Mar 28, 2010
|
|
For a few months we’ve been into stop frame animation, sure it’s been around for a long time, but we;re gonna post a few examples of how stop frame motion can give a much more emotive feel for video work. Once upon a time the only way to produce animation was to use “Stop Frame Animation”, ie. move something very slightly and take a photo of it each time… when run together you get motion. That’s old school, but it is often the case the old ways are often the best for different reasons.
for years filmmakers such as the legendary Ray Harryhausen used this method to produce mind blowing animations of dinosaurs and skeleton warriors in films before the computer became the pre-eminent production method. Ray Harryhausen was the main exponent of this style in Hollywood movies such as Jason and the Argonauts and the Sinbad series, one look at his website will give you a great idea of what he is about.
This is the video for the single from Oren Lavie called “Her Morning Elegance” it’s a beautiful example of how stop frame animation can be used to explore an idea. Call it art for arts sake if you want, but in this case it suits the music perfectly. (It has obvious similarities (too similar some say) to a video by the artist Mitchell Rose, have a look here click)
The video show just how an idea can come to life using one technique over another… imagine if this had been produce in a 3d computer style, it would have nothing like the same emotion, drawn either.
Everybody likes this movie, and indeed Stop Frame Animation. As usual click the movie to go to youtube and watch it. It’s well worth 5 minutes of your day.
.
|
Mar 17, 2010
|
|
Yes, you read that right. She farted and created the world is the title of an animation by a talented fella by the name of Scott Coello.
He uses only bits of recycled paper and pens to draw with to make a very impressive animation about the evolution of everything. Cleverly conceived and even better in execution, this is well worth it’s position in the final 12 of the virgin media animated short film awards.
Everybody loves this style, digs this subject and enjoyed it thoroughly. Make sure you click the link above to watch the movie on Vimeo. Very worth the effort, but make sure the HD is on, it makes it really worth while.
That was a short but sweet post, but then so is the animation.
c
|
Mar 15, 2010
|
|
Those of us who saw the Oscars (or at least know the results) can’t help but know the astonishing animated short that that won the academy was a movie based on Corporate Identity… Sort of anyway. Have a look for it, it is worth watching. As a Graphic and Branding designer I love that this particular movie won.
But one of the other nominees, which I personally felt was as good, was the Spanish short called “La Dama y La Muerte” (the lady and the reaper). It’s a stunning animation combining Sexy Nurses, Handsome Doctors, a loveable old dear and most strangely, a cute reaper.
The emotion that the first couple of minutes generates is great and this gives way to a pharsical series of events as the reaper tries to win over the hospital… the chase scene through the huge filing cabinets is pure Pixar, which is probably as high a compliment as you can give any animated movie. Nods towards other animated greats are evident too, such as Looney Tunes and the Tom and Jerry, so why not spend 10 minutes watching one of the best animated short movies in recent years.
The Writer/Director is a Spaniard by the name of Javier Reco Gracia obviously has a bright future ahead of him and with producers such as Antonio Banderas speaking up for him, Everybody can’t want to see what he comes up with next. Great work Javier, we hope to see more soon!
c
|
Mar 11, 2010
|
|
Let us introduce to you: COMBO, a collaboration between Blu and David Ellis. These artists have made a mind blowing wall-painting animation at the FAME festival in the South of Italy in late September last year. This may therefore be classified as ‘old news’, but it’s so cool that we decided to share it with you anyway.
It all looks so effortless; imagine painting your house with this (deceiving) ease. If you know what it takes, making a stop motion animation then you know how much time and effort is in fact involved. What of course amazes the most, is their use of the environment. Window sills become eyes, hanging lamps serve as their irises, no corner is safe. The artists’ recognisable individual styles combine beautifully. Have a look, it’s an absolute joy to watch. Oh, and if we may give you a piece of advice: don’t try this in your own neighbourhood…
http://vimeo.com/6555161
|
Jun 04, 2008
|
|
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE7VzlLtp-4]
As we’ve mentioned previously, inspiration is all around us and can be found in all forms of art and design. One of the more inspirational forms of art for me is the cartoon. We have all seen Finding Nemo and Cars, which were produced by the incredibly talented people at Pixar. What, for me, makes them so special is the manner in which the animators build into the faces a real sense of expression. Since the early days of Warner Bros. cartoons, the expressions which would adorn the faces of Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote, were the deal makers for me, the humanisation of the characters helped you associate with them and the emotions they showed.
This is something that is played on by the modern animators at modern studios. The ability to melt your heart and feel real emotion with something as simple as a wry smile is a great one, and especially if the character only really exists as a bunch of 1s and 0s in a digital world. The blender software has been going for a good few years now, and has the aim of utilising open source code to produce awesome 3d rendered images and movies, comparable with the Hollywood studio level.
The latest release comes in the form of Big Buck Bunny, a 9 minute long animation produced by numerous artists from around the world. Produced by Ton Rosendaal from the Netherlands it is one of those things you can watch over and over again, I know as I have seen it at least 6 times since I downloaded it yesterday, each time seeing something else I didn’t spot before.
To see the movie you can click the youtube link above, but you can also download a much higher resolution version from the Blender website itself (by higher resolution, I mean full 1080i high def.)
Click here to go to the downloads page of the bug buck bunny website. This really is a download worth waiting for, and possibly the best 9 minutes viewing you will spend this week.
|
|
|
All contents of this website are © 2008-2008 Everybody can design, except where stated.
