Blockhead - The Music Scene

Please click here to watch Blockhead - The Music Scene.

    I think I can say that the animation is pretty amazing. Yeah it's a little rough around the edges, but it has wonderful movement in it. I also really liked the colors that were used (the "dull" colors and then the "bright" colors used to identity objects was terrific). I also liked the animal animations, you can tell some serious work and thought went into the animation.
    First off I want to say that this is the coolest music video I have ever seen. Secondly I think it is the strangest animation I have seen. The underlying theme I would say is the way computers have kind of taken us over, and we shape ourselves through computers nowadays. Also how this is affecting nature; we seem to be sacrificing nature to go along with computers. Also there is a bit of a couch potato theme. I have to say that the visuals do a really good job of completely enthralling you, and the music just makes the ride smoother. I would also like to point out the likeness the "main computer" has to a virus... food for thought.

It's a human grater!!!!!!!!

Descendants

Please click here to watch descendants

    Well I liked the animation, it was a good blend of detail and general textures. I particularly liked the shot where you could see the petal had vein-like things in it. I also liked the strange creature they created for a "Romeo". The fly-like things were also interesting too. I probably liked the decomposing body the most, the maggot s were particularly good.
    Well this one has a theme kind of like 850 Meters in that what the flower hoped for happened, just probably not in the way you expected.  Also there was a "love makes you do weird things" moment in there to.

Sigh....................

Rebelote

Please click here to watch Rebelote

*this short is in french with english subtitles*

**and also features rather colorful language :) **

     Well I thought the animation was ok, I didn't particularly care for how bland the textures were though. I did on the other hand really like the characters, in particular the old men. I really liked the market of aging, skin, teeth, etc.
     I think the major message of this animation is that the next generation tends to continue the arguments of the previous. I say tends because if we were to keep bickering over the same things there would be no progress. this is shown in the last minute of the short when the "next generation" continues the argument over adding, but it is slightly different, and could possibly be resolved (because they are not as invested as their predecessors).

Oh so close to copyright infringement... hehe

850 Meters

Please click here to watch 850 Meters. (P.S. this is about 15 minutes long)

     850 meters, or as I like to call it: 2788.71 feet. Well what can I say, it was wonderfully cartoony. Now that I think about it; I rarely see cartoon physics used in C.G. animation. I would guess this is because a lot of people generally use C.G. to create more "lifelike" animations, still cartoon physics is one of the things I think makes anything good. I also really liked the simple overall shape of things combined with the textures to make things detailed yet still cartoonish.
    I have to say I did not see that ending coming, it totally caught me off guard. I also really like that they didn't reveal the punchline till the credits ended (not the most normal thing to do, but they filled in some details while the credits were rolling. I also really like the theme; success comes in many forms. You wanted fame, you got fame (just maybe not the way you were expecting). Also there is a "things are not always as they seem" feeling mixed in.

The real evil he faced.

Fallen

Please click here to watch Fallen (sorry for the bad video quality)

     Well this is probably one of my favorite shorts now. The thing I liked most about the video was the vapor. The clouds were pretty terrific. You don't get much of a good look at them, but when you do they have a sense of fluffiness and also a good sunset cloud color. Also at the end credits you see the trail the character left behind, which just disperses beautifully.
     I really love the message this short conveys. The characters sees his demise, becomes scared/fearful, but then he embraces his situation and lives a little. He now plumes to his death yet he is unafraid, even accepting of his impending demise. The message: live your life to the fullest, and have no regrets.

I never thought it was going to go the way it did when I saw this intro.

R'ha

Please click here to watch R'ha.

     I think this is possibly my favorite graphics for all the animated shorts I have blogged about so far.  The character design and lighting are wonderful. I also like that they focused on the shape rather that the colors/textures, because I'm just a sucker for a good base design, I don't really like it when people focus too much on the frills (don't get me wrong; it still can be good, but I'm just a little tired of it). I particularly like the facial muscles on the "alien", for not having a overly humanoid face it shows a lot of thought went into the character.
    Now for the theme; there is obviously a humans vs. machines thing going on, but there is also a basic nature of all beings at play. The "alien" takes the first chance to escape and goes to warn his people of the "impending" attack, yet he actually leads the machines right to them. Now have you ever heard that you have "selfish" genes, this means that all beings will protect their genes (that is children, or in the large picture, their species). These to things combined show that his "genes" were in trouble so he did what he thought he had to do to save them (i.e. going to warn his people). It also has a "human predictability" theme to it because not only was he tricked into leading his captors to his people, but the machines actually planned out his entire interrogation to get him to do so (shown by the monitor).

Look at that face!

Wire Cutters

Please click here to watch Wire Cutters

    Well I have to say that the graphics were pretty good, I find it interesting that all the animating was done by one man (that is pretty impressive). It is spotless as far as I can tell, and does well in not letting you get too distracted by then so that you can really get the point of the short.
    The theme of this short is eerily similar to Balance in that it really is about fighting over potentially useless things, and ultimately nobody wins. While Balance gave a rather broad interpretation this one really focuses on us fighting over resources. Anyways to distill it down a bit; basically we align if it benefits both of us, but as soon as an imbalance is introduced we leap to fighting, and in the end we are so short sighted we actually screw ourselves over just as much as the guy we got rid of. I actually originally thought I might not use this short because it was so much like Balance, I thought it was boring and a little worn out. Now that I really think about it; the real reason I didn't want to use it was because I have hear it too many times throughout my life, not as stories, but as hearing about events like this. It is worn out because it has happened too much, and will happen too much.

Never Piss off a Robot

Beat

Please click here to watch Beat

    Dang... that is a rush. Well the animation is pretty good, I would say there did a good job of mirroring the theme of the film with the animation. What I mean when I say that is that everything is the same blocky design, and then the heart is still blocky, but is in a random-ish assortment that is can move in many different ways.
    Well I would say the underlying tone is that of creativity vs. conformity. The character starts out just as another one of the mold, and that he discovers creativity's awesomeness. I do love the way they used music (particularly drums) to express creativity, I have never wanted to play drums as much as I do now. Another nice touch was the way he progressively started out with the rhythm and it got better as time went on (I'll let you figure that one out). Most of all I liked that as the "camera" zoomed out and the should fades away that his rhythm is as loud as the thunderous boom of the army of zombie -like office workers.

Me when my physics teacher blows my mind

Oh I almost forgot: THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!

Heart

Please click here to watch the short Heart

    Well... that is definitely the most surreal thing I've ever seen. I quite honestly don't know how to respond to the animation. I found it interesting how the bodies were solid, yet the heads were both fluid, and could physically grow on command. Also the sounds were almost insect-like percussive noises. I don't think I can glean any useful info from the designs.
    Now this seems to exhibit a "greed" kind of theme to it. Particularly the "willing to fight" sub theme that is often used in this context. Now while I find this kind of theme to be a little overused, I did really enjoy the infinite cycle part of it though. I usually find that people overlook this aspect of things in general. I do have to say I saw the loop coming from a mile away, but it still makes for a pleasant surprise. I also find it interesting that it seems the head is used for killing in these creatures, I'm sure it could just be that the artist thought it would just be a cool feature, but then again it could mean something.

An image (just because I know Young likes pictures)

World of Tomorrow

Unfortunately the film I will be blogging on today is not available for free, it may be found on Netflix or Vimeo (I'm going to do this blog like the most recent ones, so if you don't have access to it then too bad for you (you really don't know what you're missing)).

    I went to the oscar nominated animated short films and saw this there, and I immediately knew I had to do a blog on it. I'm in a weird situation here because there is actually a storyline to the film, and the underlying message is literally stated in the script (so not much analysis to do there). (Assuming you were able to watch it) The main point made in the movie is: "Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all the dead.", anyone who watched the movie knows this, but what I find interesting is the underlying tone of the movie. All of the entities are animated in this ever-shifting squiggly line style, but the environments tell a different story. The current time environment is done in the same style as the characters, but the future time environment is done in this sci-fi perfect line style. With these two styles I would say the animator is heavily hinting at a difference between the world now and then (then being the future). I would say the difference hinted at is perfection vs. imperfection, the future is inhabited by seemingly "perfect" beings (i.e. clones/immortals). I say "perfect" because humans aren't perfect, but their programing can be pretty close (i.e. the monotone voice gives a perfectly dull feeling (therefore humans are now perfectly dull)). Anyways, this movie has a funny satirical view on where we as a species are headed, and that is always good.

Emily Prime: right, Emily 3G Clone: left (cloning can be confusing)

Balance

Please click here to watch Balance

     I thought this short film might be interesting to do a blog on, but as time goes on I'm starting to think that might not have been a good idea. I am thinking this because there isn't much content to discus, there is nothing to connect it to (unlike my last post which turned out to have a very interesting background to it, the only thing I can really talk about is the symbolism I can see.
     The film starts with perfect balance, all characters happily adjust to maintain balance because they each want to fish. But then one finds a box and they each individually inspect it while the others provide counter balance. After they have inspected the box and found out that it makes music the trouble starts. One of the characters attempts to tip the box over the edge, in response to this the character inspecting the box keeps it from falling off by moving forward. When they meet they have a minor scuffle. Some stuff happens, people get knocked off, some purposefully kicked off, and the film ends with one single character balancing the weight of the box unable to reach it and unable to hear it's music.
   Here is the symbolic  version: people living in harmony; balance. Something new/exciting appears, might as we let everyone investigate it. Then one decides that if he can't have it no one can. Then we "dispose" of each other, and one is left without fulfillment. I know this is a shoddy review, but there really isn't much to say. There is an unanswered question though: why are each of the characters numbered, and in such a random pattern no less? The obvious reason is to identify them, but I would like to think there is a better, more deeper reason for the numbering.

Ironic ain't it?

The God and the Fly

(This post is bit of an experiment for me so just try to bear with me)

Please click here to watch the video (it's only about 4 minutes long)

I stumbled apron this one day and thought I might try to write a blog about it (lets see how this turns out)

    The first thing I thought I would do was find out if this was any specific deity (just to be safe because this was made by a Russian). Interestingly enough I almost immediately found it, the god portrayed in this animation is Shiva. After a little more digging I think that the Shiva in this animation is portrayed as the Trimurti version (I'll get to why later). Also the actual image of shiva in this animation is a Nataraja depiction (see photo below) This version of Shiva is the "destroyer or transformer". Also a fly-whisk is associated with Shiva which might explain the characters. Great now that you know the back ground of the deity in question on to the actual animation.
    First off: great use of non lingual forms of communication throughout the piece. You could almost write a script just by watching it. Secondly: very insightful into the deity represented (according to my research). Now there is one thing my research seems to show incorrect: Shiva has four arms not six, which I am sure is just a artistic liberty on the part of the creator (but still nice to know the actual portrayal of a deity). Just watching this it is a interesting animation, but dig a little deeper and it is actually intricate with its symbolism.
    And now for the big mind bender: what does the ending mean? The truth is I don't know. Shiva falls and the fly turns into a spider, this leads me to assume that the super is actually Shiva (god of transformation and destruction ring a bell?),  but then what does this mean? Does it mean that the "statue" was a fake Shiva and the fly was the real one? I just don't know, I have a feeling I just don't know enough about the religion to know. Of course maybe it's supposed to be inconclusive , maybe you're supposed to decide which is the god and which the fly.

Likely the type of statue Shiva was based off of.

Mary and Max

    Mary and Max is an Australian claymation dark comedy drama film (try saying that all at once). The film takes place in 1976 Mount Waverley, Australia where Mary Daisy Dinkle lives. To sum it all up her life sucks. She has a distant father and a  mother who is a kleptomaniac, and has a serious drinking problem, and has no friends due to a "poop" colored birthmark on her forehead. One day at the mail office while her mother is "borrowing" a large stack of envelopes Mary finds a New York City telephone book and having a moment of curiosity decides to write to one. Some time later a man named  Max Jerry Horowitz gets Mary's letter and they become friends.
    Overall the animation was good. I only spotted a couple of times a fingerprint showed, and they did a great job of showing complex movements (the one I'm talking about is eating). Also just the general style was likable, the characters all had funny little defects that went great with the comedy. I also really liked the use of color. Max's life is in black and white and Mary's is in sepia (kind of scenting the mood each live in).
    Overall I would say it is good entertainment and good animating work, and a good/touching story but there are an inaccuracy I would like to point out. Max is diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome but the symptoms of Asperger's actually are almost opposite of his. Aspergers includes repetitive behavior (which Max exhibits) and is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction (Max also exhibits this) and nonverbal communication (which Max doesn't exhibit (I mean his entire communication to Mary is nonverbal)). Other than that the comedy is good and the drama doesn't completely dominate the story (the story is the drama and not that there is drama in the story). Also it does a good job of illustrating how profoundly we affect each others lives (a single word can make your life miserable). I think anyone should watch this, it just is a good film and anyone could like it.

Max 

Mary

Trigun

    Trigun is a science fiction animated series centering around a man known as Vash the Stampede. Most of the series is spent on the misadventures of Vash and two insurance company employees, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson. Vash is the most wanted gunman in the world (nicknamed the humanoid typhoon, and had his human status revoked by the government to "localized disaster") with a bounty of $$ 6,000,000,000 on his head (by the way the $$ is on purpose). Most of the misadventures of Vash are because of the excessively high bounty on his head, but occasionally he just gets caught up in bad situations. Later in the series the story shifts to Vash having to confront his past, and the destruction that follows.

    Overall I would have to say the animation isn't to great. Its usually flat and semi-devoid of lighting (especially on the characters). Also character design wise: they're just kind of blocky looking (I don't mean they literally look like blocks, its just that they're drawn kind of static). The environment also isn't anything to get excited over (most of it is literally just sand and rocks). But even though the animation isn't the best it does have interesting style. Up until this point I've usually used style to describe the way it was animated, but this time it might be a little harder to grasp. The style of this series is reminiscent of Ukiyo-e both in color palate and landscape layout.

    Overall it is an ok series. The art is ok, the story is just ok, but what I found to be the best thing about it is that Vash is an altruist (or at least as close to an altruist as you can get). Altruist (for those who don't know) is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others (synonymous with selflessness, also the quality "heroes" are usually recognized for). The reason I said "or at least as close as you can get" is because altruism has a basic fault: what if you like helping people? Being altruistic means you have nothing to gain for doing something, but if you take pleasure in helping people then aren't you still being kind of selfish? Hence I have the dilemma of explaining to you how a character is something that might not even truly exist, but I'll still try. The reason I say Vash is an altruist is because of all the fights he has been it not one single person has died by his hand, or by being accidentally caught up in it. Even when injured by him he still doesn't kill anyone (and I do realize that sounds awfully in altruistic, but they are not dead and not hurting anyone else and that is preferable to dead or hurting people). Well there you go a claim of altruism that may or may not be true (altruism is based on opinion after all, and I know there are many). I would recommend this to anyone who likes westerns, and that awful category called "feel good" media.

Vash