Short Film Saturday

Short Film Saturday: Duet (2014)

Posted on by bernardovillela

If this short is eligible for the Oscars this year it has the potential to blow the field out of the water. Less than four minutes in length and I was moved to tears. This is Glen Keane’s first project for Google/Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects Group, Keane has worked as a supervising animator on many Disney films – if you didn’t know that going in it would be evident as you watch the spacial freedom, the journey through time and the metamorphic traditional animation at play.

Short Film Saturday: Howl

Posted on by bernardovillela

There are quite a few reasons to include this short. First, James Franco reads this version of Ginsberg’s “Howl” in this film. As Entertainer of the Year last year things he’s involved with get y attention. However, there’s also the fact that a poem is being artistically rendered as an animated piece in several small sections. The other sections, this is merely part one, and more information on the film can be found here.

Short Film Saturday: Cyrano de Bergerac (1900)

Posted on by bernardovillela

What is often overlooked when the discussion of the end of the silent era is had, or colorization for that matter, is that experiments with both color and sound occurred quite often before technology progressed such that it became a more practical feat.

Many know that quite a few silents were hand tinted, which is to same the color was applied frame-by-frame as desired. However, sound experiments often occurred also. Usually by implementing a technique called sound-on-cylinder. This film is believed to be the first to implement both as a scene from Cyrano de Bergerac plays out.

Short Film Saturday- Action Movie Kid: Going to School

Posted on by bernardovillela

Quite often you find a lot of shorts if you merely follow the right people on Twitter. Here’s the story behind this short, and the series it’s a part of, per Charles Webb:

Some days, you just want to see a toddler skydiving. Or, at least, fake-skydiving in a video created by his animation pro dad.

“Going to School” has you covered. It’s the latest installment of Action Movie Kid, a series of videos from DreamWorks animator Daniel Hashimoto, who’s decided to use his son as the subject of his rapidly growing VFX reel.

Enjoy!

Short Film Saturday: Anastasia Dancing with Czarina and Her Sisters

Posted on by bernardovillela

This is another short I found thanks to Movies Silently. Ever since I learned the tale of the fall of Czarist Russia an the Bolshevik revolution it’s been a story that fascinated me on either side. In the early days of motion pictures documenting real-life was as valuable, if not a more valuable aspect of the new artform. Here’s an example that features many of the Romanov family dancing.

Short Film Saturday: Stapler

Posted on by bernardovillela

I think SNL even aired this once, then it popped up again online not too long ago. Mike Judge’s development of Office Space is not unlike a lot of other works inasmuch as it took a few forms. These shorts were all about Milton. In an animated short, an awkward, oppressed doormat can be the focus. Less so in a feature. So there Milton was a piece of the puzzle but not the centerpiece. It’s still really funny and at the core the same kind of humor that has given the feature its longevity.

Short Film Saturday: Helium

Posted on by bernardovillela

Far too often the Best Short Film nominees at the Oscars are all-too-quickly forgotten. Even here, when I see the films I write of them but rarely bring them back up on Saturdays. Here I wanted to rectify that. I loved Helium best in the Live Action block and it ended up winning. Here were my initial thoughts as posted on Oscar night:

So, so, so, so happy that Helium won. What a gorgeous film that made me cry in its 20 minute run time.

Here’s the film: