A very fine take on politics, ambition, and power. Reminds me of a Churchill quote: “Their insatiable lust for power is only equaled by their incurable impotence in exercising it.” An enjoyable three minutes of your day, made better by some public domain classical music.
I certainly could never have anticipated, upon reading the title of this short Vimeo submission, that three and half minutes could be so simple, engrossing and disturbing at the same time. At once a seemingly upbeat soundtrack yet searing indictment of the treatment of the working-class.
I was pleasantly surprised at the execution of the animation and at having to endure a sense of pathos at the end. Who says poignant messages can't be wrapped in an animated film the length of a pop song?
Three amazing examples of how the Canon 5D has helped to bring brilliant video, by creative minds, through a compelling website to my desktop and to my eyes. I remember, as a child, wondering in awe at travel magazines of exotic places. Now the web has taken its place, but not through grainy, jumpy, family shot video. Instead, it's become HD to me. And the attractions have never been greater.
couresy vimeo.com and www.nicouthe.de
This beautiful animation on the devolution of the world's economy through the life cycle of a newspaper press has become my re-watch of the weekend. A stark visual metaphor about the global financial crisis seemingly spawned by an Economist headline from a couple of years ago: WORLD ON THE EDGE.
Examining the role of media in perpetuating self-fulfilling prophecy, one wonders if news networks ever came on the air and said: "Meteor about to hit the earth in a week - Humanity Finished", would such a proclamation spawn the end of society as we know it WITHOUT a meteor actually existing.
Reflections on the power of media and the importance of keeping it in the hands of the people and never out of reach.
In what may be the coolest and most surreal superhero short story of your life, Salesman Pete is yet another effort found through the amazing community at Vimeo. I somehow don't feel I've done my job if I haven't provided an animated timesuck for your workday blahs at least once a week.
Truly bizarre, engrossing and entertaining. From the Vimeo website:
"Pete is a nice and clumsy salesman. But he's also a deadly super secret agent with a microprocessor implanted into his brain by some mad scientists from the governement ! He has to secretly stop a bunch of badguys who stole a magic stone that can change anything into seafood!"
Great action, style and attention to detail. Definitely worth half a coffee break.
I'm convinced that the love I garnered for tragicomedy and existential storytelling while doing English and Dramatic Arts degrees has been reborn via animation on Vimeo. Not a week goes by that I don't find simple, yet incredibly effective pieces of bizarre, surreal, and often touching pieces of storytelling that extend far beyond most feature length films.
Umbra is yet another example on Vimeo where even the simplest concept, when shaped to a spiral, is genuine and thought-provoking. Thanks to Malcolm Sutherland and team for a unique 5 minute slice of Lemmings for Godot.
I'm certainly not an aficionado of electronica. I kind of like most of it, but it rarely blows me away. This much is true in the soundtrack to inter // states video by Woob. The video however, is something to behold. Absolutely beautiful. I almost want to mashup some old Philip Glass below it and chant Koyaanisqatsi. A beautiful job by Samuel Cockedey. Check it out in HD fullscreen: awesome!
When music doesn't end at instruments, and everything around you can be played, what might you end up with if you let creativity run wild? A really cool merging of audio, video and, of course, Vimeo.
This audio/video exploration called "Quad Time" by The Joy of Box does rely heavily on digital loop technology, but there has to be some leeway for three guys making tunes in such a unique way.
I really dug it and maybe when you have enough time to kick back and relax for about 7 minutes, you can dig it too.
I like sharing some of the great work I find at Vimeo.com, especially when I find something short that I know you can't get fired for watching at work. Here's another animated gem called "dilla" about an armadillo who is hounded until receiving poetic justice in under 3 minutes.
Yet another great reason to check out Vimeo yourself, or, if you like waiting for my picks, that's cool too.
A fantastic two minutes of film called Ghost by Marco Brambilla that is supposed to represent "än investigation into the obsessive behavior of the public eye and it's lingering effects on those chased and caught by it."
I'll leave to you as to whether it succeeds on that score, but I will say that the result is gripping, stylish, and tragic in 120 seconds. Another great find at Vimeo - much more pleasurable to wade through than YouTube.