Flairs – Truckers Delight

I wouldn’t exactly label this as highbrow, more like highfun! It’s pretty crazy and leans heavily on the raunchier side of life. Directed by Jérémie Périn.

Definitely NSFW, but probably worth getting fired for!

The Black Dog’s Progress

Deliciously dark is how I’d describe Director Stephen Irwin’s latest offering.

A tragic, darkly animated and powerful journey through the life of one dog as he travels from abusive home to even worse.

On the audio side Sorenious Bonk did an amazing job scoring the soundtrack, creating a truly haunting atmosphere of unease.

Warning: because of the subject matter some folk might deem this as NSFW.

Fumiko no Kokuhaku

Hailing from the land of the rising sun, this quirky independent short film is about the confession of Fumiko. It’s a simple plot but, extremely well executed and will be sure to raise a smile. I’m not entirely sure on what the girl says at the end, but if you are able to understand Japanese then we’d be super grateful for the translation.
The dialog at the beggining and at the end is the same. The girl asks “Would you like to go out with me ?” The boy answers “Sorry, I have to focus on baseball training …”

For more information and staff translation check out Catsuka.

Be sure to check out their amazing Making of to see all the storyboards, character development and research.

Credits

Christian Borstlap Stripes for Stamps

Christian Borstlap recently finished these deliciously simple animated illustrations for Dutch children’s charity, Kinderpostzegels.
Paul Postma did a great job of bringing Christian’s colourful illustrations to life, complimenting them with a playfully restrained animation style to really let their personalities shine.

If you have a spare minute I recommend taking some time to look through Christian’s recently update portfolio of loveliness.

The Cat Piano

A few years ago now on one of my many internet safari outings, I remember stumbling upon an animated gif of what I now know was a Cat Piano. Fascinated by this demonic instrument of evil, I delved into it’s history to see what I could unearth, thinking to myself “This would make a great idea for a animation some how”. However, unlike the extremely talented directing duo of Eddie White & Ari Gibson, I left it at that. And I’m extremely happy that they perused their idea! What we have here is a wonderfully dark tale narrated by none other than Nick Cave. A truly great animation short that you can’t help but become engrossed within it’s world and enjoy every moment.

You can also find the cat pianos potent influence in the recent Coke Yeah Yeah Yeah commercial, with Calvin Harris.

Source: Feed

Japanese Google Street View

You have to really admire the Japanese and their animation. They can take something as mundane as how Google Street View works, and transform it into something so quirky and charming! I really enjoy all the contraptions employed to get the job done, it stokes that little fire in my heart that Wallace and Gromit sparked as a child.

Unfortunately my ability to read Japanese is about on par with my Chinese, so I’ve no idea who created the animation. If you do know, then please let me know.
Made by Pangra!

Vera Bee’s Snow-Bo

Sometimes when you are trawling the infinite ocean that is the inter-web, you come across a little treasure that makes you wonder how on earth you missed them first time around. This is one of those cases!

It’s a simple tale of a lonely little boy in search of a playmate with a good dash of darkness thrown in for good measure! Cute, enchantingly naive animation style with a great sense for comedy timing.

Created by Vera Brosgol and her buddy Jenn Kluska whilst in their final year at Sheridan College. Make sure you stop by her website for some lovely concept art.

Source: Media Molecule

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc.

Partizan Lab’s Chris Cairns recently directed this highly entertaining surreal video featuring everyones favourite beat juggling junkies, the Scratch Perverts.

I managed to interrupt Chris’ busy schedule to give use a quick insight into the techniques used to create the video:

We shot the people spinning on turntables at 33.3rpm at high speed and then matched them to the turntables which were working with Serato. The film was made in collaboration with The Scratch Perverts, Foreign Beggars, Shlomo and Will Clarke with sound design by Will Cohen. Post production by The Mill London.

For more information drop by the Neurosonics Audiomedical website. Be sure to check out the production stills, guaranteed to brighten up your day and put a smile on your face!

Beautiful Titles: The Happiness of the Katakuris

What can you say about this title sequence that will do it justice? There is so much beauty in its stop-motion bizarreness. Having said that, I wouldn’t expect anything less from acclaimed Japanese director of horror and strangeness, Takashi Miike. All I can suggest is that you let go of regular conventions, take a look and get ready for a roller-coaster ride!

On a side note, if you have a spare weekend, rent out some of Miike’s movies, in particular Audition, and my personal favourite, Ichi the Killer (in which the titles involve various male-only fluids!).

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