PostPanic and Fons Schiedon: SBTRKT “NEW DORP. NEW YORK.”

PostPanic director Fons Schiedon’s talent for creating visual calamity takes a darker turn in this CG music promo for the first single from Wonder Where We Land, the new album from UK producer SBTRKT.

Fons Schiedon: “The music has a tremendous dark undertone and a sort of untouchable quality. It pushes on with force, but at the same time remains mysterious and illusive. I wanted to reflect that in the visual direction, which is moody and noir, but also quite synthetic.

“It’s unapologetic about being a digital representation. We refer to elements from the New York area and cultural lexicon, but have them appear quite isolated and reduced, as if observed by alien eyes. There is a gradual shift of focus embedded in the visual direction that aligns with the change of the creature.

“The creature is shown in silhouette for more than half of the video. We only have him step into the light halfway through, which gives him a certain power and triggers a sequence that is at first bold and aggressive, but ends in tranquility.” [Watch]

Lee Minhyung: AIAIAI “Seeing the Sound”

Lee Minhyung, a student at VDAS in South Korea, creates an ambitious and exhilarating integrated brand design assignment inspired by Copenhagen audio design company AIAIAI. “I was motivated by AIAIAI’s identity that has Scandinavian design foundation and their philosophy that delivers value far beyond trends.

“Focusing on finding an expression between AIAIAI’s design values that represent the visual and the essence of the company that is producing audio products, I made the slogan; SEEING THE SOUND, and I created integrated brand designs such as webpage, mobile app, and posters to extend the slogan’s use-case.” [Watch]

FirstDirect MPC Dom&Nic | STASH MAGAZINE

MPC: More “Unexpected” Critters for First Direct

Outsider directors Dom & Nic re-team with MPC for more fun with CG fauna (a frill-necked lizard and his tarsier housemate) in this follow up to last year’s brilliant “Platypus” spot for UK bank first direct. [Watch]

Preview Stash 107: Released this Week

Issue 107 adds another 1.5 hours of inspiration and insight to the Stash Permanent Collection of over 4,000 outstanding animation, VFX and motion design projects including behind the scenes features and exclusive interviews with the talent behind the brilliance. [Watch]

Sony Popeye | STASH MAGAZINE

Genndy Tartakovsky: Popeye Animation Test

Director Genndy Tartakovsky‘s animation test for Sony’s upcoming Popeye feature pushes the physical comedy he brought to Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory and Hotel Transylvania to a crazy new level with some of the snappiest timing and extreme exaggeration since Tex Avery.

Tartakovsky’s revealing intro and the BTS scenes of him cracking up his team as he narrates animatics are also well worth your time. [Watch]

ATYP and Analog: Toyota FCV “Turning Point”

More of a pre-lobbying volley for hydrogen-powered vehicles than a proper automotive spot, this all-CG work for the new Toyota FCV (the world’s first production car to run on a hydrogen fuel cell) was directed by ATYP in Brighton with post and animation handled by London’s current go-to shop, Analog.

ATYP: “The brief called for simplicity, elegance, and sophistication whilst ensuring a palpable sense of a human hand in the visual storytelling. This felt like an incredibly refreshing and inventive way of marketing a new car.

“Our response was to craft a rich visual journey that breathes life into the film’s dialogue in a variety of visual ways, whilst maintaing a seamless flow and coherent aesthetic.

“The line was used as a repeat motif and the visual element that leads us through the film. Beginning with the carbon line representing our current use of archaic fossil fuels, through the crumbling carbon city until it is finally reborn as the blue ‘hydrogen paved highway’; Toyota’s vision for the future of car propulsion.”

More about the Toyota FCV here. [Watch]