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
“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
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
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
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.
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 12, 2012 in Videos | tags: allen cordell, beach house, bizarre, colorful, ethereal, hd, music video, psychedelic, trippy, 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
This music video was put together by some of our favorite creatives: Fleur & Manu (No Brain) provided the decidedly Spielberg-ian direction, DIVISION Paris (No Brain, On’n'on) handled production and Machine Molle (The Greeks, Sur Le Quai, Goin’in) delivered the visual effects.
I’m a big fan of M83‘s lush, layered, shoegaze-but-synth-heavy sound and the dream-team listed above delivers some enigmatic, atmospheric visuals that serve as a pitch-perfect accompaniment.
Truth be told, we first saw this back in October when one of our regular contributors, Sam Lillard, dropped it in our inbox. We liked it then, too! So much so that we filed it in our ‘_POST NOW BRAH_’ folder which, in light of today’s latent response time, should probably be renamed. Anyways, we decided to finally get this up on the site when we saw that its sequel, Reunion, was recently released. It’s just as great as the attached so, when you’re done here, definitely give it a watch next. Enjoy!
P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for No Brain‘s brief cameo at 0:27.
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 05, 2012 in Videos | tags: division paris, fleur & manu, hd, m83, machine molle, music video, science fiction, trippy
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
“I don’t want the right to be rude, I just want the right to be cool –
However I chose to do it, I do whatever I chose to be or whom.
Hey I don’t need your money, I can grow my own food.
I don’t need your beauty standard, I can be my own dude.
And I don’t pay tuition, I can be my own school.
I don’t need your prescriptions, I can change my own mood.”
I was alive in the early eighties but didn’t become cognizant of its peculiar pop-cultural flavors until years later when I’d embark on mid-day marathons of tee-vee re-runs. I enjoyed playing outside sure, but there’s something about being locked into a screen that I’ve always found cathartic. I felt guilty about it then but I’m not sure why; whenever I’d try to tune out some inner voice would chime in, reminding me that I was wasting precious time. In all honesty, I figured it was God trying to communicate that I was sinning but – considering I’ve ruled that line of reasoning out – I’m returning to these old shame-markers in an attempt to unpack them.
Almost immediately after I began watching the attached, random memories surfaced of couch-locked sunny Summer afternoons where I allowed my brain to spool itself down to catharsis via hours-long binges on such shows as Airwolf, Knight Rider, A-Team and Mission Impossible. I don’t know when the compulsion to cram my head with media started but, as far as I can tell, the fixation has always been with me; it’s what I love to do.
I know now that, in this regard, television was an aperitif, a mere warm-up to the full-on high that would deliver itself in stunning revelatory clarity when I first found the internet. I still hold affection for the older form, one in which it was someone’s else’s job to decide what I’d see next. There’s a sentimental comfort in watching simple characters act out uncomplicated plots (whose resolution you could reliably guess by paying close attention to the first few scenes) over a grainy analog signal.
In that regard, this music video for Brooklyn-based Friends – directed by Hiro Murai – delivers handily, leveraging a heavy nostalgia vector without getting too mired in it; there’s a modernity to the execution that keeps it fresh. I’m down. Plus: kaleidoscopes. Fuck yeah.
posted by respondcreate on May. 24, 2012 in Videos | tags: bizarre, friends, hd, hiro murai, kaleidoscope, music video, nostalgia, 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
Have you guys ever heard of Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds? In terms of psychedelics I wouldn’t recommend them. On the gradient scale from discomfort to otherworldly bliss they skew wildly towards the former; your platter is piled high with twin helpings of purge and (if you’re lucky) only a minuscule, mostly-tasteless garnish of surreal, clanking insight. To put it simply: there’s a reason you can buy them legally at your local garden supply store.
We’ve all been there though right? A blank-slate weekend with itchy thoughts, desperate for some kind of stimulation. Your mainstays are all-but depleted with no one in sight to replenish their stores. It’s in these moments the mind gets desperate. “Oh, you read about these on the internet? You heard it could-do-something-or-other? Yeah man, whatever, I’m down.”
A bored young brain can be a strange and dangerous thing.
Anyways, after a heavy barbecue dinner, a few drinks and some futile resin hits we swallowed them down. Numerous trustworthy warnings, received in hypertext, were casually disregarded; apparently they were supposed to be soaked overnight to remove some noxious husk. Too late, it’s 11pm on a clear, perfect Saturday; we’ll take our chances. “Let’s go.”
Hours pass. Nothing. Time for bed; we’re getting sleepy, unaware that this is part of the ramp up. “I’ll take the couch dude, good night, see you in the morning.”
I’m not sure when the ‘thrumming’ started but it probably kicked-off during R.E.M. sleep. Though in-reality absolutely still, my limbs were buzzy and shaking. It was as if my tendons were lengthening, the attached muscles dangling freely from stringy bones like swaying wind chimes before a late-summer thunderstorm.
And where was the warmth going? Why was it traveling to my core in thick palpable waves? Thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um. It was pleasant but…not. I couldn’t decide. Was I dreaming?
I opened my eyes and the opposite wall was alive with blinks and flashes. Is this the trip? Yes, but not like I was thinking, the fevered visuals on display came not from my mind but a more pedestrian source: the cheap display of an all-in-one stereo perched high on the shelf behind me. There was no sound coming from the speakers but I could hear it all the same, Thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um, thrum-rum-rum-um.
It moved in concert with my jangled limbs, carrying heat down my shoulders and up my hips to meet in the center of my gut. It felt wonderful for about a minute and then I realized what was happening: my body was trying to tell me that I was going to vomit. Like now. In someone else’s house. I needed to make a break for it.
FUCK.
Lying on the cool bathroom floor felt fantastic and I stayed there for hours. It wasn’t just the idle stereo’s flickering slot-machine demo mode that could be heard but all sources of light. In here however, the gentle thrum was gone, it’s barely-audible throb replaced by a constant and abrasive owl’s screech from the bright spherical bulbs above the vanity.
It was around this time that I said aloud, “Morning…I want it to be morning now.”
The flavors in the attached remind me a bit of that night though, thankfully, sans anxious nausea. This is one of those videos you need headphones on in a dark-room to fully appreciate. The layers of tight, aggressive synths and staccato vocals from new-on-the-scene Raveyards coalesce into an aggressive cacophony while the whacked-out dark, just-a-bit unsettling visuals (as directed by Brussels-based Charles De Meyer) ramp up accordingly til it all culminates in a bizarre crescendo.
It’s so dope, you guys; an instant classic. Enjoy!
posted by respondcreate on May. 13, 2012 in Videos | tags: bizarre, charles de meyer, dark, electronic music, hd, mind bending, music video, raveyards, surreal, trippy, violence
Trippy, mane.
Jake Fried creates his unique style of bizarre, constantly evolving animation by hand using only ink and wite-out. Once you’re done watching this, head over to his website to see more.
Cheers to Sam Lillard for the heads-up.
[ Waiting Room ]
posted by respondcreate on May. 05, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, hand drawn, hd, jake fried, monochromatic, stop motion, trippy
Oof.
Pay attention to the color in this one. Notice the differences in palette when it’s just the father or only the daughter; this is the arrow, pulled deftly from the quiver and notched silently to the string. The bow is drawn at 3:21 and, by the time it is loosed at 3:27, there’s no time to get out of the way. Just let it hit you. In my case, the aim was true.
Cheers to Eusong Lee, a student at Calarts, for the stellar job.
posted by respondcreate on May. 03, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, calarts, colorful, death, eusong lee, geometric, hd, spiritual
File under: LOLWAT
Absolutely diggin’ this bizarre, hyper-violent animated short by Chinese director/animator/illustrator SeanSoong. Enjoy!
[ 地铁大逃杀 - SUB WARS ]
posted by respondcreate on Apr. 29, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, ayo_chen, bizarre, china, hd, lolwat, seansoong, star wars, trippy, violence
“Good night to these wretched forms; all them gray eyes on the subway.
So long before you were born you were always to be a dagger floating…
...straight to their heart.”
Jamie Caliri conjures up an ethereal, bizarre and magical gumbo of visuals (with stylistic nods to Edward Gorey and Tim Burton) in this excellent stop motion music video for The Shins. It’s a treat friends, don’t hesitate to dive in.
A big thanks goes to Benjamin for sending this our way…cheers!
[ The Shins - The Rifle's Spiral ]
posted by respondcreate on Apr. 29, 2012 in Videos | tags: bizarre, dark, dream, ethereal, hd, jamie caliri, magic, music video, stop motion, the shins, trippy, vevo sucks
I found this little gem by Fabian Grodde while perusing the Vimeo Festival Awards picks for 2011. I’ll leave the flowery prose to a minimum; it’d be a crime to spoil the surprise. However, I should probably mention that you need to grab your headphones as the music/sound-design by Alexander Binder and Johann Niegl is top-flight. Enjoy!
P.S. Go vote! Below is a list of all the videos currently in the running that we’ve posted to the site, organized by the category they are nominated in. To show your support, click the link next to the category name and it’ll take you to the appropriate voting page…you should be able to figure it out from there.
Music Videos (vote link):
Animation (vote link):
Motion Graphics (vote link):
Lyrical (vote link):
[ Crossover ]
posted by respondcreate on Apr. 24, 2012 in Videos | tags: alexander binder, animation, fabian grodde, hd, horror, insects, johann niegl, nature, spider, tribal, trippy