31 July, 2009

Shaolin Form: Da Hong Quan


I'm posting this video as many of us are big fans of fight scenes. The movements in this clip are from an impressive young Shaolin master. As I watched this clip, my knees began to hurt...Ouch!

Check out his vertical movement as he completes the form. Well done.

Enjoy and Fire it Up.

28 July, 2009

Tron 2 Trailer : Premiering 2010



In my animation classes this week, we couldn't get enough of the above Tron 2 trailer. As a person who remembers watching the original Tron in 1982 in the theatres, all I have to say is, "Its about time". With so many great movies embedded into my brain, the first Tron movie was pushed to the back of the line. I'm glad however, that its being resurrected, because the new look and feel is simply awesome...definately an upgrade. This is going be fun.

For those of us who weren't born before the movie's premiere (as most of my students are), Tron premiered in 1982 and starred Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner and David Warner and was about a computer hacker who somehow got trapped into the digital world of the computer. With a great story and impressive visual effects, its was the first movie to give us a view into what the world inside of a computer would look like. You could compare it to The Matrix (1999), both movies presented stunning visuals and ideas of what the abstract complex world inside the computer could be. As a 5th grader, watching it for the first time, I was carried away. The feeling was similar to the first time I saw Toy Story, Star Wars or the Matrix. I realized that I saw and experienced something completely new.

When Tron 2 Legacy premieres in 2010, its going to be interesting to see, not only a new visual interpretation of how a computer world would look like, but also, the aspects of our technology and computing in our current day and age. What are they going to put into the movie. So much has changed since 1982, prior to the premiere of the first movie, technology (at the time) seemed advanced, but in hindsight was limited to Commodore 64's, large servers, floppy disks, green and black monitor text, dot matrix printers, and the first video game arcades. In that time (since 1982), think about how things have changed: The Internet (for everyone) was developed, smaller PCs, websites, CD's, DVD's, email, Youtube, laptops, online gaming, xbox, Playstation I, II and III, iphones and let's not forget social networking sites (not necessarily in that order - but you get what I mean), the list goes on and on. Are these ideas going to be interpreted in the film?

So we'll be on the lookout for more clips of Tron 2. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer above, and for added interest, I've also included the Lightcycle clip from the first Tron and the original 1982 Tron Movie Trailer. Both are interesting to watch. For some of you who remember Tron in the movie theatres, I hope this brings back fond memories.



23 July, 2009

Cel Phone In Microwave



This piece shows what happens you put cel phones in microwave ovens - nothing more. Just watch and enjoy. Good job to whoever created this creepy piece of work.

Thanks to Curt and Mike for the link. Be well and fire it up.

- Randolf

15 July, 2009

VJ Robson Victor: Demo Reel


One in a while, I'll browse through various video sites to check out the latest and greatest of demo reels. This one, by VJ Robson caught my eye initially because of the Wolverine image before it plays.

What a nice surprise. When I saw his reel, I was immediately impressed. He's got a good sense of design, color, layout and knows how to animate elements in a way that is engaging. He's got great timing and shows a lot of variety in his work. I think VJ has been around. The students in my classes are often very expert in drawing, painting and are very good at creating vector style graphics, but need to see more examples of how movement can make their pieces better. This demo reel is a great example of that and its a trait that comes with years of observation, practice and taking risks.

Hey VJ, well done. Thanks for inspiring us. If you happen to see this post, feel free to post a response and by all means, keep up the awesomeness!

Fire it up!

Randolf

10 July, 2009

Michael Jackson's Arcade: Virtual Tour & Scavenger Hunt


Like many people, I too grew up to Michael Jackson's music, was enamored by his lifestyle and like many, am saddened to experience his loss. There really is nobody who can measure up to his singing, dancing, versatility and shear creativity. I think about all the times growing up I would watch his videos and listen to his music, everything had universal appeal and I found myself listening to him over and over again. He spanned many generations, but the Michael I am most fond of was the "Off the Wall" era, and right before that, the twenty year old Jackson 5's, sporting the big afros, heels and disco beats. That was an awesome time, and although its very sad to see him go, its been a joy exploring and revisiting all of the Jackson music again.

Today, we came across a virtual tour of Michael Jackson's famous arcade. Growing up, we always heard about it and its nice to be able to finally check it out. Exploring the arcade, for me, became an nostalgic look at many of the arcade structures I grew up with, like Karate Champ and the Terminator 2 pinball machine. See you if you can find these in his arcade.

While you are at it, see if you can also locate the following "old skool" items as well. A life size Boba Fett figure, Superman and Batman figure, the stand up Karate Champ arcade game, lifesize Spiderman, Lego Darth Vader, C3P0 and ET the Extra Terrestrial (Remember when Michael recorded a song and narrated the story for a ET children's book)?

The navigation to the arcade is at the bottom of the screen, but is a bit quirky. You'll notice that the camera moves on it its own and is a bit hard to control. Just use the arrows at the bottom of the screen and you'll be okay. Once you get used to it however, it's lots of fun.

Enjoy!

Click here to check it out.

02 July, 2009

More Evian Breakdancing Babies



The creative team responsible for animating the dancing babies for Evian have done it again. This time, these pretoddlers are on "Old School" roller skates. For those of you who remember these roller skating moves from way back when...you'll be impressed with with what you see.

Its entertaining watching these babies skating to the funky beat...Happy 4th of July and

Fire It Up!