Donato Sansone shows his dedication to the craft with this clever piece about the flipside to losing one’s head in an argument.

VIDEOGIOCO by Donato Sansone

I was looking around for some papercraft animation and stumbled upon… well, exactly what I was looking for. Johnny Kelly’s The Seed follows the life cycle of a single apple seed. Nice handling of the excretion transition, you sly devil.

Another by Mr. Kelly, too.

In order to avoid shilling for Frito-Lay, I will refrain from delving into this animation’s raison d’être. But really, what a treat of little animated shorts these are. I saw the first in an online video ad, looked around for a YouTube copy, and stumbled across 4 more. Has Frito-Lay decided to support the animation community in these troubled times by employing as many talented artists as possible to produce work that is (let’s be honest) only tangentially related to either chips or dip?

Next, let’s see Doritos sponsor some mimes.

Made For Each Other videos

I’ve spent the better part of my creative career trying to hone my skills at crafting designs that appear to come from another era. In fact, I’m in the middle of trying to game AfterEffects and Final Cut Pro to produce believably 70s videos (or at least believably borrow the aesthetic, I’m not trying to create a forgery).

So seeing the above video promotion for The Watchmen was a real treat. I’m fairly confident they’re using vintage equipment and methodology to firmly place the news report in the time period. The effect is stunning.

Perhaps even moreso for standing next to the 80s-inspired clip below. I cannot put my finger on it, but the effect is far from complete. The lighting is off, or the focus is too crisp, or… I really wish I knew why I’m not fully buying it. The animations seem right, but the studio footage simply doesn’t feel genuine. What’s wrong with it? Or is it just me?

(via Laughing Squid)

Loving the steampunk mech action.

While we’re on the subject of title cards… I’ve been doing research on a forthcoming project, and I came across Dave Mackey’s Warner Bros. Cartoons Filmography and Title Card Gallery. The Wayback Machine says he’s been working on it for a while, and I’m glad I found it. It’s really an invaluable resource.

A chase scene as two octopi try to stick together. Nice bit of animation.

I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the animation I’ve seen come out of Gobelins in Paris, and this short is no exception. Julien Bocabeille is now at Dreamworks, and he’ll hopefully improve the stew.

Directed by: Julien Bocabeille, Francois-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, Emud Mokhberi.

Watch Oktapodi

Oktapodi, official site