Young @ Heart, moves.

Here's a film that caught me completely off guard. It's about the Young @ Heart Chorus from Northhampton, Massachusetts. I had no expectations going in and did indeed come away with "a new lease on life" as the movie's website, advertises.

The trailer is at the end of this post, but if you do nothing else see Mr. Fred Knittle's rendition of Coldplay's Fix You:



Trailer:

Martin Scorsese, Hitchcock style for Freixenet

Hi-8 Video and Hand Animation Combine for a Disturbing "Letter to Colleen"

Londonsquared, Film Makers, for whom we designed the website, appear in an in depth article on studiodaily.com that explores how their latest film, "A Letter to Colleen" was created.

New Blog: Retire Trajan (The Typeface)

The Monolithic Rule of the Tyrannical Trajan Font in Entertainment Advertising has to come to an end. Let's retire Trajan!

Lars and the Real Girl

Check out the website accompanying Lars and the Real Girl. I was asked to contribute art direction and animation to this Mammoth Advertising project.

1000 Journals Movie

The new film about the legendary 1000 Journals project will be premiering at the AFI Film Festival.
Sunday, 11/4, at 9:15PM at the ArcLight Cinemas
Monday, 11/5, at 3:15PM at the ArcLight Cinemas

"Inside 1000 Journals"



From the official website:
1000 Journals is a film about people whose lives are touched by 1000 traveling journals. These blank journals were released into the world in the summer of 2000, by Someguy, a San Francisco based artist. Some people found a journal, or got it from a friend or stranger. Some signed up on the web and received it in the mail. Some wrote in them, others doodled, pasted in photographs, or added artworks. Some kept them. Some passed them on. There are no rules, and no one really monitors these journals and their movements. And yet, they are connecting tens of thousands of people worldwide, provoking and inspiring them.

In September 2003, one of the 1000, number 526, returned to Someguy, filled. What happened to the other 999? This film tells their stories. 1000 Journals shares the experience of their worldwide journeys, and chronicles the self-governed collaboration of thousands of random people who have added to this global "message in a bottle".

Trailer:

Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts DVD

I had the great opportunity to contribute title graphics -stop motion animated chalkboard drawings- to this inspiring documentary, directed by David Becker of Cabin Creek Films.

You can buy the DVD from PBS directly.

Pay special attention to the amazing score, composed by Skooby Laposky.

New Apollo Program Website

Elliot Earls relaunched his TheApolloProgram website.

Earls:
As early as 1995 I began to understand my work as serving two primary functions. The first being intrinsic, while the second was extrinsic. Intrinsically, I see my work as a kind of test bed upon which I attempt to work out a form of interpersonal ethics. First and foremost I see myself as a contrarian and a social critic. And while I realize that my work appears highly formal, at it's core it is essentially Instrumentalist. Extrinsically, I see my work functioning as a form of cultural criticism dealing with issues of race, class and sexuality in America.

The Shock Doctrine, Film by Naomi Klein and Alfonso Cuarón

From Naomi Klein's Website:
A Film by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein, directed by Jonás Cuarón.
"When I finished The Shock Doctrine, I sent it to Alfonso Cuarón because I adore his films and felt that the future he created for Children of Men was very close to the present I was seeing in disaster zones. I was hoping he would send me a quote for the book jacket and instead he pulled together this amazing team of artists -- including Jonás Cuarón who directed and edited -- to make The Shock Doctrine short film. It was one of those blessed projects where everything felt fated." - Naomi Klein

SMALL STEPS: CREATING THE HIGH SCHOOL FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS

This fantastic documentary, produced by Academy award winner Barbara Kopple and Directed by David Becker of Cabin Creek Films, airs Thursday, September 6, 2007, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET.

Skooby Laposky composed an amazing 27 track score for it and yours truly created the main title and graphic design throughout.

Green Towel Design & Direction

Go have a looksy at Green Towel's work. They kick ass.

Asian Film Festival at IFC Center in New York

A little off topic for a design blog, bt this is inspiring stuff. Among these unique offerings is the new Chan-Wook Park film "I'm a cyborg, but that's ok." [links to trailer], I've been a huge fan of his ever since seeing Oldboy and Lady Vengeance.

Studio2K / Katya Moorman & Karen Dunn

Katya Moorman and Karen Dunn's is hard to label, and I find that a good thing. Combing area of installation Art, Motion Graphics, Film Making and Interactive Design, to name a few, they explore some interesting territory. It's interesting that it is sometimes applied and sometimes autonomous art but that it seems to come from a similar place an that it works in either arena. Check out THE OPENING OF SKY AND SEA on their website and in the still image below for example.

THE OPENING OF SKY AND SEA -A fashion extravaganza showcasing the work of designers Brooke Priddy and Kelledy Frances. Using the themes of sky and sea we created a dynamic visual environment (videobackpacks on bare chested ushers, projections on oversized helium balloons) which enhanced the narrative. We were also commissioned to create an opening title sequence and a video for the finale. (2006)

Michel Gondry Interview at PixelSurgeon

Michel Gondry is my hero, Science of Sleep is a great achievement in motion design, animation and film making and so much fun to watch. Ofcourse his music videos are classics. Pixel Surgeon landed an interview with this great artist.

Brilliant Pop-Up Book Video by Price James

A brilliant new video for the band Shitdisco

[By way of Designboom & Creative Review]

Everything you see is fake

Check out this montage by RIOT.

Tribeca Film Festival "Best of" Short Films on Yahoo Video

Londonsquared's "The Backbrace" was chosen as one of the highlighted shorts of the last 5 years of the Tribeca Film Festival in a nifty little partnership with Yahoo. Yahoo is showcasing about 16 films on their homepage. You can check them out here.

The video channels are listed on the left. Here’s the link directly to the shorts channel.

There are some truly awesome short films on this site.

Londonsquared Films

Husband & Wife Filmmaking team Londonsquared produce an array of original content. Form documentary style shorts to stop motion animation, commericials and music videos. Their humor is infectuous and many of their animations put a big smile on your face. Check them out at Londonsquared.net

The Twisted Films of PES

Up first today are the Twisted Films of PES. .This is amazing stuff, especially if you understand the tediousness involved with tabletop animation. But even within that genre, this work stands out because of it's offbeat visual style and humor. I especially recommend "Game Over" The Diesel Commercial and "Roof Sex".

Elliott Earls - The Saranay Motel Trailer

The first trailer for "The Sarany Motel" is posted. Original score by Elliott Earls, featuring The Venomous Sons of Jonah, Tim Day and Joshua-Ray Stephens. Starring Dora Apel, Matthew Biro, Timothy Day, Darlene Earls, Elliott Earls, Jerome Evans, The Reverend Robert Jones, Joshua-Ray Stephens, Benjamin Stewart, Kosta Stratigos (2d '02), Ries Straver and Benjamin Teague.