Posts tagged animation

cheatsheet:

Maurice Sendak would have been 85 today. Watch this animated short with audio from a Newsweek interview in which he talks about his childhood. 

FJP: The latest in the series by PBS Digital Studios & Blank on Blank. We love it. See also: The Beastie Boys on Being Stupid and James Brown on Conviction, Respect and Reagan.

Bonus: Our interview with Blank on Blank’s founder.

Ray Harryhausen, Special Effects Extraordinaire, Passes Away Ray Harryhausen, the man responsible for stop-motion animation in such films as Jason And The Argonauts (1963) and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), died at 92-years-old on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. Via Huffington Post: Though his on-screen credit was often simply “technical effects” or “special visual effects,” Mr. Harryhausen usually played a principal creative role in the films featuring his work. He frequently proposed the initial concept, scouted the locations and shaped the story, script, art direction and design around his ideas for fresh ways to amaze an audience. Other than Harryhausen’s impressive ability to multitask in all areas of film production, his approach to animation was unique and notable in that he didn’t want his fantasy creatures to appear real to the audience.  Via Mashable: Two things for those of us weaned on CGI to notice here. Firstly, although these clay models are made to seem like living, breathing creatures, Harryhausen didn’t intend to replicate reality. He was looking for that curious, nightmarish effect stop-motion can have. “If you make fantasy too real,” he said, “it loses the quality of a dream.” FJP: Harryhausen is being called “The Master of Stop Motion,” by NPR, “A Visual Effects Guru” by The Los Angeles Times, and the “Hollywood Effects Wizard,” by USA Today. But to an ex-film-school rat who spent a good chunk of her educational years analyzing and worshipping the pioneers of sci-fi special effects — he’s nothing but LEGEND.  And through his works of creative genius, his legend will live on. — Krissy Image: Ray Harryhausen with some of his creatures, Huffington Post

Ray Harryhausen, Special Effects Extraordinaire, Passes Away

Ray Harryhausen, the man responsible for stop-motion animation in such films as Jason And The Argonauts (1963) and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), died at 92-years-old on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

Via Huffington Post:

Though his on-screen credit was often simply “technical effects” or “special visual effects,” Mr. Harryhausen usually played a principal creative role in the films featuring his work. He frequently proposed the initial concept, scouted the locations and shaped the story, script, art direction and design around his ideas for fresh ways to amaze an audience.

Other than Harryhausen’s impressive ability to multitask in all areas of film production, his approach to animation was unique and notable in that he didn’t want his fantasy creatures to appear real to the audience. 

Via Mashable:

Two things for those of us weaned on CGI to notice here. Firstly, although these clay models are made to seem like living, breathing creatures, Harryhausen didn’t intend to replicate reality. He was looking for that curious, nightmarish effect stop-motion can have. “If you make fantasy too real,” he said, “it loses the quality of a dream.”

FJP: Harryhausen is being called “The Master of Stop Motion,” by NPR, “A Visual Effects Guru” by The Los Angeles Times, and the “Hollywood Effects Wizard,” by USA Today. But to an ex-film-school rat who spent a good chunk of her educational years analyzing and worshipping the pioneers of sci-fi special effects — he’s nothing but LEGEND.  And through his works of creative genius, his legend will live on. — Krissy

Image: Ray Harryhausen with some of his creatures, Huffington Post

If Marijuana’s Your Beat, Careful What You Eat

Lessons learned — animation style — from Michael Montgomery of the Center for Investigative Reporting.

And That’s How a Woman Shuts it Down

As Republican candidates continue with their odd rape theories, we take a look inside the lady parts to see how a woman can “shut it down.”

Biologically speaking, it all begins with a dinosaur named Marcy.

Typesetter Blues

In a 3-minute animated short, Harold, a typesetter with a font fetish for the ornate and curly falls in love with a new co-worker. Problem? Her typographic fascinations lead her to another man.

Illustration and animation by Hector Herrera. Words by Pazit Cahlon. Voiced by Gordon Pinsent.

Typesetter Blues is the first “chapter” of Beastly Bards and is a finalist in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards for animation.

NASA Animation of Temperature Data from 1880-2011

Via The Climate Desk, “a journalistic collaboration dedicated to exploring the impact—human, environmental, economic, political—of a changing climate. The partners are The Atlantic, Center for Investigative Reporting, Grist, The Guardian, Mother Jones, Slate, Wired, and PBS’s new public-affairs show Need To Know.” 

Totally like whatever, you know?

A typographical animation of a Taylor Mali poem by Ronnie Bruce in which we’re asked whether we’re “the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along since… you know, a long, long time ago!”

Blade Runner: Aquarelle Edition

I’m a fan of patient things. If you wanted to dig deep it’s a reaction to the hyper immediacy of digital lives. With everything a touch, click or swipe away, we forget the journey on our leap to the destination. Communication, ideas and thoughts get reduced to an atomized 140 characters.

Which, now that my jaw is no longer on the ground, I say take twelve minutes to watch Anders Ramsell’s watercolor remix of Blade Runner. This reportedly is part 1 of more to come, and Ramsell has created it by painting and then animating 3,285 separate watercolors across his timeline. — Michael

Good Books Metamorphasis

An incredible animation channeling Hunter S. Thompson to promote Good Books, an online bookseller that donates its profits to Oxfam.

Created by String Theory.

Where would we journalists be without our Moleskine notebooks? Frankly, I’m afraid to answer my own question.

motionographer.com

Ira Glass on storytelling and harnessing creativity.

Illustrated by David Shiyang Liu.

Beer

Or, more appropriately, visualizing the American craft beer revival.

Perhaps inspiration for your weekend beverage of choice.

The Musical Roller Coaster

Via Virtual Republic:

Visualization of the 1st violin of the 2nd symphony, 4th movement by Ferdinand Ries in the shape of a roller coaster. The camera starts by showing a close-up of the score, then focuses on the notes of the first violin turning the staves into the winding rail tracks of the rollercoaster. The notes and bars were exactly synchronized with the progression in the animation so that the typical movements of a rollercoaster ride match the dramatic composition of the music.

Created for the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

Run Time: 1:00

H/T: The Society Pages.

Tebow goes Biblical on Steelers, Shows up Haters

NMA.tv brings its magic to sports.