Director Lea Esmaili Joins Blinkink for UK Representation
November 21, 2024
Buenos Aires design and motion graphics studio 2veinte takes a break from their broadcast and advertising work to unleash “Wild & Woolly,” a loopable, minute-long masterclass on character design and the extreme possibilities of cel animation. So many great frames in there. Directed by Pablo Gostanian, character [Watch]
Having worked with the Tendril crew on the opening for our STYLE FRAMES conference, I know first hand how much passion they invest in their projects and pitches. Although this pitch for the YTV kids’ show “The Zone” (with sound by John Black at Cypher Audio) is the tonal opposite of the SF work, there is no doubting the care and precision involved. [Watch]
Amsterdam film/graphic/production company Woodwork share the crafty behind-the-scenes workings of their new spot for Travelbird a fast-growing european online travel agency. [Watch]
A solid idea from Mother London and bang-on execution from MJZ director Juan Cabral and a crew of 15 MPC VFX artists keeps IKEA’s ‘The Wonderful Everyday’ campaign going with this very-watchable spot which gains even more altitude via Prunella Scales’ reading from “The Tempest.” The MPC team, led by [Watch]
Ringling College of Art and Design students Michael Yates, Aurry Tan and Sharon Huang fight back against the French domination of student animation films with “Legend of the Flying Tomato” the boisterous tale of red-headed Frida “a hero in the legendary luchador El Pirana… and a mysterious taco salesman.” [Watch]
The CG Student Awards continue to grow at an astounding rate, doubling last year’s entry total to 650, piling on sponsors, tripling their site traffic and matching more talent with studio internships and employment. Have a look at the winners here. [Watch]
Reviewing the best trailers from last month’s E3 event reminded me of a quiet but important rivalry between two studios hammering on the boundaries of 3D filmmaking: Blur Studios in Los Angeles and Digic Pictures in Budapest, Hungary. Both studios take commissions for commercials and other genres of [Watch]
Director Martin Stirling of Unit 9 and London agency Don’t Panic nail the tone, pacing, imagery and music in this Greenpeace spot calling for the end of the partnership between Lego and petro-behemoth Shell who sells Lego toys at gas stations in 26 countries. [Watch]
Director Darren Dubicki and the Aardman crew show off their non-Wallace & Gromit side projecting impressionist illustrations onto 3D geometry to create this :90 centerpiece of the multi-platform campaign to promote the Imperial War Museum London and commemorate the First World War Centenary in the UK. [Watch]
Toronto motion veteran Matt Greenwood recently published his personal homage to design, “because even though I have been working as a designer for many years, I still love the process.”
STASH: After carefully laying out the elements of design you end with the advice to “just move things around until they feel right.” Was this intentionally contradictory or cheeky?
Matt Greenwood: The line “Just move things around until it feels right” (with a subtle emphasis on “feels”) was intended to suggest that learning the rules is important, but for me at least, using intuition is essential. I also wanted to hint at breaking these rules shouldn’t be off the table.
It may come across as dismissive, but it was intended to be more of a encouragement to not get caught up worrying if the established formula is correct, because I think visual aesthetics can be subjective. [Watch]
By the looks of the trailer, typography fans and design nerds alike should find lots to love in the new “Sign Painters” doc directed by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon “showcasing the past, present and future of the hand painted sign in the USA.”
The film looks into the process and personalities of both industry legends and rising stars including Keith Knecht, Bob Dewhurst, Ira Coyne, Gary Martin and NY’s Colossal Media and is now available for rental/purchase online or community-driven screenings.
Enter discount code “typography” to take $1 off any version of the film purchased. [Watch]
London animation collective Plastic Horse just dropped the first of four videos for Italian DJ/producer Francesco “Phra” Barbaglia’s Crookers project, a weird and wonderful dream-like adventure driven by the simple brief “to create a set of videos that were fucked-up”. Plastic Horse: “Our main creative challenge [Watch]
London designer/artist/filmmaker Fabrice Le Nezet, whose work explores the intersection of architecture, fashion and toy design, describes his enigmatic new animated CG short “Mother” as a “poetic journey through a surreal world – a small tribute to modern architecture, isometric video games and sci-fi [Watch]
Designing with chalk, black cardboard, pencils and white crayons then animating in Photoshop, co-directors Kris Merc and Benjy Brooke craft an angular, shadow-filled world in this personal labor-of-love video for The Peach Kings track “Mojo Thunder.” Kris Merc: “I wanted to explore self destructive behaviors [Watch]
