Recap: Pause Fest 2011

A couple of weeks ago the city of Melbourne, Australia, hosted the very first run of a digital design festival, Pause. The festival covers different aspects from digital advertising to street projections, and gives the Melbourne design community an excuse to network, connect and get inspired. I went along and have now come to share my thoughts on the events I attended and on the festival as a whole.

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Nathan Love for Sweet N’ Low

Sweet’N Low Cloud Rainbow from Nathan Love on Vimeo.

Sweet’N Low Sun Moon from Nathan Love on Vimeo.

Nathan Love never fails to deliver. In a style reminiscent of ’60s and ’70s pop art, the gang whips up a playful two-spot package for everyone’s favorite saccharin sweetener, Sweet N’ Low. In Cloud Rainbow and Sun Moon, viewers go back in time to an illustrative style evocative of such psychedelic artists as Heinz Edelmann and Peter Max. The director of the spots, Anca Risca, elaborates:

This project was alot of fun! As a first-timer directing a 2D spot, it was exciting to see it all come together and to be a part of the process.

The first step we took was to visualize the scripts into design frames, which were inspired by (and designed to be cohesive with) Sweet’N Low’s previous pattern-heavy print ad campaign. As we began fleshing out the storyboards and animatics, we brainstormed different ideas for the gags and details of the story. What does a cloud store between his puffs alongside his precious zero calorie sweetner? Sugary cupcakes? A horn or drum set? A lamb or a cloud-shaped sheep? The creative felt very free-form, and with such a well-established brand it was refreshing to do away with the traditional commercial product end tag and incorporate it more into the story.

Music for this project was also a big factor for me — I really wanted to capture the light-hearted feeling that these characters carried, and I thought of laid-back ukulele music as my instrument of choice.

With a dream team of only three, animation and finishing happened quickly and smoothly, after which we all had cake and beer! Yaaay.

Caracrimen: Marian Ruzzi y Sr. Amable’s “Una pieza más”

Luis Safa (aka Caracrimen) illustrated and directed the music video for Una pieza más by Marian Ruzzi y Sr. Amable, with the help of BASA Studio in Mexico City. More great illustration at his website.

Hat tip to Yves!

Erick Oh: How to Eat Your Apple

We are a bit late to the game on How to Eat Your Apple, a surrealist gem by Erick Oh, but it still tastes great! More treats await on Erick’s blog and his Vimeo, like Way Home and the trailer for Heart.

Learn more about How to Eat Your Apple at Short of the Week’s interview.

Found via Stash 86.

Revisiting Ottawa: 2011 OAIF Student Films

I had the pleasure of attending the 2011 Ottawa International Animation Festival this year. For me, Ottawa is one of the most refreshing events of the year. It helps you refocus by getting you away physically from your daily routine, showcasing unexpected and inspiring films with fantastic screening conditions, and creating a great environment to meet other animators and talk about the industry.

We’re kicking off our 2011 Ottawa remembrances with the student film selections. In the competition were many student shorts previously featured on Motionographer, including One Minute Puberty by Alexander Gellner and Stay Home by Caleb Wood. Two standouts I hadn’t seen before were OAIF award winners I’m Fine Thanks by Eamonn O’Neill (trailer above) and The Renter by Jason Carpenter.

Read on for a full write-up of the 2011 OAIF Student Films.

Kristoffer Borgli and the symbolism of stuffed animals

Why does some art get under your skin? Why do certain pieces leave you with a distinct feeling of dread?

Seeing Kristoffer Borgli’s clip for Casiokids’ “Det Haster!” for the first time a couple of weeks ago, when Motionographer made it a Quickie, I was left with that dark sensation, and I started to think about the details that got me there.

Borgli quickly establishes the premise, which is that there’s a cult whose members each have their own plush toy to treat like a person. It would have been easy to turn this into a joke, but the video is anything but hammy, as we quickly see that relationships with the dolls are a source of great emotional disturbance.
It gets creepier.

David Lewandowski: Friendly Fires ‘Hurting’

David Lewandowski’s short film, Going to the Store, polarized the internets. Some loved it. Some hated it. And some people reenacted it.

Lewandowski’s back with a music video for Hurting by the Friendly Fires. It’s a sweet take on the age-old story of boy lusts for girl, girl has hot legs and crushing power over boy (perhaps these are interrelated), but boy just can’t stay away.

I dig the fun, Gondry meets high-end homebrew VFX, feeling. And I love the in-camera lighting, created by velcro-ing literibbon and litecards to a balaclava.

Q&A with dlew coming soon.
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Story of Genki [NSFW]

Around these parts David O’Reilly needs no introduction.

When David’s name is attached to a project anything can happen. Usually grotesque, sinister and wholly unholy, but always hilarious.

With his latest offering for Tim and Eric’s “Professor Genki’s Super Ethical Reality Climax,” he does not disappoint. Again it’s NSFW (and finishing off the recent NSFW posting trilogy). Normal service will now resume!

Alain Bashung – Variations sur Marilou

Hot off the press and sure to be doing he rounds pretty quickly, this wonderful delight is from Chez Eddy director, Maxime Bruneel. If you are offended by illustrated breasticals and other such goodness then please consider this video NSFW.

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DYE — Fantasy by Jérémie Périn

Where to begin? You know what, I think this is one of those videos that you just have to experience!
It looks to me like the director, Jérémie Périn, was weened on a diet of Urotsukidōji and darkness that is required to conjure up such a delicious slice of evil.
Be warned, some scenes could be considered NSFW so make sure your screen is adequately shielded from prying eyes (and your mum).

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