Brothers Grimm Animatics
Posted: October 11, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »I thought it would be fun to post some of the animatics from our digital narrative class. This is one of the first projects of the semester where students are typically asked to create a condensed adaptation / variation of a Brothers Grimm story. This semester we did Little Red Cap.
RED, by Griffin Buhman
I’ll be adding a few more later in the week.
The Silence Beneath the Bark
Posted: June 17, 2011 Filed under: Historic Selections Leave a comment »Le Silence Sous L’écorce / The Silence Beneath the Bark by Joanna Lurie (2009)
Director’s Website: http://www.joannalurie.com/
Ad Astra
Posted: June 8, 2011 Filed under: Student Work Leave a comment »Ad Astra, an animation by Lesley Ash
Music by Nathan Bliss
Description: This is a frame-by-frame animation created from handmade ink drawings and Adobe Photoshop. This was created while a student in an animation seminar at the University of Cincinnati. The narrative of the animation ties into my MFA thesis work, which is centered around dualistic themes of life and death, and fantasy and reality.
Artist info:
Lesley Ash
MFA University of Cincinnati, 2011
www.lashgallery.com
Bully for Bugs
Posted: June 3, 2011 Filed under: Historic Selections Leave a comment »Bully for Bugs, 1953
Chuck Jones at his finest! An honorary Citamina Award (ha!) goes to this historic selection.
An amazing example of characters coming to life.
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Produced by Edward Selzer
Story by Michael Maltese
Voices by Mel Blanc
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Harris, Lloyd Vaughan and Ben Washam
Patty Goes
Posted: June 1, 2011 Filed under: Faculty Projects Leave a comment »Patty Goes (2011) by Patrick Moser
Description: An homage to the Patterson/Gimlick footage that inspired me as a child.
Patrick Moser is a faculty member of the Department of Art and Design at Flagler College.
http://www.flagler.edu/academics/departments-programs/art-design/
Mighty Antlers
Posted: May 26, 2011 Filed under: Student Work Leave a comment »Mighty Antlers directed by Sune Reinhardt.
Bachelor film project 2011 from The Animation Workshop.
Story:
A man drives his car furiously down a narrow road, surrounded by a vast forest. When he encounters a deer in the middle of the road he makes a villainous attempt to ram it. However this particular hit and run has jaw crushing, battering consequences.
This student project was completed in 8 months with a team of 3 CG artists and one animator.
The Animation Workshop, located in Viborg, Denmark, is one of the top animation schools in Europe. http://www.animwork.dk/en/
Also, here is a great behind the scenes video:
Mighty Antlers directed by Sune Reinhardt.
Bachelor film project 2011 from The Animation Workshop.
House of Flame (Kataku)
Posted: May 26, 2011 Filed under: animation, Historic Selections Leave a comment »House of Flame (1979) by Kihachiro Kawamoto
Based on the Noh play Motomezuka-the Seeker’s Mound, this beautiful historical work by Japanese puppet and stop-motion animator Kihachiro Kawamoto (1925 – 2010) tells the story of a young woman who is loved by two men. Not knowing which to choose, in anguish, she chooses death. Although her intentions are pure, not even the grave brings her the respite she longs for.
The animation is presented in 2 parts.
Part 1.
Part 2.
Born in 1925, from an early age Kihachiro Kawamoto was captivated by the art of doll and puppet making. After seeing the works of maestro Czech animator Jiri Trnka, he first became interested in stop motion puppet animation and during the 50s began working alongside Japan’s first stop motion animator, the legendary Tadahito Mochinaga.
In 1958, he co-founded Shiba Productions to make commercial animation for television, but it was not until 1963, when he traveled to Prague to study puppet animation under Jiri Trnka for a year, that his puppets truly began to take on a life of their own. Trnka encouraged Kawamoto to draw on his own country’s rich cultural heritage in his work, and so Kawamoto returned from Czechoslovakia to make a series of highly individual, independently-produced artistic short works, beginning with Breaking of Branches is Forbidden (Hana-Ori) in 1968.
Heavily influence by the traditional aesthetics of Noh, Bunraku doll theatre and Kabuki, since the 70s his haunting puppet animations such as The Demon (Oni, 1972), Dojoji Temple (Dojoji, 1976) and House of Flame (Kataku, 1979) have won numerous prizes internationally. He has also produced cut out (kirigami) animations such as The Trip (Tabi, 1973) and A Poet’s Life (Shijin no Shogai, 1974). In 1990 he returned to Trnka’s studios in Prague to make Briar Rose, or The Sleeping Beauty.
In Japan, he is best known for designing the puppets used in the long-running TV series based on the Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sangokushi, 1982-84), and later for The Story of Heike (Heike Monogatari, 1993-94). In 2003, he was responsible for overseeing the Winter Days (Fuyu no Hi) project, in which 35 of the world’s top animators each worked on a two-minute segment inspired by the renka couplets of celebrated haiku poet Matsuo Basho.
The Book of the Dead (Shisha no Sho) is Kawamoto’s second feature length stop motion puppet animation, after Rennyo and His Mother (Rennyo To Sono Haha) in 1981. It will have its world premiere as a part of a Special Retrospective Tribute at the 40th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9, 2005, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic).
For more information on Kihachiro Kawamoto:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/05/kihachiro-kawamoto-obituary
http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/kihachiro_kawamoto.shtml
http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/kihachiro-kawamoto-1925-2010
Rockwell Ties
Posted: May 24, 2011 Filed under: Student Work Leave a comment »Rockwell Ties, a motion comic by Matt Culbertson
Two rival brothers meet on a deserted street and battle with their contrasting musical styles.
This motion comic was created by Matt Culbertson as a first semester animation project in Digital Narrative I.
Matt is a BFA student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Big Footsteps
Posted: May 24, 2011 Filed under: Student Work Leave a comment »Big Footsteps (Chapter 3), a motion comic by Andy Benson
The tagline says it all:
“A disfigured secret-operative goes rogue during a mission on American soil and must battle his
remaining German pursuers to find a peaceful existence as the legendary Sasquatch.”
This alternative reality based motion comic was created by Andy Bensen as a first semester animation project in Digital Narrative I.
Andy Bensen is a BFA student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Posted: May 22, 2011 Filed under: Historic Selections Leave a comment »A Historical look at Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
I remember standing in line on opening night in San Francisco and watching this wonderful film for the first time. I had never seen anything like it before and it took me a while to process what I had just seen. Needless to say, almost 20 years later, it still evokes awe and provides inspiration.
Last night, I came across this incredible behind the scenes look at the making of the film. It’s a fabulous resource that illustrates the animation process from start to finish.
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
Here is a link to the trailer:
Credits:
Produced by TV IS OK Productions
In association with Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Copyright: Disney
