hahaa, i was hoping to use this in my next issue of THINGS I REALLY LIKED THIS WEEK, but i couldn't wait to share it. these are amazing! okay... they really aren't that amazing, but they entertained me for a good ten minutes.
its a collection of shorts separated into ten episodes and you should just watch them. click on the image below to get to the website. see them all.
ive embedded one of my favorites here:
sorry i havent been posting in here as regularly as i used to (by regularly as i used to i mean every few hours), finals have got me busy and stuff. im hoping to be able to settle down and really work on some projects to show you once evvys are done... or maybe WHILE evvys are happening because im good at distracting myself like that.
while im here and not studying.. here are some frame grabs from the animation ive been working on for my 3d animation class... bleh. its only going to be one minute long when im done.. it was scripted to be 5. so basically its not going to have a story that makes sense and is just going to have a big TO BE CONTINUED at the end... just so i can turn it in for a grade sigh. there is never enough time. im hoping to finish it over the summer.
so here is an update more about my life and things that are happening than anything else. ill try and keep it short.
i found out this morning that i got nominated for three evvy awards, which is funny considering i only submitted for one category. no it is not rigged (as much as many would like to think), just some of the people i worked with in the past either submitted for me, or submitted with me. ive seen some of the things some of the other people have done and its not bad, so i dont think much will come out of the two random nominations. the only one i really care about is the outstanding animation category (big surprise). of course, being lame, i submitted balance hoping to get it seen some more. the other two things i got nominated for is outstanding visual effects in film or television (which i think is cheating because i wouldn't consider what was submitted to be a "visual effect", it was just a small animation), and outstanding graphics package (which the entire graphics team from last year submitted, haha i love those guys) we'll see what happens...
speaking of balance... the campus movie fest northern regionals is this saturday so amelia and i are going to nyc. woo! im doubtful i will get much further than this since campus movie fest isn't really a venue for animations, but ive enjoyed the ride thus far, and am content with what my week of work has given me already. i will let you know how that goes : /
speaking of balance.. again. this semester has had to have been the worst as far as me being able to balance my responsibilities. looking back, on this semester i can see that i have fallen behind in several of my projects, some projects i downright dropped, and many other projects have just lacked the concentration that they needed. though i feel like this has been a pretty productive semester and there are many things that i am proud of doing, there are a lot of things hanging over my head and it stinks. i still got a few more projects to go before the semester is over...
one of which is the evvy awards. this year will be kept in my mind for many reasons. but one of the reasons will probably be the fact that this year was plagued by my positions as the lead graphics for the 28th annual evvy awards. i wont go into too much, but it was a lot of work.
though i will admit, i learned a ton this year because of it... and i am WICKEd looking forward to hell week not even kidding. the idea of having an entire week to work on one project and one project alone (even if it is an entire show graphics package) sounds soooo good right now. plus i got good people around me. i think we might watch that documentary, helvetica. yes the movie that is entirely about a single font.
okay i think thats good for now. i was going to post about my summer plans, but i think i'll save that for another post.. mostly because its all up in the air and i dont even know what its going to look like yet.
and i bet you thought i was going to go an entire post without a single visual element? YOURE CRAZY! this is for amelia heheh. i shot it on a crappy little digital camera that shoots videos that look like they were shot on a cell phone.
to be completely honest, i hated my photo 1 class last semester. haha. it was miserable because i never had enough time and i never made anything i was really proud of and i hated the critiques because i knew they were all rubbish (hehe rubbish). i mean.. you guys all know how busy i was, and making a good print takes a good amount of time.
for my final project i did a series of light paintings. most of them came out messy, and really not all that interesting, but here they are. the one of bill and the swirly around his arm is probably one of the only prints i like from the semester and is actually going to be displayed in the developed images showcase gallery this wednesday april 29 from 7-9pm in the beard room of the little building, if anyone is interested in seeing it in real life (oooh!).
here are some of the pictures from the final project. pretty lame and over done in the photography world, but they have a nice effect.
and here it is again. some stuff to keep you distracted during the final push towards summer.
and what a mighty fine push it will be.
VIDEO!
hbo voyeur
it was hard to categorize this piece because of its innovative cross-media approach, but i had to share because it is pretty remarkably awesomely cool and fresh. basically the premise is you are able to watch the lives of 8 different rooms in a single apartment complex occurring simultaneously on the same screen. it is meant to tap into the our voyeuristic curiosity and the pleasure we get in simply watching other people without their knowledge of being watched (which is one of the main reasons films in general are so appealing). though it is at first overwhelming because we are trained to follow one single story line in any given film, but this film gives you the opportunity and the choice to follow one, two, or all at once, which is beautiful because they often interact with each other and they often cross paths, but they are all wholly complete stories.
not only is it a great premise, but it is beautifully lit and shot, and over all works as a great interactive film that probably needs to be watched at least a few times to really be appreciated it.
there are people being killed, fathers leaving their families, lonely women in their studios, families in arguments, families with parties, fire, ghosts, and everything else. so if you have the time or if youre at all curious go the website by clicking on the picture below. it is well worth the time.
ANIMATION!
these sick animated advertisements
i dont even want to give away who these commercials are for. just try and guess. I DARE YOU! they are so bizarrely trippy and fun to watch and make absolutely no sense. and then the end comes and you see an image of the product and everything falls into place. genius hahah. also two points for taking a risk because these are definitely not kid friendly. i read an article about how the economy can do that to companies... make them actually try to do something new and interesting.
books!
tales from outer suburbia - shaun tan
this alleged children's book is full of wistfully surreal stories and beautifully drawn paintings and is probably far too strange for any child really fully grasp what is occurring let alone understand what bigger thing the author might be pointing towards.
its great. there are silent buffalos that sit silently in field pointing children in the "right direction". there are two inch tall foreign exchange students. there are monsters, and myths, and anything else you probably never thought about including in a picture book. i'll probably read these to my kids when i have some. it will either make them incredibly creative making a ton of money so they can feed me when i get old or incredibly crazy and in jail. either way, you should do the same to your children.
something completely different but still pertaining to this week...
GAZEBALL Z HAS RETURNED! THATS RIGHT!!!! THE GAME YOU GUYS ALL LONGED FOR DURING THOSE COLD WINTER NIGHTS IS BACK AND READY TO KICK YOUR POOR UNATHLETIC BUTT INTO SOME SEMBLANCE OF HEALTHY!
we played gazeball z for the first time in forever and it was awesome. we welcomed four newcomers to the game, two of which were complete strangers who just happened to be at the gazebo at the time.
for those who are not in the know gazeball z is the greatest game ever invented. maybe i will dedicate a post to some pictures and some instructions in case oyu ever want to start up your own game with the neighbors!
this is what i do instead of work. sigh. i need to really do something about my inability to concentrate.
here are some pictures i took of some classy ladies on a packy run (haha i want to kill myself) in chinatown. its all natural, found light... i made sure they made their eyes super big so that the light would hit it hahaha, torie thought i was being racist.
lit via a cvs pharmacy window.
basically i told them to stand really really close to a glowing map kiosk. :p
i decided to take a panoramic 360 degree photo thingy of my bedroom because i never actually get to see it because i am never there. this way i can visit it whenever im feeling nostalgic or something. its like google maps street view but for my ROOM! click to enter like magic. blue skidooo we can tooooooo!
here is a game, why dont you try to find something in my room that directly links to you.
its kind of crazy how many influences have gone into the messy decor of my room, and i am sure many of you are evident in it somewhere.
while i have your attention...
i decided to put up my first maya project online. its simple. the animation is messy (i only had a two days to do the actual animating since i took so long rigging the character... which i did in a week and a half, ugh). i hope it makes you so depressed you just give up on everything. enjoy.
and while we're on the subject of this project... this animation was the reason i missed the opening act to bon iver last time they were in boston. it was due the next day and i had to have it ready to render by the time i left for the show. because of that i missed seeing tallest man on earth, which is too bad because hes great. here is the new take away show (dont you love how make connections!) from blogotheque that they did of the tallest man on earth. its in some little music store and its really pretty. his voice is aweeeesome. i bet you wouldnt guess that he is from sweden. hahha.
amelia and i went to food not bombs on friday. here are some pictures.
here is also a little photoshop thing i did today for my color in cinema class. basically i just thought of all the memorable red things in films i could think of off the top of my head and made this collage of sorts. its kind of meaningless and i dont think my teacher will like its critical value, but its kind of fun to look at. click for a larger view.
here are some first drafts of posters i made for the evvy awards show that are coming up soon.
the first one is for the dinner show and i based off of dang's playbill design. not exactly the greatest poster, but it works.
the second one is for the main theater show. the EPs wanted an "apple look" and to incorporate lines with squares and bright colors. i made this one from scratch. i decided to make the ribbons form the evvy logo and break up where the squares are to form the words. its a little hard to read.. but i still kind of like it. click to see a bigger version.
i still need to study up on typography. alot.
on a completely different note. here is a sequence of images we took from my computer's webcam when we were feeling bored. hahhaha.
we will write a weekend wrap up (10 points for alliteration!). things that i have come across this week that i really enjoyed hhahah. here goesssss:
VIDEOS!
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
this is a music video that came out awhile ago but my friend chin just pointed me towards it. its a two part video that is just pretty awesome. the first part is a pretty and strange (and i aspire with every bone in my body to someday have as much class as her two backup dancers)
the second part is just pure fun absurdity. i especially love the girl bleeding out strawberries.
Chairlift - Evident Utensil
dont worry! your computer is not dying! the internet is not melting into itself! this music video employs a clever technique where the visual aspects of a poorly exported video are harnessed to create some pretty sweeeet visuals. plus the music is awesome hahah. at first itll hurt your eyes, but eventually youll want to go swimming in a pool of digital goo because it looks like so much fun.
LITERATURE!
serenade by kevin moffett
i have recently been going
through my back issues of mcsweeneys and came across this strange little story, which doesnt really work like a story, but more like a man who is telling you about how he likes to put meat in his shoes so he can attract single women going for runs with their dogs. 50 percent absurd, 50 percent poignant, he finds a way of making a grocery store filled with every girl he has ever danced with seem okay, and even poetic. though i could not find a copy of it online for you to read, i found that there is also a kevin moffett who plays football, as well as another kevin moffett who races cars in illinois. reading the story compelled me to order kevin moffett's collection of short stories (the author's, not the football player's). its called permanent visitors and im pretty excited to read it.
MUSIC!
now, now every children - cars
bill turned me onto this album and i have been sort of obsessed. its not even that unique, but its really good to work to. its a bit catchy, pretty (the girl's voice is exceelleleltne), and even intense at times. they are definitely melodic, but have a formulaic rock build up that they use in many of their tracks that i totally buy into. shes sort of got a mirah-esque cuteness to her voice, but some of the rhythms are more yeah yeah yeahs. hope you like.
http://www.myspace.com/nownoweverychildren
ANIMATION:
la maison en petit cubes - kunio kato
this is one of the more beautiful things ive seen in a long time.. though i didnt come across it this week, i just really wanted to share it because it is a MASTERPIECE!!!! as far as hand drawn animation goes. i saw this a few weeks back at a screening at the kendall theater of all the oscar nominated shorts fo 2009 (all of which were wonderfully entertaining) this animation ended up winning the oscar, and i feel like it was duly deserved. i dont want to give anything away. i just want to warn you that it is 12 minutes long and a veryyy deliberate and slow film. so if youre not in the mood dont watch it cause youll ruin it and be bored and ill have to kill you for not appreciating this film as much as me. hahhaha. but really dont watch it unless you are in the mood and have the time.
i decided to go to china town in between classes with a small sony handicam that i got from my school's media services to test out after effects ability to slow footage down without using a high frame rate. so i shot some stuff at 30i dropped them into a 24 composition and then time stretched 400% with frame blending on.. and i think it holds up pretty well. i cut the little footage that i had and put them to music.
i knooow the music outplays the subject matter, but whatever. you would do the same thing! YOU KNOW THAT ANYTHING SET TO PRETTY MUSIC MAKES that moment so much more beautiful and seem to have a deeper meaning that resonates with the individual depending how they react emotionally to the song! EVEN IF THEY DIDNT INTEND FOR IT TO HAVE ANY MEANING AT ALL! EVEN IF ITS JUST PEOPLE WALKING AROUND CHINA TOWN! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! I KNOW! you know if i showed a video of me cooking lasagna set to enya or dido YOU WOULD BE IN TEARS RIGHT NOW! and i wouldnt even be using onions in my lasagna.
for something shot at 30 fps i think it looks pretty good but i tried shooting things besides people walking and it doesnt blend as well. so if anyone has any idea for future projects where the entire film involves people walking around really really slowly then i can help you out and we should tots collab it up (meaning: totally collaborate, both artistically and intellectually, my friend and fellow artist). if you want people falling off buildings in slow motion, or heads exploding in slow motion then i cannot help you. but if walking is what you need, i can make people walk slowly.. with a beautiful furvor!
also here are some photos i took on my desperate hunt for people walking. surprisingly its difficult to find good shots of people walking normally in china town. they tend to leap and float around like in crouching tiger hidden dragon.
this was strange garden i never noticed before made up of flowers that wera ctually cut up soda bottles and painted...
rust looks like blood!
until next time! which will probably be in like two hours because i have no life! i will see you laterrrrr.
hahha the wall street journal put out an article recently about this group that is trying to get the infamous font comic sans banned from all high school bulletin board flyers, free domain websites (the ones with the ugly UGLY backgrounds), and all things typographical.
theyve created these awesome stickers that are made to be put onto any kind of design that uses the font and its awesome hahaha.
here are some highlights from the article:
sorry if you are reading this and you actually like the font or have used it in anything beyond a class writing assignment (even thats pretty bad, i hope you got a bad grade), but im glad that i have been able to inform you of this truth.
i won best picture at my school for camps moviefest! yay. im going to get a chance to go to ny in a couple of weeks and compete in the northeast regionals.. and then if i do well there i can go to LA! pretty sweet. plus i got the final cut studio 2, two ipod nanos (orange, hoobleeehh), and two tickets to the evvy awards (double hoobleeehehehe)
i made a dumb garage band soundtrack. i painted it in photoshop all on separate layers. then i animated it all, and then i edited all. i did it all in a week. and here it is the finished product. its not perfect, but its certainly a colorful assault to the eyes. put on some nice headphones and watch it full screen (its a 720 HD export! yes! yes! yes!) i hope you all enjoy it.
for those of you not in the know: i have decided to take my camera out again.
i started taking pictures because of my poor memory. i would find myself in a nostalgic mood, hungry for some hardcore reminiscing, but i wouldnt have anything to draw from. so instead of writing in a journal.. because i suck at that, i began to take my camera around. i used to average somewhere between 20-50 photos a day and my photo albums sort of became my diary. though they started out a big terribly bleh, as i got comfortable with my camera and my eye became a bit more trained, i started to see how pretty my friends were (you were all ugly before i got into photography. the true artist sees beauty in everything! hoorah!).
then came college. then came no time and no life. plus the fact that everyone else has like five cameras here each so it just became a lame thing to take pictures of everything. and so i stopped.
until NOW!
once again, you will see me take pictures of EVERY LITTLE MUNDANE MOMENT of my life... at least thats what i hope. most likely i will do this for a two days, and then find something of greater interest to me. oh well. here are some pictures of laura and phillip as we eat at NYP. i like how phil is surrounded in warm reds and oranges while laura is bathed in ICY greens and blues. i wonder what that says about their personalities.
anyways. i am going to go to class and then campus movie fest! wish me luck. hopefully i win an ipod!
so for my first self-assigned project i wanted to make something along the lines of banner or an advertisement for this dumb blog. sadly i did not have much time and no pictures except for a couple of old photos left on my small digital camera. so i decided to use these random pictures that are in no way connected and put them together into a something more single minded. yay.
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