WINTR kicks it up for Niki and The Dove with this amazing video. Apparently done completely in CG, it does have the feel of your latest trendy DSLR-footage with CG combined hipster thingie.

WINTR is kind of new on the motion graphics playground (at least for me), which makes the quality of the piece even more impressive. There seems to be an obvious trend of classical motion graphics houses venturing into live-action, while smaller web-based studios push their techniques to easily compete with the big players. Watch, everyone, how every new technology levels the playing field. Now after all this nonsense, go ahead, enjoy the piece.

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In his words:

[The style frames] were produced in a couple of hours and once the look was established we began animating them digitally. Each animation frame was later printed on a separate sheet of paper using an Epson 3880 printer.
The idea of printing the animation frame by frame on different sheets of paper was a first for me. With a tight schedule and no time to experiment, it was only on set that we could have a clearer feel for the final look.
Over the period of two days, a stop-motion animation worked with a hand model/actor to create the sequence, which was shot on a Canon 5D using Dragon and a motion controlled rig.
Everything, from beginning to end, was produced in about two weeks.

Don’t miss the cool selection on Nando’s behind the scenes Flickr page and check out the style frames on his website.

Credits

Duration: 01:00
Client: Google
Agency: BBH LA
Director: Nando Costa
Executive Creative Director: Pelle Sjonell
Creative Director: Mary Fagot
Producer: Marry Ellen Duggan
Account Supervisor: Kathryn Borawksi
Director: Nando Costa
DP: Bryce Fortner
Executive Producer: Kevin Batten
Line Producer: Scott Ludden
Producer: Samantha O’Keefe
Designer: Yuki Yamada
CG Lead/Technical Director: Bryan Cox
2D Animation: David Silvers
2D Animation: Sandy Chang
2D Animation: Chin Fu Hsu
Stop Motion Animator: Musa Brooker
Editor: Charles Jensen
Flame Artist: Duy Pho

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While we can’t speak for everybody, we were generally underwhelmed by the assemblage of usually impressive commercials to air during Super Bowl XLVI. Unquestionably, game day saw an onslaught of auto spots, and while we’re not here to argue the cool factor of Clint Eastwood selling us a Chrysler or Matthew Broderick dishing out another Ferris Bueller movie, what works for the slick, more agency-driven sites doesn’t always work for Motionographer. That said, we saw one spot(s) that we felt deserved a little love.

In an epic reunion of classic cartoon characters from years gone by, MetLife’s Everyone, created by Psyop and agency CP+B, hold an all-star family reunion of old-school toons. Not since Roger Rabbit have animation fans seen so many of their childhood pals together in one super-nostalgic, simply awesome homecoming. The piece trots back in time to the days of Peanuts, Warner Brothers, Filmation and Hanna-Barbera but stops short of bridging the generational gap with the Nickelodeon, WB, and the Disney Channel era of TV toons. After all, who better than He-Man — 80s hand-drawn muscleman and defender of Eternia — to ensure the financial security of every family, everywhere? And, if you’re inspired to geek out even more, then check out the mini-spots below and watch Voltron do The Robot, Snagglepuss throw a tantrum, directors search for Waldo or  Yosemite Sam have a celebrity-style meltdown.

CREDITS

Voltron Doing The Robot Between Takes of MetLife’s “Everyone”

Snagglepuss Won’t Be Ignored — Behind-The-Scenes of MetLife’s “Everyone”

Director Searching For Waldo on the Set of MetLife’s “Everyone”

Yosemite Sam Melts Down on the Set of MetLife’s “Everyone”

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If you haven’t watched Seed by Daniel Bird and Ben Richardson yet, I recommend setting aside ten minutes to meditate on a surreal superstructure building competition between an egg and an apple (of sorts).

The two directors have been kicking ass since winning Best Animated Short at Slamdance 2010 with Seed. Daniel Bird spent a year creating short films for Greenpeace International in Amsterdam. He is now working as a commercial director, repped by Savage.

Ben Richardson just won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for his DoP work on Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild. Check out the previous Richardson/Zeitlin collaboration Glory At Sea for some non-motion-graphics, but very magical-realism, filmmaking.

More background on the film can be found at Short of the Week’s excellent review.

Thank you to Ben and Daniel for sharing the concept boards below.

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Cartoon Brew uncovers some unsettling news about wage disparity at Titmouse LA and Titmouse NYC. An excerpt:

The question remains, however, about why there is a nearly $700 weekly gap between starting wages for Los Angeles and New York artists working on the same show. New York has the highest cost of living in the United States (Los Angeles, by comparison, is ranked ninth), yet the studio’s starting salary for workers in New York is only $20,800. That figure ranks below New York’s average starting wages for unskilled laborers like doormen ($25,680) and sanitation workers ($27,842).

Read, share and discuss.

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Plunk, a multidisciplinary design studio founded by Carlos Bongiovanni and Marco Girado, has been turning out an incredible series of short films. Forces, Altars and Cage inhabit a very cool intersection of animation and installation art. They all share a fantastically sly sense of humor and a wonderful eye for detail.

Creative direction:
Carlos Bongiovanni
Marco Girado

3D:
Ignacio Pol
Fernando Cimino (for Altars)

Sound design:
Simon Fratantueno

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Happycamper spent the fall of 2011 working alongside China Mobile to create an ambitious mixed-media piece in Wireless City. Using a combination of traditional model-making techniques and 3D technology, the spot bridges the gap between traditional and digital mediums. With a meticulous craftsmanship, the audience remains oblivious to the integration of contrasting techniques, and the difference between what is physical and inanimate becomes indistinguishable. The result is seamless. Working from sketches, maquette models, and architectural blue-prints, Happycamper enlisted the help of Vaidas Bagonas for character design, Milford for final models and Codsteaks for the creation of small props and set building.

Check out an in-depth look into the creation of Happycamper’s Wireless City here.
Watch Happycamper’s Wireless City with subtitles here.

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I remember being amazed by the quality and detail that went into this interactive narrative experience. Created by Moontbot Studios and directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, the app is an adaptation of the award-winning short-film of the same name that, as of last week, has been nominated for an Oscar.

Inspired in equal measures by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story about a man’s love for books. After a huge storm that takes everything from him, the protagonist finds himself in a magical place where books are alive and become his friends. The rest is a journey worth watching. Enjoy.

The app | Official site | Moonbot Studios

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Legs hooked up with Diet Coke and put together an all-girl ensemble — of marionettes! Directed by Georgie Greville and Geremy Jasper, Love It Light introduces us to three British beauties who are having a bad day in the big city. The puppetry technique — originally coined as supermarionation — goes back to the 1960s but received a satirical embrace from the agency world after 2004′s Team America: World Police film stormed the box office. In lieu of computer-generated images, Legs runs with a look that’s more crass than polish and employs many hallmark devices of a prototypical girl drama.

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The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards are in, and although they were announced last week, we thought we’d dig up snippets of each flick for Best Animated Short Film to share with you today. Say hello to the contenders!

Animated Short Film Nominees:

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg)

Dimanche/Sunday (Patrick Doyon)

La Luna (Enrico Casarosa)

A Morning Stroll (Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe)

Wild Life (Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby)

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