Overheard today in Dundrum Shopping Centre:
Two girls standing in A-Wear, one girl is telling the other:
“Look, all I can tell you is…I mean, I don’t know anything at all about your situation like, but, all I can tell you is: Do the right thing. D’you know what I mean? Like, I don’t know what the right thing would be, but, like, whatever it is…do it.”
Erm…thanks?
What do you mean I can’t have chocolate for breakfast!?
Oh the injustice of it all…you cruel, heartless woman!
Hang on…are you taking photographs of this?
Why didn’t you tell me? I would have done my hair…
Hello my public! Tantrum? Don’t know what you mean…
I’m on a bit of an animation kick at the moment but if you want to see some amazing animation and storytelling then Film 4 is doing a Studio Ghibli series right now which is well worth a look. Studio Ghibli is the Japanese animation studio headed by director Hayao Miyazaki responsible for films such as Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke. Now, I know a lot of people aren’t into Japanese animation, I have to admit a lot of it leaves me cold, but this is no Pokomon. Miyazaki films are full of high adventure, mythical creatures, strange lands and interesting characters all wrapped up in breath-taking animation. What I love about his films are that the characters aren’t black and white, the bad guys aren’t all bad and the good guys often have quite dark sides to them, plus anyone can change.
They’re airing at about 5pm every day on the now free Film4. Yay!
Well, ten of them anyway. There are so many to choose from but these came to mind straight away as my own personal favourites. They’re a varied bunch, some old some new, some computer some traditional. The one thing they all have in common is that I get goosebumps when I watch them. So, in no particular order…
1. The Big Snit
A Canadian short about a couple who start an argument just as WW3 begins. Similar in style to The Cat Came Back. Love the rattling eyes.
2. Gopher Broke
A recent Oscar nominated 3d short by Blur Studios. Wonderful slapstick never goes out of fashion.
3. Le Papillon
Beautiful japanese style short, like a watercolour come to life. I love the hair and the subtle facial expressions.
A recent film by French film-maker Louis Clichy. Boy meets Girl, Girl beats Boy, Boy and Girl run through Paris.
5. Mange
A second film by Louis Clichy. Will resonate with anyone who has a picky eater in the house. Reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.
You’ll need your hankies for this Canadian short. It won an Oscar all the way back in 1986.
7. Family Dog
This was a series of shorts by Brad Bird (who went on to direct The Iron Giant and The Incredibles). Hilarious character design and observations. The Simpsons owe a lot to this one.
A beautiful 2d animation by Michael Dudok De Wit. The way the animation and the music work together is genius not to mention how so much emotion is conveyed through a simple character we never get to see up close.
And if Anna & Bella didn’t get you then this Oscar winner from 2001 will have you sobbing into your keyboard. Another one by Michael Dudok De Wit. I love the different characters on all the different bicycles. Also the details like the flock of birds flying over the lake and when she is cycling against the wind and then with the wind…you really feel it.
10. Le Building
After you’ve dried your eyes this one will cheer you up. A very short short with a mix of 2d and 3d animation. The fact that it’s done by students (at Gobelins in Paris) does leave me feeling somewhat queasy though.
So there you have it, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
**As requested by Omani…thanks for the suggestion, I had a lot of fun putting this together.
The game I’ve been working on for the past year and a bit has finally reached the end of its extended art deadline. The end of a project is always such a strange thing; you have months of ever-increasing panic when you try to meet all the milestones and mini-deadlines. Then you have weeks of working late into the night, through the weekend, with such a huge list of things to be done that you know you can never possibly finish them all. Everything else (including blogging) goes out the window. Then, all of a sudden, it’s over. You sit at your desk one morning and there’s nothing more for you to do. The game isn’t actually finished, there are all sorts of bugs to be fixed, testing to be carried out, marketing and packaging and translations. But the animation part, the part I’m involved in, is done and now I feel like Wil E Coyote in the Looney Toons cartoons: still running like the clappers even though he’s gone off the cliff.
I can’t say on the blog the name of the game yet since it won’t be out until around October and this industry is very protective about these things. I am proud of the animation I did on it. Game animation is quick and dirty compared to the beautifully crafted work done in film animation but I tried to make the characters look alive and as if they were actually thinking about what they were doing which is something that is often lost in the rush to get a game out. I’m looking forward to seeing the final product.
So, now, I guess I’d better go find some more work! Anyone need an animator?