Revolution: The Lifecycle of Water Told in a Stop Motion Pop-Up Book
Revolution is an animated short by photographer Chris Turner, paper engineer Helen Friel and animator Jess Deacon that explores the life cycle of a single drop of water through the pages of an elaborate pop-up book. The book contains nine scenes that were animated using 1,000 photographic stills shot over the course of a year. Via Colossal
Science, Storytelling, and “Gut Churn”: Jad Abumrad on the Secrets of Creative Success
On diving head-first into the unknown. Since 2004, Radiolab has been sparking a singular kind of magic at the intersection of science and storytelling, redefining not only public radio but also the “role of scientific culture in modern society,” to borrow Richard Feynman’s words. In this fantastic talk from The 99% Conference, Radiolab mastermind and MacArthur genius Jad Abumrad takes us behind the scenes … Read more
A Six Year Old’s Imagination Becomes Adorable Viral Short Film
This is just so freaking adorable and happy, I have to share. We all get a little scared sometimes. Scared of graduating school without a plan; scared of monsters. One six year old has a remedy: think of something else until the “nervous has gone out of you.” Think of juice, pizza, and a piano … Read more
Czech Animation Legend Břetislav Pojar Dies at 89
I had the great honor of meeting Mr. Pojar while studying in the Czech Republic last summer. The mechanics of his puppets are stunning and ingenious and his animations heartfelt. I thought that Cartoon Brew had a nice compilation of his work (shown below), so please take a moment and enjoy. One of the giants … Read more
With Kinect, Dancing Is Converted Into Animated Sand
Here’s an amazing video of what dancing looks like when it’s visualized as a dynamic sand sculpture: Artists Daniel Franke and Cedric Kiefer used Kinect to record a dancer’s movements to Machinefabriek’s spooky electronic track “Kreukeltape.” Then, they strung together the images to create a 3-D point cloud of her body in 3ds Max. Made of 22,000 … Read more
Harry Potter and the film-makers’ magic: Incredibly detailed model of Hogwarts Castle used for every film in blockbusting series is revealed for the first time
I had absolutely no idea how big the models were (for Harry Potter) until seeing this article, Wow! Ever since the first Harry Potter novel was released almost 15 years ago, children and adults alike have fantasised about visiting its famous boarding school for wizards and witches. But, as these incredible pictures show, they need to … Read more
Why Movies Like Oscar-Winning ‘Undefeated’ Make Grown Men (and Women) Cry
The newly minted Oscar winner for best documentary, Undefeated, has left many critics gushing—with praise, but also tears. The true-life sports tale follows a struggling high school football team in a poor area of Memphis, Tennessee, whose fortunes begin to turn under the guidance of a devoted and determined coach. The emotional story has reduced folks … Read more
How meditation can reshape our brains (and revisiting neuroplasticity)
I learned some of this at MARC (at UCLA) and found it fascinating. Neuroplasticity is visited in this video. I often post about neuroplasticity and how that concept allows us to understand that we can heal and change our health and wellbeing by changing our brains. Neuroscientist Sara Lazar’s amazing brain scans show meditation can … Read more
Jacob Sutton’s L.E.D. Surfer
A Night-time Snowboarding Short Lights Up the Last of the Winter Snow Fashion photographer and filmmaker Jacob Sutton swaps the studio for the slopes of Tignes in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France, with a luminous after hours short starring Artec pro snowboarder William Hughes. The electrifying film sees Hughes light up the snow-covered French … Read more
Indie Film Created Using Computer Algorithm Changes With Each Screening
By Emma Hutchings Indie film project whiteonwhite:algorithmicnoir by director Eve Sussman and her collaborative team at Rufus Corporation is assembled from thousands of clips of footage, voiceovers and scoring elements, spliced together by a custom-built computer system known as the “serendipity machine.” Edited live in real-time, working from tags assigned by Sussman, the film comes together in a random, ever-changing … Read more
