“I shuffle around the tectonic plates in my chest.
You know I gave it all, try to match our continents;
To change seasonal shift, to form a mutual core.”
You guys remember SOLIPSIST, right? (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, drop what you’re doing and go watch it immediately.) It’s easily in the top five of my ‘Favorite Pieces of Internet’ list for 2012 so I was SUPER-PUMPED to discover (via Sam Lillard) that its creator, Andrew Huang, directed Björk‘s latest music video.
The two are a natural fit: His craft-material-as-biology approach pairs well with both her nature-as-allegory lyrical tendencies and always-out-there visual style so it’s no surprise that this collaboration thrums with a primal, living energy.
The bits are available in 1080p, too so don’t hesitate to load this thing on the biggest display available. ENJOY!
P.S. Our Bjӧrk feed is pretty rad.
[ OFFICIAL Bjӧrk - Mutual Core - Art + Music - MOCAtv ]
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 17, 2012 in Videos | tags: andrew huang, biology, bizarre, bjork, colorful, hd, love, mind bending, music video, nature, trippy
“In this endless freedom of thought you found no answers to these basic matters of human being, only a myriad choice of ideas lost in a deep dark hole of uncertainty.”
My first thought after watching the attached was, ‘this could have easily been in The Animatrix,’ so prep yourself for some late-night, cerebral, sci-fi shit. It was inspired by GOLEM XIV, a short story by Stanislaw Lew, and its visuals, atmospheric soundtrack and cold, sterile narration all pay proper homage to the deep, apprehensive spirit of his writings.
Co-directors Patrick Mccue and Tobias Wiesner said that their creative intention for the film was to inspire others to, ‘face [their] own process in this world with reflection and self responsibility, to stay curious and create, look for new ideas and stay keen,’ so get your mind shifted into the proper gear for maximum absorption.
For me, that means full-screen-in-a-dark-room with a nice pair of headphones on.
A big thanks to Dave Hughes – the man behind [adult swim]‘s deliciously bizarre Off The Air – for sending this one our way. Cheers, Dave!
[ GOLEM ]
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 09, 2012 in Videos | tags: 3d, animation, atmospheric, evolution, hd, patrick mccue, science fiction, stanislaw lew, technology, tobias wiesner
The attached animated short by Joanne Smithies, Eric De Melo Bueno, Michael Moreno, Hugo Bailly Desmarchelier and Camille Turon (all students at ESMA Montpellier) is gorgeous, atmospheric and sumptuously textured; an absolute treat. ENJOY!
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 05, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, art, atmospheric, camille turon, eric de melo bueno, esma, gorgeous, hd, hugo bailly desmarchelier, japan, joanne smithies, michael moreno, paper, trippy
Yes, please. I’m a sucker for wormholes and Jesse Kanda‘s geometric, seapunk(ish), refracted-and-ray-traced slow-dive for Arca‘s Manners is an excellent example of the form.
Serving instructions:
Cheers to Peter Verner for passing this along on Twitter. Thanks!
posted by respondcreate on Oct. 30, 2012 in Videos | tags: abstract, arca, atmospheric, colorful, electronic music, ethereal, geometric, hd, jesse kanda, music video, space, trippy, wormhole
This bizarre, gorgeous short created at Supinfocom Arles by Paulin Cointot, Dorianne Fibleuil, Antoine Robert and Maud Sertour is packed to the gills with gobs of subtle, pleasing visual detail. Full-screen is a must. ENJOY!
P.S. Our Supinfocom feed is pretty rad, you should definitely check it out.
[ Le Taxidermiste ]
posted by respondcreate on Oct. 25, 2012 in Videos | tags: animals, animation, antoine robert, bizarre, colorful, death, dorianne fibleuil, gorgeous, hd, maud sertour, paulin cointot, supinfocom, wat
“When you don’t know what you want,
You just repeat yourself again;
In the end, you just repeat yourself again.
When you don’t know who you are,
You dig yourself the hole you’re in.”
Another stunner from Gotye, y’all…this time with visuals by Saiman Chow. Grab your headphones, dive-in and enjoy.
A big thanks is due to Colton for the heads-up! Cheers!
[ Gotye - Dig Your Own Hole - official video ]
posted by respondcreate on Oct. 21, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, blacklist, gotye, hand drawn, hd, music video, psychedelic, saiman chow, trippy, watercolor, wormhole
“Where do all these melodies come from?
Where do all these melodies run from
to then find solace in sun, son?
Honestly? I’m stumped.
All I know is somehow when I’m stuck,
I’m un-stuck.
Maybe it’s dumb luck, I give up;
I’m just as dumbstruck.”
Steve first sent us this video in the spring but, truth be told, I didn’t take the time to really dive in and pay attention to what was going on until a few days ago. Don’t make the same mistake.
I never really caught on to what the song was about because I was too fixated on the visuals. For whatever dumb reason I tend to not like when shot footage and animation are combined unless they’re seamlessly mixed together. That’s certainly not a rule, just a general prejudice rooted in the sticky cellar of my psyche. When I was a child I used to separate my food into neat little piles; the stuff I liked least was eaten first and, when it was finished, the next mound in the hierarchy of flavor was tackled until my favorite was last on the plate. It sounds dumb now that I’m typing it out but, at the time, this behavior seemed perfectly logical. I was a little obsessed by the process to the point that I’d have a mini freak-out if different foods touched each other.
To enjoy something on it’s own terms is, to me at least, fundamentally satisfying. I find that both sobriety and intoxication are agreeable in their own way but to be either one or the other for too long a span of time spurs a vague discomfort as each plays an integral role in calibrating the poles of my consciousness.
Yin and yang, bruh.
So, separate and tackle in turn. If shot footage and hand-drawn animation are fused into one film, why wouldn’t you want to make the finished product look as homogeneous as possible? You know, invest the necessary time and attention to do a proper blend; apply some craft ‘n shit. This is probably why I glossed over the attached when I first saw it. But I didn’t dismiss it...how could I? Mr. Steven Smith himself made it for goddamn Stones Throw and, seeing as I’m a big fan of both, decided to tuck it away and return later. On a recent trip to the Midwest I did just that and, away from the pressures of work, had time to properly marinate in what was going on.
Anyways, the song is about the creative process and – even though Homeboy Sandman is specifically referring to his methodology for writing rhymes – the themes he covers are pretty universal to anyone who makes things. At it’s core, creating something is a frustrating mix of volition and luck. You’ve got to do what you can to get the ball rolling but ultimately, what’s going on isn’t completely within your control. It’s haphazard and messy and inexact and – for beings whose evolutionary success depended primarily on an ability to exert dominance over the surrounding environment – supremely frustrating.
“I think ‘What is this melody meaning to me?’
The answer might come in a week.
The answer might come immediately.
What is the recipe?”
Lyrically, it’s a tightly-packed, mad, stream-of-consciousness tumble and the accompanying grab-bag of colorful, whacked-out visuals heighten the sense of anticipation for what he’ll say next. It took me until the ninth or tenth viewing to finally notice that the only shot footage is of Sandman’s head, the physical case for an internal universe of grey matter that simultaneously contains both the hindering, fickle spontaneity of his creative muse and the honed mastery of language that eventually liberates and externalizes it.
At that moment everything shifted; the heterogeneous, sharp-edged contrast of the visuals morphed from the thing I didn’t like to my absolute favorite part. Maybe you’ll like it, too?
“EN-JOY.”
For more Steven Smith-created goodness just click here. If this is the first you’re hearing of Stones Throw listen to this and then go buy some albums.
[ Homeboy Sandman - The Miracle ]
posted by respondcreate on Oct. 12, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, chill, colorful, hd, hip-hop, homeboy sandman, mellow, music video, steven smith, stones throw, trippy
Absolutely loving this two-and-a-half minute dose of delicate, hypnotic, hand-drawn, constantly-morphing line animation from Katayama Takuto. The sparse, plodding piano backing (by Kikuchi Ryouta) compliments the visuals quite nicely, too. Enjoy!
[ 異化した視覚 / Dissimilated Vision ]
posted by respondcreate on Oct. 11, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, delicate, eye, hand drawn, hd, hypnotic, katayama takuto, kikuchi ryouta, monochromatic, piano, trippy
“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
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