LTV21

So many great animations out there, but not all are really LTV “weird”.  But we run into some like the following that are a specific kind of weird and “WTF” that makes them great for LTV show openers or commercial bumpers.

This animation was created by Dan Meth for $99 Music Videos for the band Mixel Pixel (in case you were confused by who did what for whom).  After seeing this and checking out their respective websites, there’s nothing I don’t like about what Dan Meth and $99 Music Videos do, and Mixel Pixel has this fun “growing up in the 80′s” thing going on that’s growing on me quickly.

I think what jumped out at me about this video right off the bat is how much it reminds me of Augenblick Studio‘s work on “Superjail!“.  Maybe it’s just the quick and dirty drawing style combined with the stream of conciousness composition.  Whatever it is, it tickles me properly.

Mixel Pixel’s Site

Mixel Pixel’s MySpace Page

Dan Meth’s Site

$99 Music Videos’ Site

$99 Music Videos’ Facebook Page

$99 Music Videos’ Twitter

And for fun, the “Making Of” for the video, including what Dan Meth spent his $99 on:

Monster Manual “Making Of” video

Commercial from 1938 for the new Philips Symphonic Series radios.  Directed by George Pál who also directed the 1960 version of The Time Machine, among other features you may recognize.   The Philips Broadcast features Sam Browne and Evelyn Dall with Bert Ambrose’s orchestra.

I can imagine this being something the old LTV would play during the intro sequence or as an incidental bit of animation that doesn’t play all the way through.  But I have to give props to the creators of this stop motion piece because it’s hard enough to imagine the things Nick Park and Tim Burton and those guys do these days, but  to do fairly fluid stop motion without the aid of all the fancy tools we have today (computers and I’m sure there’ve been some non-computer gadgets invented since 1938 to aid im stop motion production).. this has to be the equivalent of a 5 minute long Superbowl commercial in 1938 standards.  Enjoy this blast from the far past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUrqrbk1aeg

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUrqrbk1aeg[/youtube]

BTW: Thanks to YouTube commentor “raymond18” for introducing me to a new animation term: puppetoon invented/pioneered by George Pál.  Essentially, stop motion using rigid figures, not posable ones.

More information at IMDB’s page, NNDB’s page and GeorgePal.com.

First, thanks to @LeoLaporte for retweetn @paulandstorm on this video.   These are the kind of things you might not necessarily stumble across without watching what all the cool kids are doing and watching.

This video is a bit of an oddball in the “LTV” context, but I think the animation fits well within the realm of LTV animation qualifications (even if the music is too ‘nice’).

A far cry from any Superjail, Dogboy, Franks Planet or even the artsy foreign pieces that have been featured, Oren Lavie‘s music video for “Her Morning Elegance” is a fantastic live action+stop motion piece that’s just fun to watch.  Oh hell, I don’ t know what else to say about it.  Sometimes things just fall into the category of “I don’t know what it is, I just know I like it”. 

From the YouTube description (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY)

For fun Facts about the video visit -
http://www.myspace.com/orenlavie

Oren Lavie music on iTunes-
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=293075581&s=143441

Her Morning Elegance
Directed by: Oren Lavie, Yuval & Merav Nathan
Featuring: Shir Shomron
Photography: Eyal Landesman
Color: Todd Iorio at Resolution
© 2009 A Quarter Past Wonderful

“Her Morning Elegance” written and produced by Oren Lavie, from the Oren Lavie album The Opposite Side of the Sea
© 2009 A Quarter Past Wonderful/Adrenaline under license from Tuition

Wow.. been ages since I’ve posted anything new.  Sorry about that.  Holidays and work got away from me.  But it’s February now, so time to get back to the updates, eh?

Here’s a really special piece.  “One Rat Shot” is the love child of Alex Weil and Charlex Films.  It’s a masterfully produced piece of CGI animation on par with anything Pixar has ever put out.  The camera work, sound work, composition, model work, writing.. everything.. is just superb.  Maybe 10-20 years from now, we’ll look at pieces like this and call them “primative”, but the quality and artistry put into “One Rat Short” will last a VERY long time.   I almost didn’t want to include it because I’d like to focus on some of the deranged and inspired examples of animation that LTV was such a great forum for, but there was a masterpiece here and there so “One Rat Short” still fits the theme and heart of LTV in the 21st century.

Bravo to Alex Weil and everyone who put this together!

From the YouTube description:

http://www.oneratshort.com

“One Rat Short” is a work of love created by Charlex Films. It began as part of the effort to grow the company’s CG department but eventually became much more than that. Originally, it was entitled “labratz” and as the title might suggest it mimicked the look and sensibility of worked already pioneered by other studios. As it evolved it took on a life of its own- it became my film- or as any director of an effort like this knows our film. We decided not to use anthropomorphic animation. We decided it would take place in two worlds- one so gritty, grimy and dark that the viewer needs to peer into the screen in order to make out the images- the other a sterile, white world so brightly lit that you feel the need to turn your head away from the screen. It was also important to me to keep the film looking as real as possible. One of the techniques we used was to give a lot of the camera work a hand-held feel and to keep it a little behind the action so that the scenes didn’t seem staged. Lastly and most importantly I kept the story simple and tried to give it heart. One of my favorite short films, which I saw as a child was “The Red Balloon”. I think the melancholic and innocent spirit of that film inhabits “One Rat Short.”

Alex Weil, Director

From the creative brain of Adam Pesapane (aka PES) comes a culinary visual feast of inedible delight.  Western Spaghetti is heading to Sundance 2009 and has been featured as Time Magazine’s #2 Viral Video of 2008.  Be sure to check out his site for some of his other videos.  You may recognize some of his commercial work like “Human Skateboard”.   Best of luck at Sundance, Adam!

YouTube

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjLW5_dGAM[/youtube]

From the YouTube description:

*2009 Sundance Official Selection *

Written and Directed by PES
*see more stop-motion shorts by PES at http://www.eatpes.com
*to see behind-the-scenes stills and video from Western Spaghetti and other PES films, find PES on Facebook
*want a t-shirt designed by PES? or a PES Yule Log for your TV? visit the PES Store

A fantastic “stop motion” (* see last note below) animation piece that recreates major military battles.. with food.  It’s fantastic and grotesque.. perfect for your typical LTV fan.

YouTube

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-yldqNkGfo[/youtube]

YouTube description:

Posted by: TouristPictures (youtube user) for TouristPictures (official website)

“An abridged history of American-centric warfare, from WWII to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict.”

For a breakdown of the actual battles portrayed in the film, click here.

For the official cheat sheet (breakdown of the foodstuffs), click here.

Now, to answer some FAQs…
- The food in this film was consumed either by myself or my dog after shooting. None of the cast went to waste.
- The software used was photoshop and after effects.
- The film took me 3 months to do.
- Although it seems like stop motion, most of it was stop motion created within After effects, using keyframe animation. I am basically moving the food around within the the program, frame by frame, which is the same as traditional stop motion, only it’s digital.

I’m a bit fan of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim lineup.  They have some great comedies, action series and I’m not an anime purist, so I’m even a fan of that offering (some of the time, at least.. some series don’t do anything for me, but some are just excellent!).  Of course, being an animation oriented channel, and “adult” in the rated PG-13 to hard “R” variety, they’re bound to have some good fodder for fans of Liquid TV.

This will be the first of a handful of shows I plan on featuring just because of their sheer oddness.

Superjail! is basically what would happen if you took Willy Wonka’s candy factory and turned it into a prison.  The animation style is chaotic and surreal in a way that only chemical mind alteration or a naturally occurring brain dysfunction can produce.  You’ve heard of places for the “criminally insane” and you’ve heard “insanely creative” used to describe some people.  The artists responsible for Superjail are nothing short of “criminally creative.”  I can’t wait to check out their other works on their website.

To get a feel for the show, each episode starts out with a criminal doing his criminal stuff.  Usually it’s this one generic criminal, but they switch it off when there’s a certain new inmate coming along for that episode.

In no time flat, Jailbot shows up to haul the criminal off (back?) to Superjail for the happy little opening sequence, flying through a number of odd scenes.  That’s almost my favorite part of ever episode, just enjoying the weirdness of the opening sequence.  But there’s plenty more weirdness in the episodes themselves.

Two examples of the pre-opening:

AdultSwim.com

AdultSwim.com

And an example of the opening theme and randomness, including the theme song “Comin’ Home” by a band called Cheeseburger:

YouTube

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3fSgixGbY0[/youtube]

The show featuers the Willy Wonka-esque Warden, his assistant, Jailbot and a well endowed “female” (note the quotes) security guard.  And of course all the prisoners.  It’s VERY violent and very strange, but has a genius about it that I appreciate.

Superjail! current plays on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” lineup.  You can find videos online here:

AdultSwim.com – SuperJail!

Superjail! is made by Augenblick Studios, Inc. – Some of their other works are: Wonder Showzen, Golden Age, The Ten, Shorties, Stickman Exodus, Drunky, Plugs McGinniss, Ramblin’ Man, Midnight Carnival,

AugenblickStudios.com

Wikipedia’s Entry for Superjail!

When I saw Tyger a few years ago, I really started thinking seriously about setting up an LTV tribute site.  It combines everything that was brilliant about the best of the old Liquid TV animations.  There’s beauty, amazing music, creativity, immense quantities of pure “style” and it’s story could be appreciated by anyone due to the lack of dialog.  Simply hypnotic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LsMoUtBlDk

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LsMoUtBlDk[/youtube]

From the YouTube description:

An absolutely magical short by Guilherme Marcondes of Brazil, based on a William Blake poem.
Tyger blends puppetry, illustration, photography and CGI. Dreamy, mesmerizing, brilliant. Wow.

2006 winner, Best in Show, Amsterdam Film eXperience (AFX) ( wikipedia )

2007 winner, Best Animated Film, Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth ( wikipedia )

Guilherme Marcondes’ website

The overall feel of this animation reminds me of Edward Gorey’s dark, start black and white ink drawings, but there are many other themes/feels within this piece.  The music is haunting, some of the animation is reminiscent of Monty Python’s cutout animation while some is rotoscoped and there’s a nice little Rube Goldberg bit in the beginning.  I love a good macabre theme, especially when it’s pulled off so excellently as this one is, but I love even more the detail put into not just the artwork, but the design of all the incidental objects, devices and backgrounds. All in all, a masterful job.

YouTube

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRHVzbJVx8I[/youtube]

From YouTube description:

Now Formerly Playing in the YouTube Screening Room:

YouTube YTScreenRoom (account now closed)

Craig Welch takes viewers inside a surreal, meticulously crafted world to meet a mysterious protagonist and his otherworldly visitor.

In this surreal exposition, we meet a man, obsessed with control. His intricate gadgets manipulate yet insulate, as his science dissects and reduces. How exactly are wings attached to the back of angels? In this invented world drained of emotion, where everything goes through the motions, he is brushed by indefinite longings. Whether he can transcend his obsessions and fears is the heart of the matter. A film without words.

Directed by : Craig Welch. Produced in 1996

Posted by:  nfb (National Film Board of Canada)

More links:

IMDB

Viral Video Chart

Originally posted elsewhere 12/07/2007

I’ve been thinking of putting together a list of videos that embody everything that *was* Liquid TV. I’ve been procrastinating, working on other projects, just generally NOT compiling the list. I see that Olive, The Other Reindeer is coming on Cartoon Network and figured I’d give it a shot since I had never seen it. Boy, did I not expect it to meet the Liquid TV standard but I was happily surprised.

Olive, the Other Reindeer is a charming little ‘alternative’ Christmas story that’s cute and colorful and sure to be a favorite among odd little children like most of us were once upon a time. The fact that it has such mature humor and dialog will surely make anyone with more than ten brain cells ask themselves, “Seriously, what the hell is going on here.. this is a kid’s story??”

While watching this 45 minute oddity, all I kept thing of over and over was Thomas and Nardo. Thomas and Nardo had this particularly strange quality to it. 2D figures mapped onto 3D objects, all very primative and jerky. It was plagued with very odd leaps in logic and rationality and all the characters were very abstract to the point of not being portrayed as ‘human’ as much as paper dolls glued to popsicle sticks and pranced around by unseen puppeteers. Olive shares this odd abstraction. The characters are all mis-proportioned and shaped, barely recognizable as human (the ones that were supposed to be) and the oddness in logic is pervasive.

While Thomas and Nardo were jerky and stuffed into mere seconds, Olive has almost a full hour to stretch it’s legs and pace itself. One of the gimmicks that pops up throughout the whole show is what the Wikipedia entry calls “mondegreens”, the mis-hearing of names or phrases as something similar but totally different. You may be familiar with misheard lyrics like “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy!” Just like that.

This is where the whole “other reindeer” thing comes from. One of Santa’s reindeer is out of commission and he’s holding press conferences about whether he’ll be able to make his deliveries that Christmas. Olive and her penguin friend, Martini, hear mention on the radio Santa needing help from “…all of the other reindeer…” Olive hears it correctly, but her tuxedoed friend convinces her that he said “Olive, the other reindeer.” Knowing she, actually a dog, has always been different from the other dogs, becomes convinced that she must be some kind of odd reindeer and embarks on a trip to the North Pole to help Santa.

I guess it’s worth noting that Olive was executive produced by Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Futurama), Drew Barrymore (Actress a-plenty) and produced by Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) who also all provided voice. Almost all the other voices were either “big name actors” or perennial voice actors, with only a few unknowns.

Conclusion: I nominate this holiday nugget for LTV21 for its unique animation style, its odd jump jumps in logic and dialog and for including references to things like ‘deus ex machina’ with asides like “Look it up” when characters inquire about the meaning. This is obviously a creative, quirky holiday romp with extra depth of vision for those who care to see it.

Nickelodeon TV Ad on Dailymotion.com:

[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1804l_olive-the-other-reindeer-nickelodeo_ads[/dailymotion]

Further Digging

• IMDB
• Wikipedia
• DNA Productions – These guys did the animation