I'm thoroughly enjoying Diesel's new Be Stupid campaign. They make a pretty compelling case for stupid. How can you argue with logic like "Stupid has all the stories" or "If we didn't have stupid thoughts, we'd have no interesting thoughts at all"? I am starting to see how stupid can be brilliant.
This beautiful video by Charlie McCarthy captures the flight patterns of bugs, hovering around a street light. Fight Pattern was shot at long exposures, essentially visualizing the motion of each light bathed bug. The photos were strung together into a video of the ongoing movements.
I'm totally in love with the Pixar short Partly Cloudy. Maybe because I am, admittedly, partly cloudy myself. Or maybe because it is just too damn cute not to like. (Found through Fubiz).
My favorite entry into this year's RE:Play Film Festival is Contraction. The short film was written & directed by Christopher Hewitt & James Cambourne. It is totally odd, but there is a simplicity and exaggeration that pulls you in.
Mike Winkelman of Beeple has created an animated editorial on over-consumption. His short video features a spinning house being upgraded, expanded, and refurnished over and over again. The rotating and rebuilding visuals are completely captivating. The whole thing makes you question your own need vs want, consumer self. I will even, just this once, forgive them their isometric ways (perspective people, PERSPECTIVE).
Back to the topic of digital storytelling (a growing obsession of mine). Swedish design student, Tomas Nilssons has created this smile worthy digital interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, as part of a school project. The animation was inspired by the Royksopp Remind Me video, and borrows heavily on the style and format. Despite the me-too aspect, I greatly enjoyed the twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story. Another great example of a classic story reinterpreted to a digital story.
I really enjoyed the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Particularly because I was so enthralled by the special effects used to make the actors look younger and older. They were amazingly well done. I just watched Ed Ulbrich's TED talk about how Digital Domain created Benjamin's face, and now I'm even more impressed. His head is computer generated for the first hour of the film. The process that they created to make the effects realistic is pretty incredible. They innovated by using "technology stew" - combining little bits of relevant technology gems from gaming and medical imaging. I recommend listening to the explanation. They had me at phosphorescent makeup...
I have been admiring the artistic use of infographics in the AutoKratz Stay the Same video. It was directed by Laurie Thinot of Partizan Labs. The storyline is a little strange, but animation and flow are noteworthy. I was especially taken by the color pallet used. The dark, rich colors accentuate the illustrations and the old school projector effect. (Found through Motionographer).
I did a post a few months ago about Oliver Jeffers's fantastic artwork. I was reading today that Studio aka is creating a short film based on Jeffers's book Lost and Found. I can't find a trailer yet but the stills from the film look stunning.
Bob Books has come up with a way to make your home movies into tangible, bookshelfable, anologue experiences. Much the same way your digital photos can be printed to take on a different life of their own, now you can turn your videos into flipbooks. For £12.99 Bob Books' online software will help you upload, and edit your video into short, printed flipbooks. I'm planning on making a whole bookcase worth.
Ian Tihienko takes on augmented reality as his Bezalel academy of Arts and Design final project. In his vision, cell phones and computers are replaced by holographic shadows. Interfaces are projected over the ground for activities such as playing games, writing messages to others, or navigating. Watch this demo movie:
(Found through Fuzbiz)
I can't stop watching this video. It is a fantastic animation of a walking cat, made to look like a hologram. The animation was made by David OReilly. Its 3D effect is created using anamorphosis warping and an assumed viewing angle. The effect really pops with the addition of turning the device. As the phone is turned, the gyroscope senses the movement and adjusts the animation appropriately to change the cat's direction. Amazing!
This is the promotional video for 12th Annual Webby Awards. It has an intriguing edge to it. The combination of video and motion graphics is very tastefully done. The two aspects compliment each other well making the final product something to aspire to.
I went to see WALL-E today. It was fabulous. Like most Pixar movies, I was very inspired by the story, the characters, and most of all, the artwork. The story is about a robot (WALL-E) that is left on an abandon Earth to clean up the garbage. The movie has very little dialog but tons of story. The robots are all full of character and personality. I was also super amused and fascinated by their interpretation of the future. If you are inspired by Pixar's art, I recommend checking out the Art of Pixar books. I recently purchased The Art of WALL-E.
If you are someone who works with fonts on a daily basis, you will definitely appreciate this Font Conference video from CollegeHumor. It is a brilliant comedic video that personifies fonts. It's full of fantastic typography jokes. My favorite character is Wingding... "Mailbox! Open Mailbox!". (Found through ComputerLove).
Nervo Design and Animation has created these great animations for Zune. There are 5 unique animations. The short videos are meant as a branding accompaniment for Zune events and presentations. They are slightly random but in a interestingly captivating way. (Found through one of my favorites, Computerlove).
Fallen Art is a fabulous short animated film by Tomek Baginski. The story itself is a little, uh, disturbing... but the animation and artwork is stunning and perfectly executed. The cinematographic aspects, the characters, and the dramatic story telling are all superb. It is the product of a disturbed mind, but well worth the watch. (Found through Yatzer).
Bjork is know for taking creative liberties with her music, her fashion and her videos. She puts the art back in artist. The newest version of her Wanderlust video is no exception. The video is able to be viewed in 3D, using old school blue-red 3D glasses. The release of this video caused a You Tube worthy, wanna-be-MacGyver, 3D glass making episode at my house. Let me just say that bags of Kool Aid are not adequate substitutes for red acetate. You can view the 3D video on the Wired website, along with their (proper) instructions on how to make your own 3D glasses.
I've been researching videos with environmental messages lately. This is my favorite video that I've come across so far. It's called Who Knows What's Next by Three Legged Legs. What I like about it is that it is done from the perspective of the Earth, who has a 'case of the humans'. The short film entertainingly illustrates how humans slaughter all other forms of life, guzzle natural resources and poison the atmosphere - throwing off Earth's equilibrium. That all sounds very daunting, but the movie is done in such a way that it is funny and effective. I wouldn't want a case of the humans!
