tween

Loyalkaspar has firmly planted itself as one of my favorite studios, and they’ve recently completed a couple new pieces that I hadn’t seen before.

First up is an ID for the Outdoor Life Network, featuring an ephemeral swirl of leaves that whisks the viewer from cityscapes to autumnal outdoor scenes. Created entirely in 3D, the piece flows effortlessly from scene to scene with confidence and artistry.

I think the sound design is pretty ballsy, actually. Instead of a predictable acoustic guitar/solo piano backing, we’re given a curious little marimba piece that’s more reminiscent of Harry Potter than hunting season. I think it works, though. It fits with the continually coalescing and dissolving leaves, guided as they are by some magically artistic breeze.

LK also undertook a series of 5- and 10-second IDs for Docs HD, a new documentary channel from Voom. All the spots feature primo photography from Sonya Farrell and wonderful music from Greg Smith.

My favorite pieces in this series are the ones with a semi-narrative structure: Bandit, Stripper and Theater (see below). It’s pretty amazing how much of a story LK was able to cram into such a tiny temporal space.

LK does a great job of juxtaposing imagery to quickly establish the theme of each piece. Pollution, for instance, pairs industrial mechanization with a laughing child and a red balloon, creating a little rhetorical tension that packs a big punch. And the tasteful logo peels at the end of each piece make for a crisp, ringing finish.

Diner
History
Junior
Pollution
Bandit
Stripper
Theater

Heya fellas!
Well, today was a lot busy at work, but Diogo, my friend, has managed to find this awesome and creative movie.
Its all about sharing good and bad… lol
I could not stop myself from laughing at this situation!! Does anyone knows who has produced it? If yes, let me know, please.
Check this out from the Skype.com website.

Say thanks to Diogo Valim guys!

my friend anthony in new jersey has been making great music for quite a while now, so i thought i would share a couple of his songs. if you’re looking for a track for your reel, spot or whatever, drop him a line at anthony@overwhelmed.org. the brother’s got bills to to pay.

http://www.overwhelmed.org/anthony/audio/barndoorfunk.mp3

http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~ajsapf/mi-essip.mp3

Nice stuff for Channel 4
from the team at Precursor

Quicktime versions of some great music videos can be found here. Especially check out the Sonic Animation and No More Stars sections.

yeah… go get your groove on.

pretty solid work over at SPIKEDDB, but im slightly more impressed by the slick flash interface, made by first born multimedia.

robots on strike by impactist.

creative advertising by the viral factory.

han lee says lets make better tomorrow.

came across a couple online video archives last night. all kinds of stuff from the 1900’s and up, check it out!
+ http://www.archive.org/movies/
+ http://www.open-video.org
+ http://www.ibiblio.org/openvideo/video/ (found by watching a video from open-video.org… shhh.)

Oh man, this is just beautiful. Put your headphones on and go to Sehsucht. Click News > December and watch their new Mercedes-Benz piece.

Wow, huh?

With sound design by Wenke Kleine-Benne, Sehsucht took ad agency Springer & Jacoby’s basic concept of visualizing the sounds of summer to a new level. I love how the shift from 2D to 3D space coincides (conceptually and aesthetically) with a shift from “sound effects” to auditory space. (Sorry for the pretentious use of italics, but I don’t know how else to emphasize it.)

I also love that I’m not watching a car hug hairpin turns as it carves through some forested hilltop. Nice move on the part of Mercedes-Benz and Springer & Jacoby.

Fantastic work, Sehsucht! Really top-notch.

I feel like I’ve just downed a pot of strong-ass coffee. Whoo-ya! Time for some jumping jacks!

The stimulant that put the spring back in my step has nothing to do with caffeine, though. Visit WebFeats (recent winner of a FWA award), and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Both their Minimalist and Whiz-Bang sites sport high-speed, whimsical, typographically-oriented Flash motion that’ll get your pulse pumping. While some of the design elements aren’t my style, the motion work is outstanding. The pacing and typography are engaging, yanking your eyeballs all over the place without overwhelming you. (The soundtracks are really great, too.)

I think I’ll continue posting web motion work. This is still fresh ground. Designers are still figuring out just how far they can push the envelope (and the bandwidth) of web sites. Flash, of course, is integral to the success of these sites, but increasingly Flash is becoming a facilator for what I would call “traditional” broadcast design, albeit in a new interactive form.

If you don’t believe me, check out the Volvo V50 site. The video work is in the driver’s seat (no pun intended). Flash is there, yes, but more as a framework for this decidedly broadcast experience.

And with the next Flash player supporting alpha channels in video, well… it’s going to be very exciting indeed.

Now, back to my jumping jacks. One! Two! Three!…

http://www.salineproject.com

interesting, they seem to be positioning themselves as music video directors now, not so much a motion graphics shop. their videos are good, but their older motion work was insane so i’m sad to see it go… either way, these guys are sick so best of luck to them!

The world’s most outstanding commercial animation, VFX and motion graphics on DVD – 12 times a year.
+ www.stashmedia.tv

Tim Burton’s upcoming macabre feature, “Corpse Bride,” looks refreshingly similar to his previous stop-motion classic, A Nightmare Before Christmas. The inimitable Vinton Studios is handling production, and the rock-solid cast includes Burton’s old standby, Johnny Depp.

Take a look at the trailer and these screencaps. The subtly of expression in the characters’ faces is breath-taking; the lighting is flawless; and the set-design is so thoroughly “Burtonesque” that I’m getting giddy. At times, this thing looks more like CG than good old, analog clay. I’m sure there’s a fair mix of the two, but the fact that it’s tough to spot where one ends and the other begins speaks volumes about the current state of stop-motion techniques. We’ve come a long way since Gumby.

(Oh, and I’ll admit it: I ganked this tidbit from Newstoday.)