Since the emergence and success of our animation department I have been patiently waiting for the opportunity to do some hand drawn animation. The relationship between an illustrator’s pencil and her paper cannot be replicated purely in the digital. Something magical and evocative happens in the space between a talented illustrator’s hand, her tool of choice and the paper. This project Drift by Daniel Sousa is an example of the best of both worlds. These wonderful dimensional fly-through transitions were made in Flash (on a computer) but then each frame was printed out and painted by hand.
Hand drawn animation could be seen as rough but that roughness reflects life. Life is not experienced through a sheet of glass. Life does not touch like plastic. Life is beautifully imperfect. Life walks with both misery and grace. I continue to wait for the right opportunity and a client brave enough to take on this evokative medium.
*WATCH FULL SCREEN* This video is trending right now but I want to thank Candice Valentine for bringing it to my attention.
This video has done just what it set out to do. As of lately I have been lost in TV land where the art of cinema often takes a back seat to twisting plot lines and character development.
One big thing that stood out though is that enough cannot be said about the transformative power of beautifully shot cinema. These shots have changed my life. They have touched my soul. They have taken me to places I couldn’t even imagine existed. They have acted as moral chiropractors realining my being. I may be dramatic in saying this but how dramatic are all these shots? Come on!
Two small things stood out for me while watching this. One is, how many shots were taken from the Baraka series? For the few of you that haven’t seen Baraka click here watch the trailer then rent, buy, beg or steal a copy and watch it. Baraka is one of the greatest cinematic achievements of our time. Secondly, I was part of a film professionals panel at a school this week and I met a nice young girl aspiring to be a cinematographer. My advice to you is to watch all the movies in this video. They will inspire you creatively for the rest of your life.
As an aside after I watched this I thought how lucky Shawn and Nate are to be going up to one of the most beautiful places in BC (the world) with a Red cam next week.
I am in the final stages of the Boom Boom Brazil video. This project has been a serious and rewarding undertaking. I have linked three videos that have influenced the editing of this piece. The first animated video has simply been the theme song to my life since August. I love love love this video. The mystery, style, and fun in this video has made me want to watch it over and over. The pace is obviously slow but why are we inclined to cut everything fast anyways? It is important to just chill sometimes.
One of the reasons I love video so much is because of the power it has to heighten your experience of life through good storytelling. It can take you somewhere new, make you feel something different or simply make you laugh. The true mark of skilled storytelling is that it makes an impact. Imprints itself on you.
I saw the following video well into editing the Boom Boom Brazil project. Once released you will be able to see the similarities in the travelogue style that the director So-Me and Diplo took. Watching this video next to the first one, it is easy to see how flexible creativity is and how much fun we can have if we let ourselves get free with it.
In September I had the pleasure to spend a couple days with the lovely group of people at Linnea Farms, where I screened the first rough cut of Boom Boom Brazil. While there I met Lesley who recently sent me this video about the Sierre Leone Refugee All Stars. This video has some similarities to what we are doing with the Boom Boom Brazil project as well. She also sent me some great words of encouragement: “In the film world… you can reach many people as you know and it is your choice based on your own inspiration, authenticity and what you want to share.” Thank you Lesley and all the other amazing folks I met up on the magical island of Cortes.