buffawhat.com

Fallen

If you ever read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (or the movie, FTL), there is a certain section about a whale that just happens to be, and describes its journey to the end. In Douglas Adam’s novel, the whale’s journey is innocent and play-by-play; he’s so busy taxonomizing his surroundings to notice his demise is the green ground that he’s so eager to name.

But what if, what if you knew the end of your life, and could see it? What if you knew you only had a short time to live? How would you live it? This struggle has been told over and over, but this time, as a sentient meteor in the digital short Fallen.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

1. Directed by Wolfram Kampffmeyer and Sascha Geddert
2. Animation: Wolfram Kampffmeyer
3. Shading, Rendering: Sascha Geddert
4. Compositing: Sebastian Nozon
5. Music and Sounddesign: David Christiansen
6. Produced by Stina McNicholas
7. Production Company: Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

via - Mikropikol

SCADShort: Pencil Face

Pencil face is a short film, featuring a little girl who happens upon a giant lewd faced pencil, and uses it to draw things that come to life. Part of a monthly short film release project created by a group of SCAD alums calling themselves the Dandy Dwarves.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Pencil face was directed by Christian Simmons and released in May  2008. Click here to watch the film in hi quality.

Via Boing Boing

PS - This counts as my 700th Post.  whadayanow……

Terminus: Canadian Short Film about a Concrete Bully

There has to be some hidden meaning behind this short, which featuring a man who is stalked and taunted by a concrete stick-thingy. Filmed in Montreal, the short could easily fix into a chemical Brothers video, or make you fear develop a serious fear of traffic pylons after watching this while tripping acid.

• Produced by: Spy Films
• Director: Trevor Cawood
• Running time: 8:22
• Released: October 2007
• Awards: Toronto Film Festival 2007 - Official Selection
• After inadvertently offending a strange entity that accosts him on his way to work, a 1970s businessman quickly finds himself in the midst if a bizarre predicament.
  What follows is a rapid descent into madness, a journey both eerie and darkly humorous.
  The exact nature of the businessman’s tormentor is purposefully ambiguous, lending itself to a variety of interpretations.
  Is “Terminus” a surreal critique of human alienation in the modern urban environment? or is the protagonist’s struggle an internal one, his mysterious stalker a manifestation of his repressed subconscious mind?
  Either way, “Terminus”’s innovative visual effects and distinctively vintage atmosphere make it a highly engrossing experience.

• Official Site (high quality version available)
• via - boingboing

A Short from the Vancouver Film School tries to make you “Happy”

ironically, a video I was watching of some guy getting shot to death on youtube brought me to this much livlier video, a digital short produced by the Vancouver Film School’s Digital Character Animation program.

“Happy” is a great short, flowing animation, and a simple fun plot. Check it.

• Created by: Michael Lewicki
• Release: October 2006 (youtube)
• Running Time: 3:19

Ectype’s End - Enjoy 9 Minutes of Your Life

Sometimes I hit on a digital short that captures the mind in a way that pixar just can’t. Right now, the culprit is “Ectype’s End,” a pleasantly surrealistic look at what happens when your daily drudge is suddenly filled with life.

A mix of hand animated characters, 3d graphics, and photo backdrops, “Ectype’s End” will make you wonder, make you think, but don’t get Zimmerman over it. Enjoy yourself, mmkay?

• Produced by: Rhubarb Zoo
• Year released: 2006
• Running Time: 9:28
• The Film
  3C70 is no more than a number. Forced into a clockwork world where his only purpose is to duplicate and multiply, he sets about his task without question. Within seconds, however, his small world is turned upside down when a strange plant upends the order of his simple life.
• Ectype’s End is a fast-paced and visually charged ride that combines hand-drawn characters with photographed locations. Featuring a quirky soundtrack that drives and describes the journey of its protaganist, Ectype’s End approaches the age-old issue of conformity with a story that is suitable for all ages.
• Credits
  Jeremy Hay - Direction, Script, Backgrounds, Digital Animation, Compositing
  Dane Jacobs - Direction, Character Design, Backgrounds, Classical Animation, Sound Effects, Music
• Download - 55MB (Quicktime)