Toolfarm Inspirations

The Wishing Well by Rod Maxwell - Behind the Scenes

4/30/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

The Wishing Well is a short experimental one-man film by artist and actor Rod Maxwell. He shot the entire film by himself in his livingroom in a small 4'x4' homemade greenscreen. He did EVERYTHING including the script, directing acting, makeup, prosthetics, efffects. The video below is a trailer for the film and a 'Behind the scenes' video. The film has one several awards, too.... just check out the bottom of his website! It's really damn impressive. I was impressed.

Thanks to Diannah Morgan for posting it to the AE List.

Labels: 3D, Documentary, Film Short, Movie Trailer

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Best of BBTV animations

4/28/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Watch and enjoy:

Labels: 2D, 3D, Character Animation

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

BoxWrench.net Interactive Video

4/25/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

I really don't have a clue of what they're talking about (I'm just a delicate girl :) but the interactivity in this video is pretty cool. Click on the menu items and those big arrows.

Thanks for the Twitter, Alex Lindsay.

Labels: 3D, Interactive

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Gotye - Hearts a Mess

4/21/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

I run a music site called MaxBumps.net, and one of our contributors, AnnieB, posted an article about Gotye in her AnnieB's Detour column. This is some gorgeous compositing and 3D work by animator and director extraordinaire Brendan Cook of PictureDRIFT.

Check out Gotye's site for other videos, and here's a higher-res QT version ofHearts a Mess.

Labels: 3D, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Björk's "Wanderlust" Music Video Released

4/01/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

After nine months of hard work, Björk's new video, "Wanderlust" was released to the public on March 31st... and is no less than spectacular. The 3-D version of the video will be released as a DVD single package on April 14, complete with 3-D glasses. You can view the high quality version (highly recommended, as the more compressed version doesn't do it justice!) at www.encyclopediapictura.com.

This is the "making of" video montage:

Labels: 3D, Character Animation, Film Short, Music Video

Posted by Alicia VanHeulen

MyToolfarm Red Giant NAB Contest Entries

3/28/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

The Red Giant/MyToolfarm NAB Contest submission was officially over earlier this week and we had several terrific entries. Because of a problem we had with our uploader, the entries were also collected via another method, so this is not every entry unfortunately. This will give you a good cross-section of what was entered and if the winning entry is not in this bunch, we will put it online. There were about 24 entries in total. There are some super talented designers and motion graphics artists out there. I was blown away by some of the entries.

For a video to qualify, they must use Trapcode Form or Magic Bullet Looks. The first place winner will receive a trip to NAB and present their project at the Red Giant Booth. The first and second runners up will receive software.

The official winners will be announced next week. The list below is in the order they were submitted from newest to oldest and is no indication of the winners.

I should also note that the star ratings are not accurate if you view at MyToolfarm, so please ignore them. I think they work fine, but I wonder if someone has come through and given them all low marks just to be funny. All of these videos deserve higher ratings than they've received. I'm going to look into this.

Symantec NetBackup Product Launch

Submitted by Mark Jeschke

Veritas Backup Exec 10 Event Opener

Submitted by Mark Jeschke

Tori Amos Greenscreen Contest Submission 2007

Submitted by Mark Jeschke

Freedom Fall (Clip)

Submitted by Erik Candiani

Ryan Wheat Motion Graphics Demo

Submitted by Ryan Wheat

Penny and Ashtray

Submitted by Axel Roessler

The Field Scene

Submitted by Pericles Lewnes

Mumbai Central

Submitted by Alexander Snelling

Besuch der Holztiere

Submitted by Axel Roessler

Labels: 2D, 3D, Demo Reel, Experimental, Film Short, Music Video, MyToolfarm, Student Work

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Psyop/Adidas Zheng Zhi

3/21/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

This is the second spot in TBWA China's campaign for the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Psyop. Gorgeous work- I like the pencil drawing/hand drawn look.

Labels: 2D, 3D, Commercial

Posted by Alicia VanHeulen

SMILE, A Student Film

3/13/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Wow. This is a very intense, super-freaky student project. Here's a short blurb:

"SMILE is an impressive 2005 student film by Yuval Markovich and Noam Abta produced at Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem. Horror films are all too rare in animation, and this short does a solid job of building the tension and creating a mood of paranoia and uncertainty. Technically, it looks like the film was shot in live-action, with over sized CG heads placed on the live bodies. It's a surprisingly effective technique that adds to the film's uneasy mood."

You can check out more of their films at: www.lioninzion.com

Labels: 3D, Bizarre, Character Animation, Student Work

Posted by Alicia VanHeulen

Music Video "Blackbird" by giraffentoast

2/26/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

This mesmerizing video was created by giraffentoast for Michael Fakesch. They took a simple costumed character and built a mountain of effects and distortions around them- it's a really unique look.

Labels: 2D, 3D, Bizarre, Music Video

Posted by Alicia VanHeulen

Glassworks Ad for Bank of Ireland- "Dragon"

2/18/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

This is a nice piece by Glassworks for the Bank of Ireland. This is the last in a series of ads that are all very well done. Their work was recently featured on the Best of STASH 2007 reel at the Chicago Motion Graphics Festival.

Labels: 3D, Character Animation, Commercial, MGFest

Posted by Alicia VanHeulen

UFO Lands on Guys Desk

2/01/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

This is a really well done video showing a UFO landing on a guy's desk (hence the title) and morphing into a cell phone ala Transformers. The tracking is spot on and the autofocus effect works really well with it.

Labels: 3D, Humor

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Mirrormask- a VFX treat

1/21/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Designed and directed by Dave McKean, Mirrormask is stunning and chock-full of visual effects. Dave McKean is one of my favorite artists, and I was excited to see the film retained much of the look and feel of his work.

Labels: 2D, 3D, Bizarre, Character Animation, Experimental, Movie Trailer

Posted by Alicia VanHeulen

mgFest08 Intro Video

1/14/2008 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Lift Motion Design and Creative Chaos created this astounding intro video for the Motion Graphics Festival 2008 in Chicago, Jan 15-21st. The production process heavily integrated the motion design with the sound design by The Great Mundane.

The inspiration came from the integration of several creative practices at this year's festival, which focuses on motion design, sound design and motion programming.

Production, costuming, and makeup were done at Foundation Post and the piece was edited by Matthew Glover.

Adobe After Effects was used for almost all the animating and compositing. The final edit was done in Final Cut Pro and the audio composition was created in Ableton Live.

The final piece will play before a live audience at each of the 4 motion graphics screenings at the festival: Stash's Commercial Art screening, Lumen Eclipse's Video Art screening, the Art in Motion screening, and the Conscious Motion screening.

"It was wonderful to have the opportunity to collaborate with other motivated and talented artists. I really do not think this project would have been possible with out each individuals passion and dedication to do what they love. And that love is responsible for the drive to follow through on the never ending quest for perfection to create a positive final product." from Jeffrey Acciaioli (The Great Mundane, Composer/Sound Designer)

Labels: 3D, Bizarre, Commercial

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Birds on Fire for Zune

12/11/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

I know they've been around for awhile, but some of these Zune spots are very well done and are interesting to look at (shocker!).

Labels: 3D, Bizarre, Character Animation, Commercial

Posted by Alicia VanHeulen

Plastic Operator - Home 207 - Bitstate promo

12/02/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Bitstate is Pete Circuitt's animation/motion graphics business. This is his Home 207 promo for Plastic Operator and it's really incredible. He seamlessly meshes 3D, photos and videos with other elements... the compositing is great. He uses a few of the Ken Burns type moves to spice things up. It's also fun to watch, which is really important in my book. My eyes like to have fun.

Labels: 3D, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

All is Full of Love - Bjork

11/28/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Yes, this isn't new, but it was posted up at Axiomsun a couple of weeks ago and it's such a cool video. Amazing compositing and sexy robots. Say no more!

Labels: 3D, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Socalled - You Are Never Alone

11/14/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

A really interesting mix of styles in the song, but the video is intense and riveting! Lots of 3D and match moving. It's creepy! Directed by Benjamin Steiger Levine. Thanks Johnny B. for the link.

Labels: 3D, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Tenspace by WOW

11/14/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Harry Frank sent me the link to this beautiful piece from Wow, a Japanese agency and collective. This was presented during Tokyo Design Week. This beautiful clip combines typography with organic ikebana, the art of traditional Japanese floral arrangement. Harry and I both believe that After Effects and Cinema 4D are the tools used on this piece.

Labels: 3D, Film Short

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Playstation 3 Long TV Ad

11/10/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Some awesome 3D, interspersed with video game footage.

Labels: 3D, Commercial

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Petits Pois / Carottes

10/27/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

I never thought maggots could be so cute! This 3D animated piece shows the life of a maggot who becomes a fly and has to fight for the last little pea. It's really adorible and clever and so well done. That little fly went all Macauley Caulkin on those other flies.

Labels: 3D, Film Short

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

The Inner Life of a Cell

10/24/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Beautiful animation of cells. Fascinating. No idea what it is exactly, but its gorgeous. This was made by Biovisions at Harvard University.

There's a larger, cleaner-than-YouTube version at Studio Daily.

Labels: 3D, Documentary

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Helio Fin Commercial

10/05/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Great animation! I love the Flickr and YouTube sections. Really nice 3D and use of the Kaleidescope filter too.

Via Big Mike Design Blog

Labels: 3D, Commercial

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Royal Electric Feilfri by Umeric

9/21/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Royal Electric Feilfri... Beautiful eye candy with a pair of shoes forming in an underwater enviroment from the cellular level.

Labels: 3D, Commercial

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Josie's Lalaland

9/18/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

My friend Dru sent me this gorgeous short film by EB Hu.

View Josie's Lalaland

Labels: 3D, Film Short

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Nintendo Rube Goldberg Animation by Eric, Juan and Steve

9/16/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

A creative student-created 3D animation. It was their first project and the movement is a little slow for me (patience isn't a virtue that I embody), it is very creative and lots of fun.

Check out this Rube Goldberg 'Half-Life 2', which is amazing. The sound effects really help it out. They used a mod to make this one, not a 3D app.

Labels: 3D, Student Work

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

A Hand-Drawn Look in 3D for Steelers’ Safety

8/31/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Matt Armstrong at Studio Daily has authored a great article on Using Maya and 3D Rotoscoping for CG Football Action. The video link is in the article.

Labels: 3D, Commercial

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

GE - Ecomagination - Frog commercial

8/30/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

A clever animated piece with a 3D frog's eye view of the world.

Labels: 3D, Commercial

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Smashing Pumpkins - That's the Way (My Love Is)

8/30/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

The latest video from Smashing Pumpkins is a futuristic, effects filled extravaganza. It's mainly black and whilte with spot color, loads of 3D and lighting effects, and video composited on little future TVs. Not a half bad song, but I miss the Smashing Pumpkins of yore. Back in the day, I saw them live 11 times. I was a total Pumpkin Head. I like their new stuff, but not nearly as much as their stuff from Gish and Siamese Dream. The subtleties are not there, the quirkiness, the fun. Just a heavy wall of sound. Don't get me wrong. Rockin' out is my birthrite, but I miss the old sound. I do think the video is pretty cool though - one that takes several watchings to see the details. After several watchings I'll probably love the song.

That's The Way (My Love Is)

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Labels: 3D, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

UFO Haiti

8/10/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Brian Maffitt posted this one to the AE List. Nice CGI and color correction, he says. I agree. Take a look at the auto focus effect. I'm sure you'll be seeing this one on one of those UFO specials on the Discovery Channel on Friday nights.

Labels: 3D

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Luscious Life - Patrick Watson

8/01/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

A gorgeous video with lots of texture, paper cutouts and grunged up film effects and a bit of 3D. It was directed by Gabriel Coutu-Dumont, a multi-diciplinary artist from Montreal.

Patrick Watson's voice and style reminds me a bit of Jeff Buckley.

Luscious Life

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Labels: 2D, 3D, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Ovation TV - Shine Studios

7/31/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

My former student, designer/animator Dru Nget, has hit the big time. Shine Studio, where he's working, has recently finished the network branding package for Ovation TV. Dru did a lot of work on this project and it's great! Watch the Ovation TV video.

Here is a press release about the project if you're interested.

Anyway, I'm very proud of Dru and wish him the best with his career. Awwww.

Labels: 2D, 3D, Television

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Country Trouble by Axel and Ellen

7/30/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

Axel Rossler and his girlfriend, Ellen, are really into country music and they're both from Frankfurt, Germany... not exactly the hotbed of country music that one might think of... maybe Frankfort, Kentucky! When I think of music in Germany (okay, I know I'm totally dating myself here), I think of the Scorpions' power ballad Wind of Change or Madchen by Lucilectric, which was sooo popular when I was in Dusseldorf in 1992. Or, worse, David Hasselhoff! Ahhh, what do I know about music in Germany... not much at all, obviously. I'm so sad.

Okay, back to the reason for this post. Country Trouble is an incredible stop motion piece, created with hundreds of photos and 3D layers in After Effects. They took lots of photos at Axel's house. Axel said, "There must have been 400 layers or so, haha.. but I like the fact that After Effects still works great, even with tons of layers."

After finishing the house, they took photos of themselves in front of a green screen. Axel adds "organizing the horse was a little bit complicated over here". They took the green screen photos into AE, keyed them and made them 3D layers. They used the AE camera with some wiggle added to it and finished with some color correction.

So, yeah, it's all stills! I really thought the dance scene was video and they used a posterize time effect to give it the look. That dance sequence, what can I say? Wow! It's wunderbar.

Labels: 2D, 3D, Stop Motion

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Great Northern - Home

7/20/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

This is a really beautiful music video! It captures the imagination and has adept use of 2D/3D and compositing. I love the dreamlike quality and layering. The zoom in and out is very cool... I like it better than the effect used in the recent Norah Jones video. Directed by Josh Forbes. Animation Directed by Matt Smithson.

I really liike the song as well. I've never heard of this band, but ya know, I'm digging it. I just Hype Machine'd them and found lots of tracks to listen to.

Via if:mv

Labels: 2D, 3D, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

I lived on the Moon - Kwoon

7/14/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

A gorgeous animation for the film I Lived on the Moon. The music is by Kwoon. Also, check out the offical site for the movie. It sounds a bit Radioheady to me. It's really amazing work.

Via Fabulist!

Labels: 3D, Movie Trailer, Music Video

Posted by Michele Yamazaki

Green Concorde - 2:26

7/14/2007 • Permalink • 0 Comments •

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Inspirations Archives

Inspirations

Symantec NetBackup Product Launch

Veritas Backup Exec 10 Event Opener

Tori Amos Greenscreen Contest Submission 2007

Freedom Fall (Clip)

Ryan Wheat Motion Graphics Demo

Penny and Ashtray

The Field Scene

Mumbai Central

Besuch der Holztiere