Digital Movie Festival
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RESFEST’s relentlessly eclectic rock-oriented music video program has never been a place to find traditional performance videos, though this year it does offer one radical retake on that style, in the form of Nima Nourizadeh’s winking, behind-the-scenes parody for Hot Chip’s song of the summer, “Over and Over.” Many of the program’s other videos use sophisticated animation to tell epic, fantastical stories with ambitious themes: Joel Trussell’s “War Photographer” for Jason Forrest, a hilarious animated tale of rival rock and roll Vikings, and Elliott Jokelson and Loyalkaspar’s chalk-and-watercolor video for Pinback’s “Fortress” are both war sagas; meanwhile, Chris Hopewell’s “Marble House” for the Knife, a stop-motion day in the life of a family of mice, and Monkmus’ “Travel Is Dangerous” for Mogwai, a gorgeous, layered story of environmental degradation, both delve deep into the animal world.
AT THE BOTTOM OF EVERYTHING: BRIGHT EYES
USA | 4:00 | 2005 DIRECTOR: CAT SOLEN PRODUCER: CLINT COWAN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JUSTINE SMITH DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JESSE GREEN EDITOR: NICHOLAS WAYMAN-HARRIS RECORD LABEL: SADDLE CREEK TOOLS: 16MM, PAPER, SCISSOR, GLUE; ALL EFFECTS CREATED IN-CAMERA While Conor Oberst sings gleefully about an airplane crash, passengers played by Brady Corbet, Evan Rachel Wood and Terrence Stamp drink booze, make out and dance the pain away. Their performances are intercut with animation depicting the struggle between the crippled aircraft and some overly aggressive clouds, executed with model planes and puppets that director Cat Solen spent four months building. BLANKEST YEAR: NADA SURF
AUSTRIA | 2:08 | 2006 DIRECTORS: KRISTIAN DAVIDEK, VERENA SOLTIZ EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: GÉZA HORVÁT ACTOR: FARIS ENDRES RAHOMA PRE- AND POST-PRODUCTION: SMIKE AKA MATTHIAS SMYCKA, MATTHIAS GUGLER MASTERING: ALEXANDRA BRASCHEL (C’QUENCE), RAPHAEL BARTH CAMERA OPERATORS: MARCO F. ZIMPRICH, AAC, DOMINIK SPRITZENDORFER RECORD LABEL: BARSUK TOOLS:SONY IMX WITH FUJINONA WIDEANGLE LENS, CUSTOMIZED TRYPOT 3-WAY-HEAD SACHTLER WITH CUSTOMMADE PLATFORM FOR OPERATING VIDEO BEAME, AFTER EFFECTS FINAL TOUCH, FINAL CUT PRO VJ SOFTWARE FOR TRIGGERING PROJECTIONS, RESOLUME VJ SOFTWARE, PANASONIC PT- D 5500 E VIDEOBEAMER Using no traditional animation whatsoever, “Blankest Year” shows a white silhouette dancing across apartment buildings, trees, highways and fences to reach his final destination. Directors Kristian Davidek and Verena Soltiz created the effect by recording a real person in studio, walking, skating, climbing, running and surfing, then projecting the images from the back of a moving truck onto the surfaces of the city itself. DRAGONFLIES AND ASTRONAUTS: PARLOTONES
SOUTH AFRICA | 2:56 | 2006 DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY/EDITOR: CLAUDIO PAVAN LABEL: SOVEREIGN ENTERTAINMENT TOOLS: PREMIERE In this 3-D animation for the hit South African band the Parlotones, a beleaguered blue collar worker who is constantly belittled in his everyday life seeks refuge in an imaginary postapocalyptic world which he saves from a scourge of menacing robots.
FESTIVAL: DUNGEN
FINLAND | 4:00 | 2006 DIRECTOR: ZEROH RECORD LABEL: MEMPHIS INDUSTRIES With only two weeks to complete a video that complemented the “lost classic vibe” of Dungen’s hazy folk-psych composition, English collective zeroh looked through its archive for suitable images. They came up with a 3-D set of peacocks, hummingbirds and exotic plants, all hand-drawn, vectorized and constructed, through which the camera whizzes on a sepia-tinted trip. FORTRESS: PINBACK
US | 3:29 | 2005 DIRECTORS: LOYALKASPAR, ELLIOT JOKELSON DESIGNERS/ANIMATORS/ILLUSTRATORS: BEAT BAUDENBACHER, LEAH BEEFERMAN, TAVET GILLSON, JOSH GOODRICH, LAUREN HARTSTONE, TED KOTSAFTIS, CHRIS SMITH PRODUCERS: LINDSAY BODANZA, JONATHAN LIA RECORD LABEL: TOUCH AND GO TOOLS: PHOTOSHOP, ILLUSTRATOR, AFTER EFFECTS, XSI, APPLE POWER MAC G5S, DUAL AMD BOXX PCS Using fragile chalk drawings and sumptuous watercolors, “Fortress” tells a Romeo-and-Juliet story of a prince and princess fall in love, only to be torn apart by sinister forces that conspire against them, leading to an epic battle. JUMBO: JOHN CALE
UK | 3:39 | 2006 DIRECTOR: MINIVEGAS PRODUCER: LUKE TILBURY PRODUCTION COMPANY: INDEPENDENT FILMS RECORD LABEL: EMI Strange Golem-like beasts prowl through an animated forest, eating different plants and creatures, growing fatter and fatter in this animated video nicely suited to its song’s title and themes. The animals’ gluttony culminates with a tribal dance and an even more unexpected physical transformation. KUZAI HEART YOU GIRL: THE SNEAKS
NEW ZEALAND | 2:07 | 2005 DIRECTOR: SHINESTRENGTH! (PHIL JAMES, HSU HAN CHIANG, PHIL KWONG, BEN STEVENS, MELANIE TONKIN, YUMI ICHINOMIYA) LABEL: SOME CONFUSION TOOLS: ASSETS AND ANIMATION IN 3D STUDIO MAX, SOFTIMAGE. EDITING AND COMPOSITING IN AFTER EFFECTS New Zealand directing collective Shine Strength frantically mixes both animation approaches and cultural references, using hand-drawn animation, collage and 3-D to tell a madcap fable involving a robot vending machine, rampaging bunnies, a villainous giant squid and epic warfare – all in two minutes! MARBLE HOUSE: THE KNIFE
UK | 3:46 | 2006 DIRECTOR/EDITOR: CHRIS HOPEWELL PRODUCER: TAMSIN WILEY (TIGGY) DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK CHAMBERLAIN PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: CAT FOLEY ANIMATORS: VIRPI KETTU, DICKEN FRANKLIN, HEATHER SANDS, ADRIANNA MEREILLES GRAPHIC ARTISTS: ALEX KING, HENRY ST LEDGER RECORD LABEL: RABID/MUTE TOOLS: NIKON D100, NIKON CAPTURE, DPS VELOCITY EDITING, AFTER EFFECTS Seeking to “capture the mundanity of daily life and make something with the feel of a short film rather than a pop promo,” Chris Hopewell used astonishingly detailed sets and models to produce this animated depiction of the everyday routine of a family of mice living behind a radiator, which includes eating meals, working in the garden and playing the violin. Recalling both Art Spiegelman and Jan Svankmejer, the video works with the Knife’s soaring electro ballad to evoke a sense of ominous beauty. OVER AND OVER: HOT CHIP
UK | 3:51 | 2006 DIRECTOR: NIMA NOURIZADEH PRODUCER: GRACE BODIE PRODUCTION MANAGER: FIONA MCINTOSH ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: JAMES SHARPE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BEN MOULDEN ART DIRECTOR: JAMIE STIMPSON WARDROBE: JEMIMA PENNY HAIR/MAKEUP: ASTRUD STEEHOLDER RECORD LABEL: DFA/ASTRALWERKS TOOLS: 16MM, OFFLINE ON AVID, ONLINE ON FLAME A hilarious, tongue-in-cheek look at the behind-the-scenes world of music videos, “Over and Over” exposes the artifice of greenscreen shoots, and the mechanisms of manufacturing a pop act from scratch. SILIGURI: MATHIEU BOOGAERTS
FRANCE | 4:16 | 2005 DIRECTOR: OLIVIER BABINET PRODUCER: GREG PANTEIX DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAVIER LUIS GOMEZ PRODUCTION: IRÈNE POST-PRODUCTION: MIKROS EDITOR: CÉCILE MORENO SOUND DESIGN: LAURENT D’HERBECOURT/TRANQUILLE LE CHAT SET DESIGNER: STÉPHANE ROZENBAUM STYLIST: FRED GAMBIER GRAPHISTS: FRED TRIBOLET, DIDIER RICHARTH LABEL: TÔT OU TARD/WARNER TOOLS: SONY DVW 790-WSP, AVID EXPRESS, AFTER EFFECTS In a decidedly Freudian commentary on sexual obsession, singer Mathieu Boogaerts walks all over the seemingly innocent French countryside, yet wherever he goes, he somehow can’t avoid running into female body parts. SOMEDAY YOU WILL BE LOVED: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE START NOW: ALPEN
AUSTRALIA | 3:00 | 2006 DIRECTOR /DESIGNER /DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY /PRODUCER: NELSON ALVES CO-PRODUCERS: JULIE DEPAOLI, CLAIRE MADIOT SOUND DESIGN: DANNY JUMPERTZ PRODUCTION COMPANY: SOPPCOLLECTIVE RECORD LABEL: FERAL MEDIA TOOLS: AFTER EFFECTS, SPEBTOR ANIMAIDE, PHOTOSHOP, ILLUSTRATOR, CANON S80, APPLE POWERBOOK In this stop-motion piece, a man puts down his Game Boy, gets dressed, packs a suitcase and leaves the house. While he’s experiencing the world, we see him experiencing the world, from a unique perspective – directly over his head. SWANMEAT: SUBTLE
UK | 4:00 | 2005 DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/EDITOR: SSSR COMMISSIONER: TOM BROWN RECORD LABEL: LEX RECORDS Part of a trilogy of promos the Norwegian-Japanese directing collective SSSR has created for Oakland group Subtle, “Swanmeat” is marked by unsettling but beautiful animation inspired by the song’s lyrics and further developed in collaboration with singer Dose One. SYSTEM: ARCHIVE
UK | 4:00 | 2006 DIRECTOR/ANIMATOR: SAM BRADY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: MARY CALDERWOOD PRODUCER: SUZIE MORTON DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL ROBINSON CHOREOGRAPHER: CLAIRE MISSINGHAM ONLINE ARTISTS/SUITE: JAN URBANOWSKI @ FLYNN PRODUCTIONS COMMISSIONERS: ARNOUD FOURNIER-LAROQUE, PHILIPPE SOLAS PRODUCTION COMPANY: FLYNN PRODUCTIONS RECORD LABEL: WARNER MUSIC FRANCE A self-perpetuating scribble draws itself endlessly over the physical remains of a couple’s relationship, stretching across the apartment they shared, retelling their story through dancing pencil figures. SYSTEM: ARCHIVE
UK | 4:00 | 2006 DIRECTOR/ANIMATOR: SAM BRADY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: MARY CALDERWOOD PRODUCER: SUZIE MORTON DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL ROBINSON CHOREOGRAPHER: CLAIRE MISSINGHAM ONLINE ARTISTS/SUITE: JAN URBANOWSKI @ FLYNN PRODUCTIONS COMMISSIONERS: ARNOUD FOURNIER-LAROQUE, PHILIPPE SOLAS PRODUCTION COMPANY: FLYNN PRODUCTIONS RECORD LABEL: WARNER MUSIC FRANCE A self-perpetuating scribble draws itself endlessly over the physical remains of a couple’s relationship, stretching across the apartment they shared, retelling their story through dancing pencil figures. WAR PHOTOGRAPHER: JASON FORREST
US | 4:12 | 2005 DIRECTOR: JOEL TRUSSELL ANIMATORS: DARIN BENDALL, CHRIS FOX, GENE BLAKEFIELD, LEO RILEY, DOUG GORDON RECORD LABEL: SONIG RECORDS TOOLS: FLASH, PHOTOSHOP, PREMIERE A band of Vikings on the high seas struggles to maintain its honor when challenged by a mysterious rival ship in this hilarious animated video whose style is inspired by midcentury comics and animation. Instead of grabbing swords or catapults, however, the warriors use rock riffs as their weapon of choice, and when the ships transform into giant mechanical guitarist, it’s clear that only one crew will survive. WE SHARE OUR MOTHER'S HEALTH: THE KNIFE |
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