If you’re feeling confused/angry/sad, please read the About Motionographer page. For a little more information, you may also want to read Meet Motionographer.

Tween will no longer be updated, but we’ll keep the site running here as a reference. I’ll be removing the Cream O’ the Crop soon in order to encourage folks to use the new Cream listing at Motionographer. Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

And now, get thee to Motionographer!

There’s a lot of work I want to post, but in the interest of proper digestion, I’m going to spread it out over the next few days. Okay, here we go…

Tronic: Adicolor
I never knew watching Jenna Jameson destroy a machine could be so entertaining. To see what I mean, check out Tronic’s short film for the launch of Adicolor, a new sneaker line from Adidas.

The ultra-white aesthetic of the spot is in keeping with the Adicolor concept and brand campaign. For more information about Adicolor, see the official site. For a little commentary on the brand campaign, read this post from Wooster Collective.

Like some of Tronic’s other conceptual work, the Adicolor spot uses the visual devices of destruction and disassembly to create dramatic tension and visual interest. Jenna’s ample breasts also help in this effort. It seems to me that Tronic had a good deal of fun with this spot, even poking fun at themselves a little in the process. Well done.

Fad: "Pachuca Sunrise"

I’m not going to comment much on this, but I think it’s worth your time to watch Fad’s music video for Minus the Bear’s "Pachuca Sunrise," if only for its sensual textures and beautiful use of color.

Grid VFX
As I’ve said before, I don’t know much about vfx, but I’m a sucker for before-and-after sequences and making-of videos. Grid VFX’s site is full of this stuff, in addition to containing some solid vfx work.

There’s a ton of work on their site, and their reel is jam-packed with a wide variety of projects. I was so impressed, in fact, that I went ahead and added them to the Cream. Welcome aboard, Grid!

Feel Good Anyway: Smorgasbord ‘06
Feel Good Anyway has added a new reel to their site, Smorgasbord ‘06.

I’ve always liked FGA’s quirky take on the world. Their understated, subtle humor permeates everything they do, imbuing their work with a freshness that eschews trendiness.

Thanks Ryan Rothermel.

Charlie Company: Court TV "RED"
Great camera moves and strong compositions make Charlie Company’s spots for Court TV’s RED campaign excellent viewing. They really did a great job adding a new dimension to the "ready-made" sound design of the featured shows.

On the Charlie Company site, go to Recent Developments > RED to see the spots.

Brian Sensebe
Brian Sensebe’s reel has a lot of nice work in it. I especially like the animated, marker-drawn sequences near the beginning.

I noticed some Mun2 work in there. I wonder if he worked with Chris Palazzo on that stuff…

Play Airways: MTV
Play Airways has concocted a bevy of IDs for MTV’s new Canadian station.

I’ll admit the graphic techniques used in these are a little familiar, but I like the element of the unexpected in each spot. You never know exactly which piece of the image is going to disassemble itself and spray forth its life force. I also like how the ambient sound design gets incorporated into the rhythmic second half of each piece, unifying the still image with the branded graphics.

As you all know, we really dig Nationals’ work. They’ve update with 3 new spots, which is surprising - I thought they would have still been partying after winning best showreel, & 3rd in best spot in the Tween Awards (That was poor sarcasm, I apologize).

Arnold NYC - Take 5 “Taste and believe”
National has completed a more tradition commercial spot this time around, but it has that warped sense of National humour pervading it. Its fast & funny, and the voiceover really makes it work. I dig Nationals’ over-the-top end super too.

Nike Mecurial Vapour “Naja”
I was’nt a fan of this spot until the drop of venom hangs from the fang of the cobra - that was beautiful. Even still, it feels a little drawn out to me. The write-up on the national site does a better job of explaining the rationale behind the cobra than I will, so check out what they have to say (Actually, that goes for the other spots too).

Nike Holiday “Heritage”
This is the pick of the lot as far as this update goes in my opinion. As mentioned in their own synopsis, it looks like it must be fun to go to town with a brand history as rich as Nikes. I really hope there is, or will be, a series of these, it’s so retro it hurts. The character animation and visual style reminds me a little of Shynolas’ flat-shaded 3d work, or maybe its just the inanimate objects with legs that makes me think that way.

Visit National to view all

Once again, we like to hear what you think - leave your comments below. Oh, and stay tuned, I think Justin has another monster post coming up.

Jake Portman & Bill Sneed: The Forest in Winter
There might be something wrong with Jake Portman’s mind. This is good news, of course. As long as keeps making movies like his latest creation, “The Forest in Winter,” I wholeheartedly encourage the further deterioration of his sanity.

You might remember Mr. Portman’s excellent “Rainy Day Fun for Children Ages 6 and Up,” which was nominated for a 2005 Tween Award “The Forest in Winter,” a collaborative project with Bill Sneed, makes “Rainy Day” look pedestrian by comparison.

I won’t spoil the fun by trying to disassemble the piece. Just watch it. You’ll see.

David Holm
David Holm, a Senior Designer for FAD NYC, has some nice moments in his reel. I like the grungy aesthetic; it’s a nice change of pace and it fits well with the music. I only wish the soundtrack was a little more dynamic; it’s repetitive nature draws attention to its own monotone character.

Speaking of FAD, congratulations to Eric Edwards, a recent SCAD graduate who’s been hired at FAD’s Seattle office.

I predict that FAD is on its way up, and I’m going to keep them blinking on my radar. If I’m wrong, please publicly ridicule me. I love that.

Excellent typography, great palletes, a strong command of tabacco packaging vernacular (no, seriously!) and spot-on pacing all combine to make this a really solid piece of work. (And I love the music.)

Incidentally, Shadowplay also created a promotional video for Otis College of Art and Design that I remember being impressed by when I was shopping around for schools a while back.

Here’s where you come in. Darren’s looking for a way to break into motion, preferably via a collaborative project. If you’ve got a project that could use his skills or if you can think of project that might be mutually beneficial, drop him a line and see what happens.

EDIT: I had to take down the previously posted Buck item because the link was pointing to their internal servers. Oops.

Logan has updated with a huge amount of new stuff, the highlights of which (in my opinion), are the first two featured jobs for Apple ‘1000 songs’ and Citroen ‘l’echappe’.

1000 songs rubs me the right way, its a clever visual solution for a specific message, as opposed to the more broad awareness spots for earlier apple products (actually, there is another new ipod spot in this update as well). Although the ipod at the end looked a bit dogey to me… vaguely 2d -but that might be because ipods are ridiculously slim now, and I just can’t make it out from the size of the quicktime. Then again, who am I to complain?

The second spot I’m going to talk about is ‘l’echappe’. I’m not completely sold on this spot, I like it - but there is something which bothers me and I’m not sure what. The compositing & tracking is top notch, as is the animation. Hmm. As always, we’d like to know what you think about it, leave a comment below.

EDIT: Because it wasn’t quite ready for release, I had to remove a link to one of Renascent’s projects. Go to the Motion area of his site for Joost’s latest work.

Adam Swaab: New Site
Adam Swaab has launched a new web presence gleaming with goth goodness. Can’t wait to see the new montage and work promised on the homepage.