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This short film directed by Marc Ruhl is a meditation on death, but it put a big smile on my face. (And I’m sure it will do the same for you). Find out why, here.
Good General is back with another impressive lo-fi piece that requires massive pre-planning. All shot with macbook pro cams of the band’s fanbase around the world. Directed by: Masashi Kawamura + Hal Kirkland + Magico Nakamura + Masayoshi Nakamura
I love it when everything falls into place, when the hot potato is passed elegantly from hand to hand along the creative chain. When it works, it looks something like this new spot for Sprint, created to launch the broadcast portion of a campaign masterminded by Goodby, Silverstein and Partners.
Continuing along the vein of their previous Sprint work, Superfad rocked the graphics tip in this anthem. The engine of this thing is its impeccable timing—the voiceover, visuals and sound design (Human) move at a confident click that delivers punchlines with tick-tock surety.
The density is just right: enough to justify repeat viewing, but not enough to make you scratch your head.
Supinfocom students (Arnoux Anthony, Dessinges Rémi and Fesquet Guillaume) continue the recent legacy of exceptional students films with ‘From the Hoop’. This film is a surreal journey that follows the life of Rucker Park star, Earl Manigault, through his struggle with drugs and eventual rise to Harlem philanthropist.
The thing about Supinfocom films that resonates is their consistent attention to detail through all aspects of production. There is an obvious thought and care given to every layer of their films from story, to character development, environments, etc.
However, what really makes this film for me is the lighting, art direction and cinematography. For the majority of shots, there is a maturity in the movement of the camera and dramatic use of lighting that is often lacking in student films. Much of this happened in the final composites, but there is definitely a cinematic intuition in the early concept art and photographic research (see making of).
As someone who has an intense love-hate relationship with New York, this sweetly animated film from Andy and Carolyn London tugged hard on my heartstrings. It’s a simple concept: Interview New Yorkers and then animate objects in the city to match their personalities. The result is a compelling short that helps me see the city—and its people—in a new light.
For his master thesis at Arts et Technologies de l’Image, Mathieu Gérard created “Steel Life,” a breathtaking tapestry of textures and light that evokes themes of genesis and rebirth.
While there’s no obvious narrative, the film uses abstract realism—lovingly rendered imagery inspired by nature—to build an associative network of ideas. The lush soundtrack, composed by Mathieu Alvado and performed by the Star Pop Orchestra, adds a dramatic arc to the film.
The Three Legged Legs have been busy the past few months as they drop two spots for Wrigley’s: Evolution and Universe. Although the evolution concept is nothing new (see Saturn and Guinness) the Legs brought the humor and unique aesthetic flavor that we’ve come to know and love. Their attention to detail, from miniature environments to CG characters, is worth a second watch.
However, the thing that all of us at Motionographer HQ can’t get enough of is Three Legged Leg’s amazing behind-the-scenes pages. Like most of their projects, they share every step of their creative and technical process. So, if you’ve got some time to kill or are a student looking to demystify some inspiring work — get lost in it.
Two LED spots have been dropped off the back of another. The first one, for Samsung, from The Viral Factory (director James Rouse) in London can be seen below:
We grabbed this one a few weeks ago. Since then, it has racked up a decent 4.7 million hits on Youtube. For those who may have missed it, it follows approximately 300 sheep covered in LED lights, a cast of local shepherds and their sheepdogs. The film features sheep being herded into a series of ever more improbable shapes. “The Viral Factory will not be drawn on what was real and what has been achieved in post, but a YouTube debate is predicted.”
Aside from the creative merits of the Honda ‘Lights’ spot, I’d like to shift the focus to the accompanying making-of video. Unlike the purely viral-format of the Samsung spot, W+K extracted their viral from the TVC shoot. Not only do they get a ‘free’ spot from it all, but they humanize the brand and introduce people to the innovation that goes on under the hood of it’s spots. By keeping it all in-camera, a BTS becomes something interesting enough to watch. Ramp up the scale of the actual shoot and you can do the same to the ‘wow’ factor.
The increase in creating supplemental BTS films seems to have hit a spike during the massive success of the Bravia Color Campaign. The BTS for the ‘Balls’ spot from Fallon/Juan Cabral and Fugslig is one of the more memorable. In preparation for the roll out of ‘Paint,’ Sony’s micro-site hosted a BTS with a countdown to the commercial’s premiere. And who could forget ‘Bunnies‘ and the making-of?
The price of a potential viral hype machine and a chance to show off your in-camera craftiness may not be more than a hand-held second unit. As ad dollars drop, web-content distribution grows and consumers become more savvy (and critical) of advertising, this practice seems like a multi-pronged solution to a few of the ad worlds evolving needs.
Take a break from whatever you’re doing (unless it’s open heart surgery) and strap on your headphones for a delightful romp through the collective unconsciousness of some of the most creative image makers working today.
The next six films will go online on April 2nd. Check the Screenings page for showings near you.
