I got out this very cool book from the Woodlane library.
I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary and experimental animation/live action/motion graphics. It comes with a DVD showing work from every artist featured in the book as well as an interview with each Artist. The Artists work spans across audio visual/music videos/short films/commercials etc..
A few of my favourite artists in the book include Run Wrake, Jonas Odell, D-Fuse, Tronic, Florio Sigismondi, Pfadfinderei and +cruz / w + k tokyo lab.
I love Run Wrakes style. The way he combines cool 2d animation loops and composits them over live action. Whilst using quite surreal imagery, it also seems to have a lot of meaning. The video below is probably what first introduced me to Run Wrakes work as I am a big Manu Chao fan..
Mr Bobby by Manu Chao. Video by Run Wrake.
Jonas Odell is masterful at mixing live action with animation smoothly and has done a lot of music video work. His work featured in the book above is a great little short film entitled "never like the first time" which describes peoples first time experiences in the bedroom department. Below is an example of one of Jonas Odells music videos, he seems to get to do a lot of the catchy pop tunes.
Strict Machine by Goldfrapp. Video by Jonas Odell.
D-Fuse are big in the VJ scene but also do gallery installations that look at the big issues today -i.e. Mass consumption - charting the rise of McDonalds against the Destruction of the rainforest using motion graphics. Their work on the DVD that comes with the book above, invokes a feeling of warmth towards nature and resonates perfectly with the music. They have worked a lot with Beck, creating a DVD with him. They have also written a book on VJ culture.
Visuals by D-Fuse.
Image from their Small Global installation.
Tronic combine architecture, graphic design, film and animation. Check out their film below which features lush colourful visual animations interacting with humans.
Eternal double happiness by Tronic.
+cruz / W + k tokyo lab have a very cool commercial on the DVD that accompanies the book above. Its for Nike (a nice big friendly corporation - hmmm ) which makes me hesitant to give it a mention but hey.. the work itself is awesome. A flawless groove of street culture live action and animation. My favourite bits are where they have the animation interacting with the live action layer - i.e. An animation of someone scratching vinyl that directly links to the timing of live action city backdrop.
Urban Canvas for Nike Presto by +cruz / W + k tokyo lab.
There's a great section at the back of the book which shows you each Artists studio view, how many people are in the team and what they eat for lunch! Unnecessary? Nooo not at all - it brings a nice element of humanity to the whole thing.
Each artist is given the same questions to answer at the back of the book - one of them is: Who are the next generation of talent to watch out for? Where will they come from in the next decade? Here are some of their answers:
"Its about who has something to say & who wants to say it bad enough" Jonas Odell
"Most big talents are just people with something to say in a new way, with passion to do their work & get it in front of people" Bob Sabiston
"Anyone who doesn't take life to seriously" Plates Animation
"Not sure, for good or bad the world is changing at a rapid rate, with lots of interesting things happening in China and former Eastern-Bloc countries" D-Fuse
"Young students experimenting with new technologies - a rapid do it yourself approach - will be the breeding ground for the new anti-establishment generation of workers. Down with the corporations + give way to the young and their voices" Florio Sigismondi
"Many will come from a fine arts background, those who would have otherwise been printmakers, painters, video artists & sculptors will find their voice in motion design." Mk12
Other quotes from the book:
"Our greatest and darkest moments are defined and recorded by our artists." Intro
"Creativity and the idea are the most important things. Then the flow is next." Florio Sigismondi
Spike Jonze
I have been reading up a bit about Spike Jonze - I borrowed a little book from the Tremough library that featured a long interview with him. The main thing I remember from the book was that it took him a while to find the people he found it easy to work with - every so often he would work with someone new that he would click/'hit it off' with and so they would become part of his crew. Before this, he'd be working with different art directors/editors/producers for each project which he found really hard. He sounds like quite a gregarious guy whose passion drove his reputation as a talented director. Below is one of the coolest rap videos I've ever seen..
Drop by Pharcyde. Video by Spike Jonze.
Animated feature films
On the other side of the broad spectrum of Animation I have been inspired by 2 feature films lately.. The first one is 'Surfs Up' by Sony Pictures Animation.
Apart from the appeal of the subject matter (surfing) I thought this was a very well put together film.
When I first saw this I found it pretty hilarious and surprisingly engaging compared to a lot of the predictable animated features you get. I was trying to figure out - what made it so good ? I put it down to great animation in the characters and left it at that - not to mention its stunning visuals and unusual genre (mockumentary.) It was illuminating to watch the extras when I got the DVD.
Firstly, one of the things that made it work so well as a documentary parody was their innovative use of technology. They managed to directly link up a real camera to the camera within the software. This allowed for real life hand held camera movements which operated within the CG world. When they looked through the cameras viewfinder they were looking at the CG scenery and Animated characters. I think this did volumes for the authenticity of the film genre. The camera was another character interacting with everything that was happening in the film and providing a direct link through to the audience.
The next thing goes with what I clocked onto the first time I watched it - the high level of animation in and between the characters. The extras on the DVD revealed a behind the scenes look at the voice actors and how the directors went about creating the script. They would get in all the actors needed for a scene into the same room together and switch on the mics/recording equipment. The actors were given rough guidelines on what needed to be said and the left was all down to their improvisation. They would record the actors acting out their characters for several hours just to get 10 minutes of good actual dialogue for the film. This allowed for a lot of freedom and immersed the actors into the characters they were playing. Quite often the actions performed by the actors would later be replicated in the animation.
This free form approach to recording the dialogue and the technology allowing for real life camera moves led to the creation of this highly creative and entertaining film.
The other film I watched recently was "Mary and Max" by Melodrama Pictures which showed at the Poly in Falmouth. This is Australia's first feature length Animated claymation film.
It tells a story of 2 characters and their pen pal relationship. A lonely little Australian girl with an Alcoholic mother and Father whose main hobby consists of stuffing dead birds and a man with Aspergers syndrome and weight issues who lives in New York. It offers a great insight into the condition of Aspergers Syndrome, but also very interesting and truthful viewpoints on people and the society in which we live.
I thought it was a great film. You could tell that a lot of thought and care had been put into it. There are a lot of details such as little bugs occupying letter boxes which add a lot of charisma/charm to the film. The story and characters keep you very involved and at times it seems all very bleak, but you soon find yourself laughing at something.
So that just about sums up everything that has inspired me this Xmas/New year holiday. They say the way to work is 10% inspiration and 90% application soooo I best get working. I'm looking forward to getting my teeth stuck in the various assignments over the next term along with helping 3rd years on their projects.
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