrounds of creativity. This curation would’ve made for a great reality show, but we lack the tans and vocal chops to secure future syndication.

Our final group of speakers for Happy F5:

  • Mark Romanek: visionary film director behind “Never Let Me Go” and “One-Hour Photo” – as well as countless iconic music videos and commercials
  • Neil Huxley: accomplished creative director of Mothership and Digital Domain, creator of UI for Avatar, and AD on titles for Watchmen
  • Tanya Morgan: hip hop duo behind one of the genre’s most acclaimed and celebrated albums of the last two years
  • Adam Bly: founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of Seed Media Group and visualizing.org with tomorrow on his mind
  • PressPausePlay: David Dworsky and Victor Köhler’s exciting new documentary on cultural creativity and the digital revolution

Closing the show on Friday night, PressPausePlay will introduce something new to the festival’s history: a screening of a yet-to-be-released film and discussion with the filmmakers. It’s a powerful work on the future of our collective artistry in the face of a democratized culture. And a thoughtful opportunity to reassess the positives and negatives behind technological innovation.

To recap and refresh the full line-up of Happy F5:

  • Kid Koala: DJ and turntablist extraordinaire
  • Scott Belsky: cutting-edge business leader of Behance
  • Wayne White: legendary art director of Pee Wee’s Playhouse and banjo star
  • Adam Sadowsky (Syyn Labs): president of the engineering whiz-kid collective behind the massive Rube Goldberg machine in OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” music video
  • Nathan Love: top-notch animation studio and masters of character animation
  • Buck: trailblazing creative shop with pop illustration powers
  • Radical Friend: acclaimed experimental//experiential directing duo
  • Onesize: creative studio powerhouse
  • Eclectic Method: audiovisual remix masters with culture on their minds
  • Heather Knight: innovator of robotic entertainment
  • Jacob Escobedo: celebrated network exec-cum-designer behind [adult swim], Cartoon Network, and a whole slew of musical projects
  • Tool of North America: leading the new wave of interactive storytelling

The RE:PLAY film festival brings together a number of the best studios and independent directors out there to create short films on the simple topic of happiness.

And, as the icing on the cake, the RE:VISION gallery space will showcase the work of emerging and world-renowned artists and designers.

We’d be remiss to not point out the final piece to Happy F5 in 2011. Each morning before the festival begins, the first ever Motion Design Roundtable will convene to begin crafting a Code of Standards for the motion design industry. We’ve invited representatives from the different parts of our industry to the forum for two hours each morning. F5 is the perfect occasion for this gathering of minds, and we’re confident that the work the Motion Design Roundtable undertakes will help shape the industry for the better. All results will be posted on Motionographer for feedback from the industry-at-large. Wish them luck!

Whew. Inspiration, discussion, balloons, games, drinks…this year’s event has it all. Check out the speakers page for a schedule of all speaker sessions.

And, since some of your bosses are still breathing down your neck to hit that Friday deadline – we’re now offering one-day only tickets for Saturday, April 16th. Check the tickets page for more info.

//Hat tip to Hi-Sim for graciously allowing us to use their beautiful RE:PLAY short above! See it both days at F5//

 



Posted on Motionographer

F5 Re:Vision & Closing Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With two weeks left, it’s time for the F5 takeover! Oh, and it’s playtime too! As you enter the world of F5, you’ll be part of the RE:VISION experience. It’s here where we’ve curated and constructed a borderless//cutting-edge gallery space to showcase the work of emerging and world-renowned artists and designers.

  • Babycastles Arcade: indie gaming to the core — stand-alone video games that take players to the wild ends of their imagination
  • Minivegas presents Atlantis: an interactive installation where attendees cue their tweets (with #f5fest and others) and watch as they’re dynamically transformed on-screen throughout Roseland
  • Radium Audio Takeover: intricate and immersive sound installations that cater to both the individual and collective experience
  • Shantell Martin presents Hidden Oras: a live drawing project that turns members of the audience into a unique and original work of living art
  • Smilebooth: a fresh take on the old-school photobooth that encourages a hot mess of fun and spontaneity
  • Tronic/Goldrun/F5 present the Virtual Exhibit: a one-of-a-kind smartphone app that allows users to view and take pictures of GPS-linked 2D/3D virtual art all over F5.

Take a deep breath. We’re going to blow out the candles on another F5 at the soon-to-be-(in)famous CLOSING PARTY on Saturday, April 16th.

  • Starting at 9pm, you’ll throw down at Good Units in the basement of the Hudson Hotel (356 West 58th St.). Picture NYC-1982 and you’re halfway there…
  • Dalston Ponys will start the jam East-London-style — bringing feet and hearts to the dance floor
  • Grabbing the baton at 10:30pm, Eclectic Method follows up their speaking session at F5 with a performance that will burn the roof off the joint
  • At midnight, Flawless Media presents Verboten – dedicating the remainder of the party to Kompakt Records‘ honcho and DJ Michael Mayer
  • All the while, Shantell will be performing Hidden Oras in the venue’s stylized mezzanine

Doors open at 9pm –  open bar from 9:30-10:30pm. Everyone is welcome – so bring your buddies. Your official F5 registration badge gets you in and $20 at the door for your friends. And there’s still one more major announcement left….

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F5 VIP Pre-Party

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We’ve firmed up our plans for the F5 VIP pre-party on the evening of April 15th, and it’s going to be hot. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but I can tell you it will involve alcohol, rock stars and bikinis.

We really wish we could include everyone in the festivities, but we can’t. Here’s what we’ll do instead:

If you’re registered for F5 before Friday, March 13th, we’ll include you in a random selection for 10 VIP (+1) passes. Those who win will get to rub shoulders with F5’s speakers, sponsors and a clutch of honored guests at the pre-party.

Posted on Motionographer

F5 VIP Pre-Party