Archive for the ‘Animation’ Category

We Are Now Starting Our Descent

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

We Are Now Starting Our Descent
(click to play)

A mostly true story about bugs.

format: SD video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Painter, Audition
Toronto, 2009.

The Orange

Friday, March 6th, 2009

The Orange
(click to play)

Suddenly, a humble citrus fruit is granted absolute power over the universe. From a story by Benjamin Rosenbaum.

format: HD video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Final Cut, Audition
Toronto, 2009.

Conan vs. Bear

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

Conan vs. Bear
(click to play)

Jessica Delfino is back with a helpful survival guide for those scary bear- and celebrity-infested woods…

format: HD video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Final Cut, Audition
Toronto, 2009.

The Foxhole Manifesto

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

The Foxhole Manifesto
(click to play)

This is an adaptation of a poem by Jeffrey McDaniel, who has some ideas for a few appropriately modern gods.

format: HD video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Final Cut, Audition
The Hague, 2007.

I Wanna Be Famous

Wednesday, March 29th, 2006

I Wanna Be Famous
(click to play)

Here’s a brand spankin’ new one, from a song by Jessica Delfino. She’s discovered a guaranteed shortcut to everlasting fame–watch and learn!

format: HD video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Final Cut, Audacity
San Francisco, 2006.

The Story of Enoch

Monday, January 23rd, 2006

The Story of Enoch
(click to play)

Enoch receives a premonition of disaster, so he sets out to collect as many books as he can find, to preserve the knowledge of the world. But, lacking reliable divine guidance, all his careful preparations come down to a straight-ahead, all-or-nothing gamble….

format: DV video
software: Final Cut, Audition, Photoshop
Los Angeles, 2003.

Broadcast on CBC TV 2005.

The Little Bird of Disaster

Thursday, January 19th, 2006

The Little Bird of Disaster
(click to play)

This is a story about a little bird who claims to be able to predict the future. Don’t trust him.

The Little Bird of Disaster was developed at The Kitchen’s 2003 summer workshop. The speaking characters are real-time “video puppets,” controlled with Mark Coniglio’s Isadora software. The piece was actually performed, like they say, in front of a live studio audience (you can hear them in the background).

format: DV video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Painter, Isadora, Final Cut, Audition
Los Angeles, 2004.

Screened at Rotterdam Film Festival 2005.

A Good Joke

Monday, January 16th, 2006

A Good Joke
(click to play)

This short is based on an old joke, a perennial in compilations of Jewish humor. Although the details differ between versions, the scene remains the same: a priest challenges a rabbi to a debate on the spiritual condition of Jewish people. But neither speaks the other’s language, and…well, I won’t spoil the punch line.

format: HD video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Final Cut, Audition
San Francisco, 2005.

Screened at Ottawa Animation Festival 2006.

The Option of War

Friday, January 6th, 2006

The Option of War
(click to play)

In this adaptation of an early Kafka story, a soldier is taken prisoner in the night by a pack of jackals. Offering a pair of scissors, they demand that he use the makeshift weapon to kill his sleeping friends. They overwhelm his initial, shocked refusal. Slowly, incredibly, he begins to see their point of view. He takes the scissors, and…

format: HD video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Painter, Final Cut, Audition
Montreal, 2005.

Screened at Ottawa Animation Festival 2005.

All About the Magnet

Monday, January 2nd, 2006

All About the Magnet
(click to play)

“Is the nail attracted to the magnet?” “Yes!”

This oddly martial drill on the properties of the magnet comes to us from an old, damaged album of ’50s educational songs. I just couldn’t help imagining what the recording session must have looked like, and out came this little cartoon.

format: DV video
software: Flash, AfterEffects, Final Cut, Audition
Pittsburgh, 2002.