The Rauch Brothers made this animation that follows a story told by 86-year-old World War II veteran Joseph Robertson who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It concerns his memory of killing a single German soldier.
Author Archives: Editor
Film: Tommy Kane Draws Lebanon
Art Director Tommy Kane went to Lebanon and made a film about his wanderings. He also drew magnificent illustrations of what he saw. Those are in the film too. The combination of the beautiful street scenes and the cheerfully expressive drawings make me want to get on a plane and go visit this stunning country.
I found this via Drawn!
Yellow Cake: Animation About Cause, Effect and 9/11
Nick Cross has made an animation seems to be mainly about 9/11. I’ve read quite a bit of nonsense around the web about this cartoon. Animation blogs that should know better do their best to avoid the brutal politics of the film even though those politics are its entire reason for existing. In fact, I find that most of the animation world on the web is shockingly conservative, embarrassingly non-diverse, and mind-numbingly infatuated with Walt Disney. In this creepy little film the fat cats need the little cakes that the bakers make in their village. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what kind of tiny animal the bakers are supposed to be. Little featherless tweety-birds maybe. Anyway, the fat cats take all the cakes under threat of annihilation and sell them in their city. When the bakers can’t stand the slavery anymore they blow up a house full of fat cats. Then the fat cats become extremely security-conscious and attack the bakers with bombs and slaughter them all. The end.
That’s my description of the film.
I like people who are nasty and drive their anger through their work. This film is off-balance and awkward. It’s unpleasant and crude. Why are the titles off-center? I do respect its attitude and its simple perspective on the reality behind the events of 9/11, but nevertheless it annoys me. Why do animators persist in trying to reproduce the quality of animation from the 1930s? I’d prefer less cute flip-floppiness from the animator. Give me the politics. Leave out the throat lozenge.
How to Save Someone’s Life
Ever wondered just what you’d do if you found someone on the ground unconscious? Here’s what you’d do. CPR. But there’s a new, simpler way to do it that works better than the old way. The video shows you how to do it.
Film: The Wild
This film was made by Franck Deron. On his blog he says that he filmed it without a lens, using a pinhole through some aluminum foil. I’m not exactly sure what that means. I’d be curious to know more about exactly how he set that up. But I like the results. It’s a mysterious and moving film. I watched it with total absorption and the blurry glowing camera work reminds me of old super 8 movie cameras. The director has quite an accomplished list of films he’s made as music videos and promo spots. They are very well shot and edited. But I always like a director’s more personal films, made with no other client in mind than his or her own demanding internal artist. This is just such a film.
I found this on a beautiful web site called The Rumpus.
Picasso Has a Comment for Doomed Publishers, Editors, Bookshops, and Newspapers
We artists are indestructible; even in a prison, or in a concentration camp, I would be almighty in my own world of art, even if I had to paint my pictures with my wet tongue on the dusty floor of my cell.
Pablo Picasso