MediaCityUK - Take Note

When I was studying architecture back in college, I've seen a lot of architectural visualizations, both from students and professionals. However, I have never seen any of them putting a little fun and charm into the project like this one, even if the architecture itself isn't that interesting. "Take Note" is a visualization video for MediaCityUK, a multi-purpose development for BBC in Salford, UK. Created by Andrew Li, the video starts out with millions of post-its (anyone remember "Deadline"?) forming the building. Then, instead of putting boring human figures in, Andrew populated it with colorful and comical characters going about their daily lives.

之前在大學裡學建築時, 曾經看過不少3D建築模型影片, 有學生做的也有職業級的. 不過, 我重來沒看過一個建築影片是這麼的新鮮可愛. "Take Note"是Andrew Li為BBC在英國Salford的都市園區規劃 - MediaCityUK, 所製做的建築模擬短片. 雖然設計本身不怎麼樣, 但影片的呈現方式卻很有趣. 動畫一開始由許多便利貼 (還記得之前介紹的"Deadline"嗎?) 形成一個個高樓. 然後, 不同於一般無聊的建築影片所放的一些人像, Andrew 則放進了活潑又滑稽的卡通人物生活在這些空間裡.

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc.

Ever heard of beatboxing? Some of the beatboxers out there are so good I wonder if they are just some instrumental robots disguised under human skins. Partizan Lab took this idea to the extreme and created this creative little music video "Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc." The video shows some lab workers literally playing, spinning and drumming various human heads, and each head would make the corresponding sound with their voice when they are being "played". The track features a group of Scottish DJs called "Scratch Perverts".

有聽過Beatbox嗎? 就是純粹用嘴巴製造出不同節奏音效的一種表演. 有些beatbox的人真的很厲害, 強到讓我懷疑他們是不是披著人皮的樂器機器人. Partizan Lab 把這概念應用在 MV "Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc."裡（這實在是有夠難翻譯... 應該是叫"聲波神經音頻醫療研究所"吧?) 影片裡的研究人員把不同的"人頭"當成鼓來敲打, 或唱片刮盤來DJ. 而這些"人頭樂器"則會跟著會用嘴巴發出聲音來演奏出音樂節奏．影片音樂來自蘇格蘭的DJ樂團"Scratch Perverts".

One Rat Short

"One Rat Short" is a short film from the New York based studio Charlex. It's a heartfelt story between a street rat and a lab rat, living in two opposite worlds, and fell into the forbidden love. Charlex has managed to craft a tale that is both gritty yet cute, realistic yet imaginative. The extreme juxtaposition between the two lovers and the world they live in: One being dirty, grim and dark, and the other one being completely clean, bright and sterile, really highlights the contrast between these two rats. This short is the winner of 2006 SIGGRAPH animation festival.

"One Rat Short"(少了一隻鼠)是紐約的一家叫Charlex的公司製作的短片. 這個感人的動畫在描述一隻街鼠跟一隻白老鼠, 住在兩個完全相反的世界, 陷入了不被准許的愛. Charlex創造出了一個黑暗但又很可愛, 真實卻又很有想像力的故事. 這兩個愛人(愛鼠?)所在的世界：一個是骯髒又黑暗的地下道, 另一個則是白淨又冷酷的實驗室, 凸顯了他們的對比. 這個短片贏得了2006 SIGGRAPH 最佳動畫獎.

UNIQLOCK in Paris

UNIQLO is a clothing brand from Japan. They started out as a cheaper and more casual clothing choice, but gradually became the hip and trendy name in the fashion world in recently years. I think part of their success is due to their unique and creative marketing strategies. One of those is called the "UNIQLOCK" which periodically shows alternating footages of pretty girls dancing in UNIQLO cloths, and a clock that displays your current local time, all the while playing charming music in the background. It's really hard to describe in words as it's something that needs to be experienced by yourself. Following the new opening of a flagship store in Paris, they've decided to launch a UNIQLOCK at that city too.

UNIQLO 是一家日本的服飾品牌. 剛開始時他們本來是走低價休閒路線的. 不過, 近年來也慢慢的變成了一個很流行的時尚品牌. 我認為他們成功的一部分原因是因為他們的廣告以及推銷方法十分的有創意而且與眾不同. "UNIQLOCK"就是這些手法之一. 用有規律的節奏一下秀出一群美少女們穿著UNIQLO的衣服跳著舞, 一下又跳到一個時鐘播報當地時間, 配上輕快的音樂, 這就是UNIQLOCK, 是一個你必須去親自體驗的東西. 最近他們在巴黎新開了一家分店, 所以也搞了個巴黎版的UNIQLOCK來打廣告.

Fumiko's Confession

Ah, gotta love those ridiculous and hilarious Japanese anime! "Fumiko's Confession" is an independent short created by Hiroyasu Ishida and peers, and it shows the charm and the quirkiness that is so distinctively Japanese. For the people who don't understand the language (like me), fear not - we've got the helpful and powerful YouTube community out there that helped us on translation: (Be sure to check out the making of too)

(Beginning)

Girl: "Please go out with me!"

Boy: "Sorry! Right now I want to focus on baseball!"

Girl: "Waaah!! Takashi-Kun you idiot!!"

(End)

Girl: "I'll make miso soup for you at home every morning!!"

Boy: "Sorry! I really want to focus on baseball!"

Girl: "Ahh!!" (falls unconscious)

真的很喜歡爆笑又搞怪的日本動畫! "美子的告白"是廣安石田和夥伴製作的一個動畫短片. 這部短片的古怪風以及趣味真的是非常的日式風格. 如果你跟我一樣聽不懂日文的話, 別擔心, 有YouTube的社群來幫忙翻譯: (別忘了看一下幕後製作)

(開始)

女: "請你和我交往!"

男: "對不起! 現在我想專注在棒球上!"

女: "哇!!! 隆同學你這個笨蛋!!"

(結束)

女: "我會每天早上在你家做味增湯給你!!"

男: "對不起! 現在我真的只想專注在棒球上!"

女: "啊...!!" (昏倒)

Plaid - Itsu

The vegetarians out there might like this video a lot, and as for everyone else... well, it really depends on your taste for weird and edgy films. Plaid is a British electronic duo who often makes musics for shorts and feature films. (Tekkon- kinkreet and Heaven's Door) Their MV "Itsu", is directed by Pleix, a group of French directors and artists who creates strange and provocative films that often have a social commentary. This video seems to be a criticism to how the cooperations chemically and genetically alter our food in order to bring in more profit, and human-beings, in the most primitive forms, are no different than the food they eat.

素食主義者應該會很喜歡這個短片, 而其他人呢... 就要看你們喜不喜歡有點怪異的片了. Plaid是一對英國的電子音樂團體, 常常會幫一些短片和電影做音樂. (Tekkonkinkreet 和 Heaven's Door) 他們的MV "Itsu" 是由法國的一個製片團體Pleix所做的. Pleix常常喜歡用他們的短片做社會批判, 而"Itsu"當然也不例外. 這片似乎是在講現今的食品公司, 為了利益, 常用化學和基因改造我們的食物. 而人類的原始型態和我們所吃的動物並沒什麼不同.

Deadline

Stop-motion animation is really a labor of intense passion and dedication. a fellow Taiwanese student Bang-Yao Liu created the short "Deadline" for his senior project at Savannah College of Art and Design. To create this video he and his crew had to use about 6,000 post-it notes and 4 days of work to continuously stick and re-stick post-its all over the wall. The result is an interesting pixelated effect that reminds me of those retro Atari and Nintendo games of the 80's. Click here to watch the making of.

逐格動畫真的是很辛苦又費工夫啊. 一個名叫劉邦耀(謝謝Ru所提供的資料!)的台灣學生在Savannah College of Art and Design做了一部叫"Deadline"的畢業動畫. 為了這部短片, 他和朋友花了6000張Post-it便利貼和4天的時間不斷重複把貼紙黏上又摘下. 最後終於達成了有趣的低畫素效果, 感覺很像80年代的Atari或任天堂的遊戲畫面. 按這裡看幕後製作.