The Epic Doc

“The Epic Doc” is a short advert directed by Varathit Uthaisri (aka “Tu”), a filmaker currently working with Google Creative Lab in NYC. A few months ago, Tu and the team at Google Creative Lab helped the launch of the Google “DemoSlam” website (www.demoslam.com) where people can submit videos, demonstrating the use of Google’s products in creative ways. “The Epic Doc” is one of these explorations.

In essence, “The Epic Doc” is simply 450 pages of Google doc pages, captured as a slide show. It’s also a bootleg style animation through the land of institutional pie charts and bar graphs disguised as simple and cool illustrations. (Check out this awesome google doc animation the team created early in the process).

Reaching over a half million hits in less than a weak, “The Epic Doc” is a reminder that with a good idea and a load of imagination, anything’s possible.

Keep an eye out for more of the DemoSlam campaign. Also check out our interview with Tu, here.

BL:ND: “Lilac Wine”

“Lilac Wine” is a music video directed by Vanessa Marzaroli of Bl:nd to celebrate Dr. Marten’s 50th anniversary. The song is Cinematic Orchestra’s rendition of the cult classic, “Lilac Wine,” made popular in the early 90s by Jeff Buckley.

Inspired by Spencerian Calligraphy, “Lilac Wine” is hypnotic as subtle movements transition incarnations of lost love. Like sheet music, the design pairs perfectly with the drifting music, in and out of solitude. The beauty of this graphic language is no surprise coming from a company with a history of creating some of the most iconic black and white spots in the industry.

Vanessa Marzaroli, creative director of the 2006 music video for Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”,  tells us more about “Lilac Wine”

The idea for the video came to me right away. The music is moving and it really felt like some sort of a lover’s letter or testimonial to me. With that said, I wanted something that was hand written and full of beautiful flourishes. I’m very fond of typography and calligraphy, so through my research, I found Spencerian penmanship to be quite inspirational.
I actually have a much deeper connection with animation. In my heart, I treat each project like a piece of music. This worked well for “Lilac Wine”, and we really took the opportunity to do something that was compelling to us, something we’d love to create.

With its grace and striking design, ”Lilac Wine” takes us back to a time in our industry’s history when it wasn’t as important to create the most trendy work, as it was to challenge ourselves to do what we love, and be ourselves, better.

Buck: Sherwin-Williams “Bees”

Poppy Flower, Poinsettia, Stolen Kiss, Electric Lime… the passion in a paint swatch. Check out “Bees”, Buck’s second spot for Sherwin-Williams. If you missed it, watch the first spot and read our interview with creative leads Orion Tait, Benjamin Langsfeld, Joshua Harvey, and Motionographer’s Jon Saunders.

For this round, the creative evolves toward a fuller, bolder narrative with ambitious bees and landscaping. The message? You, too, can have a colorful hive, people. This campaign is really smart, and so are the creatives at McKinney who’ve let Buck do their character and story thing with color swatch sweetness.

Buck is currently working on the third spot for this campaign. Stay tuned.

Megaforce for Kid Cudi: “Pursuit of Happiness”

This past week, a music video for Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” featuring MGMT and Ratatat, had a short lived fling with the Internet as a wave of censorship swept it out of sight. There were rumors Cudi didn’t approve of his performance, and an alternate video for the same track (see it here), was created.

Fortunately, fans fought for the video’s return, which gives us the pleasure of sharing “Pursuit of Happiness” by French collective Megaforce.

With their trademark surreal, zero gravity camera trickery, Megaforce choreographs a somber Cudi rising and falling through a living room dream-space as he ponders the pursuit of happiness. The image of him as a dreamer, matched by Megaforce’s style and profound talent, gives this musician more authenticity than all the hot ladies and posses he could purchase for a more mainstream video.

LAIKA: Tostitos “The Amazing Flamenco Chef”

A spot hit the airwaves last week and caused a stir in our community. It had the kind of  superb craftmanship that catches your eye amid the muddy commercial landscape.

“The Amazing Flamenco Chef” comes from LAIKA’s commercial division, LAIKA/house and director Nicholas Weigel. Teaming up with agency Goodby Silverstein and Partners, Weigel and his team have further catapulted LAIKA’s already solid reputation into contention with top CG commercial shops that can pull off a commercial narrative with saucy animation bolstered by a feast of triumphant design.

Weigel’s no stranger to Motionographer. He worked with Psyop as an Animation Director on “Coke: Inside the Happiness Factory” and with The Mill on Orangina’s “Naturally Juicy” project before joining the LAIKA/house family in 2008.

LAIKA’s also enjoying another bit of animation news: LAIKA Entertainment’s “Coraline” was just nominated for an Oscar. With LAIKA’s unwavering artistry- and people like Weigel—LAIKA/house is parlaying their sibling’s success as masters of narrative and stop-action into victory in the commercial world.

Note: Interview to come. Director Nicholas Weigel will talk about “The Amazing Flamenco Chef” and Laika’s commercial division, LAIKA/house.