The acclaimed, Oscar nominated, 2007 French feature animation "Persepolis" is one of the showcase films at the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF).
Matt, one of our international contributers, rates the film highly in his comments on the Kung Fu Panda topic.
It's playing on Friday 1 August, 12pm (lunch), and Friday 8 August, 7pm at The Regent, Cinema 3. Entry is $13.50 for full time students.
I see the work of the new After Effects pin tool in this haunting and unnerving short film.
Found at: No Fat Clips
I got to tell you, I am in love with these small(ish) commercial studios who make short films on the side. They go places that their big feature making cousins fear to tread, exploring looks, concepts and themes that are fresh and original. Studio AKA are probably my favourite of all, and a preview for their new short film Varmints is up online. If your new to the work of Studio AKA you should stop by their updated web site, so much cool stuff, they are truly top shelf.
For years now I've been thoroughly entertained by the short films, game promos and ads from the Blur animation studio. So it warms my heart to hear that they have won a crack at a feature film. This article in Hollywood Reporter says they will be working on a film adaptation of the comic book The Goon.
I'm sure you have seen much of it before but check out some of Blur's fine work.
Gopher Broke - A Gentleman’s Duel - In the rough
And some of their game promo's
Warhammer - Empire earth III - Transformers
What made this film appeal to animators? There are some that are putting KFP in the same league as "The Incredibles" (That's just a bear scratch below "The Iron Giant"!).
Here's a few knowledgeable comments: Read more
So what did you knowledgeable animators reading this blog think of Kung Fu Panda? What impressed, what grated? If you found the animation, story or design appealing, why?
Ever wonder why teachers are always getting students to animated walks. Just look at how much of this film is told through characters walking, and how every walk has an attitude and purpose.
I'm not sure how I feel about this film. On the one hand it is well made and got a chuckle or two from me, but on the other I can't help but wonder if the original pioneers who are glorified so much in this film would have achieved what they did if they had spent their time sitting around longing for yester year. I think Walt Disney could be a bit of a corporate monster himself at times, and much of the technology the animators used back in the early years must have seemed strange and unruly to them. This film must have taken some time to make, a long time to be dwelling on how good things used to be. Not that I'm a stranger to making films as therapy, about 6 years ago I made a piece that was all about my frustration at being on the other side of the world to where all the animation action was. At the time I told myself it was for my showreel, but I look back now and realise I was just working things out. The piece didn't do me any good on the reel. There is so much to be said for a positive frame of mind and a constructive attitude. If animation is going to leap further forward it will be the proactive people who achieve it, not those looking wistfully out the rear vision mirror.
Found at: Cartoon Brew
In terms of the different looks and feels that can be achieved with 3D animation, this film covers more ground in 12 mins than the main stream 3D feature film industry has covered in the last 10 years.
And for once its nice not to be pointing out great art direction for a film where the animation isn't that great. Not only dose this film look amazing, in every shot the character moves with weight and attitude. Best online work I've seen in a while.
Maybe I'm just tired, but I almost missed the punch line in this one. A nice little tale though.
Its such a shame this film is not in English, I guess I'll just never know what message it is trying to communicate :P
Found at: No Fat Clips
A nice original concept for a short film, with an inevitable sad ending.
Found at: No Fat Clips
At Southbank we invented these things called EAPs this year. An EAP is a scene containing an Essential Animation Principle, or at least the main principles that a potential employer is likely to want to see in a reel. We divided these up into three main categories, physical actions (body mechanics stuff), walks and runs, and scenes that use sound (dialogue, moving to music, reacting to sound fx). Every students major project must contain at least 5 EAPS with at least one from each of the three categories.
This film is a testament to how well a narrative can be tailored to demonstrate these kinds of things. The Switch is one of the best animated films I've seen from the Vancouver Film School, if you cut the credits off its about 1 minute and 45 seconds long and it is absolutely overflowing with EAPs.
This is truly one of the most original animation sites I've ever seen. PES make animations out of weird and wonderful things, its the kind of unique and original take on animation that can only seem to survive on the Internet these days. I could imagine watching a whole film or TV show made this way, but sadly the wheels of commerce just wouldn't let it happen. At least they seem to have gotten some work on commercials.
Make sure you also check out the making of clips while visiting the site. WARNING - A few of the films contain adult themes (things like household furniture engaging in rude activities), but the one I have linked to directly is safe.
Found at: FEED
This beautiful film by Jeremy Clapin is filled with layers of meaning. I'd say one of the most unique and well told stories I've seen on the net in some time. Looking at it, its hard to believe theres 3D in this film, but there is, and here is the proof.
Found at: Ticklebooth
