I know diddley-squat about skateboarding. Nothing, nix, nada. Ollie's, kickflip to backslide, means nout to me. One guy who does though is a Mr Spike Jonze. No - there is nothing this guy hasn't done. And yes I am fucking jealous! Turns out, before he was this credible indie director in Hollywood (currently filming Where the wild things are FYI!) Way before he was the music video director of choice to your bjorks and beasties. Even before he won every award going for all his advert work. He made a sketchy skateboard video heralded by some as the most influential street skateboarding film of all time; Video Days. This two part documentary is a nice gateway into why Video Days was so innovative and inspiring to so many.
Pt 1 - On Video - Blind Video Days Retrospective
Pt 2 - On Video - Blind Video Days Retrospective
Thursday 12 June 2008
Sunday 1 June 2008
The Wall, the Walrus, and the Waiter.
This video you are about to see is sooo amazing (count those o's) A true work of genius! I don't mind writing that. It is one of the best uses of stop start animation that I think I've ever seen.
Sorry, I'm gushing but my jaw literally dropped the first time I saw this 7 Minute film by Blu. I was chanting "please let this be real'' in the back of my mind, hoping it was'nt just some After Effects plugin I'd yet to come across. Turns out its 100% kosher, additive free, animation-verite. A healthy dose of creative juice, and lots of chalk n' charcoal! Check blublu.org for a host of other graph gems, including streetart he has done all over the world. This might just be the best video you see on youtube this week.
Did I over-egg that? No hard feelings video number 2, your totally shit-hot too. This 5 minute film about John Lennon has been doing the festival rounds for the last year or so picking up loads of awards. At its core, a recorded interview that an inquisitive fourteen yearold took with John Lennon 30+ years ago. This kid was so determined to meet John Lennon that he knocked on every door of the Toronoto hotel he was staying in. The interview was not made public, until now. The resulting animation is as hypnotic as Lennons pros are inspiring. Read here for more info.
The final video in this triple-bill. Lunch is a classic by the czech animation pioneer Jan Svankmajer. As grotesque as it is funny, this film is taken from a series of 4 called Jidlo (Food). Claymation and stop-start live action are used to beguiling effect as a tramp and a businessman fail to get a waiters attention.
It didn't click until I was reading that wikipedia link, but he directed another film called Little Otik that I'd seen, a magical horror fairy tale about a woman that gives birth to a wooden child. Pinochio it aint!
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