Universal Everything Refreshes MTV

Universal Everything’s recent refresh for MTV’s 64 international channels is notable for what it DOES NOT do. As opposed to MTV’s long-standing tradition of constantly reinventing and playing with it’s logo, this time the logo itself appears only at the end – in black and white – and is not stylized or customized at all. The refresh also introduces a flexible new navigation system with onscreen graphic information about current or upcoming programs as well as a secondary set of messages on the lower third of the screen. As usual with projects from Universal Everything, the work is a blend of the maximal and the minimal, very graphic, very pop and very up-to-date.

Six new IDs were also created by Tronic, Zeitguised, Realise, Maxim Zhestkov and Universal Everything.

Read on for a Q&A with Matt Pyke, Roberto Bagattii and Dylan Griffith of MTV about the refresh. (more…)

Philippe Grammaticopoulos

Allow me to introduce the work of Philippe Grammaticopoulos, a French director working with the somewhat mysterious production company Mr. Hyde in Paris. Philippe has also somehow managed to evade the Motionographer radar until now, which comes as a massive shock to me after seeing the long list of his wonderful animations. His stylistic approach and animation techniques are truly unique, but for me his off-beat, strange storytelling is what makes him stand apart from the rest.

His newest animation, Les Ventres (”The Bellies”) caught our attention when it hit our inboxes last week. Take a look at this bizarre four minute tail four minute clip from the 18 minute short about snails, glut and self-consumption.

Seeing how we missed out on all the great work the this fine director has released over the years, here’s more of his work, all of which is worth viewing. In fact, any of these could be full posts of their own.

• Les Processus-created at Supinfocom
• Signature-Amnesty International
• Le Régulateur–as well as a “making of” clip.
• Les Escargots

Mainframe: Ministry of Sound/MSHK “Tomas” (NSFW)

Warning: These films are not safe for work (NSFW).

We got the scoop on these deliciously macabre promos from Mainframe last week, but we’ve been holding out for a Q&A. Well, the Q&A is here, so feast on all three promos before getting the lowdown below.

Created in collaboration with Ministry of Sound’s “brand innovation group,” MSHK, and illustrator Neal Murren (Breed London), Mainframe brought to life the viciously dark novel, Tomas, written by Ministry of Sound co-founder James Palumbo.

Q&A with Mainframe’s Mark Warrington, Director:

How hard was it going from Neal Murren’s illustrations to full motion? Did you feel boxed in it all?

This did cause a few problems, as the characters weren’t really drawn for animation. It just took some careful cutting out, painting back in the hidden areas and also sourcing or drawing similar imagery. I think using black and white really helped everything to amalgamate. I tried to create each scene around the angle the characters were drawn at so I didn’t have to force them into any un natural positions, this was the only real limitation, as for what was going on around them was left to me.

Were there technical challenges that resulted from this arrangement?
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Mighty Nice for SBS

In an attempt to brand itself as the source for a wide range of cultural and educational programming, Australia’s SBS hired Mighty Nice to push the envelope a bit. The most recent fruits of these labors are a series of slapstick IDs that originally aired during Ashes 2009, a long-standing, wildly popular cricket series between England and Australia.

Slapstick is hard enough to pull off in live action, but to manage it with composited animation is a feat worth applauding. The comedic timing between the actor and his unseen props is perfectly in line with the cartoonish spirit of these spots—a cartoonishness brilliantly offset by the elegant end tags.

More after the jump…

Baptiste Sola: L’échange (The Exchange)

Although the end falls just a little flat for me, I’m still in love with Baptiste Sola’s “L’échange.” It’s a brilliant testament to a kind of Mondrian-esque minimalism, showing just how much can be said with so little.

The main drivers of narrative here are the sound design; slight variations in animation (the square’s ever so subtle hesitation is loaded with meaning); and, of course, the introduction of the pink square. Everyone who’s had a pink square in their lives know how they can so happily upset your routine, how they stick with you, how they keep you up at night.

L’échange reminds me a bit of Grant Orchard’s “Love Sport” series, which used a similar minimalist approach.

Destino by Salvador Dali and Walt Disney

Destino is a short film written and storyboarded in 1945 by Salvador Dali and Walt Disney that was shelved for financial reasons, but then re-discovered and completed in 2003 by Dominique Monfrey. It was released in a limited run theatrically with the Triplets of Belleville, and may have a 2010 release on DVD. Wikipedia entry here.

How long this will last on YouTube is anyone’s guess, so take a peek before it’s gone.
Edit: The video was removed on Youtube. We’ll all have to wait for the DVD now …

via BoingBoing

SyFy House of Imagination

Say what you will about SyFy’s new name, but the House of Imagination trailer does a fantastic job getting the rebrand off to an epic start. With vfx by the Moving Picture Company and direction by 4Creative’s Brett Foraker, the entire two-minute video is an inviting trip to a place I genuinely wish I could visit.

The companion website for the House of Imagination (also created by MPC) teases me with just such a wish, but ends up being a collection of mini-games and behind-the-scenes featurettes—and that’s a pretty sweet consolation prize.

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Looking Thru the B-Sides

Looking Thru the B-Sides is a stop-action trip down the rabbit hole that is Golden Lucky’s collective brain. Just watching this short film feels like a mind-altering experience that’s probably illegal in at least 37 states.

What starts as a simple keystone cops premise quickly spins into a tripped out odyssey through colorful landscapes and multiple animation techniques. Despite the visual twists and turns, Looking Thru the B-Sides holds its narrative arc firmly in tact—and that’s what keeps this charmer rolling right along.

The short’s conclusion is as unexpected as the rest of the film and functions as a brilliant neon cherry on top of this electric kool-aid sundae.

Looking Thru the B-Sides was created for Fuel TV, who gave Saiman Chow and the rest of the Golden Lucky crew a wide open brief. Kudos to them for supporting such a fun project.

Head over to the Golden Lucky site for some nice process imagery.

Credits

Robinson’s ‘Birdhouse’ (updated with Q&A)

Last week I posted this cute little spot directed by Andy McLeod from London-based Rattling Stick. I finally managed to get my hands on some behind-the-scenes-info, and there’s a fair bit of really delightful facts here:

1. What was the agency’s initial brief?

‘Be Natural’ is a juice made entirely of natural ingredients. So the basic thought was that if Nature itself (here represented by the bird) could choose a juice, it would be Robinson’s ‘Be Natural.’

2. Describe the production process—what happened next?
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RE:PLAY Film Festival: Last Batch

Rounding out the F5 RE:PLAY FIlm Festival are three treats from Nanospore, La Flama and a co-directed short from Ryan Rothermel and Sean Pecknold. Diverse, mysterious and quirky, these films offer a fitting end to a fantastic run of work from an incredibly talented pool of filmmakers. Each of them embodied the spirit of F5, striving for creativity and community in their purest forms.

The entire F5 team sends a deep, hearty thank you to everyone involved in the RE:PLAY Film Festival, including the festival’s producer, Connor Swegle. To review all the RE:PLAY films, check them out on the RE:PLAY Vimeo channel.

Nanospore

La Flama “The Hollow”

Ryan Rothermel and Sean Pecknold “Sans Gallagher the Younger”

Related posts:

• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch One
• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch Two
• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch Three
• F5 RE:PLAY Film Festival: Batch Four
  
• F5 RE:PLAY FILM FESTIVAL