The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

I was introduced to “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” iPad app by my friend’s five-year-old son while traveling the North Island of New Zealand at the end of last year.

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

Legs for Diet Coke in “Love it Light”

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.

Oscar Nominees 2012: Best Animated Short Film

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)

Hush for Marsh

Hush Studios delivers again with a beautiful piece for Marsh. A gorgeously minimal design paired with great animation make this a real treat.

Director Jodi Terwilliger had this to say about about the creative process:

The client initially asked us for a visual exploration of what IGNITE meant (an acronym for their internal leadership goals). We ended up turning it into an epic story based, surprisingly enough, on the Odyssey.

Visually, it started out much more flat and graphic. I wanted to keep it simple so we could execute above and beyond. What I discovered was that Salih and Justin were banging out amazing test animations almost immediately, which empowered me to start giving the design and the character a lot more depth. It’s really a testament to their skill and their dedication to the project.

Salih and Justin are two of my favorite animators in New York, and they did their usual fantastic work here. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next in 2012 from Hush.

Credits

This Idea Is Not Working by Henrique Barone

After we were initially sent Henrique Barone’s stellar short, This Idea Is Not Working, our jaws hit floor. We immediately wanted to share it with our  Motionographer readers, so got the engine warmed up and put things in motion. Then, something happened: we found out it’s a student piece. Jeepers! We scratched our head and weighed the options. Of course, we do have our Students section and although you can find it there, we were so impressed by Barone’s animation skills that we had no choice but to give it some love in our Main section. One thing we never want Motionographer to become is a place where only big-studios reign supreme and the little guy (you, me, us, etc) has no shot to shine. And not to gush, but it’s rare to find animation so inventive, polished and well-timed—let alone, a student piece. Did we mention that it’s hand-drawn?

After you watch This Idea Is Not Working, be sure to check out a wonderful step-by-step breakdown that the artist put together here.

Bill Maher’s ‘Irritable Bowl Syndrome’ by Fraser Davidson

Earlier this week, we posted Fraser Davidson’s slick, type-driven animation, Irritable Bowl Syndrome: an infographic piece inspired by a cutting excerpt taken from Bill Maher’s book, “The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass.” With the Superbowl only 10 days away, once again, sports fans and advertisers become unlikely bedfellows. In the spirit of this great, hard-hitting American tradition, we’ve upgraded the piece to our main section and chatted up the artist for a little Q&A. Enjoy the foxy animation and witty social commentary.

Q&A with Fraser Davidson on Irritable Bowl Syndrome.

ManvsMachine: More4 Rebrand

ManvsMachine created this lovely rebrand for Channel 4′s More4. The logo morphs through a series of flips, folds and reveals, reflecting the range of content on the channel. It works as both a punchy onscreen element and as a series of “flippers” in real-world art installations.

Credits and Making Of

Plenty for AXN LatinAmerica

I recently stumbled upon “Criminal Minds,” Plenty’s latest addition to their repertoire.

I love the way they united analog and digital by using a 3d subject with hand-painted typography. They definitely achieved the controlled-chaos look that this piece needed to convey.

Check out Plenty’s site for a very thorough breakdown of their process.

The DMCI: Fox Classics

No need to say a lot: These IDs from DMCI for Fox Classics are all about great transitions and beautiful, clean designs. Can you guess all the classics?

Also watch The Epics, The Classics and The Greats.

Credits

Psyop for IBM

All In The Cloud

Ahead of Demand

Split Second

To say that Psyop has it down pat would be an understatement. In this latest batch of spots for IBM, Psyop rolls out a trifecta of pure goodness. Each piece is so well crafted as to stand alone, but together they showcase a range — both creative and technical — that few studios can rival. It’s true what they say: Good things come in threes.

UPDATE: Psyop sure keeps us on our toes! We didn’t want these slick, new spots they created for Old Navy’s Funnovations campaign to slip by, so check them out here: Grandmabot, Cozyscope, Bootologist, and The Perfect Pufferizer.