Between

Tim Bollinger's short film "Between" is dark, surreal, and quite creepy to be honest. The film takes the viewer across various spaces, phasing through floors and walls, and going into moments that are frozen in time. It is as if the film maker is trying to dig up the dark childhood subconscious memories and then display/distort it. The film is shot with a variety of techniques including regular footage, stop-motion, compositing of photographs, and 3D animation.

Tim Bollinger 製作的 "Between" 是個相當黑暗, 超現實的短片. 老實說, 我覺得是挺詭異恐怖的. 影片帶著觀眾進入到不同的空間, 穿梭於各個牆面以及地面, 進入時間被結凍的瞬間. 感覺好像導演想要把小時候想忘掉的可怕回憶或在潛意識裡的畫面完整展現出來. 短片製作用上了不同的技巧如普通攝影, 逐格動畫, 相片合成, 以及3D動畫.

Gopher Broke

Blur Studio specializes in making cool opening and cut-scenes for video games. Yet, once a while, they'd do shorts that are just cute and fun to watch. Here's a funny little animation from them called "Gopher Broke" about a gopher trying use his smarts to steal food from trucks. Yet, he ended up with something a bit too big for him to swallow.

Blur Studio 是專門幫電玩廠商製作遊戲開頭級片尾動畫的一家公司. 不過, 它們偶爾也會做一些可愛有趣的小短片. 這個相當好笑的動畫 "Gopher Broke" 就是其中之一. 這是在述說一隻地鼠在耍小聰明, 試著從路過的卡車上偷食物. 不過最後, 他偷到的食物似乎稍嫌過大了點...

Modul

Maxim Zhestkov is a young Russian motion designer and director who often produces works that are very abstract and provocative. His diploma project "Modul" is no different. Like many of his other pieces, he only uses black and white for his color, and very primitive shapes for his forms. Yet, with these limitations, he was able to create works of fine art that are very interesting, which often has this silent, yet powerful "Zen" feel to them. Check out his website for some of his other works.

Maxim Zhestkov 是蘇俄的一個年輕動畫藝術家/導演. 他的作品通常都是非常的抽象及具想像力. 他的畢業作品 "Modul" 就是一個很好的例子. 純粹只利用簡單的幾何圖形和黑與白這兩種顏色, Maxim 把這個限制變成創意, 創造出感覺非常沉靜, 卻又強大的"禪"之意境, 相當有趣. 他的網站也有其他的作品, 可以去看看.

Durex - Get It On

I contemplated about whether or not to post this on this family-friendly blog for a long time. Then I thought, what the hell, this is too funny and brilliant to pass on. It's a hilarious spot by Superfad for Durex that involves... humping balloon dogs, with a message in the end that says "Have fun. Be safe. Always wear a condom." Take a look at these equally funny outtakes as well. (outtake 1, outtake 2, outtake 3)

我考慮該不該在這個普通級的部落格上po這影片已考慮很久了. 不過我想, 這麼爆笑又出色的廣告要不介紹的話實在是太可惜了. 這是 Superfad 為美國的一家保險套公司 Durex 所製作的廣告, 秀出一群在... 嘿秀的氣球狗. 最後的標語是這樣寫的: "快活的玩, 安全第一, 永遠都要戴上保險套." 有空也看看這些一樣搞笑的被剪片段 (outtake 1, outtake 2, outtake 3)

This Way Up

Dark, morbid and wonderfully pointless, "This Way Up" is a short from the London studio Nexus that looks at the subject of death with a unique sense of humor. The dark humor reminds me of the short "Fallen Art". I find it funny how the short portrays the afterlife as a world full of energy and color, which is in direct contrast with the dull and boring mortal world. This short won the SIGGRAPH 2009 animation festival competition as well as the Academy Awards nomination for best animated short. Check out their official site for some behind the scenes stuff.

倫敦來的 Nexus 所製作的 "This Way Up" (從這兒上去) 有點黑暗又詭異, 看似毫無意義, 但是卻又很搞笑, 很有趣. 它用風趣輕鬆的角度來看待"死亡"這個嚴肅的課題. 整體的黑色幽默感覺很像之前介紹的 "Fallen Art". 其中我覺得很特別的是, 短片把死後的世界刻畫得色彩繽紛又充滿活力, 跟灰暗又沉悶的現世形成了強烈對比. 這動畫贏得了 2009 SIGGRAPH 動畫獎以及奧斯卡最佳動畫短片提名. 它們的官方網站有一些幕後製作可以看看.

The Third & The Seventh

When I first watched this short, I thought it was just a pretty well-shot footage with a very good camera (with a little effects added). And then, the description shocked me: this film is entirely in CG. I was skeptic of this until I watched the compositing breakdown. Man, this guy, Alex Roman, sure knows how to render. It's also quite refreshing to see a lot of well-known architecture masterpiece showcased here, in very photogenic angles.

當我第一次看到這短片 "The Third & The Seventh" (第三與第七) 時, 我只是覺得這是個用一台不錯的攝影機拍的高畫質影片罷了. 不過, 當我看到解釋時則大驚: 這短片全是電腦CG製作. 本來還不太敢相信, 但是看到這製作解析之後, 還真的不得不佩服製作人 Alex Roman 的3D功夫. 看到短片裡秀出許多知名的建築大作, 卻用一般人不會想到的角度去拍攝, 也是感覺蠻新奇的.

How Will You Create The Universe

Ever heard of this little game from EA Maxis called "Spore"? well, back in 2008 when Electronic Arts is about to release the game, they commissioned Encyclopedia Pictura to create this ad spot for them. it was ultimately, however, cancelled. Out of pure love of animation and dedication to this project, Encyclopedia Pictura teamed up with Tippet Studio to finish this project with no pay. The whole short has a unique and distinct visual style that's found in the actual game. Such a shame on EA, for this spot would definitely grab audience's attention to the game.

有聽過 "Spore" 這個由EA(美商藝電)所出的一個小遊戲嗎? 2008年, 當EA要發行這遊戲時, 他們委託 Encyclopedia Pictura 為此遊戲製作這則廣告 "How Will You Create The Universe". (你要如何創造宇宙) 不過最後卻被取消了. 基於對動畫的熱忱, Encyclopedia Pictura 和 Tippet Studio 合作自掏腰包, 硬是把這短片製作出來. 整個動畫在視覺上非常類似 "Spore" 這遊戲的風格. EA真的應該感到可惜, 這麼有趣的廣告要是播出的話, 一定會讓許多人注意到這遊戲吧.

Inception - Trailer

Stumbled on the trailer for this movie called "Inception" by director Christopher Nolan. The preview is simultaneous exciting and puzzling. After watching the trailer for the 5th time, I still have absolutely no idea what the hell this movie is about. The synopsis does not help much either: "A contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." However, all these doesn't stop the trailer from looking awesome and the fact that it's directed by the director who made some of the greatest movies of all time. (The Dark Knight, The Prestige) So, count me in on this one!

某天亂逛網路時偶然看到這部由 Christopher Nolan 導, 名叫 "Inception" (直譯: "初始") 的電影預告, 讓我同時變的很興奮, 卻又摸不著頭緒. 就算看了5遍, 還是不知道這電影是在講什麼. 簡介似乎也是沒什麼用: "一個現代的科幻動作片, 發生在精神的結構之中." 不過, 不管這電影要說什麼, 看起來似乎相當的精采. 而且這可是由導過如"黑暗騎士"和"頂尖對決"這些世紀大片的導演操刀的, 所以當然是不能錯過啦!

The Black Hole

The directors at HSI London were able to turn a simple concept into an engaging and humorous film - "The Black Hole". According to the description, "A sleep-deprived office worker accidentally discovers a black hole - and then greed gets the better of him..." For some reason this reminds me of my previous post "The Gloaming", except funnier and much less creepy. Seems like white-collar workers never end up too well in the movie world...

HSI London 的導演們從一個簡單概念延伸出了一個有趣又幽默的故事. "The Black Hole" (黑洞) 是有關一個睡眠不足的上班族, 某晚突然發現了個黑洞, 而變得貪心過頭. 這短片感覺很像之前po的 "The Gloaming", 只是比較搞笑, 沒有那麼恐怖. 好像在電影世界裡, 上班族都沒什麼好下場...

Superflat Monogram

Takashi Murakami is one of my favorite artists out there today. Heavily influenced by the Japanese anime culture, his artworks often involves flat shaded characters in bright, saturated colors and are simultaneously cute and scary. That's why I was really curious about this animation he did for Louis Vuitton. Those of you who follow fashion probably know that Murakami designed the monogram for a line of LV bags back in 2003. To promote this collaboration, he also did a short animated film about a Japanese school girl got "sucked" into the world of Louise Vuitton, and her bizarre adventures there. Murakami has recently created a sequel to the original animation to celebrate the six years-long partnership with LV.

村上隆是現今我最欣賞的藝術家之一. 它的作品有著濃濃的日本動畫風, 經常使用色彩鮮豔, 有點可愛又有點恐怖的角色. 所以當我聽說他要幫 Louis Vuitton 做動畫時自然是會變的相當好奇. 有在跟隨時尚流行的人大概都知道, 村上隆在2003年時曾幫LV設計一系列的包包. 為了宣傳合作, 他也幫LV製作了個動畫短片, 有關一個女學生被"吸進"了LV的世界裡, 而展開了她的奇幻旅程. 最近, 村上隆又幫LV做了那個短片的續集, 來慶祝與他們6年來的合作關係.