This short by Gobelins students Théo Guignard, Nöé Lecombre and Hugo Moreno reminds me of three distinct ‘flavors’: Stanley Kubrick‘s trademark sterile, ominous atmospheric direction, Bruce Timm‘s tight, economical illustrative style and Vangelis’ thick, synth-heavy ambient soundtracks. It strikes a just-right balance between hand-drawn 2D animation’s warmth and character and the immersion-heightening ability of subtly-executed 3D. It’s very nice; don’t hesitate to dive in.
If you’re diggin’ this one, I suggest you watch Countdown next.
P.S. Hugo posted a behind-the-scenes look at how ECLIPSE came together; if you’re into process it’s can’t miss.
P.P.S. Our Gobelins feed is filled to the brim with fantastic short films that are all worthy of your attention. Enjoy!
posted by respondcreate on Sep. 05, 2012 in Videos | tags: alien, animation, french, gobelins, hand drawn, hd, hugo moreno, nöé lecombre, space, théo guignard, trippy
“Drawn in their distinctive 80s-inspired kaleidoscopic style, the Layzells take us on a surreal romp through a richly textured cartoon world dreamed up by a hallucinating out-of-work animator.”
File under: LOLWAT
A surreal-silly-psychedelic-good-times romp created at Blink for Adam Buxton‘s new ‘comedy-meets-music-video’ series, BUG, on Sky Atlantic HD. Best served at the height of your sesh in full-screen HD. This one’s a treat; ENJOY!
P.S. The Layzell Brothers (who illustrated/animated/directed the attached) are also responsible for the super-bizarre Reindeer and om-y 8-Bit Mazes so give those a gander when you’re done here.
[ Adam Buxton 'Livin In The Sunlight, Lovin In The Moonlight' ]
posted by respondcreate on Aug. 30, 2012 in Videos | tags: adam buxton, animation, bizarre, blinkink, colorful, drugs, hd, jim stoten, layzell brothers, lolwat, psychedelic, surreal, tiny tim, trippy, wat
When I was a child I used to let my imagination run wild whenever I’d be in transit – whether by car or train or bus (I didn’t fly for the first time until college) – trying to picture any secret worlds that might exist parallel to our own. The subway was especially intriguing and, in between station stops, I’d envision all manner of underground dwellers who sat hidden just beyond the reach of the fluorescent light that streamed from the train’s windows as it sped by. The attached short film by Jake Wyatt explores similar territory and drips with an atmospheric mystery that holds your attention from start to finish.
The moody, ethereal, meandering George Winston-esque piano score compliments the visuals so well that I wondered if it was written specifically for the film or was one of the primary inspirations for its creation. Michael Wyatt is listed in the end credits as the composer and, since him and the director share a last name, I wouldn’t be surprised if both the film and it’s soundtrack were created in parallel. All-in-all, it’s very nice…don’t hesitate to dive in.
Oh and Jake is also a fantastic illustrator so definitely check out his Tumblr when you get a chance. (Primeape?! NICE.)
Last summer I got an email from someone claiming to be Pharrell Williams’ assistant. My initial thought was that I was getting trolled but I decided to respond anyways since I had been such a big fan of his since first discovering The Neptunes by way of N.O.R.E.‘s Superthug.
To my pleasant surprise, it turned out to be legit and a few weeks later I was on the phone with Pharrell himself asking if I’d be up for collaborating on something (an even pleasant-er surprise, for sure).
He had a new hush-hush project in the works called i am OTHER and thought The Tripatorium™ would fit in nicely with what they were up to. We’ve been kicking ideas back-and-forth since then and thought the logical place to start would be to put together some playlists of our favorite videos. Where it goes from here? Who knows…but if you’d like to see us do more together shoot i am OTHER a message on Facebook or Twitter and let them know. In the meantime, subscribe on YouTube to be the first to find out when our next collaboration goes live. (While you’re there, definitely check out Nardwuar’s interviews…they’re fantastic.)
The first playlist went up last night and is comprised of four videos that initially inspired the creation of the site (Zodiac Shit, The Parachute Ending, The Music Scene, Baby I’m Yours) and six other favorites that we think typify The Tripatorium™ experience (After the Rain, The Murf, Between Bears, Let Go, Baltimore Clap and Loom). It’s a distilled dose of what we’re up to and a perfect way to introduce the site to anyone who might be interested.
Cheers!
[ METRO ]
posted by respondcreate on Aug. 26, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, art, atmospheric, colorful, ethereal, hd, jacob wyatt, michael wyatt, piano, subway
“My approach to illustration is about paring things down as much as possible.
I try and get to the essence of my subject by using as few lines and colours
as it needs to convey the core of the idea.”
Malika Favre, who wrote the above, has a distinctly minimal and dignified hard-edged style that’s reminiscent (to me at least) of Paul Rand‘s iconic logos, René Gruau’s figures and those muted-future illustrations you might see hanging faded in a dated hair salon’s street-facing window. That last bit of the preceding sentence might seem insulting but honestly, it wasn’t my intention.
Picasso famously said that ‘good artists copy; great artists steal’ which, like most hyperbolic statements, makes sense on the surface but doesn’t hold up to honest, measured scrutiny. Insecure assholes steal; a great artist internalizes the images that inexplicably resonate, leveraging them as a catalyst for iterative exploration until something entirely their own arises from the grind. And, though Ms. Favre’s work might remind me of something else – it is, make no mistake, wholly unique.
Strangely enough, the attached wasn’t made by her but was commissioned by Kemistry Gallery to advertise her upcoming exhibition, Hide and Seek. Maki Yoshikura did the animation while Luke Carpenter and Natural Self handled the compositing and music, respectively.
Credits aside, I like to see such tight, precise illustrations move and Maki did a stellar job bringing Malika’s work to life without compromising it’s rigid spirit. Oh, and the transition from one vignette to the next in stark black-and-white makes the eyes a bit dizzy (in a good way) so get this loaded full screen for sure. Enjoy!
posted by respondcreate on Aug. 22, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, art, black and white, hd, illustration, luke carpenter, maki yoshikura, malika favre, natural self, trippy, vector
“And you gave me love
When I could not love myself
And you made me turn
From the way I saw myself
And you’re patient, love
And you help me help myself
And you save me,
You save me, you save me…”
What a great fuckin’ song. Cheers to Peter Lowey for the fantastic visuals and to Gotye for explicating, via woven words and sounds, the transformative magic of love. Enjoy!
Click here for some moar Gotye goodness on The Tripatorium™.
[ Gotye - Save Me - official video ]
posted by respondcreate on Aug. 13, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, atmospheric, ethereal, gotye, hd, love, music video, peter lowey, trippy
Takashi Ohashi‘s animation in this music video for cokiyu reminds me of both bleeple’s 2D moving collages and Ori Toor’s layered undulations. They all share a foundation of smooth, psychedelic abstraction but Takashi’s shapes veer away from pure form to conjure an alien landscape of playful, swimming organisms. It’s smooth-as-fuck, too – clearly he sweats the details, something I always appreciate.
Speaking of which, I’m a big fan of the ‘color-echo’ effect that makes it’s first appearance from 1:41-2:06, reappears at 2:47 and spools up to a crescendo from 3:17 to 3:47. It probably looks good on your phone, sure, but it’s one of those bits of subtle animation that’s magic on a big screen in a dark room so, if you’ve got access to a similar environment, I suggest you experience it there.
Enjoy!
P.S. If you’re diggin’ this, definitely watch Chunkothy next.
posted by respondcreate on Aug. 06, 2012 in Videos | tags: abstract, animation, cokiyu, colorful, hd, music video, organic, playful, psychedelic, takashi ohashi, trippy, whimsical
“The seemingly random elements tell the tale of a day in the life of three different characters who live in Seoul - all of whom are watched over by the ever present Mountains which ring the city.”
This one reminds me a bunch of Thursday. The attached and the aforementioned both sport hard-edged, bright, geometric and graphic visuals with some tight, complimentary sound design. Gorgeous stuff.
P.S. Go watch Thursday next.
posted by respondcreate on Jul. 29, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, colorful, david prosser, geometric, graphic, hd, korea, studio aka, video games
“I think you should go. I don’t want you here.”
File under: LOLWAT
Cheers to Mickey Gral for sending this potent dose of bizarre by Julia Pott our way. Enjoy!
[ Belly ]
posted by respondcreate on Jul. 27, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, dark, hand drawn, hd, julia pott, lolwat, ocean, royal college of art, trippy, whale
“Up in the sky, there is a village,
and the people there are blue –
I believe it’s true.”
Anraud Janvier, a recent graduate of Supinfocom, wrote in to let us know about a music video he recently co-directed with Antoine Robert at Cube Creative for 77 Bombay Street. The song describes a perfect little utopia that exists above the clouds and the bright, whimsical and weird visuals drip with a naive innocence the mirrors the optimistic vibe.
It’s feel-good sunshine from start to finish but, seeing as I’m partial to wormholes, my favorite sequence kicked off at 2:33 when the Mii-esque rendered cast plunged directly into a technicolor tunnel via a blossoming Lotus flower. That shit’s mah jam, bruh.
When you’re done here, be sure to check out Playing With Light, an excellent little short produced at Cube two summers ago. Enjoy!
[ [HD] 77 Bombay Street - Up In The Sky - Official Video (Animated) ]
posted by respondcreate on Jul. 24, 2012 in Videos | tags: 77 bombay street, animation, antoine robert, arnaud janvier, bizarre, colorful, cube creative, good times, hd, music video, trippy, whimsical, wormhole
A whimsical, super-fun and bizarre seven-minute treat. Cheers to Alex Vial, Martin Brunet, Leslie Martin and Matthieu Garcia (of Supinfocom) for the stellar visuals as well as Neal Williams and Julien Bégault who handled the music and sound design, respectively.
When you’re done watching the attached be sure to check out the other fantastic shorts created by Supinfocom students that we’ve posted to the site. Enjoy!
[ OZO ]
posted by respondcreate on Jul. 14, 2012 in Videos | tags: alex vial, animation, bizarre, colorful, hd, julien bégault, leslie martin, lolwat, martin brunet, matthieu garcia, nature, neal williams, premiumfilms, supinfocom, whimsical
Gorgeous, haunting and dripping with atmosphere, this film by Thierno Bah, Noé Giuliani, Pierre Ledain and David Martins da Silva deserves your undivided attention. Stylistically it reminds me of both Fosters and Samurai Jack (high praise, for sure) but, in terms of thematic fare, this is a dish meant for adults, not kids.
The word ‘heavy’ comes to mind.
Don’t hesitate to dive in, bruh. Oh and grab your headphones, the sound design by Prince N’Gouda Ba is top-flight.
If you want to keep the contemplative train rolling I recommend checking out Between Bears next. Enjoy!
[ OBEN ]
posted by respondcreate on Jul. 10, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, colorful, contemplative, david martins da silva, death, emca, geometric, hd, nature, noé giuliani, pierre ledain, prince n'gouda ba, thierno bah, trippy
About ten seconds in I started smiling, immediately caught off-guard – in the most pleasing of ways – by this Joshua Catalano-created journey through a hard-lined, cell-shaded, abstract geometric landscape. The slightly muted palette compliments the loopy, minimal tech-throbs of John Talabot rather well – so much so that I’ve re-watched it a dozen times already.
I typed out a couple of other paragraphs about the attached but they all felt forced, cheap even. I decided to call it quits and just post the damn thing after I remembered some wise words from the great John Peel: “At the heart of anything good there should be a kernel of something undefinable, and if you can define it, or claim to be able to define it, then, in a sense, you’ve missed the point.”
Cheers to that.
I can talk about other stuff in this space, right? OF COURSE I CAN. Here’s some stuff I recommend you check out at your soonest convenience:
1. The Ghostfaced Pixels by Safety Words. It’s a Wu-centric mix tape backed with NES sampled beats…for a taste, give Snikt (my favorite cut from the album) a listen. It’s a free download so don’t hesitate to get on that shit.
2. Veep. HBO consistently brings the heat and each episode of the Elaine-helmed, all-star cast is packed with hilarious, smartly-written dialogue. If you’re in the market for LULZ, this one delivers.
3. Do y’all watch Big Brother? Y’all should. My wife got me into it three summers ago after a prolonged campaign of brute-force pleading until I finally gave-in. I’m glad I did. At first glance it looks simple and trashy but if you crack open it’s seemingly cheap facade you’ll find a warm, tasty center that yields a bumper crop of entertainment. The latest season premieres this Thursday. Want to watch it together?
[ LAMENTO ]
posted by respondcreate on Jul. 09, 2012 in Videos | tags: abstract, animation, cell shaded, electronic music, geometric, hd, john talabot, joshua catalano, music video, trippy
“Join this lovable crew of droids as they solve their differences the only way dubstep robots know how.”
File under: LOLWAT
[ Dubstep Dispute ]
posted by respondcreate on Jul. 04, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, colorful, dubstep, electronic music, fluxel media, jason giles, lolwat, robots, trippy
“A story about the fire at the heart of suffering.”
Oh shit. Do yourself a favor and prime your environment for an optimal viewing experience – lights down, full-screen and volume up – this gem deserves your undivided attention.
The attached was created by the talented team at Heliofant, “a nascent independent computer animation studio focused on creating experimental and challenging content” based in the Laurentian mountains just north of Montreal. At present they’re 100% self-funded and you can ensure their next short comes ‘sooner’ rather than ‘later’ by dropping a few shekels into their Paypal.
My weekly album allowance was diverted their way, maybe you’ll consider something similar?
One more thing: Heliofant whipped-up some high-def wallpapers based on the film so follow this hyperlink if you’re in the market for a fresh coat of desktop pixels.
[ I, pet goat II ]
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 29, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, christ, colorful, dance, dark, hd, heliofant, louis lefebvre, politics, psychedelic, spirituality, tanuki project, trippy
I wasn’t sure where this music video – by director/animator/illustrator/designer Martin Allais – was headed but ceased to care once the flowing bursts of animation kicked in at 0:41. It’s bizarre in the best of ways, diverting any effort that might have been paid towards narrative into an all-in exhibition of constantly morphing visuals. The animation shifts between hand-drawn and computer generated but shares a textural sheen that, when combined with the paper craft infused stop-motion, creates an intimate, playful atmosphere.
Technically, this project was ‘unofficial’ which just means My Dry Wet Mess didn’t have to pay a dime for a killer music video. It turns out that the bill was picked up by some generous folks over at IndieGoGo so ‘Cheers!’ to everyone who invested money out of ‘pure trust’, having no idea what Martin would end up creating.
I rather like this new, crowd funded world; thanks (again), internet.
Speaking of which, we’re indebted to ‘Mark I’ for dropping this one in our inbox. Thanks!
[ My Dry Wet Mess - Etcetera ]
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 27, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, colorful, electronic music, hand drawn, hd, magical properties, music video, my dry wet mess, stop motion, trippy
File under: LOLWAT
Thanks, twins are weird!
[ Cee Cee's Bedtime Stories #1 - The First Time Cee Cee Did Acid ]
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 17, 2012 in Videos | tags: acid, animation, bizarre, drugs, hd, lol, lolwat, twins are weird, wat
“The story of Beopup, a little fox who goes hunting in the woods and uncovers something rather unpleasant…”
Diggin’ this cute and whimsical (but a bit dark, too) animation by recent CalArts grad, Sabrina Cotugno. Enjoy!
A big thanks to Timo Cox for sending this one our way – cheers!
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 10, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, calarts, colorful, dark, hd, nature, sabrina cotugno, trippy, watercolor, whimsical
The attached first appeared on my radar over a year ago when it was initially released. We had recently featured This one time… – a bizarre, wonderfully inventive short by its creator, Nelson Boles – and, for whatever dumb reason, I figured I’d save his latest for later. Between now and then Little Boat has been pinging my consciousness at regular intervals and, when I saw it had been selected as a finalist in the 2012 Vimeo Awards, I figured it was high time I give it a proper watch.
Sometimes when I’m certain a film is going to be great I won’t press play until the setting is just-right. Often I’ll implore you to ‘grab your headphones’ or turn the lights-down and, in that regard, I try to take my own advice as much as possible. Most times that isn’t feasible and I’ll catch up on your suggestions and my own regular internet rounds while on the train or whenever I have a few minutes in-between keeping my daughter alive.
It’s a shame I waited so long to dive in to this one but I’m glad I made the effort to slow myself down before experiencing it. Everything about Little Boat is great – its whimsical, bizarre (and endearing) story is told entirely through quick vignettes of tightly executed, cell-shaded visuals backed with some excellent sound design that completes the immersion. It, like all great animated shorts, appears to be a snapshot taken from within a fully-realized unique world, wholly separate from our own. Nelson seems to have a knack for creating those so we’re excited to see what he’ll come up with next. Speaking of which, have you seen This one time… yet? It’s fucking great.
[ Little Boat ]
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 03, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, colorful, hd, nelson boles, water, waves, whimsical
CRCR brings the weird once again with some dark, bizarre hand-drawn visuals in this music video for Lorn‘s latest release on Ninja Tune. Serving suggestion: full-screen, lights-down, volume up.
The other CRCR-created shorts we’ve posted so-far – Jesus2000 and Todor & Petru – definitely warrant your attention or, if you’d rather keep the awesome music video train rolling, check out our Ninja Tune feed; everything there is well-worth your time. Enjoy!
posted by respondcreate on May. 30, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, crcr, dark, hd, lorn, monochromatic, music video, ninja tune, trippy
“All emotions are disease, worn down like rotted teeth;
I run a hundred miles an hour, to try and get free.
But to stained dollars we obey, ease the military away.
What happened to making the most of it?
What if one life – one roll of the dice – is all you get?”
The visuals in this music video for Birdpen (by Pooya Abbasian) are, at first glance a bit random and disconnected which, if I’m honest, initially put me off. I was like, what’s this all about bro? But the song itself – with its earnest description of the anxiety-riddled self doubt that chaperones our search for significance – speaks to the indeterminate, ultimate open-ended-ness that flows beneath us as we grow up. In that light, something connected and I watched it a few times in quick succession. Maybe you’ll like it too?
Thanks for taking the time to send this in Pooya, cheers!
posted by respondcreate on May. 19, 2012 in Videos | tags: abstract, animation, birdpen, bizarre, contemplative, ethereal, growing up, hd, music video, pooya abbasian, trippy