Posts tagged 'Wormhole'

Ryusei Girl

Have you guys ever seen The Powers of Ten? It’s a 9 minute short Charles and Ray Eames created for IBM in 1977 that I first saw at the Boston Museum of Science with my dad sometime in the eighties. It depicts, “the relative scale of the Universe according to an order of magnitude (or logarithmic scale) based on a factor of ten, first expanding out from the Earth until the entire universe is surveyed, then reducing inward until a single atom and its quarks are observed.” (source: Wikipedia)

In the wake of that first initial viewing I was simultaneously struck with wonder by both the enormity of the universe it illustrated and the ingenuity of the filmmakers.

How do we know all this is true? And how did they DO that?

Up until that point I had never seen anything like it. The Powers of Ten was ‘educational’ but didn’t feel that way; it wasn’t stuffy or boring but exciting, the type of thing I could watch at school that wouldn’t feel like school. It turns out that learning stuff doesn’t have to be chore…in fact, it can and should be the exact opposite.

I can’t know for sure but my guess is that Takashi Ohashi has seen The Powers of Ten too and that it, in no small part, inspired the attached. It’s a music video from the same album as my previous post, Maison De Megu – so it’s no surprise that the two share a similar aesthetic – but they differ in setting, trading the former’s electrical schematic for a virtual world that ‘gels’ only when viewed from a particular viewing angle.

In fact, that point-of-view play is my favorite part. Beyond just the eye-candy thrill you get by seeing the visual plane wobble (during the wormhole-y zooms) and dramatically split (during the rotating sequences at 1:18-1:25, 1:47-2:20 and 2:52-3:11) it’s a reminder that our view of the world always ultimately depends on our perspective. In my mind that, not the zoom-in/zoom-out bits, is what provides the most significant parallel to The Powers of Ten. Is that looking into it too much? Am I extrapolating meaning where none was intended?

Maybe. Probably. But, whatever. That’s what I saw, maybe you did too?

Also: If you were diggin’ the wormhole dives through triangles you should definitely check out the super-rad music video for Slugabed’s Quantum Leap next, it’s 100% can’t-miss.

[ メグとパトロン - 流星ガール (megu & patron - Ryusei Girl) ]

Bells

“The majority of the 3D models used in the video are based on real objects from Space; the Hubble Space Telescope, Progress and Voyager 1. The planets and moons in the video are generated using NASA imagery, and helped to create a formal aspect to an otherwise abstract piece.”

As anyone who frequents this site knows, I’m a big fan of ‘wormhole’ videos. That’s not a formal, industry term or whatever just a little tag I started attaching to any video with a significant portion dedicated to taking bringing the viewer on a journey directly towards (or away from) the center of the frame. The first one I can remember seeing is 2001’s infamous ‘Star Gate’ slitscan sequence and I disctinctly remember wishing it had been twice (or three times) as long.

Ever since the inception of this site over three years ago I’ve tried to collect the best examples of the form and my current favorites are Max Hattler’s Sync, the bizarre and whimsical Pelican by David Wilson Creative (for The Maccabees), Jesse Kanda’s psychedelic sea-punk music video for Arca’s Manners, Quantum Leap by Thomas de Rijk (for Slugabed), and Carl Burton’s supremely strange and intriguing short film, Shelter.

Attached above is a video – by Stuart Sinclair – that fits in nicely with the aforementioned watchables. The glitchy, looped-and-syncopated music by Suns is just-right for a dive through space and the wire-frame visuals heighten the futuristic, tech-drenched vibe.

Top-marks all the way ‘round. ENJOY!

Oh and be sure to check out our wormhole feed, it’s not-to-be missed.

[ BELLS MUSIC VIDEO ]

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 ]

Genesis

The vast majority of suggestions I receive are accompanied by rather lengthy and well-written messages explaining exactly why the suggestor thinks their submission is perfect for the site. The best ones tend come from the original creators themselves and, the better and more passionately they are written, the worse I feel when I decide not to share their work.

It’s strange to me that there are talented, creative people out there who want ME SPECIFICALLY to see their work. It never fails to validate my existence which, as you might expect, feels good man. My natural tendency in those moments is to post what they’ve shared, thereby increasing my good feels by way of returning their original kindness. But I have other feels to think about! As stated previously, I am rather obsessed with making all of you happy which means that, by extension, I am terrified of wasting your precious time.

As evolved social primates we are all tasked with balancing this ‘feels economy’ and my experience has taught me that any temporary twinges of pleasure I might derive from validating the time someone took to write in are vastly inferior to the satisfaction of knowing I consistently enhance your collective leisure hours.

Which brings me to the attached, a suggestion (via Facebook) from Tilio Canicola accompanied by a simple, two-character message: :)

It’s all he needed to say.

GENESIS is two-minutes of pleasingly-smooth, constantly-evolving abstract shapes (and a few wormhole dives) directed by Francisco Miranda and Guillermo Daldovo with animation/compositing/editing/sound design from MALEVO and set to a song by adapt.

It’s gorgeous stuff and, as far as I can tell, absolutely worth your time: so full screen, volume up and – most importantly – ENJOY!

[ GENESIS ]

New Machine For Living

To spread the word about their latest synthesizer – The Sub Phatty – Moog asked Flying Lotus and lilfuchs to combine their talents on a one-and-a-half minute promo video. Their last collaboration yielded Zodiac Shit, one of my all-time favorite music videos, and the attached is a similar dose of colorful, trippy eye-candy. It’s a treat, y’all…enjoy!

Cheers to Julian for sending this one our way...thanks!

[ Moog Sub Phatty | Flying Lotus | New Machine For Living ]

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 ]

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) ]

Dig Your Own Hole

“When you don’t know what you want,
You just repeat yourself again;
In the end, you just repeat yourself again.
When you don’t know who you are,
You dig yourself the hole you’re in.”

Another stunner from Gotye, y’all…this time with visuals by Saiman Chow. Grab your headphones, dive-in and enjoy.

A big thanks is due to Colton for the heads-up! Cheers!

[ Gotye - Dig Your Own Hole - official video ]

Up In The Sky

“Up in the sky, there is a village,
and the people there are blue –
I believe it’s true.”

Anraud Janvier, a recent graduate of Supinfocom, wrote in to let us know about a music video he recently co-directed with Antoine Robert at Cube Creative for 77 Bombay Street. The song describes a perfect little utopia that exists above the clouds and the bright, whimsical and weird visuals drip with a naive innocence the mirrors the optimistic vibe.

It’s feel-good sunshine from start to finish but, seeing as I’m partial to wormholes, my favorite sequence kicked off at 2:33 when the Mii-esque rendered cast plunged directly into a technicolor tunnel via a blossoming Lotus flower. That shit’s mah jam, bruh.

When you’re done here, be sure to check out Playing With Light, an excellent little short produced at Cube two summers ago. Enjoy!

[ [HD] 77 Bombay Street - Up In The Sky - Official Video (Animated) ]

Changing The Rain

Just a heads-up: you might not be able to watch the video here (if you can’t then click here). Why? VEVO. My disdain for the service is well documented but I’ve softened a bit and think a personal grudge towards a distribution model (with an unnecessarily shitty user experience) is a poor reason to not share these tasty bits with y’all. Plus, if MADE ever uploads a HD version to their Vimeo account I’ll just update the post. You dig?

Anywho, this shit is doooooooope; a glorious four-and-a-half minute technicolor psychedelic romp down geometric wormholes, past kaleidoscopic alien abductions and into the mouth of God. Full 1080p too, so get this shit full screen.

Pete Fowler directed this one and, if you’re not familiar with his work, I recommend you head over to his Flickr account immediately; his bold graphic style is a treat. Oh, and if The Horrors intoxicating blend of starry-eyed, psychedelic, rambling synth-drenched rock is your thing I recommend you check out Skying for lots more of the same. It’s the kind of album you’d want on a road trip; it’s cinematic but contemplative, bright and big but a bit lazy, too. It’s all rather nice really and easily worth the ten bucks.

A HUUUUGE thanks is due to Naz for sending this one our way…cheers!

[ The Horrors - Changing The Rain ]

Hurting

“Gotta let this go;
Gotta field tomorrow on my own,
Your touch keeps on hurtin’.”

Back in September we posted a video by David Lewandowski that perfectly encapsulates one of our favorite flavors of internet: the ever elusive LOLWAT, comprised equally of parts silly and strange. We love that shit, bro.

Anyone who’s seen Tron: Legacy knows that David has talents beyond creating the fleetingly bizarre – he crafted the exquisitely rendered opening title sequence – so we were thrilled to discover that he recently directed a music video for Friendly Fires who, besides having a fantastic band name, write some super-catchy ‘choons.

David’s grandiose, hyperbolic visuals mirror and amplify the torturous experience, as described in the song, when an object your affection doesn’t feel the same way about you as you do of them. Love is a strange/alluring/wonderful thing and we’re willing to endure a lot of pain and bullshit for a shot at it.

There’s loads of fantastic visual touches sprinkled throughout, so keep your eyes peeled the whole way through. Serving suggestion: Full-screen HD with the volume way up. Enjoy!

A big thanks to William Doran, who first brought this to our attention two months ago, and to Joe Findlay who wrote us a couple of weeks back to remind us we hadn’t posted it yet. Cheers, guys!

[ Friendly Fires - Hurting ]

On’n'on

Oh shit, son!

OK, first off: NSFW WARNING! Boobies ahoy! And secondly: NEW JUSTICE!

The ON’N'ON EP is set to drop at the end of the month (pre-order here) and the fine purveyors of dope at Ed Banger Records were cool enough to fund this fantastic music video to promote the release. It’s directed by the super-talented Alex Courtes whom, you might recall, was one-half of Alex & Martin, the duo that won the best Short Form Music Video Grammy in 2005 for their fine work on Vertigo. Though they’ve since parted ways, I am happy to report that it hasn’t negatively affected Alex’s instinctual knack for creating radness. Oh, and DIVISION was hired to assist on production and they brought the same A-game talent that made No Brain shine.

I’m rather partial to journeys down the wormhole and this one is a non-stop-center-zoom ride from start-to-finish. It’s gorgeous; the perfect accompaniment to your Friday night sesh. Strap-in, crank the volume and get them HD bits loading full-screen, dawg. Enjoy!

A huge, massive thanks to Brent Burtoft for sending this one our way. We are in your debt, sir – cheers!

Related Radness: In addition to the aforementioned No Brain be sure to check out Civilization, also by Justice, and Baby I’m Yours, a deliciously catchy tune with some candy-colorful-bright watercolor visuals. Enjoy your weekend!

[ Justice - ON'N'ON ]

Lost in Tokyo

Jamie Blackley wrote in suggesting we check out this gorgeous video Mark Bramley edited together from 10,000 stills and some handheld footage he shot during a recent trip to Tokyo where he had two days to himself (jelly!). It’s rad from start-to-finish but we especially enjoyed the mass-transit wormhole (0:36), Gumby slidin’ (1:13), elevator pong-paddles (2:00) and the landing strip time-lapse (2:31). If you’re digging the backing tune – Parametaphoriquement by GMZ – go ahead and download it for (legal) freesies as it’s CC licensed on ccMixter.

Jamie also mentioned that it’s reminiscent of Shinkansen ver.2. We agree. Watch that shit if you haven’t already. Oh and Tokyo Slo-Mode, too; also good. Fuck it: just check out all the stuff we’ve posted about Japan, OK?

Thanks for the tip on this one, Jamie! Cheers!

[ Lost in Tokyo ]

Dan Dan

Whoa. The needles on our patent-pending Dope Meters™ were pinned deep in the red for the entire duration of this fantastic music video for Misteur Valaire as directed/created by Corentin Bachelet, Gilles Cortella, Augustin Clermont, Adrien Jalade and Juliette Grandjonc, a.k.a. Paf Paf, a group of independent French CGI designers. Full screen and headphones, dawg; this one deserves your undivided attention.

Wait, it gets better: Misteur Valaire’s complete discography is available for whatever you feel like paying. So, you know, grab some spare change out of the cushions of your couch and pick up some great ‘choons. Enjoy!

[ MV (Misteur Valaire) - DAN DAN (Création collective) ]

Accumulonimbus

“Natural and man-made objects on a spin cycle accumulate, disintegrate, and multiply. Created by stop motion animating clay on glass, the film is a meditation on motion and the life cycle of matter.”

Some very nice abstract, morphing stop-motion animation and sound design from the talented Andy Kennedy. If you’re interested in seeing how he put everything together then be sure to check out the making-of page on his website. It’s populated with lots of broken images but the process videos and text still load properly though so it’s definitely worth checking out.

[ Accumulonimbus ]

Pelican

“To have it all, to have it all, to have it all, and still want more;
One thing’s for sure, one thing’s for sure, one thing’s for sure, we’re all getting older.
So we take a lover, so we take a lover, so we take a lover, waitin’ in the corner,
And before you know it, before you know it, before you know we’re pushing up the daisies.”

David Wilson Creative is teeming with talent. Their music videos are consistently top-notch and this one, a trippy, bisected journey through the wormhole of life – from birth to death and then back again – for The Maccabees, is no exception.

They also uploaded a super-rad making-of video that’s full of fascinating tidbits – like how it was shot entirely in one day (!!!) – as well as insight into their tools, process and inspiration. This quote, from David himself, shows how intentionally he approached each detail of the execution, “What was really important in terms of the edit…was essentially the percussive nature of the track. There’s lots of really nice accents and I really wanted to accentuate that…so we spent a lot of time finessing and working on the objects pulling apart to really make an impact on both the guitar parts and the drums throughout”.

Click here to see more David Wilson Creative work that we’ve posted to the site (Our favorite? Zero hesitation: Let Go) or here to check out their Vimeo account, a treasure trove or rad watchables. Their in-progress Advent series is especially nice. Enjoy!

[ The Maccabees - Pelican via Gizmodo ]

Sync

“The film is based on the idea that there is an underlying unchanging synchronisation at the centre of everything; a sync that was decided at the very beginning of time. Everything follows from it, everything is ruled by it: all time, all physics, all life. And all animation.”Max Hattler

WARNING: There’s some serious flickering up ons so if you’re prone to seizures or don’t like flashing stuff I’d recommend not clicking play.

Come, let’s all join hands and get lost in the wormhole together: prepare yourself for nine minutes of some truly zone-out psychedelia courtesy of the talented Max Hattler. Full screen, headphones and a dark, quiet room are essential for a proper viewing; I don’t think the aforementioned will be enough to truly replicate seeing Sync as an installation, but you should try your best to emulate the ambiance.

Click here to read more about Sync and be sure to send some positive cosmic vibes towards Sam Lillard who submitted this to our electron harvesting array less than 24 hours after Max originally posted it to his Vimeo account.

Moar Max Hattler on The Tripatorium™: 1923 (Heaven)

[ Sync (by Max Hattler) ]

Brothersport

“I know it sucks that daddy’s dumb
But try to think of what you want;
You got to open up your,
open up your, open up your throat.”

Animal Collective tunes have a frenetic, driving, psychedelic energy to them that, more often than not, obscures all but a few snippets of the lyrics. I get the impression that there’s lots they’re trying to say at once and things get a bit jumbled in the delivery. This isn’t a bad thing though, sometimes a little bit of manic adds to the proceedings.

That being said, those four lines I shared at the top of the post cut right through the noise and deliver all the meaning you need. Sure, you could read the full lyrics to get the entire meat of the narrative, but the above verse summarizes it perfectly. For better or worse us humans have evolved to be perpetually dissatisfied with the culture that we’re born into. We want to change it, alter it, rework what we say and how we say it. But changing takes courage and mustering the courage to find your voice is some hard, torturous shit. The (currently) second highest rated comment on this video’s YouTube page is from ChrisKo692 who said, ‘they should show this shit on Nick JR’

True.

Jack Kubizne (with help from Chris Beegle) directed the visuals with Skaught Newcomb and Joseph Pollack contributing the excellent alien/creature animations. Lots of other talented folks were involved in pulling this music video together so hit up the info box here to get a full credit listing.

A big thanks goes to Sam Lillard, one of our most prolific contributors, who sent this in for our perusal. Cheers, Sam!

One more thing: if you’re a fan of Animal Collective definitely don’t miss the excellent video Ori Toor did for Lion in a Coma. It’s pretty rad.

[ Animal Collective - Brothersport ]

Brokendate

It’s hard to explicate what it is about synthesizers that elicits an instinctual positive response from the music approval synapses of my brain. With all this recent deadmau5, dubstep and ‘electro’ business as of late I sometimes have to remind myself that people used to hate this shit. It’s worth noting that I never liked electronic music simply because ‘they’ hated it; I liked it because I liked it. But why? I dunno. I think part of it has to do with the lack of vocals – I’m partial to constructing my own personal narratives when the headphones are on – or maybe it was because these sounds were often found alongside subject matter about technology, a subject I’ve always been enamored with. But that’s not entirely it either. There’s something about synthesizers that transports me to somewhere else which, it turns out, is a place I’m constantly trying to get to. In that regard Com Truise fits the bill. Ghostly International describes him as the ‘master of the transporting synth odyssey’. They’re his label so we can forgive the hyperbole but still, the description is apt.

The video itself, like the tune, is decidedly retro and seasoned throughout with numerous stylistic nods to the early 80s but don’t dismiss the 10lb Pictures created visuals as merely a lazy grab for nostalgia. There’s a tasteful restraint at work here that has brought me back for additional viewings. The flavors are ‘right’; it works. Grab your headphones, click full screen and above all else: enjoy!

[ Com Truise - "Brokendate" ]