The Ancestor

“Go on: bury me,
under stone or under sea;
Silent picture, keep the fishes company.
There is little else for me now…
...but I will find my way,
out of the dark some day,
into a crimson, yellow sun.”

An emotional cocktail of gorgeous visuals (by Crazy Lake Pictures) and poignant tunes (from Darlingside); this one’s a winner, folks.

[ "The Ancestor" by Darlingside – Official Music ]

posted by respondcreate on Oct. 01, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: animation, colorful, crazy lake pictures, darlingside, death, hd, music video, space, spiritual

Ballpit

Kyle Mowat‘s thesis film, Ballpit, is a haunted toymaker’s fever-dream with its psychedelic tangle of fluid, soft-edged gizmos, trinkets, and doo-dads that spontaneously erupt into morphing, frenzied movement. The ethereal, echoing Fisher Price-instrument soundtrack by Lido Pimienta is a just-right accompaniment to the madness. ENJOY!

A big thanks to Mr. Sam Lillard, fresh back from his three-month Alaskan sojourn, for the suggestion. Welcome home Sam, we’ve missed you! Cheers!

[ BALLPIT ]

posted by respondcreate on Sep. 26, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: abstract, animation, atmospheric, bizarre, colorful, ethereal, hd, kyle mowat, lido pimienta, psychedelic, trippy

Giving Me A Chance

“You know I never want to let you down,
It cuts me up to see you sad.
And I wish that I could undo what I’ve done;
Give back the faith in me you had.”

Another day, another fantastic music video for a tune from Gotye’s Making Mirrors. This one’s packed with playful, surreal hand drawn visuals (directed/animated by Gina Thorstensen and Nacho Rodriguez with help from Giulia Bellunato) that do a great job fleshing out and exploring the themes of regret, longing, identity, forgiveness and hope presented in the song.

As alluded to above, we’ve posted loads of great music videos from Making Mirrors to the site that can be conveniently accessed via our Gotye feed. Happy browsing!

[ Gotye - Giving Me A Chance - official video ]

posted by respondcreate on Sep. 19, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: animation, bizarre, colorful, ethereal, gina thorstensen, giulia bellunato, gotye, hand drawn, hd, love, music video, nacho rodriguez, surreal, trippy

Evoking Spirits

“I’m-still-swimming-in-that-language,
it’s multi-versal; pages and journals.
My journey here is ended soon –
we blow eternal.

My mind expands
      with widening strands
      of indigo and purple.
This music’s not commericial,
just the-square-to-meet-that-circle.”

We’ve been watching Ori Toor make shit since first discovering the ‘unofficial’ music video he created for Animal Collective’s Lion in a Coma. Since then he’s made a few more and each exhibit his distinct ‘stream of consciousness’ style of staggered-and-repeating organic, undulating shapes. Ori’s approach has subtely shifted in each of them but they’ve all, for the most part, remained abstract studies in colorful form. The attached, his latest, veers into new territory and I’m absolutely loving how he’s mixed in some representational imagery to compliment the usual assortment of evolving, fluid structures.

It’s my favorite Ori-joint yet and easily an ‘instant classic’ of the site…it’d be a crime to watch this in anything but full-screen HD. Oh and a nice pair of bass-friendly headphones is a must, too; Kingdom Crumbs knows how to properly fatten-up the bottom end of their kicks and basslines and you’ll want to rattle-and-bathe in each one.

Speaking of which, I picked up their eponymous album this morning and have been listening to it while I cobble together this post. It’s thoughtful, positive, mellow, rambling-in-a-good-way hip-hop undergirded by some spacey, out-there synthesizers and easily worth the ten bucks in iTunes. If you’re strapped for cash, head over to Bandcamp and name-your-price; even the most frugal of budgets can accommdate a few cents, right?

ENJOY!

[ Kingdom Crumbs - Evoking Spirits ]

posted by respondcreate on Sep. 13, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: abstract, animation, chill, colorful, hd, hip-hop, kingdom crumbs, mellow, music video, organic, ori toor, psychedelic, spiritual, trippy

Distance

Here’s another delectable morsel of hand drawn animation from this year’s bountiful Gobelins harvest. It’s by four, third-year students – Todd DeJong, Tom Law, Wandrille Maunoury, Etienne Metois and Jonathan Vermersch – and does a fantastic job illustrating a distinct flavor of anxiety we’ve probably all experienced.

P.S. If you’re into ‘making of’s then you’re in luck: Wandrille, Tom and Todd each uploaded a behind-the-scenes peek of their individual contributions to Distance. Enjoy!

[ Distance ]

posted by respondcreate on Sep. 08, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: animation, bizarre, colorful, etienne metois, gobelins, hand drawn, hd, jonathan vermersch, love, psychedelic, todd dejong, tom law, trippy, wandrille maunoury

Livin In The Sunlight, Lovin In The Moonlight

“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

Metro

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

Nature selects from 1x.com

I spend the majority of my time staring at a screen which, honestly, has been my primary goal since adolescence; no complaints here. But, like with anything having to do with our in-built desires, balance is necessary and recently my life has sorely lacked it. I’m going away to the mountains this weekend for some much needed relaxation and the closer it gets the more I’m anxious to reconnect with nature – ergo this post. OK, so it’s still taking place via a computer but, whatever…baby steps, right?

Anywho, if you want get a dose of the great outdoors via assembled grids of red, blue and green pixels there’s no better place than 1x.com. All of the attached photos are from there.

One more thing: you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the suggestions; I still can’t believe how much cool shit gets sent to my inbox er’ryday. Keep ‘em coming. Cheers!

P.S. Click here for moar nature-goodness on The Tripatorium™.

P.P.S. If you haven’t seen Nature by Numbers yet you should probably get on that shit.

[ Nature on 1x.com ]

posted by respondcreate on Aug. 16, 2012 in Pictures  |  tags: 1x, birds, colorful, insects, lizard, nature, owl, photography, trippy

With My Umbrella

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.

[ cokiyu - With My Umbrella ]

posted by respondcreate on Aug. 06, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: abstract, animation, cokiyu, colorful, hd, music video, organic, playful, psychedelic, takashi ohashi, trippy, whimsical

Getaway Tonight

This song by OPOSSOM – with its big swells of lush, layered chords and surgical syncopated stabs of percussive rhythm – hooked me right from the jump. I kept turning it up to the point where Ms. Tripatorium looked over with concern from across the room because she could hear it blaring out of my earbuds with a tinny intensity. I just smiled and said, ‘It’s a really good tune.’

It is. You’ll see.

Anyways, the psychedelic visuals are a bit scattered and bizarre but that’s always been just fine with me. They’re by Special Problems (Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali) and the attached fits in nicely with the other two out-there music videos we’ve posted by them, The Sun and MmmHmm.

Load it in full-screen HD, get your headphones out and enjoy. Oh and a big thanks to Bryan for sending this one our way. Cheers!

[ OPOSSOM - Getaway Tonight ]

posted by respondcreate on Aug. 05, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: bizarre, colorful, hd, music video, opossom, psychedelic, space, special problems, trippy

Mountain

“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.

[ SICAF 212 ''MOUNTAIN' ]

posted by respondcreate on Jul. 29, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: animation, colorful, david prosser, geometric, graphic, hd, korea, studio aka, video games

Up In The Sky

“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

New Lands

Hey, check it out: new Justice. Nice. The attached music video follows in the tradition of their last two, namely that it kicks ass. Barcelona-based CANADA handled the direction and their approach, just like in the previously featured Invisible Light, floods the senses with a meticulously crafted universe buoyed by a warm wave of back-of-your-mind nostalgia. No part is overdone; the story, costumes, sets, visual effects and action all work together in equal proportion, shining in their own way but contributing to a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts. The version posted on YouTube clocks in at four-and-a-half minutes but the one I attached from Vimeo has an extended WarGames/Tron-esque credit sequence that’s nearly as long the story so, if you’re into that sort of thing, keep watching once the action dies down.

As I mentioned at the top of the post, the last two Justice videos we posted – Civilization and On’n'on – are both fantastic (as is the über-bizarre Invisible Light) so give them a watch if you haven’t already.

One more thing: my favorite album of 2011 was easily Galactic Melt  by Com Truise (Favorite tune? No contest: Glawio) so I was understandably excited when I discovered that his third LP, In Decay, was released on Ghostly this past Tuesday. It’s packed with Mr. Truise’s trademark lush, layered synths and at present I’ve listened to it four times (the fifth is in progress as I write). If you’re already a fan then don’t hesitate to pick it up, if you’re on the fence head over to Rdio to give it a pre-buy listen.

[ Justice 'New Lands' ]

posted by respondcreate on Jul. 18, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: canada, colorful, electronic music, hd, justice, music video, nostalgia, trippy

Ozo

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

Oben

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

Dubstep Dispute

“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

I, pet goat 2

“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

Etcetera

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

Bear Warrior

I like watching people draw, especially in time lapse. All great illustrators have a dance to their process; a flitting to-and-fro across the surface of their chosen medium, alternating between quick, broad constructive strokes and OCD-driven micro-adjustments of detail. My favorite parts in the above video are when Denman revisits something he’s already ‘completed’ – pay attention to his repeat attempts at the protagonist’s weapons and troll/orc tattoos in particular. He’s not only experimenting with different stylistic approaches but evolving the proportions as well, refining and adjusting until both feel ‘right’.

If you enjoyed the attached as much as I did then be sure to head over to Denman’s website to see more of his work or his Vimeo page which has lots more in-process videos. Enjoy!

P.S. ‘Bear Warrior’ was selected to be in this year’s Spectrum (#19, pre-order here). Whoa! Congrats, Mr. Rooke!

[ Bear Warrior by Denman Rooke ]

posted by respondcreate on Jun. 22, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: art, colorful, denman rooke, drawing, fantasy, hd, illustration, time lapse

Lazuli

Beach House has a just-out-of-reach enigmatic quality to their music; I don’t ‘get’ what they’re trying to say but then I do…kinda. I’m OK with it – I’ve never needed meaning to be force-fed down my gullet (in fact, I prefer the opposite) – and their tunes often leave an aftertaste of mystery that never quite resolves.  In those moments the lack of lyrical clarity is preferable; it frees me to power-down the analytical modules of my brain and relax into the pure ethereal atmosphere of their instrumentation.

It’s rather nice, really.

Allen Cordell, who directed the attached, seems to get this too as he’s peppered the whole affair with oblique, mysterious visuals that fit together in style and tone but not much else. It’s bizarre in the best of ways, a fitting first course for a late-night, solitary sesh.

What are you waiting for? Get in there.

[ Beach House - Lazuli ]

posted by respondcreate on Jun. 12, 2012 in Videos  |  tags: allen cordell, beach house, bizarre, colorful, ethereal, hd, music video, psychedelic, trippy, wat