AICP Digital Board Announced

AICP Digital board members are: President Ed Ulbrich of Digital Domain, Chapter VP Justin Booth-Clibborn of Psyop; Paul Babb of Rhythm + Hues; Jake Banks of Stardust; Kevin Batten of Superfad; Javier Jimenez of Motion Theory; Chip Houghton of Imaginary Forces; Elizabeth Kiehner of Thornberg & Forester; Jason Mayo of Click 3X; and Danny Rosenbloom of Brand New School.

Tim Bollinger: Between

Hot off the festival circuit, Tim Bollinger of Via Grafik recently shared his latest short “Between” with us. This dark, surreal piece travels through grounds and walls and into moments stuck in time. As Tim puts it, “It’s a journey through worlds of the subconscious, allowing us to catch sinister glimpses of the human psyche’s ambivalence.”

Despite the mix of techniques (stop-motion, still photos animation in 2.5D, 3D elements, etc) the film still possesses a consuming visceral and visual cohesion.

Wiesbaden represent.

The Lighthouse Keeper

Another Gobelins masterpiece: The Lighthouse Keeper (and be sure to check out the creators’ blogs for insight into their process)

Fax Machine of Death by Joe Lea

Fax Machine of Death by Joe Lea

Smith & Foulkes for Nexus: HP “Google Maps”

Smith & Foulkes make a welcome return for Nexus in this catchy spot for HP, in Google Maps.

Laundry & Greenday

Laundry & Marc Webb team up for the new Green Day music video.

New Work from Birdo Studio

Check out these three recent projects from the Brazilian Birdo Studio:
Sempre Livre is a poppy, colorful Flash animated spot that was made in just 2 weeks for agency Samurai. Birdo, designed, directed, animated and handled the script as well and said they’re “proud to be able to make a commercial for sanitary napkins completely free of blue liquids!” Amen to that.

Pode Acreditar (You Can Believe) is a fun cel-animated music video, with comical and fantastic drawings appearing over the live-action shots of Marcelo D2 and Seu Jorge. In concept, it can be compared to the D.A.N.C.E. video, the Kid Cudi video or any of the many VH1 and MTV promos like this one from Click 3x that have used the same idea. Yet the personal drawing style and execution here don’t make it seem derivative at all, after all, it’s just a technique and a process.

Finally, the 33rd São Paulo International Film Festival is a collaborative project directed by Amir Admoni with characters designed by the world-renowned graffiti artists Os Gemeos. Birdo handled character animation for the festival opener.

Three cool, new, diverse projects from a small and very capable character animation studio. Fly high, Birdo, fly high!