A Letter to Momo // ももへの手紙
Description emptykingdom
Nowadays, I can pretty much rely on an animated feature to have a certain level of craftsmanship and style. It’s really somewhat of an expected standard. But when I heard that director Hiroyuki Okiura (Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade), animation director / character designer Masashi Ando, and art director Hiroshi Ohno were joining forces for a collaborative release, I gave a sigh of relief knowing that the bar would once again be set even higher. A Letter to Momo // ももへの手紙, appreciate it folks. More story details as follows (via TIFF 2011):
“Seven years in the making, the exquisitely crafted A Letter to Momo is the highly anticipated second feature from world-renowned anime director Hiroyuki Okiura, whose 1999 film Jin-Roh met with international acclaim.
Clinging to an unfinished letter written by her recently deceased father, young Momo moves with her mother from bustling Tokyo to the remote Japanese island of Shio. Upon their arrival, she begins to explore her new habitat, meeting local children and learning their routines and customs. However, it’s not long before several bizarre occurrences crop up around the previously tranquil island. Orchards are found ransacked, prized trinkets start disappearing and, worst of all, each morning after her mother leaves for work, Momo hears strange mumblings coming from the attic of their home.
Annoyed by these creepy goings-on and her mother’s refusal to believe them, Momo embarks on a strange and supernatural adventure to discover the source of the mischief, which leads her to a trio of troublesome imps: the flatulent lizard Kawa, the childlike Mame and their hulking ogre leader Iwa. Momo also learns that her visit to the island is in some way connected to her father’s mysterious letter.
After a decade-long absence from the director’s chair, Okiura has enlisted a world-class team of creators, including animation supervisor Masashi Ando, who previously worked on Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. From the painstakingly rendered serenity of the island’s Shinto shrines to the film’s high-energy, ghostly climax, A Letter to Momo is a triumph of traditional hand-drawn animation. This sensitive coming-of-age story is both a child-friendly exploration of loss and an enchanting flight of imagination.”
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Fail Again, Fail Better
“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat” -F. Scott Fitzgerald
Summer Internship project produced at BL:ND / blind.com
Direction / Design / Animation by David Bauer, Michael Ko and Sara Shin.
Sound design by David Kamp / davidkamp.de
Sara Shin / sarashin.tv
David Bauer / dabinmotion.ch
Mike Ko / mike-Ko.com
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Takashi Murakami Discusses ‘Jellyfish Eyes’ Monster Film
Description hypebeast
Having already conquered an art world that has seen his anime-inspired characters embraced by the masses and his blissed-out flowers sprouted from the walls of the biggest collectors in the world, Takashi Murakami is now setting his sights on the the silver screen. With aspirations to bring his work to life using CGI for a monster movie like Godzilla, which was born out of fear of nuclear terror, his latest vision draws inspiration from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Titled Jellyfish Eyes, the movie follows a young boy who after an earthquake has to move with his family to an “experimental city” where each child is paired with a small monster. Murakami hopes to release his film later this year.
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Amalgamation
Description smileinyourface
Hundreds of faces seamlessly morph into one another in this mind blowing video animation called ‘Amalgamation’. The soundtrack full with fuzzy bleeps and melodies plays along while kids with braces blend into bearded men which then become smiling women. Your brain is not ready for this!
Motion design by Micaël Reynaud and portraits by Michael Jang.
Music by Memory Tapes.
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Emile Cohl - Fantasmagorie 1908
Émile Cohl created Fantasmagorie in 1908.
To make this film, Cohl placed each drawing on an illuminated glass plate and then traced the next drawing-with variations-on top of it until he had some 700 drawings. In 1908, chalkboard caricaturists were common vaudeville attractions and the characters in the film look as though they’ve been drawn on a chalkboard, but it’s an illusion. By filming black lines on paper and then printing in negative Cohl makes his animations appear to be chalk drawings.
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Children Who Chase Lost Voices…
Description emptykingdomDirector Makoto Shinkai knows how to extract an intimate detail, and resonate its relevance through every aspect of the story. A trend that continues in his beautifully-crafted 2011 feature Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below (Hoshi o Ou Kodomo). The synopsis can be read as follows (via BFI):
“Young Asuna spends much of her time outdoors accompanied by Mimi, her cat. An encounter with a large, sharp-toothed bear-creature also brings her into contact with a brave young man who appears to have superhuman powers. He introduces himself as Shun, a warrior from Agartha, an underground land where the beasts (or Quetzalcoatl) guard the entrance to prevent ‘topsiders’ like Asuna from entering. There are people who believe that this world has properties that will bring people back from the dead, and this puts Shun and his people in danger from a ruthless group of soldiers intent on gaining access to Agartha at any cost. This thought-provoking and beautifully made animated picture tenderly deals with the part in all of us that wishes we could have had that last opportunity to say goodbye to someone we’ve lost. Although breathtakingly original, the film has elements of the best of both Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Existing fans of Makoto Shinkai’s work are going to be delighted, and its universal appeal is going to win him a whole new audience in the process.”
Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below (Hoshi o Ou Kodomo)
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Going Solo.
Description notcot
Going Solo - by Studio Botes. A sweet stopframe animation. Business advice from designers around the world.
“A stop frame animation created for the Toffie Festival 2011. It shares advice from local (South African) and international designers on starting your own business.” by Studio Botes
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Google Doodles Freddie Mercury
Description theinspirationroom
Google today marks the 65th birthday of Freddie Mercury, lead singer for Queen until his death in 1991, with an animated Google Doodle. The 98-second-long animation shows the lead singer of the British rock band Queen navigating through a crazy world inspired by his own lyrics. In one scene that looks like an old-school video game, Mercury bounces off clouds, flies on a tiger and shoots at aliens from a spaceship, all to his hit song “Don’t Stop Me Now.” The Google Blog features a guest post by Queen guitarist Brian May, “Happy Birthday, Freddie Mercury“.
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In The Fall
Description adverblog
In the Fall is a short, hand drawn animation that shows a man accidentally falling off a tall building. As the man falls his entire life quickly flashes before his eyes. Steve Cutts’ super idea and execution is amusing and insightful. It’s a beautiful melancholic short film, a great reminder we should never lose perspective and get trapped into work.
A short hand-drawn animation created in Adobe Flash and After Effects about one mans reflection on his life. Music by Guided by Voices.
facebook.com/SteveCuttsArt
twitter.com/#!/Steve_Cutts
stevecutts.com
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‘Masterpieces’ by Georg Jensen featuring Alfredo Häberli
Description trendland
A great video animation celebrating the process of design. Creative director Thomas Lykke of OeO was put in charge of making a film showing the creative process of Alfredo Häberli as he designs a range of kitchen accessories for Georg Jensen, launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile.
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‘Masterpieces’ by Georg Jensen featuring Alfredo Häberli
Description trendland
A great video animation celebrating the process of design. Creative director Thomas Lykke of OeO was put in charge of making a film showing the creative process of Alfredo Häberli as he designs a range of kitchen accessories for Georg Jensen, launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile.
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likes
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絵に描いたようなオアシス、ゴビ砂漠
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New work from Olly Moss.
