The Man with the Iron Fists

Something I have been waiting for a long time is finally going to happen next week. No not Halloween (but if you liked Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, look for me), on November 2nd, The Man with the Iron Fists comes out in theaters! This film is directed by, co-written by, co-composed by, and starring RZA who developed the soundtrack for the film, so essentially this film is his baby and will hopefully be his big breakout in film. The setting of the film is nineteenth century China where a blacksmith, simply named The Blacksmith (RZA), is forced to make elaborate weapons of death for a small village. When a traitor threatens to destroy the village, he joins both warriors and assassins to protect their community. The film also stars Russell Crowe, Cung Le, Lucy Liu, Byron Mann, Rick Yune, David Bautista, and Jamie Chung, is also written by Eli Roth and is presented by Quentin Tarantino.



I know what you're thinking: "Cody, how does this relate to Motion Graphics and Animation?" Well I'm glad you asked! In the past few days, a promo video for the film recently emerged featuring a very stylized motion comic with narration by RZA himself. Its essentially a prequel to the upcoming film and it was all done in....... AFTER EFFECTS! That's right! It was made in After Effects by Manabu 'Gaku' Inada and Trevor Von Klueg, with assistance by Moises Jimenez, and Eric Calderon was the Animation Director. The video is a composition of sound, art, and effects, where the use of layers and opacity are emphasized by close-ups of drawn profiles, scrolling text, and a grainy, misty presence looming in the background of most shots. This video is sure to get you psyched up for the film's release next week.