Blogbook
Hum is a student’s sci fi short by Tom Teller, about a dishwashing robot, created at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film. Via Short of the Week:
While narratively the film is limited, emotionally it is adroit, and visually it is spectacular. A student work completed in only a single semester, the film blends limited live-action photography with its animation and VFX, endeavoring to a photo-realism that yet preserves a degree of fantasy. Shallow depth of field and intense lighting provide pizazz to a film that is very appealing in its art-direction.
The writer/director of the film is Tom Teller, who was a Junior during the production. Created at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film, the film naturally brings to mind another 3D robot film that came out of the same school, Jack Anderson’s Wirecutters, which was a finalist for the Student Academy Award and has received over 2M views online to date. Teller will see if he can’t match those accomplishments with his Senior film, Icarus, which is currently on the festival circuit, but in the meantime the precocious talent has created a production company called Frame 48 with fellow students from Dodge, and is in the midst of earning his Masters in Business Administration. Very smart to think about the business of this creativity game Mr. Teller! Good luck.
This kickstarter-funded short film, As They Continue to Fall, directed by Nikhil Bhagat, is about a homeless guy who hunts fallen angel with a sniper rifle. The premise is interesting: fallen angels are supposed to be evil, but what if you’re the only person who can see them? The film flashes back to the main character’s childhood, where his apparent affliction also haunts him through the playground, following him to his dimly-lit, dark future. Synopsis:
“Tells the story of a homeless man who hunts fallen angels in a dystopian society filled with crime and corruption. Haunted by a dark past, yet hopeful for the future, he continues to hunt as they continue to fall.” As They Continue to Fall is directed by filmmaker Nikhil Bhagat, who graduated from USC film school. The screenplay is by C. Robert Cargill, aka “Massawyrm”, writer on Sinister and Doctor Strange. Featuring cinematography by Noah Rosenthal, with VFX by Andy Wong and Ben Hall. “This is basically a proof of concept/tiny sliver of a bigger story,” and is being pitched as a feature.
It’s a great little short film, and we’re looking forward to Doctor Strange at the end of this year (flaws and all)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzUFCQ-P1Zg
After 14 years, BMW Films is back with another short film, The Escape, directed by Neill Blomkamp, again with Clive Owen as the lead. Via BMW’s blog:
The car Owen drives in this new short is the brand-new G30 BMW 540i M Sport. It’s an interesting choice of car for BMW, as it could have gone with the range-topping M550i with the 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8. Instead, it went for the car that would actually serve better as a getaway car, as the lighter-nosed 540i, and its brilliant B58 turbocharged I6 engine, would handle better. It also looks damn good doing it and, according to our pal Matt Mullins, it handles really damn well.
Without giving away too much, the story centers around a young girl simply named “Five”, played by Fanning, who is the subject of seemingly illegal experiments. With the FBI cracking down on the company responsible for such experiments, Owen’s nameless transporter was hired to get Five out of there. Then, the action ensues.
Cars smash, bullets fly and helicopters burn. It’s a proper action movie with sequences that would embarrass some big-budget feature-length films. The driving also seems genuine and not too forced or fake, as Owen gets stuck behind a bit of traffic and encuonters a few obstacles along the way. It’s not the typical car chase where the other cars on the road are spaced perfectly apart for the hero to effortlessly swerve in and out. Stunt Coordinator Guy Norris, who previously worked on the stunts for the incredibly impressive Mad Max: Fury Road, did an excellent job of making the action fast-paced, adrenaline-filled and also realistic. It’s a genuinely fun film to watch.
Mads Mikkelsen stars in a weird but compelling new ad for the Ford Edge, Le Fantome, where he is a hitman that falls in love with a car (??). We’re not sure whether it’s meant to be humour, or unintentional humour, because the Ford Edge clearly isn’t a luxury car, and its blocky, modern profile stands out weirdly against the dilapidated, beautifully filmed backdrop of the short film. Still, we’re great fans of Mads, who is always incredibly watchable, so… enjoy!
Credits
Agency: GTB
Chief Creative Officer: Julian Watt
Executive Creative Director: Bryn Attewell
Creative Director: Peter Hvid
Producer: Romila Sanassy
Group Business Director: Sarah Rosser
Account Director: Sian Patrick
Senior Account Manager: Luke Johnson
Account Executive: Mathilde Pors
Planning Partner: Stephen Wallace
President: Paul Confrey
Client Services Director: Fabio Ruffet
Director, Integrated Planning: Melanie Elliot
Prod Company: RSA Films
Director: Jake Scott
Exec Producer: Cindy Burnay
Editor: Joe Guest at Final Cut
Director of Photography: Mark Patten
Production Designer: Joseph Bennett
Photographer: Nigel Harniman
Cast
Le Fantôme: Mads Mikkelsen
The Widow: Barbara Steele
Hero Couple: Karin Perathoner and James Brown
The Kingpin: Jon Campling
Interpol Agent: Zarko Radic
Ford
Vice President, Marketing, Ford of Europe: Matthew Van Dyke
Marketing Communications Director, Ford of Europe: Anthony Ireson
Brand Content Manager, Ford of Europe: Lyn West
SUV Brand Content Manager, Ford of Europe: Chris Rushton
In this great ad for SickKids Hospital (aka The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto), children battling illnesses are depicted as gladiators. Via Adweek:
In the centerpiece anthem, titled “SickKids VS: Undeniable,” ailing children, alongside their families, doctors, nurses and other hospital staff, all gird for battle—as medieval soldiers, pro wrestlers taking baseball bats to dialysis machines, and comic book superheroes.
It’s a gripping two-minute argument from agency Cossette—more than anything, for the power of imagination as a vehicle for hope, and metaphor as a medical tool. Anyone who has struggled through a serious illness, or watched someone else do it, knows that defiance isn’t to be undervalued. This takes that basic insight to new heights, with enough of a playful tone to match and address its core subjects.
More than 50 SickKids patient families agreed to participate in the film, and 100 staff members from the hospital also lent a hand, on or off camera.
To be clear, the fight imagery—interspersed with medical animations, neon motion graphics naming diagnoses, and dramatic footage of life-or-death moments during care for context—is impressive in its own right. But it’s the soundtrack, “Undeniable” by Donnie Daydream featuring Richie Sosa, that pushes the spot into extraordinary territory.
Great stop motion ad for the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival titled “Dream” (feat. Natalie Bergman, Ryan Merchant, Keenan O’Meara & Tal Altman). Via Adweek:
There are things we just don’t see—remote places under the sea, in the savannah or covered in snow, whose joys, dramas and tragedies we aren’t privy to. And yet we affect them.
In “Dream,” a beautiful stop-animation video by DDB New York for the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, four animals facing extinction tell their stories through the words of “I Dreamed a Dream”—a song you’ll recognize if you’re a Les Misérables fan.
The animals appear, majestic and undisturbed, in their natural habitats. The drama begins when a sinister group of men arrive, their battered ship piercing through the darkness. They’re scary, twisted figures. Unlike the warm, living faces of the animals, their eyes transmit an eerily commercial luminosity that matches the lights of their cars and ships.
It all goes downhill from there. The ending constricts the heart, and reminds us that our comforts come at a painfully parasitic cost. […] Beautifully brought to life by production company Zombie Studio, the video includes guest vocalists Natalie Bergman (who plays the rhino), Ryan Merchant (the whale), Keenan O’Meara (the pelican) and Tal Fisher Altman (the seal), whose wrenching close does lots of emotional heavy lifting.
Two Pixar animators, Lou Hamou-Lhadj & Andrew Coats, made this short film titled Borrowed Time, a gorgeous Western for adults. An old sheriff returns to the scene of a past mistake. Via Short of the Week:
An unusually accomplished 3D animation landed on Vimeo yesterday, a passion project over 5 years in the making from a pair of writer/directors currently working as animators at Pixar. Borrowed Time, their 6min short film, is a poignant Western that deals with themes of regret and forgiveness. A somber short, it is nonetheless punctuated by impressively directed action sequences, full of tension.
Crossing between the present and flashbacks, an old man, weary and ready to lay down his burden, relives a traumatic experience from his youth. The memory of tragedy has stayed with him, affecting his life profoundly, and yet a moment of grace may hold the key to finally allowing himself to move on.
While the film’s story is thoughtfully paced and hits its emotional beats well, the film’s main draw is its impressive production values. One of the prettiest 3D animations of the year, we whole-heartedly embrace SIGGRAPH’s decision to award the film Best in Show.
They also have a Making Of video:
ICYMI 2: Blur Studios’ incredible Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion trailer. Wow! More of a short film than a trailer. Blur Studios has often been (deservedly) called the Pixar of game animation. Via Collider:
For the uninitiated, Star Wars: The Old Republic is an award-winning BioWare Online RPG set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars movies. In it, players team up with friends online to fight in heroic battles between the Republic and Empire, exploring a galaxy of vibrant planets and experiencing visceral Star Wars combat. And while this new trailer looks and feels like the start of what could be an amazing feature film franchise, it’s squarely in the Star Wars Legends camp, so don’t expect any canon connections any time soon.
From the trailer:
Knights of the Eternal Throne puts the player at the center of their own explosive battle to rule the galaxy. As the Outlander, a veteran of the Great Galactic War, players will have the power to make their mark based on their light and dark side choices. Stakes are high as the player faces the most powerful villains in the galaxy including Emperor Valkorion and Empress Vaylin, as you lead the fight to take control of the Eternal Throne!
Ruling the galaxy offers expanded power and influence through the new Galactic Command system. Alone or with friends, players can ignite light and dark side battles, face all-new erupting confrontations known as Uprisings, and unlock powerful rewards. In the latest expansion, players will be able to customize their combat encounters with three challenge levels, giving everyone the option to play their way.
ICYMI: Star Wars has released its second story trailer for its upcoming 2016 film, Rogue One, which takes place between Episode 3 and 4. Via the Sydney Morning Herald:
“The power that we are dealing with here is immeasurable,” says Ben Mendelsohn as a sinister force in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
It’s a reference to the Death Star, the planet-destroying space station familiar from the original Star Wars movie. And the new action-heavy trailer for the spin-off reveals not just the super weapon’s threat but also the power of the sci-fi franchise in its rebooted phase.
Directed by Gareth Edwards, Rogue One stars Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, the leader of a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star. […] As well as Vader and the Death Star there are stormtroopers, X-Wing fighters, a classic line in “the force is strong”, All-Terrain Armoured Transport walkers, a forest that looks like the home of the Ewoks, a ship entering hyperspace, a Jedi relic, droids and a battle reminiscent of Luke’s triumph at the climax of the first instalment.
There is another reference to that movie, known since 1978 as Star Wars: A New Hope, in Jyn’s line: “We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope.”
Are you guys excited yet? We’re excited.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDTNniSF9w
Pedigree’s great, emotional Dark to Light ad is timed for Blindness Awareness Month. It features someone who suddenly goes blind and her guide dog. More via Adweek:
The video, made by BBDO, packs a lot of tension and suspense into three minutes. Oleksa’s initial fear and panic after going suddenly blind feel very immediate thanks to the emphasis of sound over visuals, and we don’t see whole scenes until her guide dog, Bryce, arrives.
More attention is paid to the emotional support Bryce offers than anything else—an often-overlooked benefit of guide animals. And its effect on Oleksa gives this video a lot of heart. Rather than just make a feel-good piece, BBDO and Pedigree unspool Oleksa’s narrative arc rather gracefully, even as the video makes it clear that she’s still learning how to live independently.
Credits:
Advertising Agency: BBDO, New York, USA
Chief Creative Officer: David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer: Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Directors: Greg Ketchum, Tom Godici
Creative Directors: Banks Noel, Greg Gerstner
Associate Creative Director: Eduardo Petersen
Senior Copywriter: Steven Schroth
Executive Producer: Regina Iannuzzi
Producer: Katie Schad
Head of Music Production: Rani Vaz
President: Kirsten Flanik
Senior Account Director: Sally Nathans
Account Director: Elizabeth Kelberg
Account Executive: Taylor Wesley
Production Company: Public Record
Executive Producer: Jeremy Yaches
Producer: Jason Goldman
Directors: Nathan Caswell, Jeremiah Zagar, Khyber
Director of Photography: Julian King
Editors: Nomad Editorial
Colorist: The Mill- Fergue McCall
Music Composer/ Sound Design: Stimmung
Audio: Sound Lounge