Photo of a Day - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by bez uma on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
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Animation Sequence Project

Alright, another animation contest!  This one is called the Animation Sequence Project and what's special about this contest is that it is collaborative in a way.  Everyone will start with a 250 pixel square in the center of the screen, after that it's anything goes for 10 seconds, and then the video must end again with the 250 pixel square.  The top animations will be spliced together to create a unique 1-3 minute piece which will be shown at animation festivals around the world.  This sounds right up my alley, can't wait to start.

The Machitos Magnificent Moments

Something about simple animated characters mixed with live footage has always peaked my interest. This video from BASA is yet another example that uses this technique in a creative and humorous way.

"Our daily life routine is full of moments that we usually take for granted. The machitos are characters who see in this routinary lifestyle an opportunity to create magnificent moments. Turning this moments into professions, and like in any profession they promote healthy competition and comradeship."

The Frogs' Bollocks and Other Assorted Bollocks

I just really, really, really had to share this animation by Stephen Ong.

Photo of a Day - easy rest inn. lancaster, ca. 2012.

easy rest inn. lancaster, ca. 2012., a photo by eyetwist on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
"club ed" film location out in the mojave desert, set up to look like a weathered diner, gas station and motel. originally built for a 1990 dennis hopper film "eye of the storm".

mamiya 6MF 50mm f/4 + kodak portra 160NC. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: filmtagger.


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Robert G. Fresson

I'm falling in love with the style of Robert G. Fresson.  His work has a detail and sophistication about it that i truly appreciate. It's quiet and peaceful yet it leaves you wanting more, wondering what is driving these images. Check out more of his work here.

Josh Holinaty

Some wonderful work from Josh Holinaty.

Christian Northeast

Some magical and wonderful work from Christian Northeast. His classic style brings me back to the days of children's books, The Stinky Cheese Man in particular. Check out more of his amazing illustrations here.

Animation Dump

Instead of making three separate posts I decided to throw in three different animations I came across today into one post. They are all very different but very good in their own right. The first video is an ident created by Kilogramme. I love the character animation in this piece - bringing life to inanimate objects.



The second piece is an alternate intro for Star Trek and comes from a group of Trekkies called The Quintek Group. Some really solid and slick animation in this piece, I particularly love the face morphing and happens between Kirk and Spock.



I may have just saved the best for last...but that is definitely up to debate on this one. This abstract piece called, Hogan, comes from Peter Millard. I better just let you watch this...

Indie Game: The Movie

 So I finally watched this documentary yesterday and I feel that after sleeping on it for a night I finally know why I loved it so much.  Technically it's shot very well, the story is engaging, but what's keeping me thinking about it is the fact that it captures this raw creative spirit.  These indie game developers pour their hearts and souls into the games they develop for months upon months, all to release the game on a single day for the world to consume, love, or hate.  A truly daunting and scary experience for anyone.  It was this powerful emotion that really came across in the film and made me inspired to pursue more. I highly suggest buying and watching it here. Not to mention the whole movie was created by two people, James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot, who did all the producing, directing, cinematography, editing, and writing for the feature film.

Pernod Ricard TV

A really elegant style in this piece from Parallel. I am really attracted to animation that has a little bit of mixed media to it. I love seeing 2D characters in a photo real building when it's done well, and it's done well here.

Educabilia

I'm enjoying the overall subtlety of this piece from GATO. The stop motion animation is really fitting for the small model scenes that are created and I even love the soft text animation. Lovely.

The Super Nintendo Blow

I recently stumbled upon the site, Loop de Loop, which holds a monthly animation contest where all entries must loop.  I thought this was a really cool idea and I just happened to be inspired by June's theme - Play.  I immediately thought of playing videogames as a kid, and having to constantly blow into my game cartridges to keep the games working. It sounded like the perfect idea for a looping video and below is the result. What's special about this particular animation was that I created it in a totally different way from my Mean Mug & Slim videos.  Normally I would create the character I wanted to animate in Illustrator and use the After Effects Puppet Tool to make the arms and legs move.  For this piece I chose something closer to traditional animation.  While in Illustrator it dawned on me how easy it would be to just draw a series of arm movements on different layers, and then bring them into AE and simply turn them on and off in sequence to create a movement. I'm pleased with the result and am thinking there may be more of this type of animation in my future.  Stylistically I was greatly inspired by the always amazing work of Andy G and for extra inspiration I referenced this old post I made about traditional animation.

The Size of the Milky Way Stars

Really digging the design and layout of this infographic from Niho Krauss.

Tadao Cern - Blow Job

What I love about the internet is that I can find something on a humorous website and when diving deeper it can lead me to other amazing work that I may have never found. Tadao Cern's Blow Job is a perfect example of this. I stumbled upon this on reddit, which took me to vimeo, which brought me to Tadao Cern's website,which is chock full of really vibrant work. Below is the video, Blow Job, along with some other photography of his that jumped out at me. Check him out!

MTV Night Videos 2012

The idents for MTV Nights are something else. Created by Emil Sellström.

MTV Night Videos 2012 from Kungen & Hertigen on Vimeo.

Spine TV Idents

Some animated idents from Joseph Pelling for Spine TV. I love the way he keeps this piece 2d but really varies the shots to keep it interesting.

91 Radio Rock "Deaths"

A very rock and roll animation with a little twist of an ending from Rafael Freire.

IdN Opening

IdN approached 2veinte to their 19v5 DVD opening and said, "You can do whatever you want." Those magical, elusive, beautiful words that we all want our clients to say. Lucky bastards.

LIMBO

"After winning the 25k Grant from the Vimeo Awards, Director Eliot Rausch partnered with Producer Mark Schwartz and the Dreamers of Los Angeles to create LIMBO. This 19 minute film exposes the lives of 3 undocumented students, living in the US without legal status. Never having touched a camera, the 3 students were gifted with a small handycam and trained for half a day by Lukas Korver and Matt B. Taylor. They were asked to film everyday for 3 months. Through their lens, this is their story."

It's so amazing to see the wonderful footage that can be shot by someone who isn't constantly thinking about the aesthetics or the process. It really makes for a natural, raw, emotive, and real piece.  I am brought back to the first time when I picked up a camera, and how much of a struggle it is today to get back to that mindset.

Photo of the Day - Gum on the Beach

Gum on the Beach, a photo by Laser Bread on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
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The ________ says...

Created for the Threadless Loves Simple contest. Vote here.

Danny Brown - Grown Up (Scion AV)

Awesome idea for a music video, there are a few shots in here that I really love. Download the free track here.

X Games 2012

As usual Buck is creating fantastic work, nothing new there. But their recent stuff for X Games 2012 is making me extremely envious. Their work is so vibrant and fun, it's like all my Saturday morning cartoons threw up in one beautiful moment.

Pixelbox

Really inspired by these portraits from Pixelbox. I think I might have to try and do a few myself.

BE BRAVE BENJAMIN - Devil Fool

A very naughty music video by Be Brave Benjamin, from the album A Fine Dance.

Créativité

Loving this little piece on creativity from French motion designer, Maximin Spotti. The motion never quite stops in this work and it really helps to keep the whole thing moving.

Traumdeutung

I'm loving this piece from Fellowland. Their mixture of documentary/surreal storytelling and simple 3D graphics makes for a very unique, interesting, and funny piece.

Breakdown | - HORIZON -

This masterpiece comes from Mickaël Forrett. I always love to watch these, it's amazing how much work and time goes into the creation of a landscape like this. After I watch these I'm always inspired to go make my own...but I think I will leave it to the pros for now. For more on the breakdown go here.

Mattias Adolfsson

I love the playful and detailed work of Mattias Adolfsson. It's as if Dr. Seuss and Where's Waldo had a baby.

CK/CK

Interesting piece from an interesting tumblr.

Photo of the Day - Unkown

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Man On Fire [Official Video]

This piece gave me chills. The official video for Man On Fire by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros is nothing short of touching. Not only is the song beautiful, but I love the genuine feel that this piece has. Nothing is trying to be perfect, it's just passionate people doing what they're passionate about, and having fun while doing it.