Shutter.Stutter

Wow, I didn’t know Sydney has one of these. It seems pretty underground, even though UTS is holding it, so we should all go along and support!

Date: Saturyday 5th and 6th September
Time: 11am till late
Tickets from Moshtix

Due for release in March 2010. Do these look AWESOME or WHAT? So excited.

19 year old Canberra-born Mia Wasikowska will play Alice.

Mary and Max, from the genius mind of director Adam Elliot (Harvie Krumpet), will be released in Australia on April 9th. Yippee!

“Mary and Max is a simple tale pf pen-friendship between two very different people; Mary Dinkie, a chubby lonely 8 year old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz, a 44 year old, severely obese Jewish man Asperger’s Syndrom living in the chaos of New York.

“Spanning twenty years and two continents, Mary and Max’s friendship survives more than the average diet of life’s ups and downs. Like Harvie Krumpet, Mary and Max is innocent but not naive, as it takes us on a journey that explore friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, sexual difference, trust, copulating dogs, religious difference, agrophobia and much much more.”

Phew!

I love claymations. I don’t know whether it’s the stuttering effect or the raw texture of the clay, but claymations almost always look like they are a labour of love. I mean, this is logical, as the whole process is rather tedious.

I’ve gathered an edited list of my favourite claymations. Enjoy!

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Top pick is Harvey Krumpet, from Aussie director Adam Elliot. It won a very deserved Academy Award in 2003, and what do you know? YouTube just happens to have the entire film online.

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Also in 2003, British indie TV network ITV made a series of short filmes called Creature Comforts, which were claymations of animals to the soundtrack of real life interviews. It’s an absolute hoot, impeccably timed and very very cute.

This episode is about self image.

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I saw the Canadian short Madame Tutli-Putli at the 2007 San Francisco Animation Festival, and was blown away by it’s sheer atmospheric beauty. You could easily draw similarities to The Nightmare Before Christmas, even though the colour pallet is on the other end of the spectrum.

The 17min animation took four yeas to make, probably because real eyeballs were superimposed frame by frame onto the clay figurine in post production, giving the character a sense of unsettling realness.

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Speaking of The Nightmare, director Henry Selick has a new project due for completion Feb 2009. Coraline is an adaptation of a 2002 novella by brit Neil Gaiman. It’s an Alice in Wonderland-esq story of fantasy and horror.

Young Coraline discovered a parrallel world which mirrors her own life, where everything seems to be perfect. But perfection always comes at a price.

I can’t wait for this to come out! for more vids, click over to the official website, and type in any of these passwords. Each password will show you a different clip.

stopmotion | mustachio | puppetlover | armpithair | sweaterxxs | buttoneyes

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For those who want a bit more serious, try The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato’s Allegory in Clay. This is featured on Portable Film Festival - lots of good shorts and a great little site for wasting time.

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I have to throw these last two in because I loved watching them as a kid. Gumby and Pingu. Ah, good memories.

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Okay so, unrelated, but there’s going to be a The Legend of Zelda film. I was really excited… then I watched the trailer. It looks like a really bad low budget production, with unconvincing leads and terrible sets, costumes, sfx and cinematography. I couldn’t even sit through the trailer.

I know what you’re thinking - what’s with the ears?! And they need to recast Princess Zelda.

I’m a t-shirt hog. I love kooky/nerdy designs, and Threadless has been a good source for my obsession. And they’re having a sale! Hurrah for $5 tees!

This is what I’m getting:

And this one’s for my sister, as it’s just too cute.

Then, in a round about way, I found this little motion graphics piece which I think is great. I like the raw low budget feel, and how appropriate it is to the breif. I’m very over the slick, meaningless motion pieces that are around.

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread. This is one movie that I’ve been waiting a long time for.

I bought the book a few years back, intending it as a present for my sister, but really because I fell in love with the beautiful illustrations. Plus, she was already in the Twilight stage and didn’t really enjoy it. It’s a magical story, with heroes and villains that are equally likable.

This Universal Picture production, although in 3D, seems to retain the essence of the book. I don’t understand the current general obsession with 3D animation. What ever happened to the good old pen and ink 2D? I think it does an equally good job in telling the story, sometimes better.

Chivalry! Courage! Honour!

Youtube linked me to this new animated movie by Disney, Bolt. I think it’s a good example of animation completely missing the mark. When will they stop making bloody no-brainer movies about dogs?!