If you watched the animated short “Jinxy Jenkins, Lucky Lou” from Ringling College students Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon last year, you know the gap between student and professional character animation work has vanished. Here’s evidence the same has happened for character-driven VFX. [Watch]
Just in time for Halloween, Toronto’s Polyester Studio releases a fresh mix of mad and macabre vignettes called “Memento Mori” (Latin for “remember (that you have) to die”) they describe as a celebration of the dark side of life and a reflection on our mortality. [Watch]
James Franco’s low-key, self-effacing tale of his misspent youth in Palo Alto bubbles to life in director/animator Julian Glander‘s vibrant and naive 3D style: the latest installment in the “California Inspires Me” series thru BBH LA for California Sunday magazine and Google Play. [Watch]
The perfect way to start your Friday: A 50-second blast of over-the-top visual chaos at the center of a new global campaign for Adidas Superstar via Brazilian director/animator Antonio Vicentini and graphic designer David Galasse. [Watch]
UK-based Swiss philosopher/writer/television presenter Alain de Botton reads his own script in this counter-intuitive mini-masterpiece on the benefits of a glass half empty – conjured by London director/animator/designer Claudio Salas and a crew of over 30 collaborators. [Watch]
Raw technique, nightmare imagery and themes of race and madness made Icelandic director/animator Einar Baldvin‘s intense USC thesis film “The Pride of Strathmoor” a favorite on the fest circuit: recognized at Annecy and Ottawa and awarded the Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at Slamdance 2015. [Watch]
