Totally rad music video by Tin Spider Studio. It’s the new single from Black Noise feat. Lex One, taken from Black Noise ‘EP.02′ on Southern Fried Records. Just watch it, you’ll see.
Last year, Panasonic hosted the Next Generation Talent to give UK design students a crack at creating an advertisement and win a bunch of gear. They let me sit on the judges panel and blab on and on about some amazing student work. The contest was a success and the winning video was great. This year they've narrowed down the entries to four and asked the judges back to choose a winner. I think I've picked my favorite, Paul Bryan, but help me make up my mind. Have a quick view at the four remaining finalist and tell me your favorite and why in the comments below. Just to spur you along we're going to give away the noise canceling headphones they were going to give to me as a gift to a commenter at random below.
We have quite an affinity for those with affection for the sounds of our gaming past. Even more so when that blast of 8-bit aural goodness is accompanied by a visual feast centered around another one of our childhood favorites, Lego. 8-bit Trip, a video from unsigned Swedish pop outfit rymdreglage goes totally Gondry on us with ever-so enticing results. The action is a roller coaster of karate chopping, eye-popping goodness mixed with doses of pac man and general gaming fever. It’s truly a sight to behold.
When used correctly, the ever-expressive eyebrows can be a window into the soul …or at least into the opinion being formulated deep within. Those who are unfortunate sufferers of facial paralysis might never command the effective power of displaying worry through the furrowing of one’s brow or the curious inquiry hinted at by raising just one side. Fortunately, Tom Judd, a recent graduate of the masters in Animation program at the Royal College of Art, has come up with a solution for the unfortunate few with little control over their facial expressions. His Eyebrow Hat has harnessed the evocative power of one’s double fuzzies into a remote controlled device, capable of showing just what you might be feeling at any given time provided you haven’t run out of batteries.
When Mr. Judd isn’t busy helping those who can’t animate their own feelings, he’s busy putting together some kick ass cartoon work. His three and a half minute long masterpiece, Bruce, tells the tale of a boy who through the use of open source genetic programming, creates his very own pint-sized action hero . Sounds like something we’d like to have. Check it out here and be on the lookout for this rising illustrative talent.
Anna the Red makes brilliant character bento, often with a nod toward anime and video games. Her Kyaraben transforms the traditional Japanese lunch box into a work of art. Recently, someone from Google took notice of Anna’s bento prowess and invited her to help promote Google Chrome by making the logo out of food. She began with a sketch, and ended up with the Google Chrome logo realized in boiled broccoli, fried red peppers and scrambled eggs. If you’ve ever wanted to see the dilligent work that goes into this niche art form, check out the fast-paced video. Delicious.
I just came across a wonderful short new film by Brazilian director Cisma, the result of the latest commission from Adobe’s very inspiring Adobe Artists project. With the strict rule that everything must be produced using only Adobe products—Creative Suite 4, in particular—Le Sens Propre continues successfully in Cisma’s trademark surreal style. We watch a little girl in her room throw dishes into a tidy and unbroken stack, tie her shoes but accidentally knot up her thumbs instead and see bunnies turn into colorful, soft pebbles. It’s a bit Alice in Wonderland meets Candyland; totally charming to the end. Amazingly enough, no 3-D software was employed in the making of the film. According to an interview with Motiongraphics, Cisma wanted “to create strange scenes and weird connections between elements of the story,” giving viewers the chance to be surprised. It’s this aspect that keeps you glued to the computer screen. Check the Adobe Artist site for other gems, including a short by another Brazilian filmmaker, Nando Costa.
Over the past few centuries, the classic folk tale of Little Red Riding Hood has been told many different ways. Tomas Nilsson, a graphic design student from Sweden’s Linköping University has put an exciting new spin on the time-honored tale. Through the use of animated infographics, Nilsson crafts a vastly more enjoyable version for adults as we follow ‘Hood’s Royskopp-fueled journey through the woods, scanning the periphery for things such as Grandma’s nutritional value and the forest’s wildlife density.
We love sheep. They’re soft, they’re adorable, and they provide those of us who are knitters with wool. But we especially love sheep when dozens of them are covered with LED lights at night and herded so that they appear to be playing Pong, recreating the Mona Lisa, and exploding into fireworks. The whole thing took place in Wales, and though it’s kind of lame the whole thing is just an excuse for Samsung to show off their LED technology, we aren’t ashamed to admit we found it entertaining. The only livestock meme we like better? Fainting goats.
If you’re seeking solace from news about bailouts and our tanking economy, look no further than the Recess Sessions. The project by the Morgans Hotel Group “seeks to capture the creative spirit and collaboration that drives independent musicians and filmmakers.” It shows artists performing on-site at Morgans properties in New York, London and L.A. Director Vincent Moon’s video of Brazilian singer/guitarist Curumin (and Au Revoir Simone) is calming and light, whereas Mark Wilkinson’s take on rockers Semi Precious Weapons at the Hudson is more raucous. Footage of Miho Hatori and Miss Derringer is said to be coming soon — as are user submissions, of course.
Here is a little Thursday bubbly electro-pop for everyone. The Norwegian band Röyksopp (think Justice, except a bit more Scandinavia) has put out their new single “Happy Up Here.” Aside from being a tune we’ve been jamming to all day, the video makes our dreams of a city-size version of Space Invaders come true. The song is the first track released from their forthcoming album Junior. The single hits shops on the March 9 (album out March 23), but you can get it from iTunes now, just in time for Spring.
It’s true — music videos have been getting ridiculous lately. Some time around when Michael Jackson’s Black or White budget rivaled that of major motion pictures, and the good old live concert video went out of style, people forgot that the video shouldn’t overshadow the song. 99 Dollar Music Videos challenges independent bands and directors to make a solid video using just under a hundred bucks. So far, La Strada has theirs up, and the product is simple and effective, like videos used to be. Lined up for future experiments are Via Audio, Plushgun, Lowry, and many more.
