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Natush, of Munchen, Deutschland, has produced some very cool visual effects, but what I'm really digging is the way that they present their work. You can watch their work as you normally would, or you can hover over and see the post production work as your watching. See the original shots before the matte paint and keying are done. Alternately, you can click to view two video windows playing simultaneously, with the pre-production in one window and the post-production in the other. Such a simple idea, but so well executed. Really cool work, too.
The Animation Show is a travelling animation festival that features some unbelievably cool animations from traditional cell to computer animated. The one pictured to the left is Rabbit by Run Wrake. It's creative, although very violent. Collision by Max Hattler is kalidescopic and trippy Islamic patterns and American quilts mix with the colors and geometry of flags. Collision is an abstract field of reflection. City Paradise by Gaëlle Denis is a breathtaking mix of live action and 2D/3D. (Tomoko arrives to London from Japan and accidentally discovers a mysterious, secret city underground, inhabited by friendly little aliens and a beautiful blossom. After she's found it, everything changes… )
Unsettling Title Design for The Number 23 Bryant Frazer at Studio Daily (a part of Studio Montly) interviews Michelle Dougherty on Imaginary Forces' Agitated, Blood-Red Vision... the opening title sequence of the new Jim Carey Film, 23.
I've never watched Stunt Junkies... not really my thing... I just happened to catch the open after one of my favorite shows, Man vs. Wild. The Stunt Junkies open has layers of textures, photos, 3D, and markerboard-style drawings. It's aggressive and hyper and is compeletly appropriate for the theme of the show. Badass to the extreme.
SCAD student Jarratt Moody created this Time-based Typography Project using this memorable scene from Samuel L. Jackson's character in the film Pulp Fiction.
"Goodbye" is the latest video from Asobi Seksu and it's loads of fun! If you haven't heard Asobi Seksu, they're one of those bands with white guys and a Japanese female lead singer. That seems to be a very popular mix these days, but I have to say, I really dig them.
The colorful origami flowers and stars in the "paper insanity world", designed by animator Ryan Bosworth, and poppy song utterly harmonize.
This is the sixth in the series of gorgeous commercials for HP, 'Paulo Coelho'. Coelho wrote my all-time favorite book, The Alchemist, so I was so pleased to see this mystical commercial with flowing imagery.
(And, once again, thanks Dru Nget, for sending me the link. Dru has recently read The Alchemist at my suggestion and he was equally inspired and moved by the story. Go read it! )
This is definitely one of the nicest student showreels I have seen. This was done by Waldemar Borth, from Mannheim, Germany, and this showreel won an Animago award. Hey, congrats.
Students, take note... I teach at an art school, and many student reels are not very good. Yes, they try, and I don't want to be too cruel, but I see some recurring problems with the reels. Many are too long and repeat content, contain that is very amateurish, or looks exactly like something in an iPod commercial/Comedy Central ad/Green Day video. My advice? Be original and make your reel stand out. Make it personal. Put your best work on it. Keep it fresh. I wrote a short article on creating a proper demo reel if you're interested.
Waldemar does it right. The auto commercial and other content looks very professional, not like student work. He keeps it short. He even uses, I believe, original music. He shows a variety of styles, too. Nice work, Waldemar.
The Master Plan is a political commentary on the power of Google. The graphics are a mix of 2D and 3D and is inspired by What Barry Says.
Its a terrific video and interesting concept, but I do think they're a bit paranoid. Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you, right?
This piece comes from Dean Denell at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. I envy students. At hand is a daily task to create for the sake of creating without borders, rules or clients. Especially here, where you'll see a mix of traditional animation, stop motion, clay, and motion graphics. Easily caught up in my "branding" and "image" projects, sometimes I lose focus on the 'fun' part. That's what I see here. I think Dean had fun with this.
Slide Sundays is a commercial for a dance club in Las Vegas. It was done by a good friend of mine, Dru Nget, while he was at KURO. Dru had only a few breakdancer shots to work with and created the look with masking, Trapcode 3D Stroke and a lot of 3D layering in After Effects.
P.S. Are you hiring? Dru is currently in the market for a new job in motion graphics in Los Angeles. Check out his reel and resume.
Grizzly Bear is a band that's received quite a bit of buzz on the indie music blogs. This video for Knife has got to be one of the strangest and most original and innovative music videos I've ever seen. It takes place in Death Valley and there is a crazy machines that squeezes blood from stones, a geologist that looks like a caveman from a Geico commercial and a lady made of stone that heals with gemstones. Plus, the song is delicious.
Did you miss the Super Bowl? Not a football fan? See the best of the best ads at Super Bowl Ad Watch: Top Spots at Gizmodo. I agree with their choice for the Best Spot Overall: Coke: Happiness Factor. I think I've seen it before though. The Budweiser: Beer-Stealing Crabs and The Taco Bell: Lions are also petty cool. Animated animals are always winners in my book.
This band totally sounds like Dizzee Rascall, but the tune is catchy as hell (and maybe a bit too vulgar for the kids and the pure of heart) and it will blow your speakers. I'm digging the video. Directed by Bob Harlow and co-created by Tim Cubbitt. Cut out band members over top of graphic backgrounds, lots of depth of field and 3D layering. I have to say that it is a bit reminicent of the Eskimo Disco 'Picture Perfect' video but I like the Hadouken! video a bit more. Hey, I'm a rock 'n roll girl at heart.
Word on the street is that HunterGatherer infused photographed paper and wood textures with After Effects to create this fun, stop-motion style commercials for AMP Energy Drink. The look is organic, with the textures and cutout style of characters, reminicent of early South Park, but much slicker and loaded with clever details. I love the cool color palette and the use of cameras and depth of field. Amazing work, indeed.
