Thanksgiving Dinner

here's to remembering all of the years sitting around the card table with my siblings at grandma's house, sneaking around the corner to hear what the adults are talking about, eating so many snacks there isn't any room for dinner, and classic cartoon holiday specials. Happy Thanksgiving.

A Tilt Shift Makeover for Colorama

Tilt shift filming and stop motion animation are used to create a fantasy, miniature feel for Colorama. The aesthetic leaves the viewer wondering whether they are looking at some thing real, or is it a model? The question alone does a great job at engaging the audience, and personally - it reminds me of Mr. Rodgers and the land of make believe, the nostalgia alone draws me in.

Colorama - Makeover from Upper First on Vimeo.

project via Upper First

Saturday Night Live Take a Cue From Mad Men

I caught some of last Saturday's SNL with January Jones (Betty Draper) as the host. I felt some of it fell short but this sketch of A Ladies Guide to Party Planning is everything ridiculous i love about housewives, cookbooks, and etiquette from the 50's and 60's.

Logomotion

Last night in class my typography teacher recommended this animated piece as a peak inside the creative process of logo design. Though it doesn't explain the process outright, by drawing comparisons between designs as they transform into each other some of the thought process is ultimately revealed. All trademarks are created by Chermayeff & Geismar.

Augmented Reality for Esquire from Barbarian Group and Psyop

really - now this is what I'm talking about! this seems like the wave of tehe future that the advertising industry has been speculating about for years now.

check out the video for a walk through - can't wait to see more of this!



credits go to the Barbarian Group and Psyop.

Flaming Lips Animated Fight Test from Ka-chew!

I'm missing LA today and thinking of driving and listening to the Flaming Lips with the windows down.

These animated videos are from director Sean Nadeau of Ka-Chew!

The Noir Alphabet

Photographer Julian Hibbard recently put out a book with a sultry take on the Alphabet. Noir A-Z is exactly what the name suggests, a dark and sexy pairing of imagery and letters, A-Z.

Harley Davidson Enlists a Pin Up Girl for Veterans

If you've been to YouTube at all today you've probably noticed the pin up girl inspired salute to the military from Harley Davison in the form of a banner ad. A trip to the Harley website offers more videos, photos, and even a contest for bike riding vets. I'm loving the retro pin up love on this veterans day.

Rock n' Roll Wouldn't Be the Same Without Whisky

Nice use of some bad ass logos, don't you think?

The Defenders

Some people very close to me have recently been affected by the vote against a law supporting gay marriage in Maine last week. The heartbreaking repeal seems unreal but at the same time like more of the same after similar results in California earlier this year.

This video says it all pretty well i think:

Sesame Street Turns 40

Yep, the lovable educational muppet show is 40 and still one of the turn to television programs for children. To celebrate here are some of my all time favorite segments.

yU+co: Cirque du Freak Opening Titles

If you don't know yU+co chances are you do know their work. yU+co is a design company responsible for some of the most memorable title design in television and film, including Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, 27 Dresses and The Day the earth Stood Still, AND also happen to have one of the coolest websites it the biz.

Their latest project for Cirque du Freak combines some of my favorite things at the moment, animation, silhouette, and a cut paper aesthetic.

yU+co: Cirque du Freak // Main Titles from Steve Dilley Design // Archives on Vimeo.

check out this interview on Motionographer for more about the project and the process.

Animated Amazon Kindle Commercial

One of my favorite new commercials on air is this darling, colorful and whimsical stop motion animated commercial for Amazon Kindle. So cute, right? But did you know it was the winner of a commercial contest? That's right not even professionally produced, impressive - the song was even written and performed by the actress in the ad.



Here is some background info from the creator Angela Kohler:

"My boyfriend, Ithyle Griffiths, and I had just purchased Kindles and were doing a lot of traveling when we got the e-mail about the contest. We were constantly approached in airports with questions about them. The best thing about the Kindle was that we no longer had to each pack five books in our luggage, and could pick and choose what book to open every time we boarded a flight. We wanted our commercial to reflect all the different books you can carry around in one device. On a plane from Japan to Thailand, we brainstormed ideas and sketched out little stories that our character could fall into following different literary genres. We scribbled out pictures on napkins and made a flip-book, putting the little scenes in different orders. The day of the shoot, we gutted a pillow to make clouds and smoke (a last-minute addition) and did the commercial in one seven-hour take. Our friend Annie Little starred in the spot, Sharon Williams was in charge of the wardrobe, Rachel DeSimone did the hair and makeup and we all worked together moving the scene inch by inch between shots. After we assembled the 300 or so frames, Ithyle wrote some music to accompany the clip, and that same day Annie sent over some lyrics that just happened to fit perfectly. They recorded it together the next day. We are so thrilled to have won both prizes because it means our film resonates with both Amazon corporate and their customers. We are really looking forward to attending the Gen Art Film Festival, and having our video recognized at the event is definitely icing on the cake."

DJ Hero, Daft Punk, Z-Trip, Jay- Z and Eminem

Awesome! I think this game is genius, DJ Hero going on the Christmas list under the Beatles Rock Band (and I'm so not a gamer.)