Sundance Channel

Digital 3D film from 1972

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:41:34 +0000

40 Year Old 3D Computer Graphics (Pixar, 1972) from Robby Ingebretsen on Vimeo. The geeks and AV club’s tables at the Internet’s cafeteria went agog over this recently unearthed gem: a 6-minute film from 1972 that might arguably be the first celluloid example of digital 3-D rendered images back when such technology was rudimentary at [...]

Four minute film about the LITTLE BOAT that could

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:14:00 +0000

Little Boat from nelson boles on Vimeo.

CalArts student Nelson Boles created this beautifully animated, four minute short film LITTLE BOAT. It has a tremendous visual and emotional depth for a deceptively simple concept, story and style. It starts off slow with a small sail boat that floats along and passes a variety of seascapes and environments, including some harsh conditions. However, the payoff near the end is worth the time.

Animated edibles by Alexandre Dubosc

Blair Pfander — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:36:48 +0000

Alimation from Alexandre DUBOSC on Vimeo.

My interest in baked goods was already pretty keen without there being a cultural incentive to drool in their direction. For his new short film, "Alimation," French visual artist Alexandre Dubosc crafted a series of edible "zoetropes," or moving illusions for this year's Annency International Animated Film Festival. With everything from fresh crepes to elaborate, multi-tier cakes, the film is as mesmerizing as it is mouth-watering.

Stop-motion trip of a lifetime

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:00:28 +0000

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Australian auteur Rick Mereki and Tim White created this wonderful travel video titled MOVE, commissioned by STA Australia, that has rapidly gone viral around the tubes of the Internet. Starring one lucky dude Andrew Lees, these guys traveled a total of 38,000 miles to 11 countries over the course of 44 days. I recommend just clicking on the play button above and watching it for the first time without any spoiler explanation. That said, I love the way their editing rapidly stitched together Andrew's time in various locales around the world, some familiar and others not, into one coherent movement that underscores our shared connectivity despite our vast differences.

Taking paper dolls to a higher level

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:00:36 +0000

Early Morning Life : Paper cutout animation from S A R A N yen P A N Y A on Vimeo.

"There was a time," artist Saran Yenpanya explains, "when I mistakenly believed that my parents were well-off, but pretended to be otherwise in hoping that I would grow up modestly… In truth they are quite poor. Plus, I turned out to be a snob." This somewhat startling revelation and confession is at the heart of Yenpanya's short animation about a stuck-up, middle-class boy telling the story of how he was shocked to discover the extreme poverty of his parents' childhood in rural Thailand. "Early Morning Life" is a critique of the classism that exists not only in families but on a national level in Thailand as well.

Artsy animated GIF images

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:02:13 +0000

GIF images have historically resided in the seedier corners of the Internet, in profiles of message board users and the like, but these looping animated images have started to emerge as a medium of some artistic merit in their own right. New York City photographer Jamie Beck and designer Kevin Burg have gained some viral [...]

Will Forte: Orgies and Dreams

Sundance Channel — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:09:44 +0000

Will Forte is an actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for starring in the SNL spin-off film, MACGRUBER. Will is now starring in the new film A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and he’s also a featured artist in our new animated video series DreamStates. You can also check out Will in his recurring roles on 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Parks and Recreation and Conan. He’s everywhere! DreamStates takes a look into our dreams through the eyes of creative innovators from the worlds of film and music. In Will’s episode of DreamStates, he is being relentlessly chased by a giant Icelandic puffin. For those of you not in the know - puffins “kind of look a little like a penguin crossed with a toucan…..but they have a dark side to them…….and they can be a little snippy”. This snippy, giant puffin chases Will from the big city to the ski slopes of Squaw Valley and never backs off until they finally meet up face to face. What does all this mean? We don’t know – but it’s fun to watch.

Dreaming with Option-G

Sundance Channel — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:55:29 +0000

Our friends at creative agency Option-G created our latest animated web series, DreamStates -- LIVE NOW! In the series, innovators from the worlds of music and film recall some of their most bizarre dream stories. The dreams are then brought to life by talented and unique animators. Sundance Channel also worked with Option-G in the past on the award-winning eco-themed animated series Yung Yeti. We love all things Option-G, whether it’s animation, illustration, original art work, prints, t-shirts or posters -- they do it all. Click here to check out the Option-G website and see for yourself.

DreamStates Coming in May

Sundance Channel — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:49:34 +0000

What do you dream about? What’s that one dream story you’ll never forget? The one that’s “seared into your brain” forever. We all have them. Now, Sundance Channel takes a deeper look into our dreams through the eyes of creative innovators from the worlds of film and music. Created by Option-G, DreamStates is a five-part [...]

Pixar cast reunion for Vanity Fair

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:16:46 +0000

To accompany a recent spotlight in Vanity Fair of Pixar, the powerhouse animation studio produced this reunion picture of all alumni of Pixar films. The image was inspired by J. R. Eyerman's iconic photograph of moviegoers watching a 3D film. Pixar’s Bob Pauley and Guido Quaroni discuss the challenges of composing this picture from getting the tone ("They don’t live in the same world, so we had to achieve this without making our teeth hurt.") to the technical scale right.

Animated album covers

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:09:18 +0000

This single serve Tumblr devoted to animated album covers is strangely addictive. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it.

NPR: Why Can’t We Walk Straight?

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:44:46 +0000

A Mystery: Why Can’t We Walk Straight? from NPR on Vimeo. Watch this wonderfully animated short film from NPR that explores the puzzle of the “profound inability in humans to stick to a straight line when blindfolded or when there is no fixed point.” This is true for swimming as well. It’s a really interesting [...]

Amazing Google Docs epic animation

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 22:00:14 +0000

Not sure what the purpose of this was other than to blow our minds, but this is definitely “The Most Awesome 450 Page Presentation Ever.” It also reminds me of this insane video someone created of them drawing a cool Gundam suit using only Excel. [Via]

Watch this: Animated video of when Herzog rescued Phoenix

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:13:23 +0000

Werner Herzog narrates this short film, which utilizes papercraft animation with what looks like construction paper, about the time he randomly rescued Joaquin Phoenix from a car crash on January 26, 2006. Side note that only I will care about: January 26 is my birthday.

Master animator and storyteller Satoshi Kon dies

Sundance Channel — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:53:22 +0000

Yesterday, news of master Japanese animator Satoshi Kon's death started circulating wildly. It came as a shock because, first, Kon was only two months shy of his 47th birthday and, secondly, because nobody could confirm what was then thought to be a rumor. The news started after two trustworthy members of the anime industry posted on Twitter: the President of Madhouse Studios (MINDGAME), Masao Maruyama, and one of the founding members of Gainax (NEON GENESIS EVANGELION), Takeda Yasuhiro. It's been confirmed today that Kon passed away due to pancreatic cancer.

See outer space like the astronauts

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:18:03 +0000

"Erupting Into Space" was captured by NASA's Galileo orbiter in 1997

While we might appreciate the images gathered by NASA's various satellites and probes for their scientific value, the often grainy, hazy pictures are probably only considered breathtaking or beautiful as well by planetary enthusiasts, but a new series of outer space photographs by artists Michael Benson is turning more than just scientists' heads. Benson, whose work includes the documentary PREDICTIONS OF FIRE that premiered at our very own Sundance Film Festival in 1995, scoured NASA's archives for extraordinary images, which he then manipulated so that they appear to the viewer in a museum as an astronaut would see them in outer space.

Funny short film about a couple resigned to their Zodiac Killer fate

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:45:13 +0000

Something Left, Something Taken- Full Version from Tiny Inventions on Vimeo. Max Porter, a regular reader of our SUNfiltered blog and one half of the talented married duo behind Tiny Inventions (a Brooklyn-based animation firm), wrote in to share a funny independent short film he created with his wife Ru Kuwahata. SOMETHING LEFT, SOMETHING TAKEN [...]

DESPICABLE ME animation team’s next project: THE LORAX

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:38:04 +0000

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues." -- Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Almost anyone who was a child in the last forty years probably received their first introduction to environmentalism through Theodore Geisel's (aka Dr. Seuss) classic 1971 book The Lorax. A year after its publication, the story came to the small screen; now, according to Variety (and a few green blogs), a feature-length version of the story is set for a March 2, 2012 release (which is also Geisel's 108th birthday).

Short film: street art seeks romance

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:04:23 +0000

Gabriel Psaltakis created and directed this sweet and funny short Greek film titled THE GIRL ON THE WALL. Mixing live action with stop-motion animation, a bored office man helps a love-struck street art character woo a disinterested girl across the street.

FANTAISIE IN BUBBLEWRAP

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:45:50 +0000

I was just recently enlightened of this short animated film that portrays “the final minutes of a society of vocal bubblewrap as it faces its apocalypse.” Created and voiced by Arthur Metcalf, FANTAISIE IN BUBBLEWRAP was his first film ever and it ended up picking up quite a few awards at various film festivals. This [...]

Stop-motion Mario

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:57:12 +0000

A Japanese student combined two of the Internet’s favorite things, stop motion animation and Mario, in this video. What makes this even more impressive is that everything was created with just sticky notes and a whole lot of time. According to the Google translation of this Japanese website, it took him about 2 weeks to [...]

Mars attack

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:00:59 +0000

MARS! from Joe Bichard and Jack Cunningham on Vimeo. Stephen Hawking set the blogosphere talking recently with his advice that instead of seeking contact, us Earthlings should do our best to avoid attracting extraterrestrials because he theorizes in a new documentary, “if aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when [...]

Music video: “LookListenFeel” featuring narration by Isabella Rossellini

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:49:04 +0000

LookListenFeel from Broken Antler on Vimeo. I like this zenful music video for Maple Mountain Sunburst Triolian Orchestra’s “LookListenFeel” featuring narration by Isabella Rossellini (Sundance Channel’s Green Porno) of a poem by Laura Archera Huxley. The visuals were created in a collaboration between UK designer Broken Antler and Ben the Illustrator. [Hat tip: Christopher!]

“Have I met the expectations you had for me when I was born?”

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:31:17 +0000

Q&A from StoryCorps on Vimeo. Although this is an older item, it’s re-circulating around the blogosphere today with Mother’s Day coming up this weekend. In 2006 as part of StoryCorps (an “oral history project collecting stories around the nation, as friends and family members interview each other in a mobile recording booth”) 12-year-old Joshua Littman, [...]

First time Mickey Mouse speaks

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:42:29 +0000

Although Mickey Mouse had appeared in eight previous animated shorts, THE KARNIVAL KID, which was first released on July 31, 1929, is the first time the audience got to hear his voice. Mickey plays a smitten hot dog vendor at a carnival where he woos Minnnie, a plot that would be prove itself to be [...]

Stop-motion paper airplane war!

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:24:53 +0000

Papierkrieg from Makaio Tisu on Vimeo. I’m loving this stop-motion video titled “Papierkrieg” which was recently uploaded to The Internet and has rapidly caught a lot of attention. It depicts two kids’ paper airplanes engaged in an ever escalating battle. If you like the t-shirt war, you’ll especially enjoy this.

FULL FRONTAL FASHION highlights

Sundance Channel — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:07:05 +0000

Tilda Swinton at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Think of this as your FULL FRONTAL FASHION cliff notes. Check out a few of Lynn Yaeger’s favorite (and maybe not-so-favorite) looks from the wilds of Utah at the Sundance Film Festival. Could you pitch a no-hitter while tripping on LSD? Check out illustrator James Blagden’s hilarious [...]

Short film: HEART

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:35:41 +0000

heart from laurent clermont on Vimeo. A lonely heart roams the urban cityscape looking for some companionship in this sweet and short film by Laurent Clermont. It’ll warm even the heart of the biggest cynic and grouch out there.

Parkour motion reel

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:23:36 +0000

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo. Serene Teh, a graphic design student in Singapore, created for one of her courses this super fresh flip book animation depicting the aggressive urban sport of Parkour aka Extreme Walking. I think it’s safe to assume she got good marks from the teacher for this effort.

Michael Jackson vs. Mr. Bean

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:21:44 +0000

I previously featured Patrick Boivin’s entertaining stop-motion toy figure fight between Bruce Lee and Iron Man. Boivin is back with another installment that animates a twirling Michael Jackson in a dance off against Mr. Bean, who’s got his own trick up his sleeve. Boivin perfectly captures the inane imaginative battles I used to conjure up [...]

What if earth had a ring?

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:30:40 +0000

Roy Prol animates an answer to the the what-if question, “What if Earth had a ring?” For one, Saturn could step off its high horse with its fancy rings. Second, the earthling view of the sky would be fantastic. Incorporating a bit of real science for some level of believability, Prol shows how the rings [...]

Procrastination

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:49:46 +0000

An amusing animated short about a tendency we are all guilty of at times: procrastination. Creator Johnny Kelly describes the different ways we spend our time doing things to avoid doing what we should be doing.

DOCK ELLIS & THE LSD NO-NO by James Blagden

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:40:51 +0000

Brooklyn artist James Blagden created a terrific short film that animates former major league pitcher Dock Ellis’ entertaining narration of his infamous no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the San Diego Padres in 1970 while he was “high as a Georgia pie,” or specifically under the influence of LSD. After retiring, he later worked as [...]

Interview with Kris Lefcoe, director of TINY RIOT PROJECT

Sundance Channel — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:31:59 +0000

TINY RIOT PROJECT director Kris Lefcoe. Sundance Channel recently sat down for an interview with Kris Lefcoe, the director of TINY RIOT PROJECT. What started as a music video for a small Canadian band ended up installed at some of the most prestigious art galleries and venues in the world suck as Art Basel Miami, Havana Biennale, and Galerie Tomas Schulte Berlin. Watch TINY RIOT PROJECT at Sundance Channel's Digital Shorts. What was the inspiration for TINY RIOT PROJECT? Lefcoe : A few years ago I had a vision of an army of Care Bears and Coppertone girls attacking kids. I wanted to re-contextualize these sweet and cuddly icons as a bastion of corporate power. I ended up dropping the Coppertone girls and going for more of the Saturday morning cartoon plushies. Why did you choose stop motion over other forms of animation, even live action? Lefcoe : Stop motion is just so charming, so endearing. The viewer is drawn into this magical world, it's irresistible. So it was the perfect medium, a surprising juxtaposition with the violence and political critique in the film. But it's dangerously addictive. After shooting it, I wanted to shoot everything in stop motion.

Cardboard animation

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:10:47 +0000

Cardboard creatures roams a foreboding urban landscape in this awesome stop-motion video created by Sjors Vervoort for a student graduation animation project. Well done, kid. The style does remind me of the past work of famous street artist Blu who I previously mentioned. [Via]

More FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:16:41 +0000

While it’s not out until November 13th, there have been plenty of teasers and trailers and behind-the-scenes sneak peaks to keep us satiated until the much-aniticpated release of FANTASTIC MR. FOX. This one, courtesy of Wired, is appropriately tech-heavy and shows the intricate system of cameras and computers that allow production units in various locations to [...]

Music video: Firefly Effect, “All The Jokes Are On Me”

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:54:52 +0000

I enjoyed the un-distilled and amateurish flickering animation in the video for Firefly Escape’s “All the jokes are on me.” It took a very dedicated and patient director David Mahler four months to illustrate the 1,640 hand drawn and water-colored frames used in the video. Firefly Effect – All The Jokes Are On Me from [...]

Colorful music video for Ólafur Arnalds

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:47:27 +0000

Argentine Esteban Diåcono created this beautiful video of weaving ephemeral bursts of colors resembling paint brush strokes for Ólafur Arnalds’ song “Ljósið.”Arnalds saw this and liked it so much that he adopted it as the official music video. Watch it as your moment of zen today. Ólafur Arnalds – Ljósið (Official Music Video) from Erased [...]

Short animated film: INSERT COIN

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:15:50 +0000

I love the surreal animation style and slightly twisted humor in INSERT COIN by Vurup, an “animation collective…which comprises students from Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia.” The ending was also a complete surprise, so stick around for that because it helps illuminate the title of the film. Insert Coin from vurup on Vimeo.

I can’t “lego” of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

Matthew Rodriguez — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:54:17 +0000

This music video remake of Bonnie Tyler’s hit song popular in karaokes all over the world, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” provides today’s moment of levity. I mean, who doesn’t appreciate a dramatic full choir and moody LEGO characters?!

David O’Reilly, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:37:53 +0000

Animator David O’Reilly is a 22-year-old filmmaker from Ireland whose unique raw style has garnered a lot of awards and opportunities. He created the music video for “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” by a little band called U2, and this trippy video PLEASE SAY SOMETHING that depicts “a troubled relationship between [...]

Music video for “I Got Opinions”

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:37:25 +0000

Greg Johnson’s music video for his catchy single “I Got Opinions” from Seven Day Cure takes the viewer on a fun animated “down-the-rabbit-hole journey” through a plethora of trippy and whimsical landscapes. I really enjoyed the different animation and visual styles employed throughout the video, which was the result of eight different contributing artists from [...]

Animated amigurumi ukulele duo

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:26:09 +0000

This video for Japanese ukulele duo, U900′s cover of “Walk, Don’t Run” originally by The Ventures features the cutest animated amigurumis or crocheted creatures ever. This is an improvement on the instrument which my sixth grade elementary school teacher used to strum while forcing, I mean leading us in a singalong. Also, check out this [...]

They Might Be Giants teach science

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:57:30 +0000

Science class is in session with Grammy award winning band They Might Be Giants as they teach the periodic table elements in this animated music video for “Meet the Elements” which debuted on Boing Boing. This song is from their new album Here Comes Science, which is aimed at entertaining and educating (or “edumataining”) children [...]

Major Lazer’s major video

Bradford Shellhammer — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:34:32 +0000

Major Lazer “Pon De Floor” from Eric Wareheim on Vimeo. I was brought on board SUNfiltered to bring a gay voice to the blog, so I hope the above video for the song “Pon De Floor,” by Major Lazer, doesn’t seem out of place with my other posts. After all it is a riotous video depicting [...]

Muzorama

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:13:26 +0000

Muzorma “is a short 3D animation film based on the universe of french illustrator Muzo,” and is surrealist mayhem at its finest. There are a lot of more light-hearted moments, such as the snail bike, that made me chuckle. However, keep watching until the very end, where the film concludes on a slightly creepy note. [...]

Snap your fingers to THE CAT PIANO

Sundance Channel — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:56:55 +0000

The Cat Piano from PRA on Vimeo. Winner of numerous awards and the latest from an innovative Australian studio, The People’s Republic of Animation, THE CAT PIANO is a beautifully animated short that blends Jack Kerouac-inspired beat poetry with the romantic and haunting poems of Edgar Allen Poe. It is directed by Eddie White and [...]

Typo animation of Tom Waits’ “Eggs and Sausage”

Matthew Rodriguez — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:30:51 +0000

Jackie Lay animates the lyrics of Tom Waits “Eggs and Sausage” from his 1975 album Nighthawks at the Diner. She captures the familiar typography of the neon signs and menus that one finds in nearly all diners regardless of regions. Watching this makes me nostalgic for the Village Inn diner in Anchorage, Alaska that my [...]

Three movie frames

Matthew Rodriguez — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:30:12 +0000

Tangentially related to the previously mentioned animated GIFs by Mark Portillo, the blog Three Frames has garnered some attention for its bizarre collection of animated GIF images that loops three screen frames from various (obscure?) movies.

Escalator animation

Matthew Rodriguez — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:30:49 +0000

Artist Mister Kama utilizes an escalator to create this f’awesome animation! While we’re on the topic of escalators, I’d like to quickly share this throwaway YouTube clip of a girl putting her own “spin” on an escalator.