Jul 14

Beautiful Titles: The Happiness of the Katakuris

Posted in: beautiful, frame, General, Happiness, japan, Katakuris, Miike, stop, strange, Takashi, Titles, weird


What can you say about this title sequence that will do it justice? There is so much beauty in its stop-motion bizarreness. Having said that, I wouldn’t expect anything less from acclaimed Japanese director of horror and strangeness, Takashi Miike. All I can suggest is that you let go of regular conventions, take a look and get ready for a roller-coaster ride!

On a side note, if you have a spare weekend, rent out some of Miike’s movies, in particular Audition, and my personal favourite, Ichi the Killer (in which the titles involve various male-only fluids!).

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Jul 14

The Nature Between Us

Posted in: 80s, Experimental, General, live action, retro, short film, strange

nature-between-us

Back in 2007, as students at the Savannah College of Art and Design, William Campbell teamed up with Anh Vu to create The Lemon Tree, an experimental short film that went on to win awards and launch Will and Anh’s careers with a bang. (Anh graduated to work with Psyop as a staff designer, while Will went to work with Superfad in LA.)

Will’s latest short film, The Nature Between Us, is a surreal tale of personal relationships told in a style that is uniquely his own. The film premiered at Sundance 2009 and screened at SXSW 2009, charming audiences with its mysterious narrative and off-beat bubble gum visuals.

Will and producer Jett Steiger graciously took some time to answer our questions about the project. Read on…

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Jun 02

Prologue: 2009 MTV Movie Awards

Posted in: awards show, broadcast design, General, Show package, strange, surreal

prologue-mtvma

Prologue has released a montage of their colorfully wacky package for the MTV Movie Awards, directed by Ilya Abulhanov (who also directed the recently posted OFFF 2009 titles).

The creators of the many awards show packages, including the MTV Music Video Awards and the last five Academy Awards shows, Prologue knows their way around a sealed envelope. Careful never to upstage the red carpet regulars who share the spotlight with their graphics packages, Prologue knows when to pull back—and when to shine.

As Prologue’s youngest creative director, Ilya brings a shoot-from-the-hip confidence that’s countered by crisp typography and well-composed shots. His palette is an unlikely mix of mustards, eggplants and oranges that works with the surreal vignettes and icon-headed figures that unify the package.

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May 05

Cisma: Adobe “Le Sens Propre”

Posted in: adobe, Brazil, candy, dream, General, live action, strange, surreal

cisma-le-sens

Cisma’s latest short film, “Le Sens Propre,” continues in the surreal tradition of “Handmade” and “The Fly and the Eye,” fleshing out a body of work that grows more interesting with each new project.

The narrative of “Le Sens Propre” loops around itself in a dreamlike Gordian knot. The film’s real focus is on perception—the little surprises that blossom when expectations are upended and conventions are twisted.

From a production standpoint, there’s no 3D involved. The hand-crafted tableaux feel palpably real, which only further underscores the film’s surreality.

For a Q&A with Cisma and some production stills,  read on.

Disclosure: “Le Sens Propre” was underwritten by Adobe, an advertiser on Motionographer. This is no way effected our decision to share this work.

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