animation

We had a good laugh at this image (left, click to enlarge) from GraphJam, which sardonically illustrates how people's reactions to CGI in movies have changed over the last two decades (with the wow factor of the original Star Wars as a sort of control).The original image is titled the "CGI Effect Uncanny Valley", both in reference to the sharp dip over the last few years, and also as a nod to the real "uncanny valley" - the effect that makes robots or animated characters that are cl

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Reuters says that with the exception of this summer's 'Wall*E' and next Christmas' hand-drawn 'The Princess and the Frog,' everything on Disney's animated slate will have a digital 3-D release. From the report:The first Disney digital 3-D movie for release is "Bolt," the story of a dog of the same name who thinks he has superhero powers. John Travolta gives voice to Bolt while hit teen singer/actress Miley Cyrus is voicing Bolt's owner Penny in the movie, due to open on November 26.

I thought it might be Hiyao Miyazaki-esque in its ambitious reach for the fantastical, but after all the hype Bjork's latest videoclip, the epic 9-month in the making Wanderlust, washes over you as ineffectually as the river that she travels along within it.
Maybe viewing it in high definition 3D might be a revelation, but Encyclopedia Pictura unfortunately don't reach the heights of either beauty or rawness that are signature elements of the Icelandic artists greatest promo's. There is no denying the artistry in the piece, and I'm sure plenty of fans will buy the Wanderlust DVD on release, but track and visuals never soar together. Bjork's videos push boundaries -- but in this case I feel it is going in the opposite direction to the leading edge.

A Beginner’s Guide To Giving A Damn… About Climate Change is designed, directed, animated and produced by Airside, and written and co-directed by Al MacCuish.
The primary-coloured animation sports Airside's trademark naif style, and adapts it to a jokey public service announcement. Good to see these Live Earth-commissioned shorts getting some after event exposure. Any short which features a breakdancing bear is a definite 'must view'. Submarine Channel brought this one to our attention.

A natural extension to Radiohead's current media experiments, and their Radiohead TV concept -- the band have teamed up with Aniboom, the animation/video site, for an In Rainbows animated music video competition.

10 semi-finalists get $1k to create a 1 minute long clip. From 11 voted for semi-finalists (10+wildcard late submission), 5 make the final to win $10k to make the full length version of their submission. Winner is chosen by Radiohead.

Submit your storyboard or video clip until 29 April, 2008.

The British Animation Awards 2008 highlighted some beautiful stuff still coming out of UK animation. Never easy to find the edge in BAA results, but definite highlights for inventiveness are the music video winner, Salmon Dance for The Chemical Brothers, by Dom&Nic -- and a particularly cool result in the Best Film at the Cutting Edge category with Semiconductor's Magnetic Movie (commissioned by the Animate! Arts Council/C4 scheme) leading the pack.

Winning Salmon Dance video and full BAA results after the break.

Some belated notes from Sunday's SXSW panel on 'Animation and Digital Effects on a Budget'...

We talked a lot about the importance of pre-visualization (what used to be called simply 'storyboarding.') The panelists agreed that pre-viz, in whatever high-tech or low-tech form, is probably more important for independent filmmakers working on a tight budget than it is for the studio-backed big guys.

A capsule anti-war rock opera machinima by Andy Cobb, Red And Blue

Directed by Andy Cobb using the 3D engine Unreal Tournament 2004 to power the cinematics.

A capsule anti-war rock opera machinima by Andy Cobb, Red And Blue
Directed by Andy Cobb using the 3D engine Unreal Tournament 2004 to power the cinematics.

Having a quick flick through in search of inspiration lead me to this little beauty.

Further than my fairly basic flash skills can comprehend - slick as you like and oh so clever. Giving me mad envy.

Lo-fi book promo video for Douglas Coupland's The Gum Thief done right. Just like one of his disaffected characters would film it. After Eleanor Rigby I though DC was going off the boil, but Microserf's follow-up JPod really came up with the goods. Now I've seen this compilation I'm definitely going to sample The Gum Thief. So I guess it is doing the job.

A cross between classic cult film Soylent Green and acclaimed The Last Man graphic novels ....

Afterworld is an innovative hybrid animation that's designed to work between online and television spaces. US viewers can currently watch regular episodes on YouTube (they locked off the preview episodes some time ago, once they'd locked their Sony deal), International viewers can sign up ready for when it unlocks in their territory.

Portable Film Festival is a no-nonsense, straight-talking, and sleekly put together Australian initiative. It does exactly what it suggests: showcasing mobile films.

Voting finishes tomorrow on the festival selection.

The first couple of episodes of Ben Hibon's animations to accompany PS3 videogame, Heavenly Sword, are here and here. I had to meet this French director after I'd checked out his previous, award-winning, Codehunters, and we talked about this project he was working on. Nice to see it coming to fruition finally. One of his frustrations with that project was the way it changed, and he wasn't able to imbue it with explicit narrative -- that's not the case here with an explanatory narrative which sets up the videogame scenario in forthright terms. Animation starts impressively, and continues subtle use of colour and considered mise en scene. All five episodes should be available soon.

I've just recently completed an essay to be included in the upcoming monograph Modern Living: The Graphic Universe of Han Hoogerbrugge, a book on this pioneering flash animator's work. The book will be published later this year through BIS Publishers in cooperation with SubmarineChannel.

It's given me a chance to reengage and fully explore Hoogerbrugge's work again, as I haven't been in contact with him since writing my contributions for the On Air: MTV book. I suggest you indulge in the interactive narratives of Hotel and other pieces on his website when you've got a few spare cycles. Hans is definitely seeding his own fertile territory in moving image, and lives up to the billing of being an 'Actionscript Auteur' as I call him in my provisionally titled piece, Flipping out and Floating Away.

Hoogerbrugge.com