RE:PLAY Film Festival: Last Batch

Rounding out the F5 RE:PLAY FIlm Festival are three treats from Nanospore, La Flama and a co-directed short from Ryan Rothermel and Sean Pecknold. Diverse, mysterious and quirky, these films offer a fitting end to a fantastic run of work from an incredibly talented pool of filmmakers. Each of them embodied the spirit of F5, striving for creativity and community in their purest forms.

The entire F5 team sends a deep, hearty thank you to everyone involved in the RE:PLAY Film Festival, including the festival’s producer, Connor Swegle. To review all the RE:PLAY films, check them out on the RE:PLAY Vimeo channel.

Nanospore

La Flama “The Hollow”

Ryan Rothermel and Sean Pecknold “Sans Gallagher the Younger”

Related posts:

• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch One
• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch Two
• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch Three
• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch Four
  
• F5 RE:PLAY FILM FESTIVAL

“Blood Trail” (Updated with interview and making-of)

Warning: Extreme gore and violence. Content may not be suitable for all audiences.

Nathan Love’s latest masterwork, “Blood Trail,” is a neo-renaissance for the studio, a breakthrough as they launch into game and film territory.

“Blood Trail” unfolds mysteriously. Its subtle storyline is boosted by bloody, body-ripping visuals that are fervently executed as Nathan dives into uncomfortable CG guts territory. Consequently, this animation is gorrific, ultra violent, horror-themed, over the top CG storytelling in all its glorious might.

UPDATE

Nathan Love graciously chatted with us about this project, sharing their process imagery and delving deep into the details. Check it out.

Challenge Your World: New Films

Two new films have been released in the Challenge Your World 20/20 series, brought to you by Motionographer and Challenge Your World.

What’s Challenge Your World 20/20?

Each year, 20 video artists create 20 wild, whimsical, and unconventional machines that solve environmental issues. These videos reject the status quo, explore crazy ideas, and blast beyond boundaries.

The latest two films are Recycle Invaders, directed by Thiago Maia, and The Crown Jewel, directed by Motionographer’s own Greg Herman and Babe Baker. Head over to the CYW 20/20 page to check them out, along with the other films released so far.

Want to participate? For information on how to submit a video contact Julien Vallée at video@challengeyourworld.com.

UPDATE: Greg Herman shares some of the process work behind The Crown Jewel.

Surface to Air: Favorite Color and Varathit Uthaisri Working Together

A while back, we made a post about the Bonaroo line-up animation, the basic concept of which was taken from Javan Ivey’s My Paper Mind. Despite not being involved with the Bonaroo project, Javan was honored to have his work sampled and taken further. In his words: “It looks great. I mean, I’m kinda bummed I wasn’t invited to the party, but I really enjoy seeing what they’ve done.”

The ensuing Motionographer comments raised questions about involving the originators of a particular technique in commercial applications of that technique. People wondered why Javan wasn’t brought on as a collaborator or consultant by Ghost Robot (who had, it turns out, contacted Javan about the Bonaroo project).

Acting as a model for how things can be done differently is the opening sequence for the Promax|BDA Awards created by Favorite Color.

A couple days before the awards opening was released, we saw an engaging experimental film created by Parson’s student Varathit “Tu” Uthaisri. Surface bore an uncanny resemblance to the Favorite Color project, and the inevitable cries of “rip-off” came from some of us here at Motionographer HQ (me included).

But then we looked closer, and we discovered that Tu was actually listed as an art director on the Favorite Color project.

(more…)

Synesthesia by Terri Timely

The latest short film from Directing-duo, Terri Timely (Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey), is a portrait of two brother’s and their surreal experiences as they explore their Synesthesia.

Synethesia (the ability associate sounds with tastes, colors, letters, numbers or even people) is a phenomenon that easily sets the stage for a visually rich piece. However, it’s Terri’s refined storytelling abilities and aesthetic that really make this piece stand out for me.

Terri Timely’s growing body of work creates an intimate portraiture of humanity. They also posses an impressionistic disconnect that seems to thrust them into a realm of hyper-reality and oftentimes parody. This is in-part to Timely’s acute sensibilities in art direction, painterly cinematography and appropriate use of effects (both in and out of camera) to create their worlds. From there, their observation for detail — both in characters and subtle visual elements — makes their work the immersive experience that it is.

Thanks for the nudge Todd!

MAKE :: Palm Springs Short Fest Opener

Speaking of POV’s and interesting twists — Minneapolis’ design/animation powerhouse, Make, goes all out in almost every medium for their new Palm Springs Short Fest Program Opener.

A seemingly happy couple is doing everything in their grasp to have a moment of peace when we quickly realize that they are on set and about to be transformed into a barrage of animated likenesses.

The characters are willed by the indecisive hand of their director, who seamlessly shifts them from worlds of live-action, 3d, 2d, cel and claymation. This gets very messy for all involved, resulting in a stylistic mash-up. This piece’s flawless execution and transitions push it the next level.

AB/CD/CD for Lily Allen’s “F*ck You” [explicit lyrics]

There have been many successful POV videos to hit over the past few years (Last Day Dream, Wolverine, Nike Football, Smack My B*tch Up, etc).

However, this recent one from AB/CD/CD (via Frenzy, Paris) adds a playful twist to the tradition. I think I’ve also got a soft spot for this concept since it reminds me of the Headcrusher Skits from Kids in the Hall.

Although some of the compositing doesn’t quite hold up throughout, there are still some great moments. I see a pretty wide viral appeal in the life of this piece with definite YouTube responses in the very near future. Keep your eyes out for the first agency to repeat this one as well…