The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello

If I haven't lent this to you already and you have half an hour spare watch this. I've posted the blurb underneath as it can tell you more than i can about it but all I can say is that it is very well done and worthy of winning the BAFTA. It is a great story well written and well produced and will keep you interested. Even though it is not mentioned in the blurb, I do believe there were some Lotte Reiniger influences (such as The Adventures of Prince Achmed). Enjoy!

The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello Blurb:

Nominated for an Oscar and for a BAFTA award, Jasper Morello is a short feature made in a unique style of silhouette animation developed by director Anthony Lucas and inspired by the work of authors Edgar Alan Poe and Jules Verne. In the frontier city of Carpathia, Jasper Morello discovers that his former adversary Doctor Claude Belgon has returned from the grave. When Claude reveals that he knows the location of the ancient city of Alto Mea where the secrets of life have been discovered, Jasper cannot resist the temptation to bring his own dead wife Amelia back. But they are captured by Armand Forgette, leader of the radical Horizontalist anti-technology movement, who is determined to reanimate his terrorist father Vasco. As lightning energises the arcane machineries of life in the floating castle of Alto Mea, Jasper must choose between having his beloved restored or seeing the government of Gothia destroyed. Set in a world of iron dirigibles and steam powered computers, this gothic horror mystery tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his Plague-ridden home on a desperate voyage to redeem himself.

Also winner of the Grand Prix award at the Annecy Animation Festival, Jasper has also won the top honours at the Canadian Film Centre's Worldwide Short Film Festival, Best Animation at Flickerfest 2005, Best Animation at the Sydney Film Festival Dendy awards and Best Animation at Toronto worldwide shorts.

The Lady and The Reaper, Kandor Moon

This is fantastic this piece of 3D. I think it is just as good as anything you would see from Pixar or any other large organisation. Kandor Moon produced this Oscar nominated short in 2009. It was directed Javier Recio Gracia and shows the story of an old women who wants to join her husband in the afterlife and is stuck between the 2 worlds because of and fight between doctor and the reaper.

It actually made me laugh out loud, it is fantastic! My favourite piece I've seen all year! Go onto Youtube, click on HD verson and watch it full screen, its that good.

Nuit Blanche, Spy Films

In this piece like the typical start of the city and the way it panned down to street level before entering into this slow motion dream state. The way it was shot reminds me a lot of the slow motion footage from Watchmen. The camera positions for the falling glass and the walking through the window are in interesting places which ensure there is a lot for the audience to take look at and take in. If you took still images from these camera angles they would be beautiful in themselves and that really appeals to me. Having frames that could be stand alone pieces (like below) really shows the quality of the footage / animation you have got / produced. And yes... unless you have not guessed I am a fan of Noir.

Making of Nuit Blanche, Spy Films

Make sure you also watch this, it's great!

The Cags, Alexei Petrov

I found this piece a while ago but it didn't have sound. Now I have found a version with sound I'll share it with you. I found piece about Cogs around the time the mini advert came out where the pens were chasing each other around the drawing board. This draws a lot of the same similarities (no pun intended) to the mini add but is more mature in the story it is telling. I like the relationship between the 2 cogs and the way the the 3D design is so well done that you can just concentrate on the story itself. The camera angles used are very well thought out and I especially like the one at 2:09 which is inside the clock but the 2 cogs are visible in the background.

Making of Camdem Crawl, Mainframe

This is a breakdown of a project produced by Mainframe. After Speaking with Chris Hardcastle from Mainframe I have been checking out the breakdowns on their website of how hey produced some of their pieces of work. I especially like this one as it shows you the step by step production and all they layers of development a job like this has to go through.

I started looking into Autodesk MatchMover last week and was intrested how they combined their 3D elements with their real time footage. This shows how they combine the 2 seamlessly. Over summer I am going to have a play with match moving and see what I can produce before coming back in September. I think this is the next logical step when i enjoy 3D work so much.

VIV Mag Interactive Feature Spread - iPad Demo

"Together with co-directors Cory Strassburger and Ming Hsiung, we produced a motion magazine cover and feature spread for Viv Mag - an all digital magazine, which would allow us to create content that will be able to live on the iPad and other tablet devices where digital magazines can live." Alex Henry

This looks like the future of magazine design. Or at least I hope this is. this is fantastic. I love it. The cross between 3D design and the After Effects editing. I know this particular piece is surrounding the idea of "sex fears" but the way the piece is put together is brilliant. The noir style of the whole piece is very close to older graphic novels such as Will Eisner and Frank Miller. This is done in a very similar style to Frank Miller's Sin City when it was made into a feature film or The Spirit which was made shortly after.

As for the ipad, I was struggling to see the point in a blown up version of an ipod touch but looking at this it could be a whole new generation of interactive material and an ideal presentation tool.

Making Of UNIFLU

This is the step by step production of the Uni Flu ad made and released in the states. I find pieces like this interesting seeing how a company goes through layers of production to get to a final piece. Its fascinating to see how much work goes in.

Bonfire have modeled a whole gym when they only use curtain sections of it. its unbelievable the amount of modeling work was put into this before it got to the animation stage. I think it is a well produced piece that is done in a similar style to Pixar. This obviously appeals to a large fan base which is a very intelligent idea by Bonfire and Uni Flu.

Astronauts, Matthew Walker

This is a really good use 3D but i think the strongest part the animation is the opening scene on the planet surface with the astronaut walking along the surface. I think from there when it loses colour in the space ship the piece visually loses excitement. I can see connections with animations such as Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts because of the way the characters have been animated. I feel the animation goes on for abit to long and it could be shortened but I'm not sure if you would get the same sense of loneliness.

Tale Of Rock, Stephen Payne

This piece by Stephen Payne shows great story telling without the use of words. This guitar-off reminds me of a clash of the titans or something along the same lines. The cheeky dinosaur is animated well and is a good character to follow. The characters actually look like they are actually playing the guitars because they are perfectly in sync. 

Relentless: Lives of the Artists Teaser

Saab Website

This is a video showing the new Saab Website which has brilliant new interactive navigation. I found this when looking around for ideas on Motiongrapher for the Big Draw brief we were given. The nature of this site keeps the observer interested. I like the interaction between the drawings and the live action. This gives me loads of ideas for future pieces. The music that plays over the top is great too as it can be continuously be played on a loop without distracting the observer from what they are looking through. I think this is one of the best interactive sites I've been on as it is visually pleasing and well put together. Like i said its always keeping you interested.

When looking through the site I came across the Perfect Curves section with the pen that can be moved around. It inspired my stop motion piece that i created for the Big Draw. I loved the idea of following the pen around the image as it is being drawn. I have translated that into a stop motion piece that will be used as a TV sting for the Big Draw festival. I will post the finished outcome later.

The Presentation, UPS

This is the third UPS advert by Psyop that is about UPS's professional printing and helping the small company owners.

The Close Call, UPS

This is the second of the UPS adverts called Close Call focusing on people on the move and the company getting in touch when a package arrives for you to pick up.

Rescue, UPS

This is the first of 3 American UPS adverts i have found. Ive put these up here because i like the 3D techniques (cheers rick) that is used to create them. I like the idea that the surroundings and characters are all made from the boxes used by UPS and therefore makes them relevant to the subject in hand. Each one is based around the ideas and promises UPS make and then creating a funny narrative to entertain the audience. The sounds are suitable for the narrative selected and combine well with the imagdry to create a unique style to their series of adverts.

Lifted, Pixar

This is an awsome short film but pixar!
This is something for you all to enjoy!
I was going to go into depth why i love it soooooooo much but........
im not.

See and judge for yourself!

Dark Phoenix, Rebeca Puebla

"Dark Phoenix was a work inspired by the character Jean Grey of the X-Men. I combined the typical clothing of the character in the comic with the face and the powers of the movie's Jean Grey" (Interview in 3D artist)

Rebeca Puebla is a freelance 3D character artist that has created characters for a wide range of companies. In the past she has created characters for companies such as Grin BCN who made the video game version of the film Wanted. Before that she also worked as a modeller on the series Pocoyo for Zinkia Entertainment. She also went on to work with Pyro Studies as a character artist. Through this she has developed a wide range of skills. She focuses on all aspects of the characters from concepts through to the surroundings and lighting.

The reason i have added this to my blog is because i love the fact she has taken this character and made it her own. I think this is really important in a piece and it attaches meaning and personalises your work. I think I have got this idea from playing in a band... hold on I am going somewhere with this. When covering a song i think it is more important and more impressive to personalise it rather than just copy it note for note. It shows you have more about you and shows that you don't ignore whats out there as well as not afraid to use other work and develop it in your own unique style.

The Beatles, Pete Candeland

This is the opening cinematics for game The Beatles™: Rock Band™ which is being released on the Sept 9th. This introduction to the game was produced by Pete Candeland who works at Passion Pictures.

Here he has managed to capture the life and the journey of the four superstars as well as putting in subliminal messages referencing to Beatle's songs and albums. He manages to take history and throw it into the 21st century by producing this modern take on a timeline. Pete has used a combination of 2D and 3D animation in this piece. The 2 dimensional work is used for a vintage 60's look towards the beginning of the animation. This then progresses into 3 dimensional animation towards the end showing how times have change and more to the point how technology and the band moved forward. Giles Martin has also managed to thread some of the Beatle's famous tracks together to produce the soundtrack to the piece. The songs are then reflected in the imagery used, showing a clear connection and a good collaboration.

The Gorillaz

You may recognise the animation style from his other pieces that have been aired all over the globe. Pete Candeland was responsible for the 8 music videos produced for the band "Gorillaz" as well as "The journey to the east" that was produced for the BBC 2008 Beijing Olympics coverage. On the Beijing project he worked with Rob Valley to produce these films that were based on the traditional Chinese folklore.

Concepts for "Journey to the far east"

Under Armour, Fierce Speed.

Shilo had just 3 weeks to go from concept to this composite with this piece. After watching this animation it shows what can be done in a short time scale with good time management. This is a dark piece aiming to promote Under Armour's New series of football boots. The animation produced gives the illusion of speed as well as showing the product all coming together. Overall the animation shows that the product could improve your performance and they are not to be taken lightly.

The illusion of speed is created by the trails left by each of the components as they fly through the air. The contrast between the bright flickering trails and the still night sky creates focus which the audience follow throughout the piece. As well as this the particles moving past each component, when focused on, show the motion and speed of each component as they come together. The camera also shakes when focusing on a component showing instability therefore exaggerating the movement of each component.

As the animation continues, you see the boot form from nothing. The pieces don't gel together, they are thrown together with exact precision which therefore shows the fierce nature of the product. The boots are almost being beaten into shape in an industrial manna. This therefore attracts the male clients to the product which is most likely to be the market Under Armour is aiming for.

The score for the piece was created by Gavin Little who based the sounds and music on the original Star Trek intro. This is a good area of research as the intro also focused on showing speed and industry together through open space. I think the score works well with the animation as the metallic sounds help bring the product together as well as exaggerating the speed of the product.

This is a great piece of advertising by Shilo, showing the product in a good light as well as attracting the right audience.

Bombay Sapphire

When looking at Saddington and Baynes i found this concept/animation of the Bombay Sapphire bottle. After our last project of the first year it is good to see that the standard I managed to achieve with my final pieces is close to the professional standard of concept ideas used in the production world. Looking at this bottle shows what a little more time and effort in this field could produce and where it could therefore lead my studies. Seeing similarities like these excites me when thinking of the future and what I'm heading towards.

S&B's Bombay Sapphire Concept:

My Burton Flask Concept:

Lost and Found

I found this piece while looking for inspiration and techniques to use while creating my next short "abandoned" piece. I plan to do this in first person as i have found the location in which to film and the ideas kept popping up in my head. I found myself laying in the fields trying to get the camera angles i wanted even without the camera by my side. Probably best i was in a field in the middle of nowhere. I'll keep you posted on how that's going.

This piece is directed by Neil Stubbings at Le Mob studio and really stood out to me. I think the animation of the first person movement is brilliant especially combining it with the blurry waking moments camera work. I haven't seen anything like this before.The sounds, designed by Gregor Rosenberger, creates the humourous quality in the piece and emphasises the observers movements and characteristics of the pink alien. This, like Zapping below, combines 3D and 2D animation beautifly. These are the techniques i would like to be able to develop in my future pieces.

Lost and Found also won the 2008 Onedotzero_ch audience award in switzerland after its showing at the award serimony.