Game of Thrones: Story-world development via Animated shorts!
Just when you might have thought HBO’s Game of Thrones couldn’t get much cooler, they drop this awesomebomb: a series of animated shorts filling the gaps of history, background and knowledge of the Westero’s Universe! Wicked!
Yea, this is most wonderful for any fan, IMHO. Beside the great big bits of background on how the epic story is stitched together (House by House, Castle by Castle), these wonderful shorts summarize that supply of history brilliantly. Engaging, edifying, and generally just really cool. Have a look, below:
Lookey here- there’s a pickle barrel full of these things! 12 in total, actually. No telling how long these gems will be online and for perusal, so steer yourself over to i09.com for a look at the batch of brilliance ready to be had. If you’re already a fan of the series (either book & TV, or both), this will be insightful and likely, educational.
Inasmuch as story-world building goes with Game of Thrones, these short films are a great move by HBO: fill in the the gaps in the epic story while supplying the rich texture, aesthetic, and humanity of the universe where all this Machiavellian action takes place. Smart, I say. The animated shorts are well done and not hugely expensive to produce. Wonderful illustrations, animated camera movement versus actual character animation- moving the animated camera is far more cost effective, timely, and efficient than animating a host of characters. A lot of shorts for the money, in the end. Ok, great- you may ask; “HBO did it, so how would I do something equally as awesome for my own project(s)?“
Here’s how, in nutshell…
It’s a small team, and maybe even one talented individual, that could illustrate your characters/ story points from your script, maybe even pulling excerpts from story / dialogue/ script itself. Record dialogue with a brilliant actor/ actress. The illustrations are ‘cut apart’ into separate layers in Photoshop/ After Effects/ Image Manipulation program of your choice. Animate as motion graphics in your non-linear editing package (or have an editor do this for you), and cut this thing together. Drop these online. No live action, no shoots, all done on a desktop. Brilliant!
A great thing about this approach is the shorts complement the series itself– nay, maybe not as grand and epic or post-perfect as the show itself– but the animated shorts do service in regards to deepening the story experience. It’s a value-add; a multi-device, cross-platfrom giveaway. The shorts are found as extra features on the DVD release, and can be found online, free for all (for a limited time, surely)! It’s about fanning the flames of current fans, and creating new ones via the interactive site, animated shorts, trailers, etc.
I know, I know, this is basic– but it works. Risking redundancy, I feel it’s a key point to acknowledge; this can work for you project, too– be it a book, film, online series, transmedia project, etc. I’ve seen all the shorts and will view them time and again as we go along– because I like them, I learn something, and I just think it was a smart way of handling a story world with such dramatic scope. And because of the shorts, I’m keen to avail Game of Thrones on DVD.
What’s not to like? Jump in and enjoy!
See you over there, and feel free to leave a comment below!
- M.
Timber Timbre & Je Regarde Do the VooDoo
Caught betwixt seasonal candy-fueled celebrations, I offer up a creepy case of animated existential confrontation, thru a child’s eyes…
Being a big fan of all things of AMC’s Breaking Bad, I got worked up (in a good way) when Canadian band Timber Timbre got some air time -musically speaking- during one of last season’s episodes. That in itself was neat to see/ hear, and of course when this video dropped, I once again launched myself into Timber Timbre- land to check out the view. I’m really happy I did, and hence, I share my find with you.
Do I Have Power?
I’m not talking about me here, but of the band’s release last summer; a musical stroll thru swampy blues strung with slim folksy homeliness. Perfect for an early evening float through a fav foggy bog. Pushing the song visually thru the moor is illustration and graphics guru/ video director Carlos de Carvhallo, a key player in French production company Je Regarde (seen their stuff)?
Doing the VooDo They Do So Well
Carlos and company managed to pull this creepy little gem out of their collective hats in a mere three months– which may get some of us inspired to launch a project and pronto! Neat to see this come together quickly and with such poetic eloquence. Good things can happen for those who can’t wait. Can’t wait to see the vid? Here you are, Timber Timbre’s ‘Do I Have Power’, ala Je Regarde:
Credits: Do I Have Power
Direction : Carlos de Carvhallo
Production manager : Aude Danset De Carvalho
Animation : Pierric Danjou, Thomas Lecourt and Charles Lemor
Technical direction : Guillaume Baratte
Production Company: Je Regarde
Spooky Short Film Fun for Hallowe’en!
What could be better than a bucket of Spooky shorts for Hallowe’en?
Pixar University- Tips for Creative Success
Fun Fact: Did you know animation giant PIXAR uses improv as a mechanism of collaboration?
Chief Serenbe: Roadside Stop Motion!
Getting some Stop Motion mileage with a DSLR on the road– Jack Kerouac style.
Pixar Perspective: Lasseter’s 7 Points
Did you know Pixar’s John Lasseter has an awesome Hawaiian Shirt Collection?
Animation & cell phones: Development Aid on the way!
Photo Credit: Robert Winslow
Animation just got even cooler for me.
The Scientific Animations Without Borders Team, an inspired group of educators and faculty based at the University of Illinois, are producing animated educational videos for people in developing nations worldwide that can be downloaded and viewed, over and over, via their handy cell phones. It’s a new approach to sustainable development education that reaches a huge audience- at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
Picture this, would you: A farmer in Niger learns how to protect his crops from insects. A resident of a Haitian village learns how to avoid exposure to cholera. An entrepreneur in Mali gets step-by-step instructions on extracting the oil from shea seeds to make shea butter she can sell at a local market….
Meteoric Impact Potential
Research shows that nearly 60 percent of the 2.4 BILLION cell phone users on the planet live in developing countries. Imagine the potential of spreading anti-cholera health information thru those channels, say in Haiti. Powerful stuff, with potentially huge impact.
The soon to be, “Used To Be…”
Traditionally, US- based educators are flown to developing nations, work with local folks in the field for several weeks to a few months, and leave. On the other hand, animated educational videos accessible via cell phones, provide a permanent educational tool readily available for dispersal to a wide number of people, 24/7.
Constant resource access. With one cell phone, a group of farmers in a rural area can receive education and information that will help change their livelihood. Whoa.
Cool thing is, as more videos become accessible, a collection of relevant information will be accumulated and ready for download, thus compounding the educational value of the individual videos. Rural schools, communities, tent cities, large groups of people living in temporary shelters will benefit from this stuff corporately, as well as on an individual level. Consume at your own pace, when you’re ready.
This wondrous resource is compiled in a growing library of educational videos, compiled at the sustainable development website SusDeViki. From here, the videos can be distributed around the world, downloaded and viewed on 3g cell phones. That’s handy news for say, phone users in Africa, where over 150 million people have cell phones, pushing the spread of cell phone technology there faster than anywhere else in the world. There are big plans for future vids, too: agricultural and health concerns such as bed bugs, lice or malaria will be covered, too.
Show me the Money
Financially, the Scientific Animations Without Borders model makes a lot of sense; it’s a cheaper, cost-effective way to foster international development. Here’s why;
- Simple, info-driven animations decrease the up-front investment of making demonstration videos on location.
- Animated videos have a universal appeal with which live-action video can’t compare.
- Voice dubbing can be recorded in any language with any accent or dialect. How cool is that?
Wanna know more? Here’s a video about the Scientific Animations Without Borders Project. Inspirational.
Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, NYC
Have you been to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in NYC?
Brilliant place to drop in a for a while, an have a gander a the resplendent abundance of original comic art lining the walls, literally floor to ceiling. Amazing stuff to behold, whether you happen to be a hardcore comic and cartoon fan or no- the work begs for your eyeballs to wander.
I had the great pleasure of joining a panel of directors and animators as a ‘Spotlight Panelist’ following a screening of several stop-motion animation films, including my own award-winning short, The Pit and the Pendulum. The event was the brain-child of Aurelio Voltaire, a New York-based filmmaker and musician with a penchant for comically dark, mildly disturbing and always captivating stop-motion animated shorts, commercials and music videos, and a comic book creator in his own right.
The event was absolutely packed, with many of the fun-seeking folks standing thru the duration of the films & the panel discussion following. Voltaire was of course in fine form as usual, leading the way with numerous tales of comic mayhem in the industry. I got to share in some of the crazy fun, telling stories of days past at Broadcast Arts in New York, working with Voltaire on several insane commercial campaigns, and insight into the comedy and tragedy that consitutes the animation profession. Witness to the hijinks were several animation heavies from our salad days, including executive producer Russ Dube of Wowhouse Pictures, animation artist extraordinaire Ron Cole, and master puppet builder Sal Denaro. What a time! Too bad for me I was only around for a few days, I would have loved to jump down to the Tribeca Film Festival with Russ- maybe another year.
When in New York, do yourself a favour and check out The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art- wonderful, and they can always use your support. Many thanks to Voltaire for putting this thing together, the Museum curators and volunteers for making it a great night at their wonderful space, the filmmakers, and of course, the folks who showed to share some laughs, and inspiration- what a great time!
Director/ Stop Motion Guru Henry Selick spills the beans on making CORALINE, Tim Burton & working w/ Neil Gaiman
A very cool video interview with Coraline Director Henry Selick, where he discusses his approach to directing, stop motion animation, and film production from a creator/ director’s perspective. Enlightening, interesting, and educational! Have a look- click on the image below for linkage to the video;
For a bevvy of brilliant video interviews and Behind the Scenes exclusives, head on over to MakingOf.com- wonderful site for the low-down on films and series in production, with lots of info from the folks behind the camera. Definitely worth a few minutes to look around! Cheers, M.
Plasticene in Advertising & Art: A Showcase
Being Saturday and having a little time on my hands, I thought I’d shoot this along…
maybe it’ll inspire some creativity!
I got started in the animation biz working at a small, very fun East Coast studio that specialized in clay animation. We did alot of interesting stuff with plasticene clay, always with a keen eye to design considerations. Cool thing was plasticene opened doors to accomplish almost anything you could think of- metamorphosis, melting, replacement animation, fluid stop motion, crazy expressions, dimensional ‘squash & stretch’, 3D relief on glass… the possibilities seemed endless. The base material, colored plasticene, was readily available at any art supply store, easy to manipulate, could be mixed with wax for special effects, and was used widely (and still is) internationally by such animation giants as Will Vinton Studio (‘member the California Raisins?), Aardman Animation (Wallace & Gromit), Broadcast Arts in New York (Pee Wee’s Playhouse), and of course, Olive Jar Animation in Boston. Fun, colorful, and anyone could get their hands on it (and still can) to give it a try. I loved it.
In that, I stumbled across a wonderful article highlighting Plasticene in all manner of art, advertising, poster design and of course, animation over at Smashing Magazine.
Check out this very cool gallery of pics and video- wonderful examples of the possibilities of Plasticene. Swing by to check out the showcase and find some inspiration!
Cheers, Luge
The Pit and the Pendulum Comic Book Release to honor Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th Anniversary in ’09
SNEAK PREVIEW GALLERY!
On Shelves February 25th, 2009! Order yours today at your favorite comic shop or book retailer- from Bluewater Productions! See the preview pages at The Official Film Blog!
The success of the stop motion animated film adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum has prompted the release of the comic book version of the film. Scheduled for a February 25th, 2009 release thru Bluewater Productions of Portland, Oregon, the stop-motion film to comic will be a first for production partners Bluewater Productions and Hand Made Heroes Film & Television, honoring Gothic horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th anniversary.
Wrapping up production and starting on the DVD, Lougee got in contact with Darren Davis of Bluewater Productions, famous for their Ray Harryhausen Presents Signature line of comics, as well as the Vince Price Presents line. Lougee pitched the idea of producing the story as a one-off comic, using the film images and Davis enthusiastically jumped on board, rallying the crew at Bluewater to help get the pendulum swinging.
“While we were in the throes of production on the short, I had the idea of pursuing various media outlets for the film and the story itself”, explains the film’s director, Marc Lougee. “So much of what we’ve been doing over the last couple of years to promote the film has involved the internet, social media and ‘alternative ‘ means of promotion for the project, as I wanted to explore the options that were available to us in pushing the story a little further, outside of the traditional channels of film distribution. Doing a comic was something I’ve always been keen to try, so we utilized the still images from the stop motion film as ‘sequential art’ in comic form; the result is a sort of hybrid between the film, a graphic novel and a short story comic. I think it’s a very cool-looking way of telling the story with a fresh approach.”
Sequential art in comics is a familiar sight for most everyone, but utilizing the images used in the film itself and re-processing them for another type of ‘sequential art’ made sense to both Lougee and Producer Susan Ma.
” With the multitude of delivery systems available, be it print, online, broadcast, et al, there are so many way of supplying a film or story to your audience.” states Susan, “A short film, being what it is, faces limitations in the sense it has much less of a chance of being screened outside of niche markets and events, such as film festivals. There are few real options to see shorts outside the festival circuit (location-based and online), unless you feel inclined to send it off thru a distributor or post it online yourself.
Many times we’ve found the film would be sold as a package with a host of other films, which I felt would lessen the impact and the viewing experience. As filmmakers, it was important for us to explore the broader potential for our film thru comic book publishing, and sought out a smaller, indy film friendly publisher. Thankfully, we found just that combination in Darren Davis and Bluewater Productions, and now with the comic set for release in February, we feel we’ve got another opportunity to see a broader range of visibility for EA Poe’s wonderful story, and another means of getting the story into the hands of fans everywhere.
One of the great aspects of working with Darren and the gang at Bluewater is that we share the same ideas pertaining to use of comic art for educational purposes. In producing the film, and the comic, we very much would like to see the two included in classrooms as an aid in helping students visualize Poe’s writing, starting with The Pit and the Pendulum.”
Marc adds; “We’re all about making the story of The Pit and the Pendulum accessible to students, teachers and fans of the Gothic genre. The goal is to get folks to spend more time with Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale, to help see the subtleties in the story and lay groundwork for discussion in class. In the case of students studying EA Poe’s work, I feel this sort of approach, the combination of films & comics in tandem, may help get kids interested in literature.This is especially relevant as we’re in the midst of Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th anniversary; what better time to get to know the man and his work than now?”
Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum short film Official Website
Director Marc Lougee Website
Bluewater Productions, Comic Publishers
