Untold Studios Adds Ben Hampshire as Executive Director in Los Angeles Studio
April 28, 2025
Designer/animator/storyteller Eve Weinberg and her Brooklyn studio NeverOddorEven (it’s a palindrome) transforms the dry history of climate science into compelling motion in one of three clips she directed this summer for “Disruption,” a doc sponsored by 350.org.
“The film was intended to do two things: Inform viewers about the science and history of climate change and get people out to the march on Sunday Sept 21st. Now that the march is over, we’ll re-cut the film to make it feature length and distribute it through a channel like Netflix (fingers crossed).” [Watch]
New York design house Gretel rebrands US broadcaster mun2 with a bold, relentless energy “setting firm but flexible guidelines for everything from logo usage, talent photography, iconography, typesetting and animation style.” [Watch]
Partizan director/animator Victor Haegelin follows up the quirky charm of “Professor Kliq” with a more ambitious stop motion project called “Captain 3D.”
The film, which makes beautiful use of 3D-printed replacement facial animation, was shot in August but needs your help to finish the post via this page on crowd funding site Ulule.
[Watch]
Edlyn Capulong recently graduated from the animation program at Sheridan College in Ontario with this short film – a charming mix of 2D animation and miniatures – about “Lucy, who lived in the pines, was once bored out of her mind. But what she would discover, was a thing like no other; an unexpected friend she would find.” [Watch]
Fun variation on the lyric video by Finnish director/animator/illustrator Kalle Kotila based on the work of UK illustrator Jon Boam for TJH87’s new single “Good Life ft. Gamble & Burke.” [Watch]
Just how epic can mineral water get? Pretty freakin’ epic according to this new spot from the all-Paris team of Gang Films and VFX house Digital District for Volvic through Y&R. [Watch]
Mr. Trollbäck and crew untangle the complexities of carbon pricing for We Mean Business, a coalition of companies dedicated to promoting a low-carbon economy. The video, which employs a “minimal graphic language system built on color and iconography” screened before Apple CEO Tim Cook’s presentation at Climate Week in NYC yesterday. [Watch]
Balls-to-the-wall 2D motoring madness from São Paulo animation house Birdo in collaboration with Gabriel Nóbrega from Vetor Zero/Lobo thru Leo Burnett for Fiat “telling stories about good people who transform into evildoers in traffic.” [Watch]
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, 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]
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]
Zena Barakat‘s talent for commissioning touching, thoughtful, low key motion work based on the urban relationship narratives found in The New York Times’ Modern Love column continues uninterrupted with the release of this insightful three-minute piece by director/animator Scott Wenner, aka the CD at motion504 in Minneapolis.
Scott Wenner: “The challenges were the aggressive schedule (approx. 4 weeks total) and finding unexpected ways of complimenting the VO instead of just illustrating it. The biggest challenge was the daunting task of having complete creative freedom: which you always think you want, until someone gives it to you.
“With the days ticking down and panic setting in, I went down multiple roads and had many false starts before finally landing on a look and feel. I even spent some significant time on a photorealistic route until the final cut-down of the audio interview made it clear that it was the wrong direction.” [Watch]
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]
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]
