FJORG! Winner

Here is the winner of this year's FJORG! contest at Siggraph:



For those of you who aren't sure what FJORG! is, here is the description from the Siggraph site:

SIGGRAPH 2007 officials, along with DreamWorks Animation, HP, and AMD, announced the winners of the world's first international FJORG! Competition - an "iron animator" event in which 16 competing teams from around the world had 32 hours to create the most impressive character-driven animation of at least 15 seconds in length adhering to at least one of two themes and using at least one of 16 sound bites.

Based on storytelling, animation talent, use of resources, creativity, and technical skills, the judges selected Team Mocap from Bowling Green State University for their animation "Switch" as the first place winners. The team consists of Jim Levasseur, Tomas Jech, and W. Jacob Gardner. Picture This, a team from Miami International University of Art & Design came in second place and Impulse, from The Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg, won third place.

For a complete list of particpants, and their entries, hit the link below.

The Link Below

The Animator and the Seat

Another fine short animation.



I would have totally started making out with the chair. I mean... I'm not really into the whole "chair thing," but come on... that chair is hot!

As with the previous post, you can hit the link below for high-res versions of the film.

Eric Drobile's Website

Down on the Farm

Really nice little short film.



If I were the frog, I would have totally hung out and ate butt flies off of the cow until I was too fat to walk.

I heart butt flies.

For high-res versions of the film, go check out the official site below.

Down on the Farm Official Site

Red and Boxbot Responds

This is darn spiffy:



"Red and Boxbot Responds" was done by two guys in 48 hours during the 48h 3D jam 2007 in Stuttgart. Everything from boards, design to modelling, animation and shading.

In short: We had nothing when we started, and had everything when we finished.
However being aware of some of the few and minor flaws of the story and a couple of the shots, we got together 2 evenings to make the final polish.

Furthermore we have been gifted with an original score, done by René Brokop.

The most I've ever accomplished in 48 hours was the two days I spent trying to eat a King Size bag of peanut M&Ms. After several attempts, I realized it might be easier to open the bag and eat them individually, but by then it was too late.

Thanks... I'll be here all week.

Bye Bye

Great little short from Animation Mentor grad, Mario Pochat called, "Bye Bye."



This is my daily phantasy as I try to upload thing to my blog from my mechanical typewriter as the guy behind me uses his fancy computer machine.

Bye Bye Short Film

The Brontosaur Theory

It's like "Who's On First?" but with more dinosaurs!

Made me laugh, but then again... that's not saying much.

The 11 Second Club

I'm not sure if anyone remembers "The 10 Second Club" or not, but it was basically a monthly animation exercise where folks posted animations based on a monthly audio clip provided by the site, and then members voted on the best one. It was a great site, and many were sad to see it go. However, thanks to some awesome alumni of the Animation Mentor School, there is now a a brand new animation club, and as the logo says, "This one goes to eleven."



I encourage all of you who may be professional animators, aspiring animators, or just fans of animation to swing by and have a look. I just signed up today, so you may just see my stuff on there in the near future.

Of course... you may also seem some good stuff too.

The 11 Second Club

Mortimer and Bracket

I'm always blown away when one person can pull off a short of this quality:

Simply outstanding from start to finish!

Andrew Chesworth's Website

Insight

Another fine short film has hit the interwebs in the form of "Insight" by Salvador Simo.



While somewhat predictable, the film is still quite charming and well animated. I will say that the little girl's giant eyes sort of freaked me out, and I think the homeless woman keeps her alley really clean.

Insight Short Film

Salvador Simo's Website

Cycle

A nice, and somewhat creepy, short film called "Cycle."



Created by Guy Bar'Ely, the film is well animated, and has a great overall look and mood. I especially like how Guy (a current New York resident) captured the look and feel of the NY Subway, right down to the orange and yellow seats.

I can almost smell the urine.

Cycle Short Film

Guy Bar'Ely's Website

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A Tale of Rock

Here's a really nice little animation called "A Tale of Rock."

Remember that scene in "Crossroads" where the Karate Kid plays guitar against the Devil? This is sort of like that, only with a dinosaur and ZZ Top looking on in the background.

Good stuff.

Sam and Piccolo

A trailer is up for the independent animated film, "Sam and Piccolo."



To be completely honest, the trailer really isn't great. I'm not saying the film won't be, I'm saying that the trailer is constructed in a manner that just confuses the hell out of the viewer. I know there is a man in the film, and he lives with a strange orange creature, and I'm pretty sure they're farming some type of illegal drug. Then a dog appears in the bush outside their house and the orange thing cuts its hand and they lose something.

The synopsis on the official website doesn't help clear things up either:

Sam and Piccolo have always been friends. They live in an isolated valley where every day they work the land together, but when Piccolo discovers a trick to make his favourite treat grow in plenty, he is overcome by something that threatens their very existence.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this was also an episode of "Breaking Bonaduce."

The trailer does look promising and quite impressive for an independent, so if you have a moment, swing by and have a look.

Sam and Piccolo Website

RE-Animation Blog

The Official Breaking Bonaduce Website