Feature Friday: Smart Bubble Society

What's in your thought bubble?

Smart Bubble Society's youtube channel features shorts that are indeed thought provoking. I think that they're more that just expressing their own opinions on things, such as this short on advertising and consumerism, they also trigger a response from people who've viewed their stuff.

You may not agree with some of their views (I've read the responses on Junk Thought), which in the end doesn't really matter, because their main objective is always met. Whether you agree or not with that they have to say, they made you think. They make you rethink things that you've possibly thought nothing of. And that, for me, is what being in media is all about. Below are more shorts from their channel.


Really. They're more than just thought provoking, they make shorts that are indeed awesome to look at. Cheers!

website | youtube | twitter

Feature Friday: Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths

Still in the search of mindblowing videos, I find this by accident.

This lovely short was made by the wonderful Angela Kohler and  Ithyle Griffiths. Both are actually great photographers. But this month's all about motion and video, so let's zero-in on that.  Below is a collab-work of theirs for Amazon's Kindle.

 

These are two of my favorites. And I love them. I think they're refreshing, despite the whole stop-motion thing becoming more mainstream. And it's quirky. And y'all know I love quirky.

Angela Koler | Ithyle Griffiths

Feature Friday: Magico Nakamura

One of the awesomest videos I have ever seen. I believe it made its rounds at facebook sometime last year. I'm sharing it again, in case you missed it.

A concept like this may be the simplest one we could all think of, but pulling it off is another story. Intense planning and storyboards galore is what I'm thinking. And if you think this video is awesome, Magico has more tricks up her sleeve. Her vimeo page is one to see.

Magico Nakamura

Feature Friday: Ok Go

This month, I feature clips of note. Videos (and video-makers) that rocked my socks, even when I don't wear socks. And what better way to start this set than with a video currently making its rounds on my favorite sites (and facebooks pages of my favorite people), from a band who comes up with some of my favoritest videos of all time. Because they're clever and crafty like that.

Remember this MTV? This was how I found Ok Go, and loved them instantly.


This MTV, if you look at it, is based on an idea so simple, yet delivered so well, it is just beyond mindblowing.


And if, like me, you'd love to geek out to it, they have a four-part behind the scenes set, starting with this one.

Motionographer article | Ok Go | youtube

Feature Friday: The Title Sequence

Today being the last feature for my month-long birthday video streak thing, I figured I'd end it with a series of sequences that inspire me. While most people go to the movies to see the movie itself, I go and watch the entire thing from the pre-movie trailers to the very last character of the movie's end credits. While most people start leaving the theater the moment the end credits roll, I stay. One, I believe that watching the end credis would be my way of giving respect to the people behind making the movie. I stay to the very end, especially if I loved what I saw. There's that need to know "who did what". I actually do the same thing for TV series. Part of the fun in watching those series are the title sequences. It's a preview of what the show is about, and what you can expect, and it's one of the reasons why I seem to have that need to view every pilot of every show I fancy. And then I google the show and dig to find out who made them. Is that weird? Maybe that's just me. Below are a series of title sequences that tickled my fancy.

Frank Miller's 300

Aside from the movie itself having my jaw constantly on the floor, and I don't mean that because of the insane amount of abs, the movie's end credits were just an awesome way to cap the entire film. I enjoyed the movie for all the technical geeky video stuff. The colors, the treatment, the effects. I loved it so much I watched the making of the film more than I can count! [end credits by yU+Co]

Watchmen

I didn't enjoy the film as much, but I definitely enjoyed the opening title sequence. I love the whole re-creation of iconic personalities and events. I know the film isn't a period piece, but the title sequence certainly looked a lot like one. It was pretty long though. But hey, I found it to be the highlight of the entire film. Well, minus certain fight scenes, which I also found amazing. Title credits, again, by the amazing people at yU+Co.

Juno

Juno - Title Sequence from Alain Benoit on Vimeo.

This' flick's title sequence was created the long and painful way. But thanks to geeks around the world, a tutorial comes in handy to create your very own Juno title sequence. I loved it because of it's element of youthfulness, and it's uber indie feel. Y'all know how much of a sucker I am for indie stuff. Well, that, and insane visual effects. Definitely not the easiest one in this post. Created by Shadowplay Studio.

Six Feet Under

One word: FANCY. It may not be the most CG heavy title sequence out there, but I find it one of the most clever ones. Not so hard of the visual effects, but it does move you. Well, it moved me. Into saying "WOW! I wanna do that!!!" The camera work (+shots) were awesome. Proof that you don't need some super hi-tech 3d machine to produce something wild. But you do need a wild creative mind. This was created by the iconically amazing Digital Kitchen.

The Kingdom

Love the title sequence. I love it because I know it's something I can pull off. And it's awesome. And when I said "something I can pull off", I don't mean now. Give me a year, or a bit less than a year. I know I can pull something like that off. See? Inspired already!

There are two go-to sites to view more title sequence bliss.

I love these sites because not only do they compile these fabulous clips, and definitely the best out there, they provide interviews and links and more information in general to geeks, and people who are majorly interested on who and how those amazing sequences were made. All with just a click or two of your dandy mouse.

The Art of the Title Sequence | Forget the Film, Watch the Titles

Feature Friday: Chris Milk

The director behind two of my favorite-st MTVs. It is because of him, that I actually liked Kanye West and his MTVs. Dubbed as the Steven Spielberg of music videos, I dedicate my birthday week feature to the great, Chris Milk.

This was one of the MTVs that totally blew me away. What I love about it is the clever use of metaphors. It was mind blowing to attack such a touchy concept and not be shot down, but instead The message comes across clearly, and just in case you didn't get the message, there's the stunning imagery to keep you occupied. What I recently discovered about this MTV is that this is the second MTV for this track. It was also nominated for Video of the Year in 2005, and was listed as the sixth best MTV of 2004. With this alone, you'd know Chris Milk's cred was no random thing. Insane video, this thing is, and it still blows me away.

Another MTV I absolutely loved as this one. What I loved about it was the whole POV thing. All I could think about then was "How'd he do that?!!?" with wide eyes, and jaw on the floor. I think it's pretty cool. I actually found a book that had him share how he did it. It was awesome. And clever. In an almost "Why didn't I think of that?!" kind of way. I know, given that tiny chance, I'd try and pull something like that off.

Kanye West "All Falls Down" [HD] from Chris Milk on Vimeo.

This one, found at his vimeo page, was an created for the 42 Second Film Festival in China. What's awesome about this is that in less than a minute, you get the entire story. And even more awesome is that it was shot using a Canon 5d Mk II!!! I'd go all geeky with the equipment, but I'll keep that to myself.

Last Day Dream [HD] from Chris Milk on Vimeo.

This just shows how amazing of a story teller Chris Milk is, and why I am a major fan of his work. What he does now, is a vision of the career I am wanting so much right now. Music videos, commercials, photography. Instead of pasting screenshots here, I think it's best you see his awesomeness in the links below. Be very blown away.

Chris Milk | vimeo

Feature Friday: Stop Motion Love

Stop motion has been around for forever. Remember Gumby? How about Bob the Builder? These, and a number of other children's programs make use of stop motion. Today, thanks to the growing fascination with stop motion (and photography), and it's accessibility to the masses (all you need is a point and shoot camera, and a computer), More and more stop motion videos can be found almost everywhere.

This Coldplay MTV is absolutely charming. And quite clever, if you ask me. I love the chalk drawings in relation to the Chris. Plus, the story's just cute! It's just adorable! This Strawberry Swing MTV is created by Shynola. They're a multi-awarded London based group of artists whose works include animation for The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Coldplay | Shynola

I first saw this MTV when a friend of mine sent a link to vimeo. Made out of thousands, if not millions of photographs, there is just nothing little in the making of the Little Bribes MTV. As director/creator Ross Ching put it, he didn't have to go to around the country to get unique shots. All he did was create the interesting shots. And create he surely did.

Death Cab for Cutie - Little Bribes from Ross Ching on Vimeo.

Death Cab for Cutie | Ross Ching

Certainly something to think about for people who, like me, have no access to a video camera. Who knows, I may do something like this for the hols?

Feature Friday: Esteban Diacono

It is through this amazing visual artist that I discovered the amazing neo-classical artist Olafur Arlalds. I've only found Esteban's work a few weeks ago when his video was featured at motionographer, and the moment I saw this video, I've become an instant fan.

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

I honestly don't have much to say about this video genius. I let his magic speak for itself.

vimeo | behance | flickr | tumblr | estebandiacono.tv

Feature Friday: Keith Loutit

If you're a photography and motion graphics enthusiast who has absolutely no idea who he is, then today's your day. I discovered Keith's work through a fellow photography enthusiast who just adored this video.

Helpless from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Since then, I've regularly visited his vimeo site to check his updates. Armed with a Nikon D3, and a tilt-shift lens, Keith produces stunning time lapse videos out of stellar still images. Below is one of my faves.

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Vimeo | KeithLoutit.com