As I was looking around for something to post this week I came across this music video. I finally decided on posting it for a few reasons. The first is the use of both 2D and 3D elements, which is something you don't see very often. I think that's a very powerful tool that was implemented well in this piece. Also, 2D elements like the ones used in this video are totally achievable using the techniques we've been learning in After Effects, they'd be a lot of work, but a lot of the same principals are there. The second reason I picked this is because of its aesthetics. This is something we haven't really hit on in class yet, but it's a very important part of creating anything, an animation in particular. this strange whimsical world the animator has created is pretty unique, which is not only tough to do, but it also generates a very specific response from the viewer. That response is hard for me to put into words but it does convey a sort of feeling or mood. That is also an important part of creating anything. You want to make your audience feel something, whether it's the theme of the movie following your opening sequence or the message of a song as a designer it's your job to do that.

Freezing Time

I like this video not only because of the effects, but also because it talks about more than just that.  It talks about so really cool systems that can be used to control the camera.  With these systems shots can be perfectly duplicated and thus allows an editor countless more options with video effects and essentially giving him a free reign.  The coolest part of the video tough is at the end.  What they do is basically freeze time and move the camera around in it.  From what I have been through in animation from this class, I can really appreciate the amount of time, money and effort that must have gone into making this scene.  I currently don’t know how they did it, but trying to figure it out is half the fun! 

6 days to air

This is the documentary on the TV show "South Park" that aired a few years ago after the release of the widely successful musical "THe Book of Mormon." This documents Trey Stone and Matt Parker's return to South Park from the musical and the challenges they face in airing a show in 6 days, from the writing process and conceptualization to the final broadcast. The documentary itself shows the animation of the characters in the show, and it also demonstrates the importance of storyboarding your animation before you jump right into it.


The full documentary is on Netflix, check it out!

iWatch

This video I very cool actually.  To start, the concept of a holographic watch is a wicked cool concept.  Secondly, the execution of making this concept into a video was done very professionally.  We can see that the author(s) is (are) of college age and are very knowledgable and skilled with video making and animation.  The best part of this whole thing though, is that they used mocha to do this.  Not only do they show you what they are doing, but they also allow you to follow along.  For not being a tutorial, I feel that there was a good balance of showing you what they did and how they did it.  I would love to be able to apply this kind of stuff in my work.  

Lord of the Rings

Have you ever wondered how Peter Jackson and the crew made the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings smaller than the rest of the characters? Turns out, big budget movies also use compositing to get the desired effect they are looking for. It blows my mind every time I watch the behind the scenes for these movies, just seeing the amount of work that went into it. They had to create 2 of every prop, one hobbit size, and the other normal just to be able to shoot two different characters in the same shot. In another video they show off the electronic dolly that syncs up with the platform that the actors sit on to keep the perspective they had. What impresses me most is that a lot of what they did was not CGI but instead very intuitive thinking and hard work that most likely ended up saving them money.