Sometimes bad is good

Check out this amazing video Poonikins The Magic Warrior Princess. I seriously find this video hilarious and entertaining. All the bad things that will happen in maya - timing issues, vertex overlap. However, some of the lighting, shaders and effects were pretty good though, not to mention the humor. Have a good laugh.

Dumb Ways to Die

Another viral video. If you have yet to check out this one,you have to! Really cute animation. Tips on dumb ways to die.

Jellybean Art

Jellybean art.


22 months
1,357 hours
30 people
2 ladders
1 still camera
288,000 jelly beans

Very impressive. As we all know, animation requires a ton of patience. In the same position, doing the same thing, just perfecting every subtle detail. Kudos to the animators! With Kina Grannis's vocal and jelly animation, it is just killer.

 Be sure to watch the making of.


 

YAY! Adventure Time!

I love Jake the Dog and bacon pancakes. Here is 10hour worth of bacon pancakes.

It is pretty cool and funny but gets annoying after the 2 minutes mark so I set this tune as my alarm. Love-hate kind of song.

Dubstep Addiction

Recently I'm really into dubstep and I don't know why. I used to hate it with all the beeps, bass and squeaky noise. My friend said it sounds like transformer having sex. Haha! Slowly grow to dig dubstep. It's strange how the mind works. Here is one animation to go with 16 bit - Dinosaurs. Freaky cute and fun!





This cover of Skrillex by Luke Holland is pretty sick!

Very cool stop motion

First of all, I thinking the timing is pretty good. It brings out the energy of the sound really well. I love the choice of music and the box concept. Check it out.


 
PROTEIGON from BURAYAN on Vimeo.

Old Spice

Old Spice Muscle Music from Terry Crews on Vimeo.



Anyone remembers old spice? Now comes with music. Interactive.

Sayonara

Sayonara from Eric Bates on Vimeo.


Check out this amazing animation. I like the style very much.

Surprise

Solipsist - Trailer from Andrew Huang on Vimeo.


Check out this amazing experimental short by Andrew Huang, recipient of the Special Jury Prize for Experimental Short at the Slamdance Film Festival. Very interesting play with medium, digital compositing and use of sound.


If you are curious of how this film is being made. Do check out the making of as well.


SOLIPSIST - Making Of from Andrew Huang on Vimeo.

Social Experiment: You just need to look important

This is one of the most interesting social experiment I had watched this year. Fake bodyguards, assistant, photographers and camera crew to create "fame". Anyone can be famous for a night but this trick won't work twice..




 


 It is one those videos that really describes the desire of ordinary people being around famous people. It doesn;t matter who as it is the excitement of having the chance to encounter a celebrity whom they probably won't ever meet in real life that makes them feel lucky.


Now we're probably sitting back to judge those people but would we fall for this if we in this situation?

Kimbra

This song is really pretty sick with The Mars Volta vibe. These musicians know how to have a good time.

BMW M5 - "Bullet"

I really like slow motion videos. It is just so awesome to capture the details that is not noticeable to the eyes. If you are like me who digs this kind of stuff, you should check out this amazing slow motion by BMW. Aesthetically beautiful artwork with melancholy sound design.

Madagascar 3

Have you guys watched Madagascar 3? I think Dreamworks have done it again. I love the way how they create a unique personality out of each character and it is how different the animals are that makes the animation so fun to watch. I was laughing from the start to the end of the film.

The timing of the animals is fantastic and it mimicked the reality really well. The voice actors really bring out the characteristic of each animal and their accents played a great deal in the movie. I love the play with perspective during the circus performance and the sense of humor.

One big attractive bait about animation is the use of exaggerations that is so ridiculous yet believable at the same time.




One of the most memorable scene is when the catchy and contagious remix of the tune " I Like To Move It" entitled Afro Circus plays.

Madagascar is definitely in the Top 10 to wach animated film in 2012.

Why I like Adventure time

I'd been watching Adventure Time for a while now and this show is really epic! So here are my reasons why I like Adventure Time/ why I think the show is popular.

1) The character designs.

Each character is so different from the other. Each got their own style. A human, a talking dog, a lumpy cloud, princesses, flying unicorn, kings, talking game console. The crazy plot, wild characters and lame dialogues makes it really appealing. I especially love the colors and the rubbery arms.

2) The music.

Adventure time has got some really catchy tunes. I love the theme song. It is a basic three chord song but nonetheless a catchy tune on the ukulele. If you go on youtube, you can see thousands of covers of this tune.









One of my favourite songs on Adventure time - Daddy why did you eat my fries


3) Lumpy space princess

I really like this character a lot. LSP is voiced by Pendleton Ward (creator of Adventure Time). Lumpy space is a manly bimbo. Her lines just makes me laugh so hard and I look forward to her appearances from the show. "Oh my globe", "What the lump" The lumpy space language appeals to me.






4) The story behind each character.

I love it when the story of the past of each character is revealed. Such as the Lumpy space Princess and her world, Marceline's broken relationship with his Dad and the Ice King's secret. We are presented with the reasons behind the traits of each individual characters.







I guess there are more reasons why I like it but I think I'm gonna stop here. This show is definitely not for kids but as an young adult I love it!

Collaboration: Mark Foster, A-Trak, and Kimbra

Converse done it again. This time round with three amazing artist  Mark Foster, A-Trak, and Kimbra.




An amazing A-trak mix of Foster the people laid track topped with Kimbra's vocal. Love the layers. We are expecting to hear more of Kimbra collaborating with Foster the People. Their tour in June and July!

Kimbra mentioned it during an interview with Fuse. I can't wait!

Gotye: Music and Animation

This is one of the few artist that I know produces good music and features great animation.

A little bit about Gotye:

• Born in 21 May 1980
• Belgian-Australia
• His real name is Wally de Backer (sounds cool)
• Gotye won the third prize for his song 'Somebody That I Used To Know' for the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition 2011. (Kimbra was in first place)
• Gotye's 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
• On 1 February 2012, Gotye made his American television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Check out their collaboration:





So I had been listening to the song a million times since last year and I happen to come across an interview of him. The little riff at the start of the song was actually inspired by Luiz Bonfa, a song called Seville.




He was attracted to a hynotic certain kind of something to it. I guess the reason I'm attracted to his music is also a kind of hypnotizing melancholy feel in his songs. He mentioned the use of esoteric and weird sources of sounds to create his music such as sound samples and instruments he gets from an antique shop. Pretty neat!








One of my favourite Gotye video is Bronte. The tribal vibe of the song is so hypnotizing and draws me in. The animation by Ari Gibson is amazing. The lighting and the dreamy colours is so incredible. The emotions are overwhelming. You have to check this one out.


Here is a more recent track produced.





 The round and round camera movement gives me a headache after awhile but nonetheless an amazing stop motion.

I guess what makes his music stood out is a blend of visuals, peculiar sounds and emotions that are rare to find these days.

Film Analysis: Children Of Man (2006)

Mise-en-scene

Introduction

The following essay is a discussion of the mise-en-scene of the film directed by Alfonso Cuaró entitled Children of Men (2006). The scene I picked is the crossfire between the British troops and the uprising in the Bexhill refugee camp towards the end of the film.

The scene starts with the unsuccessful escape of Theo, Kee and companions as they were stopped by the Fishes. They were then caught in the crossfire and Theo seeks to rescue Kee from the Fishes.

Setting

The setting is a fictitious depiction of the refugee camp of Bexhill in 2027. During the start of the crossfire, the camera panned to follow Patric. In front of him is a closed shop that reads “Sea spray – Fishing & equipment supplies.” In my opinion made the fictitious portrayal more believable as Bexhill is located near the coastlines and the shop name makes the audience more certain of the geological location of the camp.

The infrastructures in sight are shabby looking and covered with layers of dust. The roads are filled with debris and soil. The air is foggy and grey. Black fumes were seen belching out of buildings. These create a melancholy environment that adds to the depressing situation that the refugees are in. In my opinion, there is also a symbolical meaning that mocks the pollution crisis that we are facing and may result in a deteriorating planet in the future.

The use of props such as wrecked abandoned trains and cars suggests that the refugee camp is unsafe as gunfire probably took place before. It also adds to the intensity of the life threatening situation as chaos and disorganization creates a sense anxiety in the audience.

Costume and make up

The actors wore thick dull jackets and some were armed with rifles. It suggests to the audience that the weather is cold and probably safer to adorn thicker clothing. The perilous circumstances are reflected as they are armed for self-protection.

Special effects makeups were used, ranging from a small visible scab on Theo’s knuckle when he was hiding behind the fragments of a wall to large patches of blood across the actors’ faces and bodies. In the scene where Theo dashed into the building, a gory gut on the floor is squirming next to an injured man. Such replication of the realistic conditions of the human body is visually horrifying and is effective in evoking a sense of fear, disgust and distress in the audience.

The actors also wore makeup to make their faces and hands look dirty. In the close up shot of the baby crying, we can see Kee’s hands and fingers were filthy. This makes the scene more realistic as it depicts the undesirable conditions and suggests the place lacks proper sanitation during political instability.

Lighting

Throughout the entire crossfire scene, low key lighting was used. There were a lot of silhouettes of figures and dead bodies creating a sense of suspense and horror.

The main source of lighting came from outside the building through the broken windows and holes in the wall. In the scene when Luke was having a conversation with Theo in the building, the side lighting through the hole in the wall brings out the eye bags and the weariness in their eyes. This enables the audience to feel the fatigue faced by Theo and Luke in the tough conditions.

Side lighting was used in the scene of the close up shot of Theo leaning with his back against the wall at the staircase in search of Kee. This focused on Theo’s features and reveals his uptightness and uncertainty through his facial expression. It allowed the audience to relate emotionally what Theo is experiencing.

Staging

One of the elements of staging that I find very interesting is the contrast of the gestures of the British troops in the crossfire. In the scene a group of refugees exited from a building in the middle of the crossfire and exclaimed, “Don’t shoot! Citizens! We citizens!” Despite their cry, the British troops shot all the innocent refugees.  In the following shot where Theo and Kee exited same building with the baby, one of the British troops shouted, “Stop! Cease fire!” when he saw the baby. Other soldiers gathered with awe to watch. This evokes emotions in the audience as the baby brought peace to the place and is a miracle before the eyes of many.

In the scene, two of the soldiers kneel and did the sign of the cross when they saw the baby in Kee’s arms. It is a Catholic hand gesture which symbolizes man’s redemption and the emblem of god's mercy towards all. The baby is portrayed as a religious symbol and has a connotation that she is godsend and is a hope for mankind.

Time and Space

One interesting element is the use of a single-shot which follows Theo throughout the crossfire scene. I find it appropriate and very effective it makes audience feel as if they were involved in the crossfire and thus a sense of anxiety and uncertainty. The timing of static shot was longer when Theo was hiding at corners preparing to dash forward to the next spot. This made the audience feel Theo’s sense of hesitation and judgement to ensure his own safety to reach Kee.

In the scene where Theo was out in the roadway, the director uses a deep spaced composition to capture the movements of the people both near and far in the crossfire. This allows a more holistic view of the situation which in my opinion is effective in enabling the audience to observe the facial expression of Theo near the camera and the attackers Theo was looking out for in the distance.

Check out this amazing behind the scenes where they talk about the camera movements in the Children of Men.

Ukulele jam

Here's a ukulele jam session by Sungha Jung, Brittni Paiva, Kalei Gamiao. The classic song Canon in D by Johan Pachelbel taken to the next level. The real deal starts at 1:35. Have you ever seen ukulele shredding?  Killer running notes they got there. This video just makes me smile! Music just brighten up ones day. This is so much fun to watch. Spamming on the play button!

I'm really starting to fall in love with the strings. :)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)

 How many of you like reading books? Music and books made me survived my darkest times. I believe in the power of knowledge. Here is one powerful animation about the beauty of books. Very well animated. Love the character designs and style. A very moving story.

You got to check this one out!

Charlie Lim

Words can't describe fully. Take a listen to Charlie Lim. He is one indie artist that surprises me with his soulful voice.

Some facts about Charlie:

• He is a Singapore singer-songwriter based in Melbourne.
• He is in his early twenties
• Charlie Lim’s EP has garnered support across several radio stations in Australia and made the Top 10 of PBS 106.7 FM’s charts.
• Supporting act for Kimbra

You guys should check out his EP. There is only 4 songs in it, each with a vastly different genre. A little idea of how his EP sounds like can be describe as from John Mayer to Damien rice. Amazing lyrics and groove he got.  I especially love the groovy Pedestal and the melancholy Rust. Check him out guys at the following:

Official website

Charlie's Bandcamp

Charlie's Facebook page

DoYaThing - Collaboration

"DoYaThing" Official Video - Gorillaz featuring Andre 3000 and James Murphy. I'm still in love with Gorillaz!

This music video produced in line with the new Chuck Taylor All Star Gorillaz Collection near end of February 2012.  Probably one of the coolest video of the kicks out there in my opinion. Awesome motion capture and 3d animation going on with live background. Check out the behind the scenes footage too.

Young the giant

I'd recently discovered this uber cool indie band - Young the Giant. Formed in 2004, they were previously known as the Jakes. I simply love all their songs on the album especially Strings, My Body and Cough syrup. You probably heard Cough Syrup in one episode of Glee.





There is this something in their music that draws me in. Their lyrics speaks to my heart perhaps. I just love their sound especially their acoustic covers. I love the creative pattern of the drummer, the riff of the guitars and bass and the voice of the vocalist.

Check out their music.

The Grammys - Dave Grohl's speech

I love the Foo Fighters. Here is one of the most touching acceptance speech in Grammys. If you make music or has been listening to music pretty much growing up, you  have to hear this speech.





Transcription:

This is a great honor, because this record was a special record for our band.

Rather than go to the best studio in the world down the street in Hollywood and rather than use all of the fanciest computers that we can buy, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine. And we couldn't have done it without the best producer in the world, Mr. Butch Vig. I haven't worked with Butch Vig in twenty years. We meet each other twenty years ago when we made a Nirvana record  and it was an honor to work with you again (looking at Butch Vig) We have a lot of people to thank...

To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of making music is what's most important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that's the most important thing for people to do. "It's not about being perfect, it's not about sounding absolutely correct, it's not about what goes on a computer. It's about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head].

Freddiew: Youtube films

I discovered Freddie last year by chance last year and I'm glad I did. His videos on Youtube is by far the most professional film directed in my opinion. The awesome plots created, amazing editing, sound design and witty lines drew people in. I did a little research of his background and realized that he graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. No wonder his stuff are pretty impressive. The props and equipment used are sick!

Freddie Wong and his friends came from Los Angeles. An interesting fact about him is that he is a professional Guitar Hero/Rock Band player.

Here are some videos that I think were pretty impressive.














Epic. Check his video channel out on Youtube.

Indie: Kimbra

Now here's an uprising star that I adore very much. I found her at Dianna Agron's blog and I was blown away. In a nutshell, Kimbra Johnson (born 27 March 1990),  Kimbra. Her debut album Vows was released on 29 August 2011 in New Zealand, and 2 September 2011 in Australia on Warner Bros. Records Inc.

A few songs that is on loop pretty much everyday: Cameo lover, Good Intent, Settle Down and Plain Gold Ring.

Things that make her awesome.

1) Her music. She's got pretty amazing stuff going on. I love her poetic description and honesty. Her groovy tunes gets me up on my feet. I can't deny the fact that she got some creepy lyrics going on especially 'Settle Down' which may scare people with commitment issues but I love it. I love the crazy stuff she do. I read from the Vanda & Young website that she was announced as 2011 winner of the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition. That is pretty impressive.

2) She is pretty good live. I checked out some of her live performances. I wouldn't say it is perfect but it is undoubtedly good. Check out some of her studio recordings. It is definitely mind blowing.



4) Her full band. I think one of the plus points is really her band. She is so awesome and her band is really bring her qualities way out. Those crazy harmonies and groove. I adore her drummer too. He impressed me too much.

5)By now you should have noticed her hand gesture. She got all sort of hand signs going on when she's really into the song which I find pretty interesting and attractive. I also love her little dance.

6) Her music videos. Oh my globe awesomeness. She just got all the best people with her.




It was announced today that she will be touring with Gotye (I love this dude very much too) in the states. Check out her website http://kimbramusic.com/   I'm so excited about all these promotions in the states. These amazing musicians needs to be heard. I'm really sick of all those trash on the radio. We need real music in our lives.

Len Lye

Biography

• Len Lye, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye (5 July 1901 - 15 May 1980)

• A Christchurch, New Zealand-born artist

• Known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture.

• His films are held in archives such as the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Pacific Film Archive at University of California, Berkeley.

• As a student, Lye became convinced that motion could be part of the language of art, leading him to early (and now lost) experiments with kinetic sculpture, as well as a desire to make film.

• Lye was also one of the first Pākehā artists to appreciate the art of Māori, Australian Aboriginal, Pacific Island and African cultures, and this had great influence on his work.

• In the early 1920s Lye travelled widely in the South Pacific. He spent extended periods in Australia and Samoa, where he was expelled by the New Zealand colonial administration for living within an indigenous community.

Techniques

• Experimented with new colour processes such as Dufaycolor and Gasparcolor
• “Direct animation”, a method of painting, scratching and stencilling directly onto motion picture celluloid.
• Different materials and paints in order to achieve a surreal and experimental look that gave it a real surface so it didn’t appear merely as painted on.

A colour box
Lye began to make films in association with the British General Post Office, for the GPO Film Unit. His 1935 film A Colour Box, an advertisement for "cheaper parcel post", was the first direct film screened to a general audience. It was made by painting vibrant abstract patterns on the film itself, synchronizing them to a popular dance tune by Don Baretto and His Cuban Orchestra.



Comments

• Len Lye presented a mass of complex and jumbled movements through painting directly onto celluloid. This had the added effect of creating a greater sense of off-screen space, as if the patterns are streaming in and out of the frame. Furthermore, the dynamic shapes seem to dance to the popular Cuban music making up the soundtrack.
• Color films were still uncommon in the 1930s & there was considerable novelty to seeing streaks & shapes & shadows in all colors bouncing around on the screen.

Rainbow dance



• An advertising film for the Post Office Savings Bank, combines original live action footage of a silhouetted dancer (Rupert Doone) with graphic backgrounds and cartoon drawings.
• Increasingly began to incorporate more 'concrete' symbols within his films, yet did so in a rather idiosyncratic manner, continuing to formally experiment with music, colour and movement.
• Len Lye used a recurring silhouetted figure in the film, enacted by dancer Rupert Doone, and transformed the surrounding mise-en-scène into a colourful, shifting landscape, aided by the use of stencil patterns and deregistration effects.
• Rainbow Dance (1936) has an increased appeal by right of incorporating a human subject. It clocks in at just under four minutes, featuring the dancing & sportsmanship of Rupert Doone turned into surreal animation, partly an early example of rotoscoping.



Len Lye’s work
• Lye’s sense of movement was rooted in the physical, “the kinetic of the body’s rhythms”, not purely a matter of visual patterns.
• Lye’s cinematic “figures of motion” sublimated their commercial purpose by emphasising geometric and all-over abstraction and direct authorial inscription.
• His work appeals to more than just our visual sense, it appeals to our physicality, our sense of our selves and our own bodies. The kinetic sculpture in particular creates a visceral reaction in the viewer - you feel the sound of it echoing through your chest as it ‘performs’ its choreographed ballet of movement and sound. Fountain III (1976) is an enormous, slowly revolving over-arching bouquet of steel rods lit with theatre lights, and it made me feel simultaneously awed, amazed and slightly seasick as I walked around it.



Significance
• Len Lye is recognised as one of New Zealand's leading contemporary artists, film-makers, sculptor and kinetic designers.
• A major initiative, led by the New Plymouth District Council, the Govett-Brewster Gallery and the Len Lye Foundation to create a landmark centre celebrating the life and works of Len Lye required significant funding and support from both within Government, and abroad.
• Contribution in developed hand-crafted abstract cinema.
• Len Lye was a major influence on Walt Disney for Fantasia.

Bibliography

• Auckland City Art Gallery (1980) Len Lye: A personal mythology 
• Bouhours, Jean Michel and Horrocks, Roger (ed) (2000) Len Lye, Paris, Edition Centre Pompidou.
• Curnow, Wystan and Horrocks, Roger (1984) Figures of Motion: Len Lye, Selected Writings'
• Horrocks, Roger (2002) Len Lye: A Biography, A
• Horrocks, Roger (ed) (2002) Happy Moments: Text and Images By Len Lye
• Kashmere, Brett (2007) "Len Lye" in Senses of Cinema
• Len Lye in Te Ara online encyclopedia
• Horrocks, Roger (2009) Art that Moves: The Work of Len Lye, 
• Horrocks, Roger (ed) (2009) Body English: Text and Images By Len Lye

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