Saturday, July 15, 2006

Mundos Digitales 2006 Awards


Curiously I´ll start with the last event of the Festival, shortfilms awards. I´ve got to say I didn´t expect so much cuality, I´ve been surprised very much. All the shorts seems to me very good. Jury spokesman, Jordi Bares, has declared the serious difficulties that members have had to find the winner of this year.

The winner of the Best National Animation Short category was Daniel Cánovas Juárez´s "Caballos de Tiza" ("Chalk Hourses"). A beautiful enterteinment of course in which the carefulness for composition and color brights with great narrative efficacy. You can see the teaser, some images and other curiosities in his website.


Other shorts to take into account this category in my opinion are Daniel Martinez Lara´s "Changes", and Marco Besas´ "Leyenda de los Espantapájaros" ("the Legend of the Scarecrow". You can find more information, trailers and images in their respective sites.


The Best Animation Short Film Award was for a real show of great skill, 458mn by the Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg. I´ve ever seen how Giger´s biomechanic, Chris Cunningham´s sensitive machinery and Nature´s subtlety would be able to melt in such astonishing images as they´re seen in this short. The lighting, the mechanics life models of the snails and the realistic animation make this short to be a visual joy. Don´t stop visiting its web site in order to see some images and the teaser.


The Especial Prize of the Jury was for Supinfocom´s 90º, experimental short of large sensibility in which a cubic character is becoming into other shapes, try to find his head in a geometric world.


The Especial Public Prize, was conceded by anonymous vote from every single attendant at the Festival for a crazy short which it didn´t stop producing burst of laughters during its projection. More precisely, "Supermoine" of SupamonkS.



Don´t you remind Kevin Smith as Silent Bob the invader with the bonnet which puts "Chef" on it ?



To finish I´d loke to make stand a short out that it wasn´t rewarded but it worths to mention it for its fulfilment, although the story has a lot of black comedy that most people don´t like it too much. It is a question of "Fallen Art" by Tomek Baginski, acclaimed author in 2002 for "The Cathedral". The shortfilm is about how a high military man throws others soldiers away from a spring-broad so that they smash against the floor, depending on that gruesome pose of the corpse, other character takes a picture of it and gives the result to a big fat guy that will put in order hundreds of images in order to see an animation of those corpses dancing.



Friday, July 14, 2006

Mundos Digitales 2006


This is the second time I go to that marathon of conferences. There were big intense conferences this year like Cars, Corpse Bride, Batman Begins, Superman Returns and Xmen 3. Others interesting like Over the Edge, Planet One, Monster House and commercials from The Mill, Framestore and El Ranchito. With regard to technical mediums to stand out Dynamic Noise Channels and Rotoscope Supported by Skin Tracking, University of Southern California Light Stage 5 and 6 and finally Stereoscopic Image Production.

I´ll try to go into each one of these conferences. I must to say that I cannot show any kind of video or image taken at the conference room because it would damage a large strip of confidential agreements and it could injure not only Mundos Digitales organization but also the artists to have carried material to watch. I´ll try to get any other lawful way so you can make an idea about what they said there.

I´m Back

I didn´t writte here a long time ago. I´m so sorry, I have no god forgiveness. You´ve been forsaken at your luck. I´ve been pretty busy with making little animations and above all I´ve been on a trip. You´re being wondering for sure where this madman went to and what for. I went to A Coruña for one week, beautiful city, fine weather, delicious food, many noisy seagulls and by the way, Mundos Digitales 2006.

Another from Pixar...Ratatouille

Boys from Pixar don´t stop, Cars hasn´t realeased yet (we haven´t much days left, hahahaha) and it´s allready appered a teaser of the next Pixar film for 2007 summer, "Ratatouille". The director is Brad Bird (The Iron Gigant, The Incredibles y Jack Jack Attack shortfilm) so this promises to be interesting. Afterwards spanish famous will come to dub the movie and screw it all up, I can picture it quite clearly.


The character design is quite good even for a blue rat, incredible but it´s true. Lighting is well done as usual and the animation is threathening with a storm of guffaws.

You can watch the trailer in different sizes including HD in Apple.

Happy Feet


I love the second trailer of this film, I can´t stop watching it, I die laughing to see that penguin singing Frank Sinatra´s "My Way" but in spanish. The animation is just wonderfull, the four companions behind are great and the singer, I think it´s Robbin Williams, goes the whole hog.


I´m longing for November to arrive so that I can watch it. Miguel Angel, I hope you come back from Australia some day so that you can tell me how it was the experience to animate that penguins and to have George Miller as a director.

Trailer2 can be watched in the Apple site both in HD and in other sizes. It´s worth it.

Arthur and the Minimoys´ First Trailer



To watch first trailer of Luc Besson´s (Nikita, The Fifth Element y Léon) last movie has produced me a very wellcome surprise. Among the cast we find names like David Bowie, Mia Farrow y Madonna.

The bad new is we´ll have to wait until its release at December, but for the moment this trailer comes right to be left us gaping. It really looks great!

In the official site you´ll find more information and the trailer.

Wellcome

Hi everyone that read my blog. Now I´m thinking, it´s the first time I make my own webpage, what will I writte?, what will I say?, advertising?, ¿butterfly photos fluttering around a flower?, Popstars´musical criticism? I am better going to the couch, all that stuff is weighing me down.

Heyyyyy...don´t go, it´s just a joke. This blog is about animation. I´ll put in finished clips or WIP and I´ll also add some thumbnails of different poses for the planning of those animations. Constructive reviews y comentaries are wellcome of course.

On the other hand it seems interesting to me to throw into relief news arising from the animation world (trailers, movies, animation sites, tutorials, blogs and other animator´s sites, etc)

Well, that´s all folks, I hope you enjoy.