7.09.2006

Surreal animation

Zumbakamera is the studio of Peruvian animator Jossie Malis, whose work is strange, wild, and wonderful. Try "Memento Mori", a claymation film about an encounter in an elevator; "Sopa", a live-action stop-motion animation about a special soup; or his latest silhouette flash works: "Pacha", which traces a rather winding food chain, and "Bendito Machine", about...well, I'm not really sure, but it's mesmerizing.
Via Spy's Spice.




I've already linked to G, the studio of Matthieu Gueritte, for his interactive flash artwork moxomoxo, but now I'd like to draw your attention to his short, stylish, sometimes poignant, often just plain strange animations. Of particular interest are "Jungle" (C3 in the grid), "Zonk" (A3), "Robot's bar" (C1) "Valise" (B1), and, if you can read French, "Héros" (B3).




More has been one of my favorite short films ever since I caught it on the SciFi Channel several years back. Now I discover that it's available on the web, so I urge you to go see it right away. It's about the search for happiness in a gloomy world, and it's beautifully done.




Is it possible that I have so far neglected to link to Lauenstein & Lauenstein Filmproduktion? Let me address this oversight immediately. The German animator duo of twins Cristoph and Wolfgang produce a series of delightful commercials and short spots in their distinctive clamation style, but the real gem is "Balance", another of my old favorite short films. I also saw this first on the SciFi Channel, and was immediately enchanted. It's no longer available for viewing on the website, but can still be seen at good old YouTube. On the website you can still see the commercial spots developed using the visual style created for "Balance", the other commercials featuring mostly animals, and other great animation.




Vuccumpra by photographer Julien Attard is an upbeat, jazzy, silhouette flash animation about a street vendor who has just what you need. Again for the French speakers, there's also C'est Claire, a cute spoof of the Amélie opening.




Belle Mellor is a treat. Spare, graceful line drawings, washes of watercolor, parades of fantastic Boschian creatures, and a twist of dark humor. Wonderful.




Vertical, part of CinéWeb04, is a great animation about a world turned sideways. Or, as the blurb has it, "Combining expressionistic graphics with black humour and an amusingly lugubrious score, Théodore Ushev's absurdist film presents a world sliding toward ruin, carrying with it houses, birds, idols, balloons, and what little is left of reason."


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1 Comments:

Blogger xenmate:

Balance is absoultely great. Many many thanks for introducing me to it.

04:53  

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