Seven years after his role as co-animator on Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 landmark feature ‘Akira’, Studio 4°C founder Kōji Morimoto revisits some familiar visual themes in this colourful music video for Ken Ishii’s ‘Extra’…

Akira appears to be Morimoto’s second time working with Otomo. He was also animator for ‘Construction Cancellation Order‘, a short story written and directed by Otomo for the 1987 anthology film ‘Neo Tokyo’. At just under 20 minutes, it’s good company for some extended coffee break action…

Construction Cancellation Order Part 1
Construction Cancellation Order Part 2

Was anyone else watching the sequences with the rings and seeing vinyl grooves? If you use the attached microscope on a lathe to inspect a lacquer or dubplate you’re cutting, they look a lot like a couple of these following frames…

Incidentally, if you like the NIN track in the video you can grab it for free as one of the first nine tracks from Ghosts I-IV (track 9 is pretty sublime too).

Source: http://vimeo.com/24410924

“Charting the genre’s growth from obscure origins in south London to global recognition today, the film features in-depth interviews with many of the DJ’s, producers and promoters who have been instrumental in Dubstep’s ongoing evolution.”

“Skream, Benga, Kode9 and Mary Anne Hobbs are just some of the key players who have contributed, reflecting on the movement they’ve helped shape; a movement that has come to define the importance of underground music in the 21st Century.

This highly stylised film travels from Dubstep’s birthplace in Croydon to Europe, Brazil and Japan, demonstrating just how huge an impact this initially indigenous scene has made at an international level.”

Support these guys if you can by grabbing yourself a nicely packaged copy direct from the source.

Subtle and sublime video for Leftfields Swords, one of the highlights from their 1999 LP ‘Rhythm and Stealth’…

It seems like a brave move allowing the audio to shift back and forth behind the dialogue in each scene but the result here is great.

After the huge success of their first album ‘Leftism’ I remember some of the material from this follow up LP being delivered alongside pretty dramatic visuals like the Afrika Shox video by Chris Cunningham and the Guiness advert featuring Phat Planet. I’m not sure this video achieved such a high profile but in my mind it’s the perfect delivery for the track… different people in different places, each getting down with their own vibe.

Now go find yourself a copy without the dialogue and turn it up loud for that break around the 3.30 mark.

This guy seems comfortable with his style across a range of different scales (some of the aerosol pieces are big!). Check out the clip below to see one of the smaller ones coming together…

Visit his site for more… http://www.aryz.es

Props to Iloobia for the heads up above and big thanks to those of you that are still checking in here from time to time despite the lack of updates.

Posts here may have slowed significantly but there is still a pulse. This game’s not over yet.

This is great in so many ways. Using film footage, a well spoken voice over and some inventive animations, the makers gracefully explain the basics of computer operations. With such developed usability and interface technology there’s little need for an understanding of these fundamentals now days. If however, you’re unfamiliar with these concepts and have ever wondered how the seemingly inanimate object you’re reading this on does what it does then this is an elegant introduction and a great way to discover about the octopus that was doing all the counting inside your favourite 8bit games console.

Via A Kind Of Terminus.

The 11 episodes released so far include parts 1-6 of Skate and Create, parts 1-3 of Graffiti and a couple of brief artist profiles on Swoon and Os Gêmeos…

Visit the site to check out all the episodes so far at…

http://www.wk.com/wke/show/diy/

Written, directed by : Patrick Jean
Director of Photography : Matias Boucard

1923 (aka Heaven) is one of two animation loops directed by Max Hattler, inspired by the work of French outsider artist Augustin Lesage (1876-1954). 1923 is based on Lesage’s painting A symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World 1923.

The second animation loop, 1925 (aka Hell) is based on Lesage’s painting from two years later A symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World 1925.

Thank you Lassi for the tip off on these. Check them out full screen and in HD for maximum effect.

This is to some extent a compressed interpretation of Dan Sicko’s book, Techno Rebels which comes highly recommend if you’re into the subject matter (a revised edition of which is apparently in development although the last update on that appears to have been in April).

Techno and it’s early roots in Detroit are the focus here. Unlike Sicko’s book which I remember as relatively reserved in it’s accounts, this initially suffers a little from the barrage of overwhelming ego’s on parade. There’s some pretty bold and potentially quite questionable statements being thrown around regarding certain individuals views on what techno is and who’s ultimately responsible for it, the kind of conclusions I would prefer to draw later for myself as opposed to being fed as an introduction. Don’t let this put you off though as it’s by no means a deal breaker and easily explained as an inevitable consequence of the level of passion involved.

It’s an informative story on a number of levels. A big highlight for me being the inclusion of academic Jerry Herron with his accounts of the city’s social and economic history of the last 50 years and it’s role in shaping the circumstances and environment in which all this could manifest.

If you’re not a fan of techno I would still suggest you give this a go. You may be pleasantly surprised and if it leads you onto the book, there’s a whole other level of in-depth and worthwhile material to be explored there in regards to creative drive and progression in general.

From Plexifilm…

“HIGH TECH SOUL is the first documentary to tackle the deep roots of techno music alongside the cultural history of Detroit, its birthplace. From the race riots of 1967 to the underground party scene of the late 1980s, Detroit’s economic downturn didn’t stop the invention of a new kind of music that brought international attention to its producers and their hometown.

Featuring in-depth interviews with many of the world’s best exponents of the artform, High Tech Soul focuses on the creators of the genre — Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson — and looks at the relationships and personal struggles behind the music. Artists like Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Eddie Fowlkes and a host of others explain why techno, with its abrasive tones and resonating basslines, could not have come from anywhere but Detroit.”

Here’s something tasteful to fill a half hour gap in your weekend. From the Winter 2004 issue of the long gone and sadly missed ON Video Magazine…

“Few skate spots on earth can claim the notoriety of philadelphia’s love park. its location and design have made it the focal point of east-coast skateboarding. for the first time, ricky oyola, stevie williams, josh kalis, kerry getz, tim o’connor, and a host of local notables tell the tale of this legendary landmark.”

I’m well overdue posting some of Lucy McLauchlan’s beautiful work here. The video below is a few months old now but thanks to a morning spent catching up on various feeds (respect due to Club Mumble on this one), I’m reminded how much I love it…

“A short film directed by Matt Watkins featuring Lucy McLauchlan’s improvised painting process and the harvesting of urban detritus. Tacit was filmed between locations in Birmingham and Walsall Art Gallery.

The soundtrack was composed, performed and recorded by McLauchlan and Watkins with a circuit bent broken radio and a ‘prepared’ piano in the reception of Birmingham’s Custard Factory.”

You can see more of Lucy’s artwork at the Beat13 website

From the BFI website… “Jennifer Baichwal’s award-winning documentary centres on renowned artist Edward Burtynsky whose large-scale photographs portray the devastating impact of industrial expansion on the environment.

Baichwal observes the artist at work amid some of the most surreal landscapes of the 21st century: China’s mountains of computer waste; the Yangtze River where whole towns are disappearing in the flooding caused by the Three Gorges Dam; the shipbreaking yards of Bangladesh; Shanghai, with its increasingly crowded skyline and millions of new inhabitants.

Eschewing polemics, Burtynsky aims simply to bring these landscapes into our consciousness, to provoke reflection on some highly inconvenient truths. Yet Baichwal’s film also exposes a tension between ethics and aesthetics: aren’t these images of apocalyptic splendour just a little too seductive? One thing’s for sure: it’s a terrible beauty that’s born.”

I saw this about a month ago and it blew me away. Although it was filmed back in 2006 it only saw a UK DVD release this week via the British Film Institute so I’ve been resisting the temptation to write this post until now.

Manufactured Landscapes is the most visually stunning documentary I’ve seen in a long time. It seems to have received a little criticism for the lack of any overtly ethical component in it’s narrative but for me that worked out well, providing an opportunity to absorb all the information on offer and consider the ethical connotations for myself once the film was over. As a film about social and economical issues, arguably perhaps it does lack something in addressing it’s ethical responsibility but as a film about a photographer and his work, I think it’s right on point.

I read another review where the author called the film boring (!!) which to me is madness. There’s no doubt this documentary takes it’s time but (in my view) anything else would be inappropriate and fail to do justice to the unquestionable depth and detail of Burtynsky’s work. For me, the combination of relaxed pace and calmly meandering, non didactic narrative was close to perfect. I seriously can’t recommend this enough.

If you’re still not convinced, there’s a well executed New York Times review here from sometime around the films US release date last year.

Finally, here’s a 10 minute compilation of excerpts from youtube…

Short 5 minute documentary behind the scenes of Wax Poetics Magazine. Hat’s off to these guys, nice to see anything with this much integrity continue to grow.

Machine Molle is the Paris based motion and graphic design agency responsible for the crazy good ‘DVNO’ video doing the rounds at the moment. See how many of the visuals you recognise from the last 30 years.

Check their site for various other motion graphics work (the air one is tidy too) alongside some real tasteful Design and Illustration.

website: http://machinemolle.com/

Keep daydreaming about a trip to Japan too, late 2008 / early 2009 I reckon…

Another update over the weekend if I can get enough other stuff done…

There’s been another three projects with the Rarekwai guys; contributing sticker designs for their forthcoming sticker book, editing a 20 minute documentary about HIV/AIDS in kenya as well as editing and post production for an hour long Dubstep documentary due for Japanese DVD release later this year.

He also showed me a short film he’s completed for Ninja Tune artist Max & Harvey’s track ‘Thieves’ from the forthcoming Big Amoeba Sounds album (keep an eye out for this, the album is amazing).

Next up is a documentary co-directed with Brighton writer and philosopher Neil Cantwell about music and religion in Japan which is due to start filing in April.

You can view an animation reel of past projects via the holding page for his new website. If you like what you see, please read on here and help us out…

www.iloobia.com

…he also has an entry in e4’s annual competition to produce stings for their channel. Having made it to the final stage where 28 finalists face a public vote, you can check it out here (it’s the one called Chicken Shaman) and show your support by helping him win. Voting ends at noon on the 29th Feb.

Apostrophe – barnStormers by justryc

Nice huh?

Born in France 1976, Stephane Tartelin start mixing traditional drawings with computer graphics at 15 years old. After 5 years of professional visual communication school, he fulfilled his childhood dream and started working for various video games development studios in Paris.

Operating as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and motion designer since January 2000, he now works for a range of international advertising, broadcast and publishing clients and continues to explore all facets of graphic design, animation, 3D, photography and illustration .

www.tartelin.com

2007 rework of the Depeche Mode original. This track has seen it’s fair share of cover versions including efforts from Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson. This version appears on ‘My Favourite Kind Of Irrelevance 1997-2007‘ on Hydrogen Dukebox, a kind of ‘best of’ collection that draws together choice cuts by Lee Norris under his various aliases. Highly recommended.