Citoplasmas

A friend of mine who's currently in a medical school in Poland has sent me this fun little clay animation from the Spanish studio Citoplasmas. Using the strength of claymation, this short tries to demonstrate the "terrible and funny consequences of a boring class" by deforming and defacing its clay characters. I really have to wonder if this is what that medical student friend of mine feels during all his classes?

我一個在波蘭讀醫學院的朋友寄給我了一個還蠻有趣的黏土動畫. 由西班牙的 Citoplasmas 製作, 這個動畫充分使用了黏土的特性, 盡情的把裡面各種黏土角色的臉弄得扭曲變形, 來表示大學裡有些課堂的無聊程度. 我好奇的是, 這動畫是不是反映出了那個醫學系朋友在課堂裡的心聲了呢?

Thanks, Dallas!

Carousel

Stink Digital has created this epic promo for Philips' Cinema 21:9 HDTV. The pitch is to create something so cinematic, that it can match with Hollywood's best theatric experience, and they did just that. The spot depicts a a single, frozen moment in the midst of a battle between the cops and the robbers, through a single camera that moves across the entire scene, Matrix style. The reason why this is titled "Carousel" is because, like an actual carousel, its end connects seamlessly with its beginning, and can be played in an endless loop.

Stink Digital 為飛利浦最新的電視 Cinema 21:9 做了一個宣傳廣告. 客戶的要求是, 製作一個可以和好萊塢動作片相競的戲劇性體驗, 而 Stink Digital 也的確辦到了. 這影片秀出了警察和帶著小丑面具的強盜對持的一瞬間. 攝影機在這時間被凍結的場景裡四處穿梭, 感覺很像駭客任務的拍攝手法. 這影片名叫 "Carousel" (旋轉木馬) 的原因是它也是在自我循環. 短片結尾就是它的開頭, 跟一個旋轉木馬一樣, 可以不停的, 無間隙的重複播放.

Carbon Footprint

Jellyfish Pictures has made this haunting commercial for Discovery called "Carbon Footprint" to promote environmental awareness and the importance of recycling. The spot shows a time-lapse footage of a can slowly deteriorating and eventually breaking apart, with a message at the end that reads "It takes a second for you to recycle a can. It takes 50 years for a can to recycle itself." Quite a simple yet powerful idea that conveys its message clearly.

Jellyfish Pictures 為 Discovery 製作了一個名叫 "Carbon Footprint" (碳足跡) 的廣告, 為了宣傳環保及資源回收的重要性. 廣告以加速快轉影片的方式呈現, 秀出一個鋁罐, 在時間的流逝下, 慢慢的生鏽腐爛, 直到消失. 影片最後寫 "回收一個罐子只需要你一秒, 要罐子回收自己則需要50年." 真的是一個簡單卻又強烈的訊息啊.

The Lady And The Reaper

There is one other animation that I really like on the Oscar nominated shorts this year, and that's "The Lady and the Reaper" by the Spanish team Kandor Moon. Even though it's dealing with the theme of death, (why do I see so many shorts like that these days?) the animation is really fast-paced, fun and humorous. Especially when everything just gets so weird and surreal near the end. Click here to check out the concept art and character designs.

這次的奧斯卡最佳動畫短片提名裡另一個讓我覺得很有趣的動畫是由西班牙來的 Kandor Moon 所製作的 "The Lady and the Reaper" (婦人與死神). 雖然這是有關死亡的故事, (怎麼最近常常看到這種短片?) 不過卻相當的幽默搞笑, 步調輕快. 尤其是在結尾時, 故事變的越來越瘋狂, 越來越有想像力. 按這裡看它的草圖和角色設計.

Slo-Mo Surfing

BBC has shot this super slow motion HD footage of a surfer in some huge waves. Seeing the motion of the water and how the surfer glides through them is absolutely stunning. I feel like certain things always look more beautiful and dramatic in slo-mo. (remember the bullets and the fire?) If your connection speed is fast enough, I highly suggest you turn it on to 1080p HD and watch it in full screen.

BBC (英國最大的新聞電台) 拍了一個超慢速的 HD 衝浪影片. 這些水流優雅的變化, 以及衝浪手輕鬆的滑越過由水形成的通道那瞬間真的很驚艷又美麗. 我覺得有些事物以超慢速播出感覺真的比較優美, 有戲劇性, 會讓你發現平常不會看到的事. (還記得子彈跟火焰的影片嗎?) 如果你網路夠快的話, 我建議你把影片調成1080p HD 高畫質, 並以全螢幕欣賞.

Greedy Boy

"Greedy Boy" is a graduate project by Flew that is quite similar to my previous post "Moonboy", except the main character here may not be as sympathetic as the other one. The story is quite simple, described in one line by the creator as "A boy eats everything he can and doesn't know when to stop." The ending of this short can be a little shocking and may gross some of you out, so don't say I didn't warn you!

之前介紹了 "Moonboy" (月亮男孩), 那今天就介紹一下"Greedy Boy" (貪婪男孩) 吧. 兩部短片感覺相當類似, 但是這片的主角可沒那麼令人同情. 作者 Flew 就說了, "這是個有關一名什麼都要吃掉, 不知何時停止的男孩." 看到他張開的血盆大口也是不難想像. 結局有點驚人加噁心, 所以要看的人請有自知.

Guerre Naïve

Although it is probably a bit too late, but I still want to wish everyone a happy Chinese New Year! For this reason, I'm posting this short inspired by the mask-wearing children on the streets in China during the new years, called "Guerre Naïve", which translates to "Naive War". Made by the students in the world-famous French animation school Supinfocom, this short is very stylized: sometimes giving the look of paper-cut stop motion, other times it looks like live-action or video game footage.

雖然有點晚了, 但是我還是要跟大家說一聲, 新年快樂! 虎年行大運! 因為這原因, 我打算介紹這個短片 "Guerre Naïve". (幼稚的戰爭) 話說這是由在新年的時候, 在中國街道上帶著面具玩耍的孩子們身上所取得靈感的. 由世界知名的法國動畫學院 Supinfocom 裡的學生製作, 這短片可說是十分有自己的風格: 有時候感覺像是用紙做出來的逐格動畫, 有時後又有點像真實影片, 又有時候則像是電玩畫面, 相當有趣.

F5 Titles

In April last year, at New York City, there was a 2-day conference involving some of the greatest and most creative minds in motion and interactive design industry. this conference is called "F5". An initiative from Motionographer, speakers from studios such as The Mill, 1stAveMachine, and many others gathered up and shared their insights and creative processes. Its title sequence, created by Dvein, was to "match the eclectic spirit of the conference ... to get the soul of the speakers into the titles in some way." The end result was nothing short of mind-blowing. I really wish I could have attended that conference...

去年四月, 在紐約市, 有一場為期兩天, 名叫 "F5" 的動態媒體設計以及互動藝術的會談. 許多現今最有創意的特效, 動畫和設計公司如 The Mill 及 1stAveMachine 都有參加這場由 Motionographer 主持的會談, 互相分享它們的靈感和創作過程. 這會談的開頭短片是由 Dvein 製作, 為了 "符合這會議多元化的精神. 在這短片不同的片斷裡, 捕捉到這些動態藝術家的靈魂." 短片本身我覺得就像是一件藝術品, 非常的特別. 真希望我也能去參加這會談啊...

Signs

I usually don't post films that don't feature its animation or visual effects. However, this short is way too touching to be passed on. Directed by Patric Hughes, This is a love story about how two people working at neighboring companies met, and ultimately fell in love. Even though it's a love story that relies on the dynamics of its two characters, theres is not a single dialog to be found in this film. Instead, the two lovers communicate in a distance through written signs. Watch the lower res but faster loading version here.

我通常不會介紹和動畫或特效無關的影片, 不過, 這短片實在是太可愛又感人, 讓我覺得不放有點可惜. 由 Patric Hughes 導, 這是個有關兩個在隔壁公司上班的員工初次見面, 而漸漸陷入愛河的愛情故事. 雖然說重點是在這兩人的互動上, 但是本片完全沒有半句對話. 男女兩人的溝通完全是透過在招牌上寫字或畫圖, 但是卻可以從中感到他們對互相的感情. 按這裡看快速下載低畫質版.

French Roast

The 2010 Oscar nomination has recently been announced, and among the nominees for best animated short film, my favorite one has got to be "French Roast", produced by Pumpkin Factory / Bibo Films. The story itself is fun and charming, but it is really the unique cinematography that intrigues me. The whole animation uses a single camera angle, and never switches its view to a different perspective. The camera itself only pans or zooms, but never rotates. With this clever use of camera motion, fade-in and fade-out transitions, and the large mirror at the very back, the film is able to convey the whole story with just a single shot, a very unique story-telling technique indeed. For a list of other animations that got nominated, click here and scroll down to "Short Film (Animated)".

2010 年的奧斯卡提名出爐了, 而在動畫短片的名單中, 我最喜歡的作品是由 Pumpkin Factory / Bibo Films 製作的 "French Roast". (法式烘焙) 雖然故事風趣幽默, 但是這短片真正特別的地方是它的用鏡. 整個動畫就只用一個鏡頭, 從來不換到其他的角度. 攝影機會上下左右移動, 但從來不旋轉. 利用這巧妙的運鏡方式, 淡入淡出的變換畫面, 以及後頭的那面大鏡子, 這短片以相當特別有趣的方法描述了一個故事. 要知道還有哪些動畫短片被提名的話請按這, 然後到 "Short Film (Animated)" 的部分.

Don't Take Chances. Take Charge.

I remember my visual psychology professor back in college once said that, human brains are programmed to recognize faces, even on the most random and irrelevant things. This is why people freak out when they see the face on mars and the Virgin Mary grilled cheese is sold for $28,000 on ebay. While, in fact, they are just a regular rock on mars and a burnt piece of bread. This is also why, this commercial from American Express really caught my eye: they've used this simple concept and created a whole video featuring mundane objects arranged like faces. Suddenly, those objects are not so mundane anymore, and could even convey emotions to us.

我還記得在讀大學時, 我的視覺心理學教授曾跟我們說, 人類的大腦被設定成特別容易識別"臉", 而且對臉的視覺感應比其他事物都來的靈敏, 就算那些"臉"的形狀根本是由無關的東西碰巧形成的. 這也是為什麼當人們看到火星上的人面石會那麼驚訝, 而聖母馬利亞像的烤麵包會在網拍上以$28,000美元的天價賣出. 說穿了那些東西只不過是普通的石頭和烤焦麵包而已. 而美國運通就是利用這特點來打廣告: 廣告裡秀出了一些平淡無奇, 每天都會看到的物品或場景. 但是由於那些東西形成了一張張"臉"的樣貌, 而突然好像沒那麼無聊, 反而好像在對觀眾傳達某種情感.

Salty

Here is a sad story about a little salt bottle guy who got abandoned by his family. Why? Because the family found something healthier than salt, and it's Knorr's Side Kick! If that sounds like an advertisement tag line, that's because it is an advertisement. However, AXYZ's creation is still a cute and soulful clip. Furthermore, who can possibly resist a crying little salt bottle in rain! Here are some other clips involving our little guy Salty: "Dating" and "Brace".

這是悲傷的故事: 一個可憐的小鹽巴罐被他的家人拋棄了. 為什麼呢? 因為他家人找到了更健康的選擇, 那就是 Knorr 的 Side Kick! (一家加拿大公司出產的低鈉鹽) 如果這聽起來像是廣告詞的話, 那是因為這本來就是個廣告. 不過, 這個由 AXYZ 所製作的短片還是相當的可愛又惹人憐啊. 更何況, 誰能忍心看著一個在雨中哭泣的鹽巴罐而不同情的呢? 也看看其他 Salty 的短片吧: "Dating" (約會) 和 "Brace" (支撐).

Moonboy

Do you get a feeling that, sometimes this world is just so messed up, you wish you could just run away from everything? The guys at MoreFrames sure do, and have expressed it through the emotional animation "Moonboy". In this short film of "a boy who wishes for better things", our unibrow hero got so fed up by what he sees on TV, that he eventually went on to the moon to escape from everything.

你會不會有時候覺得, 這個世界這麼的混亂, 讓你很想找個地方逃走, 一走了之? 在 MoreFrames 裡面的導演們似乎也有這種感覺, 所以用 "Moonboy" (月亮男孩) 這有點感傷的短片來表達他們的想法. 在這短片裡, 有個一字眉的小男孩, 受不了在電視上看到的事物, 而學嫦娥奔月去了.

Sundance Openings

Just came back from Sundance Film Festival 2010, and man, I've got to say it was an amazing experience. (It is one of the biggest independent film festival held in Park City, Utah every year in January) I was lucky enough to see a screening of a fun film that parodies the modern day horror film. Yet, the thing that left a stronger impression was actually the opening animation that plays before every Sundance films. These openings, created by Buck, are all stop-motion animations, and all end with the word "Rebel", the theme for the festival this year. There are 4 pieces: "Grow Underground", "Come Together", "Begin Again", and "Tell Your Own Story".

剛從 2010 年日舞影展回來, 說真的這實在是個很棒的體驗. (日舞影展是美國規模最大的獨立電影影展. 每年一月於猶他州舉行) 我很幸運的看到了一部蠻有趣的獨立喜劇, 是有點像是在嘲笑好萊塢恐怖片的電影. 不過, 令我印象最深刻的不是那部電影, 而是在電影放映前的開頭短片. 日舞影展委託一家叫 Buck 的公司為他們製作4個短片為每部電影做開頭. 這些都是逐格動畫, 而且都以 "Rebel" ("叛逆" - 今年的主題) 這個字做結尾. 這4個動畫分別為: "Grow Underground" (地底生長), "Come Together" (集合), "Begin Again" (重新開始), 和 "Tell Your Own Story" (述說自己的故事).