Right out of the gate I was enamored with the aesthetic; it evokes movies like Tron and WarGames which – whether they hold up now or not – were seen in the brain-like-a-sponge days of my childhood and, as a result, a welcome flutter of warm nostalgia cascaded through my brain.
About a minute in though my interest started to wane; when were things going to pick up? I was a bit bored and having trouble understanding what this whole thing was about but, since Max made it, I stayed locked in (and am glad I did).
I build systems all day and, before construction actually starts, I first have to understand what I’m building and why it’s worth the effort. Usually there’s some kind of raw, chaotic element that, if thoughtfully reconfigured, can transform an unwelcome existing reality into a new, useful one.
I’m typically dealing with reams of unstructured data and have found that, more often than not, a wise first step in the process of turning chaos into order is forcing oneself to slow-down and observe. So that’s exactly what I did.
What are these shapes? Why do they move as they do? What causes the connecting lines to appear? Were they always there or do they spring from nothing when another form is close? What causes them to go away? Are they artifacts of communication or some abstract representation of relationship (or neither)? Why do some shapes leave the frame while others combine or split or shrink down to nothing or…
...then it was over and I longed to see more. I wanted to live in that neon-and-artificial-yet-strangely-organic-and-alive world for a bit longer to see where things went. I couldn’t make sense of it at first but felt that if I kept watching some hidden, important meaning would eventually present itself.
As mentioned above, the talented Max Hattler directed the attached with some animation assistance from Matt Abbiss, Tony Comley, Valeria Fonseca, Siobhan Mcelhinney and Luiz Stockler.
ENJOY!
P.S. If you haven’t seen (or seen-in-a-while) Max’s excellent Sync I suggest you do; it’s SUPER trippy.
[ X (by Max Hattler) - Festival Version ]
posted by respondcreate on Oct. 05, 2013 in Videos | tags: abstract, animation, colorful, hd, luiz stockler, matt abbiss, max hattler, siobhan mcelhinney, tony comley, valeria fonseca, vector
“In the beginning there was nothing and in the middle of it was God.
Vast omnipotent and calm he hung in thoughts simmering and popping with fathomless tiny stars.
If time existed, much would pass before the God, young but wise, came to realize that even gods need conversation…”
This creation myth was written, directed and created by Tony Comley – the super-talented guy behind D N A U X B (If you haven’t watched that yet do so immediately; it’s fantastic.) – as part of the Animator in Residence program at the University of Wales. Tony, and the UoW students who were lucky enough to work with him, turned this around in only three weeks. Impressive. The entire piece was also animated entirely on a Powerbook G4. Even more impressive. The authoritative, gravelly and stoic voice-over is delivered by Roger Wooster backed with a score composed by Charlie Piper.
We’re big fans of how Tony animates his explosions, blips and ‘force waves’ (for lack of a better term); there’s a unique, expressive energy to each and every one. Truly a treat for the eyes. Enjoy!
[ 'VERSE ]
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 15, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, charlie piper, creation, god, roger wooster, space, spirituality, tony comley, university of wales
“As his planet boils in the glow of a cascading Tesseract a young femto-panda named David Xenon makes a brave attempt to warn the galaxy…”
Holy shit! This is awesome! Tony Comley is the chap responsible for putting together this super-rad music video for Gameshow Outpatient. Serving suggestion: full screened, lights dimmed and headphones on; give it your undivided attention folks.
Gameshow Outpatient was cool enough to make the EP that this tune comes from – We Go Dream Team – available as a free download. Thanks again for the free stuff, internet!
[ D N A U X B ]
posted by respondcreate on Jun. 05, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, chiptune, colorful, electronic music, gameshow outpatient, hd, retro, space, tony comley