MK12 Zero Film Fest Opener

Long-time heroes MK12 post an opening animation featuring an elegantly powerful visual metaphor for the Zero Film Festival.

Dead Walter: My Bloody Lad (NSFW)

Dead Walter (four second-year students at Gobelins) direct this ultra-violent short film, My Bloody Lad (production: WIZZprod).

Caracrimen: Marian Ruzzi y Sr. Amable’s “Una pieza más”

Luis Safa (aka Caracrimen) illustrated and directed the music video for Una pieza más by Marian Ruzzi y Sr. Amable, with the help of BASA Studio in Mexico City. More great illustration at his website.

Hat tip to Yves!

Erick Oh: How to Eat Your Apple

We are a bit late to the game on How to Eat Your Apple, a surrealist gem by Erick Oh, but it still tastes great! More treats await on Erick’s blog and his Vimeo, like Way Home and the trailer for Heart.

Learn more about How to Eat Your Apple at Short of the Week’s interview.

Found via Stash 86.

Revisiting Ottawa: 2011 OAIF Student Films

I had the pleasure of attending the 2011 Ottawa International Animation Festival this year. For me, Ottawa is one of the most refreshing events of the year. It helps you refocus by getting you away physically from your daily routine, showcasing unexpected and inspiring films with fantastic screening conditions, and creating a great environment to meet other animators and talk about the industry.

We’re kicking off our 2011 Ottawa remembrances with the student film selections. In the competition were many student shorts previously featured on Motionographer, including One Minute Puberty by Alexander Gellner and Stay Home by Caleb Wood. Two standouts I hadn’t seen before were OAIF award winners I’m Fine Thanks by Eamonn O’Neill (trailer above) and The Renter by Jason Carpenter.

Read on for a full write-up of the 2011 OAIF Student Films.

graphical rock ‘n’ roll by Sander van Dijk

Graphical rock ‘n’ roll in the new reel by Sander van Dijk. Audio by Studio Takt.

Kristoffer Borgli and the symbolism of stuffed animals

Why does some art get under your skin? Why do certain pieces leave you with a distinct feeling of dread?

Seeing Kristoffer Borgli’s clip for Casiokids’ “Det Haster!” for the first time a couple of weeks ago, when Motionographer made it a Quickie, I was left with that dark sensation, and I started to think about the details that got me there.

Borgli quickly establishes the premise, which is that there’s a cult whose members each have their own plush toy to treat like a person. It would have been easy to turn this into a joke, but the video is anything but hammy, as we quickly see that relationships with the dolls are a source of great emotional disturbance.
It gets creepier.