Posted on August 17, 2014
Never played World of Warcraft. Never will.
But thank the gods and the hordes of fans who do, giving Blizzard the motivation and the cash to produce head-snapping cinematics like this one for the game’s latest expansion pack called “Warlords of Draenor.”
It seems Garrosh Hellscream has “escaped through the Dark Portal and forged the orc clans of old into a terrifying war machine known as the Iron Horde,” but we all know narrative is not the point – we’re here to get sucked down the rabbit hole of infinite rendering detail, the impeccable lighting, sweeping scale and blazing action. And then watch again.
FYFI: Duncan Jones’ World of Warcraft feature is now in post and due for release in 2016. [Watch]
Posted on August 14, 2014
Buenos Aires advertising CD turned director Jonathan Gurvit first grabbed our attention back in 2010 with his “Hair Conditioner” spot for Santander Bank which went on to win him a Cannes Lion.
This new “Trolls” spot, with killer CG creature work by Laposta in Buenos Aires for outdoor power tool maker Echo and based on a less-than-polite script from agency Cramer Krasselt, continues Gurvit’s quest to grab your attention in 30 seconds using feature-level VFX.
Watch more CG creatures from Gurvit and Laposta including a giant cricket and an in-your-face urban pidgeon. [Watch]
Posted on August 13, 2014
Ticktockrobot director and first-time father, Jun Iwakawa draws on his background in print and graphic design for “Handle With Care,” his rough guide to caring for a newborn baby – an off-kilter mix of dry humor, factual information and an early aughts-inspired aesthetic. [Watch]
Posted on August 12, 2014
Hornet’s Yves Geleyn, who established his animated animal-wrangling skills last Christmas co-directing the blow-out success “The Bear & The Hare,” keeps the charm of that multi-award winning John Lewis spot but slides the technique sideways into hand-crafted wooden puppets for Rice Krispies thru Leo Burnett, London.
Watch Geleyn’s previous adventure with woody puppetry here. [Watch]
More smile-inducing 3D character animation work from Supinfocom students complete with the mandatory manic chase sequence and a scene-stealing narcoleptic ninja Granny. “Escarface” was co-directed by Eva Navaux, Burcu Sankur, Vincent Meunier, Lionel Arnold, Dario Sabato, Pierre Plouzeau. [Watch]
Nexus directing duo Smith & Foulkes swept the film festival circuit and collected an Oscar nom for best animated short when they unleashed “This Way Up,” their 10-minute, CG slapstick ode to death, hell and dogged father/son perseverance back in 2008.
Now online for the first time, the film’s charm proves timeless with insightful character work, masterful dark-comic timing, sombre atmospheric design and a delightful/definitive vision of the underworld. [Watch]
