Posts tagged 'Atmospheric'

It’s Called “Moon”

Straight-away I was reminded of Jake Fried, but only in materials/process. It’s clear that Emanuele is also intuitively fleshing out the movement frame-by-frame as he goes but his work is unique in that there’s no figurative elements to recognize; only abstract geometry and form that, when quilted together, comes across as both familiar and foreign.

I’m reminded of the notebooks I used to fill with random scribbles while bored out of my mind in high school: I’d start with a stray line or a random shape and then try to make sense of it with the remaining paper, as if the choatic mess left by my pen was what I had intended to create from the beginning. It was a way to pass the time and entertain myself instead of blankly staring at the clock, fantasizing about the bell that would eventually set me free.

Thanks for passing this one along, Sam Lillard!

P.S. I recommend giving Jake’s work a look when you’re done here.

[ It's Called "Moon" ]

Shadows

It’s pretty rare that I’ll post a video that isn’t HD. The attached is only 360p which is, like, 50% less than my typical minimum-p-quotient but the lack of resolution does little to diminish its charm.

It’s a music video is for a tune by Wagon Christ, an artist I first encountered during my post-college-single-and-searching-for-meaning-slash-purpose years. At the time I was living alone and working from home for a start-up which meant my long-simmering tendency to obsess was, for the first time, allowed to swell unfettered to a full, rolling boil. My mind has wrapped that entire era in a peculiar, wistful nostalgia; I have no desire to return to those days but will forever appreciate how they shaped me into who I am today.

My memories of that time have all bled together, lost in an impenetrable haze of code, photoshop, booze, solitary walks and music from SomaFM. The latter had a show, Groove Salad, that played ambient, downtempo instrumentals and I am forever in its debt for introducing me to artists like Leggo Beast, BullitnutsdZihan & Kamien, Tosca, Baby Mammoth and, of course, Wagon Christ.

The visuals – created by Celyn Brazier and Tom & Mark Perrett (of Nexus Productions) – are evocative of both Yellow Submarine and Castle in the Sky and tell a story about the transformative power of time, demonstrating how quickly the impressive giants of yesterday can become todays tourist curiosity.

ENJOY!

[ Wagon Christ - 'Shadows' ]

Land

WOW. This gorgeous three and a half minute trip-fest of undulating, constantly-morphing animation by Masanobu Hiraoka (of Je Regarde) demands to be watched on the largest display currently at your disposal. Grab your headphones, too; Aimar Molero‘s music/sound design properly sets the atmosphere and breathes life into the sloshing, shifting abstract forms.

ENJOY!

A big thanks is due to Carl Burton for the heads-up on Twitter. If you haven’t seen his excellent short film Shelter yet I suggest making time to do so at your earliest convenience.

Oh and be sure to check out our Je Regarde feed, it’s full of other fantastic watchables.

[ Land via @carlburton ]

Elk Grass

“But there’s that sweet grass, it’s dancing in the high bluffs and the sea breeze;
It’s where the elk sleep, dreaming simple dreams of luscious green grass and peace.”

Loving this gorgeous, atmospheric-and-mellow music video Awesome and Modest directed/animated for Pete Van Leeuwen. The tune sounds like it could have been on Beck’s Sea Change – my go-to album for the drive home after a long, hot day at the beach – and the complimentary connected-with-nature visuals further amplify its already laid-back, lazy vibe.

Enjoy!

[ Elk Grass ]

Spacetime Fabric Softener

More than two years ago I posted a delightful, playful animated short – Spirit Quest Journey – by Ryan ‘Professor Soap’ Mauskopf. His latest is just as charming; the undulating hand-drawn line work, bright-and-simple color palette and lazy pacing remind me of what an uninhibited eight year old boy’s mind might conjure up while idly scribbling on a rainy day. The soundtrack is a treat, too…ENJOY!

[ Spacetime Fabric Softener ]

Magma

I’m not quite sure I understand the credits for this one. It was made by Barcelona-based Dvein forThe Vein’ but the client was Adobe? Maybe you can make better sense of it...

The Who’s and What’s don’t really matter though cause the visuals in the attached are off-the-chain great and super-trippy; if you’re a regular visitor here I’m confident you’ll love it. My only gripe is that it’s far too short, I can watch stuff like this for hours.

P.S. If you’re interested in process then definitely give the ‘making of’ a watch, too.

[ The Vein / Magma ]

Hinode

Tetsuka Niiyama dropped a note in the suggestion bin with a link to some animation he created, “that depicts saltation and growth of life in the sea using jewelry as the motif for illustrating the theme ‘Jewels of Sea’”. It’s expertly done and über-chill...ENJOY!

[ HINODE ]

Caldera

“In states of delusion, my father has danced on the rings of Saturn, spoken with angels, and fled from his demons. He has lived both a fantastical and haunting life, but one that’s invisible to the most of us. In our differing understanding of reality, we blindly mandate his medication, assimilate him to our marginalizing culture, and entirely misinterpret him for all he is worth. CALDERA aims to not only venerate my father, but all brilliant minds forged in the haunted depths of psychosis.”

The attached runs over ten minutes in length, easily double (if not triple) most animated shorts I post here. As you probably gathered from the quote above, it tackles to pretty heavy subject matter and the extra time is used to full effect; CALDERA naturally blooms empathy as it steadily draws you in. It’s won a slew of awards and rightly so, each exquistely rendered moment – as directed/animated by Evan Viera and co-produced by bit films and Flicker Dreams Productions – is overflowing with visual touches that demand an immediate rewatch. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous stuff…ENJOY!

[ Caldera (2012) ]

Premier Automne

WHOOOOAAAA HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO FUCKING GOOD!

Premier Automne was created by a dream-team of French filmmakers/animators from Je Regarde, Melting Productions and InEfecto and is so out-of-this-world wonderful that, beyond mentioning my über-affection for the final sequence that runs from 8:34-9:01, I don’t want to say anything else as it might ruin the magic of watching this gem for the first time in a dark room with with a nice pair headphones strapped to your ears.

If you’re interested in process than the ‘Making of’ is can’t-miss – as is Do I Have Power?, a music video we posted a couple of Halloweens back by Carlos De Carvalho, one of the co-directors of the attached. Enjoy!

[ Premier Automne (2013) ]

Easy

Paul Dini meets Interstella 5555; this Mat Zo & Porter Robinson animated music video by The Line is a candy-colored, atmospheric, neon-laced, future-Tokyo treat. Enjoy!

P.S. Give Fantasy a watch next…or maybe Manners; I honestly can’t decide which would be a better follow-up to the attached.

[ Easy - Mat Zo & Porter Robinson (Official Video) ]

We Are Golden

“I’ll start a fire with sticks,
I’ll put it out with my fists,
I’ll swim across the sound.

I’ll build a house in the trees,
We’ll live wherever we please,
And never settle down…”

When Tommy Wilson submitted the attached for our perusal he wrote the following in the ‘Why is this perfect for The Tripatorium™?’ field: “It is an awesome music video, trippy and weird in the best way possible. Animation goes perfect with music. This is your bread and butter.”

He’s right.

Jonathan Seligson, a Brooklyn-based independent animator, conjured up a slew of bizarre, psychedelic visuals that simultaneously leverage all the dreamy atmospherics of Black Light Dinner Party‘s synthpop sound while maintaining a narrative structure the pays homage to the song’s earnest, simple lyrics. It’s four-and-a-half minutes of fantastic, sufficiently out-there late-night watchables which is just how I likes ‘em.

The bits are available in 1080p, too so get it loaded full-screen, dim the lights and turn the volume way-up. Enjoy!

Thanks for sending this our way, Tommy!

[ Black Light Dinner Party - We Are Golden ]

Cirrus

I’m a rather outspoken fan of both Bonobo and Cyriak so when I found out that Ninja Tune recently facilitated a collaboration between the two I was pretty fuckin’ pumped…so much so, in fact, that I didn’t watch the attached til this morning. The end of last week had been pretty busy and the last thing I wanted to do was have the initial screening take place on a small-ass screen with some tinny earbuds delivering the audio.

Cyriak’s visuals are gonna be kick-ass no matter what (Exhibit A) but this music video is especially nice because both his work and Bonobo’s sound are all about a steady layering-on. Each artist starts with small, simple and discrete atoms – a stripped-down drum part or short, simple video loop – and starts piling them on top of one another until the whole far-exceeds the sum of its parts. It’s the same ‘spirit’ that’s inherent to many other things I enjoy – electronic music, programming, nature and fractals just to name a few – so to have it distilled into one three-and-a-half minute dose is, well, thrilling. Art is just magic sometimes. Fuck yeah.

Even though I already knew about this one it was fantastic to open up the suggestion bin and find messages from Sam Lillard, Garrett and Mickey Gral ensuring I wouldn’t miss it. Thanks so much guys! Cheers!

P.S. Our Ninja Tune and Cyriak feeds are worthy of your attention. Enjoy!

[ Bonobo - 'Cirrus' (Official Video) ]

Bye Bye Macadam

It appears Dimitri Stankowicz has been hard at work honing his solid-color-fill vector animation style since we first posted his entry into Björk’s Innocence video contest two years ago.  The visuals in the attached sync up beautifully (both in timing and spirit) with Rone‘s deep, synth-driven, spaced-out sound. The net-effect is pure, distilled atmosphere so get it loaded in 1080p and strap your headphones on.

This one’s a treat and we owe Brandon Michael Azzarella a big thanks for sharing it with us on Facebook. Cheers, Brandon!

P.S. If you find that your taste in music tends to line-up with my mine then don’t hesitate to pick up the full-length album ‘Bye Bye Macadam’ is from, Tohu Bohu. It’s packed to the brim with the type of soaring, emotive electronica that’s pitch-perfect for late-night drives and contemplative lazy afternoon seshes.

[ Rone - Bye Bye Macadam (Official Video) ]

Shelter

First off, you better have some killer headphones at the ready before diving into the attached. I honestly can’t remember ever featuring a video with better sound design; it’s easily the star of the show.

That’s not to say the visuals are in any way lacking – they aren’t – but having such well-mixed, tangible foley work and layered, atmospheric background noise goes a long way to selling the immersion…especially when dealing with subject matter as conceptually out-there as this.

I don’t want to spoil where this one is headed but my favorite sequence kicks off at 4:38. Over the course of a scant 30 seconds, director Carl Burton makes four perfectly-timed cuts that both establish the scene and give you a concrete sense of place within it. My first viewing was late last night and the instant sense of ‘cozy’ I felt at 5:00 was palpable; it was as if I was there, temporarily shielded from the rain. It’s magic; just stellar stuff.

A big thanks is due to the aforementioned Mr. Burton who took the time to write-in and share his work with us. For the measly asking price of $3 you can own an HD download of Shelter, an 18-page making-of PDF and a bunch of wallpapers. It might seem silly to spend money on something you just, moments ago, saw for free (legally, too) but whenever I do I feel better. Why?

  1. He didn’t have to ask.
  2. I didn’t have to give.

It’s a truly voluntary act that helps break up the monotony of my daily obligations and an opportunity to express my appreciation for art someone made beyond a ‘Like’ or a ‘Comment’. It’s IRL ‘Like’. It’s ‘Here, I want you to make something else awesome real soon, please.’ Facilitating that is easily worth the price of a coffee.

[ Shelter ]

Golem

“In this endless freedom of thought you found no answers to these basic matters of human being, only a myriad choice of ideas lost in a deep dark hole of uncertainty.”

My first thought after watching the attached was, ‘this could have easily been in The Animatrix,’ so prep yourself for some late-night, cerebral, sci-fi shit. It was inspired by GOLEM XIV, a short story by Stanislaw Lew, and its visuals, atmospheric soundtrack and cold, sterile narration all pay proper homage to the deep, apprehensive spirit of his writings.

Co-directors Patrick Mccue and Tobias Wiesner said that their creative intention for the film was to inspire others to, ‘face [their] own process in this world with reflection and self responsibility, to stay curious and create, look for new ideas and stay keen,’ so get your mind shifted into the proper gear for maximum absorption.

For me, that means full-screen-in-a-dark-room with a nice pair of headphones on.

A big thanks to Dave Hughes – the man behind [adult swim]‘s deliciously bizarre Off The Air – for sending this one our way. Cheers, Dave!

[ GOLEM ]

Origami

The attached animated short by Joanne Smithies, Eric De Melo Bueno, Michael Moreno, Hugo Bailly Desmarchelier and Camille Turon (all students at ESMA Montpellier) is gorgeous, atmospheric and sumptuously textured; an absolute treat. ENJOY!

[ Origami (2012 HD) ]

Manners

Yes, please. I’m a sucker for wormholes and Jesse Kanda‘s geometric, seapunk(ish), refracted-and-ray-traced slow-dive for Arca‘s Manners is an excellent example of the form.

Serving instructions:

  1. Get the attached loaded in HD on your largest available screen and position your head close enough to it so that the majority of your field of vision is filled.
  2. Put your headphones on.
  3. Stare directly into the center of the screen and keep your eyes fixed that way for the duration of the video.
  4. Enjoy the magic that happens in your peripherins.

Cheers to Peter Verner for passing this along on Twitter. Thanks!

[ Arca - Manners (HD) ]

Ballpit

Kyle Mowat‘s thesis film, Ballpit, is a haunted toymaker’s fever-dream with its psychedelic tangle of fluid, soft-edged gizmos, trinkets, and doo-dads that spontaneously erupt into morphing, frenzied movement. The ethereal, echoing Fisher Price-instrument soundtrack by Lido Pimienta is a just-right accompaniment to the madness. ENJOY!

A big thanks to Mr. Sam Lillard, fresh back from his three-month Alaskan sojourn, for the suggestion. Welcome home Sam, we’ve missed you! Cheers!

[ BALLPIT ]

Metro

When I was a child I used to let my imagination run wild whenever I’d be in transit – whether by car or train or bus (I didn’t fly for the first time until college) – trying to picture any secret worlds that might exist parallel to our own. The subway was especially intriguing and, in between station stops, I’d envision all manner of underground dwellers who sat hidden just beyond the reach of the fluorescent light that streamed from the train’s windows as it sped by. The attached short film by Jake Wyatt explores similar territory and drips with an atmospheric mystery that holds your attention from start to finish.

The moody, ethereal, meandering George Winston-esque piano score compliments the visuals so well that I wondered if it was written specifically for the film or was one of the primary inspirations for its creation. Michael Wyatt is listed in the end credits as the composer and, since him and the director share a last name, I wouldn’t be surprised if both the film and it’s soundtrack were created in parallel. All-in-all, it’s very nice…don’t hesitate to dive in.

Oh and Jake is also a fantastic illustrator so definitely check out his Tumblr when you get a chance. (Primeape?! NICE.)

Last summer I got an email from someone claiming to be Pharrell Williams’ assistant. My initial thought was that I was getting trolled but I decided to respond anyways since I had been such a big fan of his since first discovering The Neptunes by way of N.O.R.E.‘s Superthug.

To my pleasant surprise, it turned out to be legit and a few weeks later I was on the phone with Pharrell himself asking if I’d be up for collaborating on something (an even pleasant-er surprise, for sure).

He had a new hush-hush project in the works called i am OTHER and thought The Tripatorium™ would fit in nicely with what they were up to. We’ve been kicking ideas back-and-forth since then and thought the logical place to start would be to put together some playlists of our favorite videos. Where it goes from here? Who knows…but if you’d like to see us do more together shoot i am OTHER a message on Facebook or Twitter and let them know. In the meantime, subscribe on YouTube to be the first to find out when our next collaboration goes live. (While you’re there, definitely check out Nardwuar’s interviews…they’re fantastic.)

The first playlist went up last night and is comprised of four videos that initially inspired the creation of the site (Zodiac Shit, The Parachute Ending, The Music Scene, Baby I’m Yours) and six other favorites that we think typify The Tripatorium™ experience (After the Rain, The Murf, Between Bears, Let Go, Baltimore Clap and Loom). It’s a distilled dose of what we’re up to and a perfect way to introduce the site to anyone who might be interested.

Cheers!

[ METRO ]

Save Me

“And you gave me love
When I could not love myself
And you made me turn
From the way I saw myself
And you’re patient, love
And you help me help myself
And you save me,
You save me, you save me…”

What a great fuckin’ song. Cheers to Peter Lowey for the fantastic visuals and to Gotye for explicating, via woven words and sounds, the transformative magic of love. Enjoy!

Click here for some moar Gotye goodness on The Tripatorium™.

[ Gotye - Save Me - official video ]