Lacoste Live - Unconventional talent from Julien Vallée on Vimeo.

Lacoste asked me to create an installation piece for the Unconventional talent series.

More informations & details
lacoste.com/live/usa/julien-vallee

Year Zero - OFFF Barcelona 2011 Main Titles from PostPanic on Vimeo.

Following in the footsteps of Prologue Films and The Mill, PostPanic have created this year’s prestigious opening titles ‘Year Zero’ for OFFF Festival 2011 in Barcelona offf.ws/bcn2011/

Written by Mischa Rozema and British graphic designer, Si Scott, the opening titles reflect their dark thoughts on a possible future. Directed by Mischa and shot on location in Prague, the film guides the viewer through a grim scenario embedded with the names of artists appearing at this year’s OFFF festival. The live action was brought back to Amsterdam for post, primarily carried out by PostPanic’s in-house team of artists but also with the additional help of freelancers and partner companies that we have enjoyed strong creative relationships with over the years. It’s really fair to say that this was a labour of love by a passionate crew of people.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES (By Mischa Rozema)

This project started out as a collaboration between myself and Si Scott. Right from the start, we decided that it should be the darkest thing we could make. I think it just felt natural to the both of us; if we had to nail the future, it would not be a nice place.

This idea evolved into a clash of times. Inspired by an idea from the late Arthur C. Clarke. He wrote about different historical civilizations meeting in a single point in time. So what happens when civilizations meet? The ‘weaker’ one gets eaten by the ‘stronger’. You only have to look at history to see the destructive power of civilizations.

So the main underlying idea is: what would happen if the future lands on our doorstep today? Let’s take mankind, add perhaps 100 years and then let them show up on our doorstep today. The future would pretty much devour the present. Probably in a matter of, let’s say, 7 days… So that’s what we’re looking at. But every ending also means a new beginning, hence Year Zero.

There’s all kinds of hidden messages in there. Like the virus eating away at reality, buildings and people, even at the viewers brain. It’s behaving off course much like a computer virus. And the network of wires represents the future of social networking. I just made it physical and let it ‘catch’ the city and it’s people like a net. All these ideas just serve as inspiration for us to create a future that worked for this concept. They’re not meant to be deciphered by the audience. It’s still meant to be just a title sequence and not an actual movie.

Now what makes a good title sequence? Personally, I think it’s something that gets you in the mood, warms you up for what you’re about to experience, be it a film, tv series or in our case, the OFFF festival. We decided to treat the OFFF festival as a feature film experience. So all we had to do was get the viewer into the right state of mind. Without, of course, being too narrative led. The best title sequences out there are nothing but a random collection of images/scenes that don’t tell a lot if you watch them on their own. But edit them together and a new context is created. A context that matters, a feeling that gets the viewer ready for the main event, in our case, the festival.

To get started, the next thing we did was make a collection of ideas that would scare me and Si. So, anything drawn from our youth, right through to stuff that’s inspired us over the years as well as seemingly random compositions that trigger the imagination of the viewer. For example, when we show you the aesthetics of a car explosion, it’s carefully constructed. Why a car and not something else? Because an exploding car brings extra content to an otherwise simple aesthetic display of violence. A car doesn’t explode by itself so instantly the brain tries to formulate the background behind it. It adds an either political or criminal edge to the violence. To me it felt appropriate because of the sense of protest and rebellion the shot has. And maybe the biggest question; was there someone in the car and if so, who was it? For me, every idea should provoke these kind of questions; from a girl in a prom dress holding a rocket launcher to a riot cop standing in the kitchen. All scenes have a pre and post story to them. In no time you’re actually trying to connect these seemingly random scenes and boom; you’ve just created your own strange context. You now have a feeling, a taste and lots of questions probably. Questions that normally would be answered by watching the actual movie. But since there’s no actual movie here we’ll leave stranded with, hopefully, an uncomfortable feeling and lots of questions - some might feel unsatisfied and wondering why. Just like a nightmare.

We also wanted the actual titles to be different this time. Most of the time festival titles are driven by the idea on how to show titles. A mechanism that displays titles in a creative way. We actually thought to bring the festival theme to the foreground and have the titles play a part in it. Incorporate them so they become the actual fiber/texture of the piece itself. Practically I still think it’s nice that the viewer has to actively look for the names and not get too comfortable. Even if it means to see it a couple of times which surely is the best we can aim for as a free project ; )

How about the shoot? Well, prior to Prague we created more than 50 ideas I could play with. This was always the intention. Go out shooting with a tiny crew, acting like we’re still in art school and be open for anything that might happen. That’s why we shot everything on 2 Canon 5D’s (that and having no budget off course). This was a really nice change for me. Normally I prepare commercial shoots to the very last detail and there’s a lot more people involved. Savage helped us out big time in Prague. We also had some bad news. Due to his back problems Si Scott had to abandon the project and couldn’t join the shoot.

When we came back from Prague I started editing straight away and soon came to the conclusion we had about 60 vfx shots to work on and no budget and increasingly less time. Remember that this project was a side dish for PostPanic, we had to work on commissioned jobs also. But everybody involved soon fell in love with the project, including STORM Postproduction who are our neighbors (luckily for us).

In the mean time we received the title list. It had about 70 names on it! That’s when I found out that the dynamics I wanted to use would probably not work. Just too many names that would make the piece too long to just show random images. So in the plane towards Prague I thought of bringing in a tiny bit of narrative. Which turned out to be the beginning of the sequence (1st act). I wrote in a lead character that would relate to the viewer.

The idea was to trick the audience into thinking they’re watching some kind of documentary. We basically follow a guy going home. Bit by bit his environment gets stranger and more uncomfortable to watch. Is he living in a war zone? Slowly the background takes over and the piece changes into an urban nightmare. And like a nightmare, the story/edit doesn’t always make sense but makes you feel really uncomfortable. I also wanted the viewer to experience the nightmare. That’s where the dark matter comes in. Dark matter is what I call the macro shot bits. Flashes that derail your train of thought like there’s something eating away at your brain as you try to make sense of the nightmare. I wanted the viewer to go nuts, alongside with the cast. Erase the line between nightmare and reality. The end result is something you won’t come across easily on your tv. And is also just another fun way to do titles.

The sound design and music made by Hecq added a lot to the feel and scale of the film. It clearly divides the 3 acts (1st act: up to execution, 2nd from execution, 3rd final shot) and makes completely different ideas and scenes feel coherent. It also emphasizes the dynamics of the film and brings the much needed pace at the end. It’s been great working with Ben. We’ve been surfing the same wave length throughout the project.

Finally I want to thank everyone involved for making these titles possible. For creating something out of nothing. For showing so much love for something as dark as this.

CREDITS


Directed by Mischa Rozema
Story by Mischa Rozema & Si Scott
Production Company: PostPanic
Executive Producers: Jules Tervoort, Ania Markham
DoP: Jiri Malek, Mischa Rozema
Music & Sound Design: Hecq
Senior Producer: Annejes van Liempd
Production Assistant: Jacinta Ramaker
Production Designer: Roland Mylanus, Nicole Nieuwenhuis
Editor: Mischa Rozema

Prague Cast:
Main Hero: Vladan Bláha
Grafitti Guy: Tom Malar
Main Hero Sister: Katerina Galova

Post-Production: PostPanic
CG Supervisor: Ivor Goldberg
VFX Supervisor: Chris Staves
3D Artists: Jeroen Aerts, Matthijs Joor, Jurriën Boogert, Marnix Reckman, Adam Janeczek
2D Artist: Erwin van den IJssel
3D Interns: Cara To, Xander Clerckx
2D Interns: Mathijs Luijten, Per Westholm
Compositing: Chris Staves, Ivor Goldberg, Adam Janeczek, Matthijs Joor
Graphic Designs: Si Scott
Additional Graffiti Elements: Florian Stumpe
Matte Painting: Wieger Poutsma
Additional 3D and Compositing: Storm PostProduction

Production (Prague) by Savage:
Executive Producer: Klara Kralickova, Pavla Burgetova Callegari
Producer: Michaela Berkova
Production Assistant: Vojta Ruzicka
Prop master: Jan Fiala
Location Scout & Management: Petr Bastar, Adam Fuchs
Location: CREVISTON, a.s.
Tattoos made by: Wowa tattoo prague

About OFFF Festival 2011

OFFF is an entity in continuous transformation, alive and evolutionary. More than a decade ago, it was born as a post-digital culture festival; a meeting place to host contemporary creation through an in depth program of conferences, workshops and performances by the most relevant artists of our time.

These days, OFFF keeps being a reference event throughout the world. A festival hosted in Barcelona, New York, Lisbon and Paris which has featured renowned artists such as Joshua Davis, Stefan Sagmeister, John Maeda, Neville Brody, Kyle Cooper, The Mill, Digital Kitchen, Ben Fry & Casey Reas, Golan Levin, Chris Milk, Rob Chiu, Julien Vallée, Paula Scher, Rick Poynor, Erik Spiekermann, Dvein, Erik Natzke, Vincent Moon, Ze Frank, Alex Trochut, among others…The festival where a new generation of artists has originated and developed. All of them started attending OFFF as spectators. Today, they take up its main stage.

The proof that we are soulmates from Emanuele Colombo on Vimeo.

Share this video with your soulmate!

Written by Drake Martinet withdrake.com
Illustration and Animation by Emanuele Colombo emanuelecolombo.it
Music: Monday - Jon Brion

Some week ago I found on Visual.ly this amazing infographic written by Drake Martinet:
visual.ly/proposal-infographic
I asked Drake the permission to realize an animated version, and this is the result.
Hope you like it!

This project does not have any kind of commercial purpose.

MIDNIGHT BARCELONA from Pau García Laita on Vimeo.

A fast, modern look to the city of Barcelona, at night.

Prints available for purchase here: redbubble.com/people/pauglbcn

Directed by Pau García Laita.
paugarcialaita.com
twitter.com/pauglbcn

Music: ‘Starscapes’ by ‘The American Dollar’
facebook.com/theamericandollar
Download a free compilation of 9 of their best tracks here: tinyurl.com/freeAMD
119 Song Discography in Any Format just $20 @ bit.ly/XiwDFs

Special thanks to:
Hotel Princess Barcelona (/hotelbarcelonaprincess.com)
Arenas de Barcelona (arenasdebarcelona.com)
Fundació Catalunya - LaPedrera (lapedrera.com)
Hotel PortaFira (hotelbarcelonaportafira.com)

Camera/Lens:
Canon 550D
Sigma10-20mm 3.5
Canon 18-135mm
Canon 50mm 1.8 II
Samyang 8mm

For any questions about the workflow: audiovisualmeans.tumblr.com/post/48691562047/midnight-barcelona

Dame TV (Refresh) from José JFa on Vimeo.

Open para el programa Dame TV
Modelado 3D: Adrian Espindola.
Diseño y Animación: José JFa
behance.net/gallery/Dame-TV-(Refresh)/7759455

New York Day from motionkicker on Vimeo.

Please go to the Kickstarter project page and help support a longer version of this short film

kickstarter.com/projects/motionkicker/new-york-year

I shot this film over 4 trips to NYC 2011-2012. The time-lapse sequences you see here were made (mostly) from hundreds of thousands of still images. A Canon 7D and T3i were the main cameras, with backup from a couple of older Nikon Coolpix 5000 point and shooters. A few clips are sped-up video.

Many thanks to the generosity of the musician/composer who allowed his great celtic track “Sawjig” to be used;
Ben Rusch aka Jasmine Brunch
benrusch.com
jasminebrunch.com

For more info on this and other projects;
motionkicker.com
twitter.com/motionkicker

7x3m Modus cover from Soon on Vimeo.

Modus is the membership magazine for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is the UK’s highest-circulation property-related B2B title, mailed 10 times a year to more than 95,000 chartered surveyors. There are also quarterly editions for Asia and the Americas. Modus focuses on the ‘bigger picture’, and employs a bold mix of photography, illustration and typography. We were commissioned to make the cover in chalk for the march Learning issue.

Creative director: Jim Van Raemdonck (BE)
Graphic Design & Typography: Phoebe De Corte (BE) & Lee Skinner (GB)
Chalk Drawers: Phoebe De Corte (BE), Lee Skinner (GB), Lucie Muchovičová (CZ), Bi Schutte (BE) and Silke Vermassen (BE)
Film, Photography + Montage: Romain Menke(BE)
Music: Laura Aerts(BE)

The Me Bird from 18bis on Vimeo.

The short film “The Me Bird” is a free interpretation of the homonym poem by Pablo Neruda. The inspiration in the strata stencil technique helps conceptualize the repetition of layers as the past of our movements and actions. The frames depicted as jail and the past as a burden serve as the background for the story of a ballerina on a journey towards freedom. A diversified artistic experimentation recreates the tempest that connects bird and dancer.

18bis.tv
facebook.com/18bis
Watch the making of: vimeo.com/60860949

//

O curta The Me Bird é uma livre interpretação do poema homônimo de Pablo Neruda. A inspiração na técnica strata stencil ajuda a conceituar a repetição de camadas como o passado de nossos movimentos e ações. As molduras como jaula e o passado como fardo servem de pano de fundo para a história de uma bailarina em sua jornada rumo à liberdade. Através de variada experimentação artística, recria-se a tormenta que conecta pássaro e dançarina.

I am the Pablo Bird,
bird of a single feather,
a flier in the clear shadow
and obscure clarity,
my wings are unseen,
my ears resound
when I walk among the trees
or beneath the tombstones
like an unlucky umbrella
or a naked sword,
stretched like a bow
or round like a grape,
I fly on and on not knowing,
wounded in the dark night,
who is waiting for me,
who does not want my song,
who desires my death,
who will not know I’m arriving
and will not come to subdue me,
to bleed me, to twist me,
or to kiss my clothes,
torn by the shrieking wind.

That’s why I come and go,
fly and don’t fly but sing:
I am the furious bird
of the calm storm.

Pablo Neruda

Samsung Galaxy S III & Note from Poettier on Vimeo.

Stardust from PostPanic on Vimeo.

PostPanic director Mischa Rozema’s new short film, Stardust, is a story about Voyager 1 (the unmanned spacecraft launched in 1977 to explore the outer solar system). The probe is the furthest man-made object from the sun and witnesses unimaginable beauty and destruction. The film was triggered by the death of Dutch graphic designer Arjan Groot, who died aged 39 on 16th July 2011 from cancer.

The entire team at PostPanic (the Amsterdam-based creative company) pushed themselves in their own creative post techniques to produce a primarily CG short film crafted with love.

The film’s story centers on the idea that in the grand scheme of the universe, nothing is ever wasted and it finds comfort in us all essentially being Stardust ourselves. Voyager represents the memories of our loved ones and lives that will never disappear.

From a creative standpoint, Rozema wanted to explore our preconceived perceptions of how the universe appears which are fed to us by existing imagery from sources such NASA or even sci-fi films. By creating a generated universe, Rozema was able to take his own ‘camera’ to other angles and places within the cosmos.
Objects and experiences we are visually familiar with are looked at from a different point of view. For example, standing on the surface of the sun looking upwards or witnessing the death and birth of a star  - not at all scientifically correct but instead a purely artistic interpretation of such events.

Rozema says, ‘I wanted to show the universe as a beautiful but also destructive place. It’s somewhere we all have to find our place within. As a director, making Stardust was a very personal experience but it’s not intended to be a personal film and I would want people to attach their own meanings to the film so that they can also find comfort based on their own histories and lives.’

Rozema turned to his regular audio partner, Guy Amitai, to create the music for the film. ‘I approached Guy to make the music because I trust him and knew he would instinctively understand what I wanted to communicate with this film.’  Their long-term collaboration over the years helped them explore different musical approaches before finally settling on a musical journey featuring analogue instruments. Amitai explains, ‘Once we started working on this project and I told people about Stardust and what Arjan meant to us all, the offers started pouring in. Musician friends and friends-of-friends all wanting to join in and record even the smallest parts. It was an incredibly emotional and personal journey for us all - not something you can professionally detach yourself from.’

Credits:

A PostPanic Production

Written & directed by Mischa Rozema

Produced by Jules Tervoort

VFX Supervisor: Ivor Goldberg
Associate VFX Supervisor: Chris Staves
Senior digital artists: Matthijs Joor, Jeroen Aerts
Digital artists: Marti Pujol, Silke Finger, Mariusz Kolodziejczak, Dieuwer Feldbrugge, Cara To, Jurriën Boogert
Camera & edit: Mischa Rozema
Production: Ania Markham, Annejes van Liempd

Music composition & sound design: Guy Amitai, Pivot Audio
Vocals: Ruben Samama
Flute, alto flute: Noor Kamerbeek
Clarinet, bass-clarinet: Jay Rattman
Bass saxophone, drums: Greg Ritchie
Cello: Amber Docters van Leeuwen

copyright 2013 Post Panic BV