Johnny & Berry

A hilarious short from Sang Lee not only about the importance of confidence, but also a lesson in being a good wingman.

Cartoon Network Rebrand 2002

I guess this must be old if it's from 2002, but I had never recalled seeing it before. At first I thought I was entertained by it simply for nostalgia's sake. But as I watched more and more I realized there was a lot more to it than that. These cartoons WERE all a very important part of my childhood, but what I loved so much about them was their ability to make me laugh without a single line of dialogue. Call me simple, but I can't help but laugh out loud at some good ol' fashioned slap stick. Nothing's funnier than a cartoon slamming into a wall and crushing like an accordion. If nothing else, this serves as an amazing reference for various types of animations (I particularly liked the three panel one where each character sneaks on their tiptoes across the frame).

Machine Gun Popcorn - Outtakes

As you may know I recently entered the Tree City Film Festival with my buddies of the Bun House Films gang. We created a bad martial arts film called, Machine Gun Popcorn, and well...these are our outtakes. The music I used is Barracuda by The 5.6.7.8's. Enjoy. We certainly did.

Neebo

Sometimes you have to make an animation that gets a lot of information across and as animators we have to come up with new ways to make the not so interesting more interesting. I think this video from Sidekick Animation for Neebo is a perfect example of that. Their art style is simple, but they use that to their advantage with use of fun transitions and negative space.

機関銃ポップコーン - Machine Gun Popcorn

Over the past weekend the Bun House Films team and I entered the 2014 Tree City 50 Hour Film Festival.  It was certainly a challenge to get a film out in just one weekend, but we managed to make it by the skin of our teeth while still upholding the quality and humor that you've all come to expect from the Bun House name.

We were given a genre (Bad Martial Arts), a prop (National Geographic Magazine), and a line to say in the film ("If a tree falls").  With those ingredients, below is what we collectively came up with.  We call it, Machine Gun Popcorn.  Enjoy.

Montenegro

A beautiful short animated film from Luiz Stockler about thoughts, life, anxiety, depression, and going bald.



See more about Luiz' process for this film below.

Yokohama // Orange

I see a lot of ads these days that follow a similar recipe as this one from Giant Ant for Yokohama. Good writing mixed with various clips of video and animation that on their own would probably mean nothing, but when all put together add up to something greater than themselves. In this particular piece I'm really drawn the 2D animation they lay over their video footage. It just gives it that extra zap of fun that it wouldn't have otherwise.

Tiny Worlds

I absolutely adore these little shorts from Rushes. I mean the 3D alone looks amazing, but I really love the 2D animation supplementing the submarine video. It all blends together well to create a really fun piece.

Ohio

A strangely captivating and oddly engaging story from Maria Blasucci, Andrew DeYoung & Tony Lewellen.

DJ Snake & Lil Jon - Turn Down for What

This music video simply kills it on all fronts. I have no words.

Countrylife #3

Really love this animation from Andrea Manzati (illustrations), Aude Danset (animation), and Wesley Slover (sound design). I really appreciate that 3 separate artists created this piece because I think what makes this animation so successful are those three parts working in unison.

Font Men

Really love this short piece from dress code about the work and process of artists Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones.  Fonts are one of those ultra-specific forms of art that most people probably don't stop to think about, but when you break down fonts and the reasoning behind them, you open up a whole world of interesting problems and solutions. I also really love the animation they have sprinkled throughout. I can't think of a better way to illustrate the subtle differences between a single font type.

Coworker Portrait #5

I recently finished another portrait for my coworker. This is probably my favorite portrait I've done yet. She wanted it in the style of Alphonse Mucha, which I felt was semi in my wheel house. The style itself is part illustration part photography, so I figured if nothing else I'd be able to fudge it. Took a few afternoons but I really like how the colors came out and the I had a lot of fun bringing the hair to life.

Bun House Films' "Monkey Man" Behind the Scenes

Ever wanted to know how a Bun House Film is made? Well this little behind the scenes footage my buddy edited will not clear that up for you.

Vagisil "Let's Do Something About It"

These are two simple yet effective ads for Vagisil by Tofer Moran. I really enjoy the character style and color palette of these works. Everything about the whole piece is subtle, smooth, and calming. just goes to show you don't always need crazy effects to make something memorable.

Don't Fail Idaho 'Turning Point'

I've always loved the way BUCK can take small animations and turn them into something bigger through the art of storytelling. This animation could have been created in such a much simpler way, but BUCK goes the extra mile to tie emotion to the piece, which in the end makes it 100% more authentic. It makes you care. That being said the animation itself is smooth as always and I absolutely love the character style at the end of the video.

Ripple - The Future of Money

Really enjoying this animation for the new global payment network, Ripple. Animade has done a wonderful job creating "fluid" transitions and I love how they carry the ripple motif throughout the entire piece.

Fun with Shapes

A simple title for a simple animation that needs no more explanation. Work by Elliot Lim.

Chris Koelsch 2013 Animation Reel

Hey! That's my name in the title of this here blog post! What do ya know, I actually finished my 2013 reel!  To be honest I'm extremely relieved.  I guess releasing it in early February really isn't all that bad, but I'm excited to move on to the projects I have planned for 2014.    I'm pretty proud of all the work in this year's reel and the track, Budding by Broke For Free really sets the tone well.  I have a few bigger projects already in the works so keep your eyes peeled for what may pop up in the next year, I appreciate every single person that supports me.

The Journey Begins

Michael Kirkham and Johnny Kelly were charged with creating over 500 animated clips for an interactive commerical project. Here is a semi-randomised selection of 75 of these - three and a half minutes out of a total of twenty-six (!). I absolutely love seeing animation like this. It's like seeing the mind of the creator, or seeing a great painters sketch book, I could stare at it all day.