Blog Entry #8: The Known Universe by AMNH

Initially, one may portray this as another [boring] documentary about our universe. I actually became more curious about the planets and infinite amount of galaxies around us. Once, my other half and I commented that there might be school kids out from another galaxy who is studying us, humans from Earth, for their science project or something.

Anyways, this is just a basic video of what goes on outside Earth, followed by the galaxy we live in. I felt a little light-headed towards the end of this video, because it really felt like I was floating away from Earth, towards our galaxy, followed by "the known" universe.

I reckon this video will not be as effective as it is, if it wasn't for the background "atmospheric" type of music.. And this would definitely look great on a 50" High Definition screen!

Blog Entry #7: chicken tennis

One word – hilarious.
This is a telecommunication commercial made for Vodafone in the United Kingdom. I'm actually still getting a good laugh over this 30-second animation despite watching this multiple times (over and over) again over the past year.

There can be enough emphasize in the importance of music and sound effects in motion graphics. For example, the laughter - it is just so.. infectious.

Another factor that made this such a funny commercial might be the combination of animals and technology - something that can never be seen in real life. Unusual scenes are pretty funny most of the time.. Don't you agree? :)

Blog Entry 6: Stop-Motion Drawing

"If only reality was like this for everyone sometimes.." I thought to myself as I watch the animation unfold. Hand drawn stop-motion animations are definitely much more challenging and time-consuming than other animating methods available.. And the process of using this method to convey something must have been painful.

I was engrossed in the animation, even though the context is a representation of daily life in general, and that it is hand-drawn in black and white.

So there we go, this proves my belief that "less is more". :)

Blog Entry #5: TOKIDOKI

Tokidoki (translates to "sometimes" in Japanese) happens to be one of my favorite illustrations, and I was stoked to actually find some motion graphics of Tokidoki up on Youtube!

Anyways, the first thing that caught my attention is the combination of 2-dimension and 3-dimension. In this case, 2D characters/objects are being used in a 3D environment. Very innovative use of camera angle, it really feels as though we are following Adios (the Grim Reaper) from the back. The soundtrack behind this motion graphics totally reminds me of a game environment, which goes really well with this animation since it actually looks as though Adios is running in a game scene.

Tokidoki illustrations will always be one of the works of art that inspires me.

Blog Entry #4: オオカミとブタ。Stop motion with wolf and pig.

"A 3-dimensional stop motion animation using 2-dimensional mediums."

I haven't actually come across a complex stop motion animation like this one until yesterday, when my other half gave me the link to this video on youtube.

I seriously can't imagine the amount of time spent making this animation, from taking tens or hundreds of thousands of photographs and putting them together on the computer.

The whole animation runs across the entire apartment (from bedroom all the way through the bathroom and living area) – a good representation of "connection with the world of the room and the world in the photograph".

Creative imagination is possible too even if one only has a small area of space to work with. : 3