CageMatch 5-24-07

Elaine logo
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood

This week's CageMatch featured two videos, one for the intro to the show, and the second as a promo for a new character we're introducing to the show.

The concept for the intro was to be pro-female (since the challengers were an all-female team) basically taking the fairytale image of women as subservient and helpless, and trying to hype up the ability of women to be just as skilled as men. Nothing too fancy here graphic-wise; just a lot of stills shown in different ways.

The most amusing thing is that it's actually hard to find fairytale pictures of damsels in distress. Searching on Google images for relevant terms brings up a lot of fantasy/scifi paintings of strong, assertive women kicking ass (and searching for "knight in shining armor" brings up a remarkable amount of man-on-man porn).

The Elaine logo is made with old 1940s/50s Frederick's Of Hollywood ads. Those things were always so sleazy; I loved 'em.

Shades of Grey

Good lord, how much do I like this animation short? It has so many great attributes. 1) It's entitled "3X Super Robot Heartbreak". Coolest name evah. 2) Amazing use of limited colour--mostly just a few shades of grey. 3) Kickin' music. 4) Giant robots. 5) Subtle, slick, creative animation effects 6) Nice, crisp story.

All made by the fine folks at Black Brow, who have a higher-quality version of the flick on their own site, as well as some other offerings which I shall peruse when I get some time tomorrow (hopefully). Oh, and the creators' blogs (linked off the above site) look promising as well--very cool guys.

Ba Da Bup Bup Ba DAHHH!

If you were watching HBO in the early Eighties, this program intro will be ingrained deep in your memory. It always promised excitement, entertainment, and the then-revolutionary idea of seeing recent Hollywood films from the comfort of your own home.

Even if you weren't watching HBO in the early Eighties, you might find this little documentary to be rather interesting. It shows how the above intro was created, and shows how much more complicated and expensive it was to produce a short clip that today could be done on a home computer in a few weeks with software off the shelf. Here we have miniatures, acetate-based optical effects, motorized tracking cameras, fiber optics (!), an airbrushed mural, actual construction of a simple three-d logo shape, and what now looks like the most primitive computer ever produced. I found it fascinating, and somewhat inspiring. (And you gotta love the horrendous lyrics for the song they used for the documentary--although I still love the uberdramatic music used in the intro itself.)

Jawbone

jawbone for RyLoc
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

I haven't drawn in a while; just haven't really been inspired. I don't think it's in my destiny. Anyway, Ryloc sent out a call for art from his friends, with a very specific description: to wit, a guy in a suit in a dark alleyway, having just torn off his own mandible.

No, I don't understand it either, but if you know Ryan, you know you don't need to understand it. I was glad to do it for him.

Thieves Not In The Night

To The Unknown Thief,

Thank you so much for stealing my iPod out of my car while I was having lunch today. You've taught me a valuable lesson: that I should learn how to really lock my new car, and that I shouldn't park in the thug-ridden parking lot of the downtown McDonald's here in Chapel Hill. You've also opened my eyes in a quite tangible way that my longtime hometown is not the peaceful and safe village it used to be, and is now littered with scumbags, gang members, and criminals.

I will now try and learn how to tighten my belt and budget my money, so that I can afford to divest myself of the $500-plus it will take to replace the various components you took from me. Oh, and I hope you enjoy the library book you grabbed as well.

Thanks loads,

Ted

Call For Animators

Respondez-vous, mein comrades!

I need one more creative personage to join me on this mighty quest. This article gave me an interesting idea. I love the idea of collaboration; it inspires me much more than just doing crap by myself. And I always loved that game where you fold a piece of paper in thirds and one person draws the head, the next person draws the body, and the last person draws the legs (known formally as "The Exquisite Corpse", although for some reason, we didn't use that name when we were eight). And I've always been amazed by the Zoom Quilt, the way that different people worked on the same project without seeing what the other folks were doing.

Anyway, working on the premise of that first article, I thought up an interesting potential project. My friend Jackson has agreed to write a piece of music that's 1:30. Then I'll take that music, and animate my interpretation of the first thirty seconds. Then I'll send the final frame of my animation (or maybe a second's worth?) to the next person (who will be the world-famous animator and meme cretor extraordinaire Nick Faber), along with the full copy of Jackson's music. Faber Fabe will animate the next 30 seconds and pass it on, and the third person would do the same, returning it to me to assemble the pieces into one amusing pastiche for release on the worldwide media giant that is The Wuh-Wuh-Wuh.

And the name I have chosen for this project?
MONOTUNALITY + TRINIMATION = QUADLABORATION
(and maybe just "Quadlab" for short.)

Let the trumpets sound and the angels cheer.

So anyway, I'm looking for a third animator to complete our Quadlab team. Lemme know if you think you have what it takes to be the final component in our triumvirate of power, glory, and animation. You can use any method of animation you want: hand-drawn, Flash, stopmotion, rotoscoped, whatevvah. The only requirements are a promise to actually do it, and a desire to be part of something fun. RSVP to ME ASAP and we'll C-H-A-T. I really wanna make this happen.

Jumping

It's always particularly amazing when you find great things that have been around for years, but have just not been within your sight. Today I discovered a wonderful short film by anime/manga pioneer Osama Tezuka, the creator of such timeless Japanese classics as "Astro Boy" and inspiration to generations of artists. This short is not done in the traditional anime style, so even if you don't particularly enjoy the big eyes and stylized action of typical Japanese animation, you might enjoy this. I find it to be a captivating unification of style, persepective, and discovery. Enjoy Osamu Tezuka's "Jumping".

The Man In The Rubber Mask

For when you want to conceal your manliness, wear one of these.

It's A Longshot

My friends who are fans of filmmaking will enjoy this one. Just discovered a new blog called Daily Film Dose, through a link to this entry on "the long take". Fascinating analysis of several films that have used a dramatic, long, continuous take in their films to establish mood and atmosphere. Lots of good information and links to clips; also plenty of good material in the long comments section.

I'll definitely be adding Daily Film Dose to my list o' feeds.

Rasslin Ridiculousness

If you're a wrestling fan, you owe it to yourself to watch YouTube member Maffew's Botchamania vids. They'll make you laugh, they'll make you cringe. It's basically a collection of the worst gimmicks (a la WrestleCrap), worst botched moves (lots and lots of Sabu), crappy promos (Sid Vicious, anyone?), and stupid fans running into the ring (and hopefully getting their ass handed to them). This guy basically has all the clips you've always heard about, and zillions more, and he mixes 'em into entertaining videos. Highly recommended. Watch them all.

Oh, and for those of you who aren't wrestling fans, this is my latest musical discovery (always far too late, am I) via Never Mind The Buzzcocks--it's Kaiser Chiefs doing "I Predict A Riot". And for comparison and contrast, here's a version by one of the crappiest manufactured girl bands ever, Girls Aloud.

StopMotion StreetFighter

Corey Brown will like this. Nick Faber will as well. Other folks might too.

Indie Filmmaking On The Cheap

I'm blogging about this article so I can remember to read it later when I have more time. It's on indie filmmaking, and it looks intriguing. Keep clicking the "next" link at the bottom of each article, or go to various sections via the table of contents sidebar. (Oh, and view it with Firefox and Adblocker, or it'll drive ya nutz.)

At the very least, the checklist that's part of the article led me to Apple's Shake, which I may buy instead of the Adobe's After Effects. (Shake is $499, After Effects is $999, although there's not much point in getting AE alone when you can get the new CS3 Master Suite for $2499, which gives you a wealth of media creation software.) Oh, but that AE "puppet tool"...mmmm. Which one to buy?!?

Oh, and I'm told I need to watch "El Mariachi". Anybody have that on dvd I could borrow?