The Monster Engine

Here's another still-images post for a change. "The Monster Engine" is a book and art exhibition project by Dave Devries that begs a single question, "What would a child’s drawing look like if it were painted realistically?" The idea and the works are quite similar to my previous post "Untoon". Here, various professional artists turn children's simple sketches into masterpieces by adding in realistic lighting, shading, and textures while keeping the same shapes and forms. The result? a series of super cool but also super creepy paintings that may scare the same kids who drew the original drawings.

今天又決定來介紹一些非影片的作品了. "The Monster Engine" (怪物引擎) 是 Dave Devries 所開始的一系列展覽計畫, 目的就只是要回答一個問題: "如果把一個小孩的塗鴉拿來畫得非常真實, 那看起來會是怎樣?" 這個概念和作品感覺跟我之前介紹的 "Untoon" 有異曲同工之妙. 在這裡, 不同的職業畫家把孩童的塗鴉拿來當底圖, 加入了相當真實的光影, 材質, 以及鮮明的顏色. 結果呢? 產生了一群非常有趣卻又有點恐怖的畫作. 那些畫出原來底圖的小孩們看到這些畫可能會被嚇到做惡夢吧?

Polar Bear

Probably not the best feel-good video to post on a TGI-friday, but it's still got good intentions. PlaneStupid has taken the environmental message to the extreme by producing this shocking advertisement "Polar Bear". It shows a bunch of polar bears falling to their death, and then goes on to tell us that it's equal to the weight of greenhouse gases an average flight emits. If the goal was to make the viewers remember to recycle next time, then it's definitely more effective than anything else I've seen.

如果你想要維持星期五的好心情的話, 那最好還是別看這個影片. 不過, 我們還是不能互略這個影片要傳達的訊息. PlaneStupid 把提倡環保運動帶到了一個駭人又悲哀的境界, 製作了這篇稱為 "北極熊" 的宣導短片. 影片裡殘酷的秀出一群北極熊, 從高空中直體落下, 狠狠的摔死到地上, 血液四濺. 短片最後寫: "平均一架飛機載一個人需要製造超過400公斤的溫室氣體, 那大約是一隻北極熊的重量". 如果這影片是為了要觀眾記得自源回收的話, 那我覺得它比我看到其他的廣告都有效多了.

After You

As I was surfing the net the other day, I came across this rather old animation by Christopher Cordingley, and a wave of nostalgia hit me. This was the clip that our professor showed us in my very first 3D animation class back in college. I was still a junior back then, and didn't know jack-sh*t about animation. Looking back at this now, there really are a lot of great animation principles in this clip such as the way characters convey their personalities, the way characters interact, and a simple, focused story.

某天在網路隨便亂逛的時候, 偶然看到了這個算蠻舊的動畫. 這個由 Christopher Cordingley 製作的作品讓我突然變得很懷舊. 在我還是個大學生, 對動畫製作毫無頭緒時, 我的第一個動畫教授上課第一天就是秀這部片給我們看的. 還記得那時候對這片印象深刻. 現在再看一次, 發覺它真的有許多不錯的基本動畫元素, 像是如何傳達角色們的性格和感情, 人物的互動, 和一個簡單明瞭卻又趣的故事.

I'm Here

A friend of mine sent me this short film by Spike Jonze. (director of "Where The Wild Things Are") This is a cute yet sad little tale about a lone robot living in our society, falling in love, and eventually sacrificing himself for his loved one. The use of robots as characters seemed gimmicky to me at first, but eventually turned out to be interesting plot element and important part of the storyline. The story definitely touched me, but if you're not ready to spend 30 minutes on this, here is a 1 minute trailer of the film to look at.

我的一個朋友寄了這個由 Spike Jonze 所導的短片. 關於一架孤獨的機器人, 生活在我們的社會中, 愛上了一個人, 最後為了它的愛人犧牲掉自己. 算是個蠻溫馨卻有點悲傷的故事. 本來一開始我覺得利用機器人當主角有點像是在賣弄噱頭, 並不是那麼重要. 不過, 我發現其實這劇情元素對後來的故事發展很重要, 而且讓導演可以因此安排一些有趣的細節, 讓短片整體感覺和一般愛情故事不大一樣, 但是同樣的感人. 如果你沒時間把一整個半小時的短片看完的話, 那就先看看這個一分鐘的預告片吧.

Thanks, Lolay!

This Too Shall Pass

Ever heard of the "Rube Goldberg Machine"? According to Wikipedia, it is " a deliberately over engineered machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction." And this is exactly what the band OK Go created in their music video for "This Too Shall Pass". What I really like about it is that sometimes, the machines would play the melody as it goes along, thus integrating itself with the music. I really can't imagine how many painful trials they must have gone through to make whole process runs perfectly.

有聽過 "Rube Goldberg Machine" 嗎? 根據维基百科的說明, 那是一種過度複雜的機械組合，以迂迴曲折, 類似接龍的方法去完成一些非常簡單的工作" 而 OK Go 樂團耗費相當大的工程, 為他們的新 MV "This Too Shall Pass" 製作出了一個這樣的機器. 其中我很喜歡的是, 當這機器組合在跑時, 有時候會敲打出和背景音樂一樣的音調, 把自己和這支單曲融合在一起. 真是無法想像要讓這機器完美的自己跑完, 那些辛苦的幕後人員是重複試了不知道幾百次才成功的.

Masterpieces in 3D

I never really enjoyed classical art that much, probably because i find them rather boring compared to the more contemporary ones. However, this hilarious video promoting the Samsung 3D TV really spiced up the art masterpieces by adding a third dimension to them. Apparently, when you view these art works from an angle that's never been seen before, it can reveal some secrets that were hiding behind the frames and the figures. These hidden surprises are actually pretty funny, and nothing short of awesome.

我從來都不是很喜歡古典藝術, 可能是因為我覺得和現代藝術比起來, 有些作品真的有點無聊. 不過, 這個用來推銷 Samsung 3D TV 的影片可是為了這些古典藝術加了不少料. 很明顯的, 當你把這些2D畫作多加一個D, 變立體之後, 再由另一個全新的角度去看它們時, 你會發現一些不為人知的秘密. 這些之前被邊框和畫像擋住的事物使得這些畫作突然變得格外爆笑, 感覺好像沒那麼無聊了.

Chegg.com

Chegg.com is an online service that rents those expensive textbooks to college students cheaply so they don't have to buy them and go broke. Buck has made a series of advertisements for Chegg, and all of them are hilarious and full of style. According to Buck, "For every amazing business idea there is an equally ridiculous advertising campaign." Each of the 4 ads are: "Buttload", "Arm and Leg", "Gandhi", and "The Bird".

Chegg.com 是一個專門便宜出租教科書給大學生的網站, 所以那些窮苦學生不用因為貴得嚇死人的教科書落到每晚吃泡麵度日的境界. Buck 為 Chegg 製作了這一系列的廣告, 每一部都非常搞笑, 也很有風格. 根據 Buck, "每一個高明的生意點子都會產生出一則同樣誇張的廣告." 這4個廣告分別為: "Buttload" (一屁股), "Arm and Leg"(手臂與腿), "Gandhi"(甘地), 和 "The Bird"(小鳥).

Post-It Love

"Post-It Love" is a cute story of office romance story directed by the UK duo Si & Ad. Similar to my earlier post "Signs", this is also a love story conveyed entirely without any dialog. Rather, the couple communicate to each others in a rather unconventional manner: making post-it murals for each others. Sometimes I feel like a romantic story can be conveyed much more effectively without any talking, since at that point audiences really focus on the emotions and feelings brought out from the actors. (Remember why Wall-E's first half was so memorable?)

"Post-It Love" (愛的便利貼) 是由英國的 Si & Ad 所導的一個相當可愛的辦公室愛情故事. 跟我之前介紹的 "Signs" 相當類似, 雖然男女主角的互動是重點, 這個故事也是完全沒有任何對話. 與其, 他們使用了一些比較特別的溝通方式: 用便利貼來為對方"貼"出一幅幅的壁畫. 有時我真的覺得, 某些愛情故事去掉對話反而比較能有效傳達情感. 因為觀眾會變得比較注重角色們的互動, 表情, 和他們內心的感覺. (當然, 演員的演技也要夠好才行) 還記得為什麼"瓦力"的前半段那麼的難忘嗎?

And Then There Was Salsa

This cute little animation is an ad spot for Frito-Lay's Tostitos Salsa dip. The animation is pretty nice, and the music is quite catchy. However, what really caught my eye is the presentation, since I've never seen anything like this before. As the video plays, the character suddenly jumped out of the bounding frame, and then the whole animation starts to fill up the entire screen. Even the comment section is being overtaken, and the "Vimeo" logo is being sliced up to become part of the salsa. Apparently there's also something similar on YouTube that promotes Wario Land on Wii. (Can someone tell me which agency/studio did this?)

這篇逗趣的動畫是 Frito-Lay 食品公司來促銷他們莎莎醬的廣告. 動畫本身挺不錯的, 音樂也蠻好聽. 不過, 讓我真正覺得有趣的是它的呈現方式, 我是從來沒看過類似的手法. 當影片在播放時, 裡面的人物會突然跳出影片框, 在螢幕上四處飛舞. 接著, 動畫覆蓋了整個畫面, 連評論欄都被蓋住, "Vimeo" 的標誌也被切片加到醬料裡去了. 任天堂在YouTube那邊好像也搞了個類似的廣告促銷Wii上的 Wario Land. (有人知道製作本片的公司的話請麻煩告訴我, 謝謝!)

Absolut Black & White

Even though it's not the best kind of vodka I've tasted, (in fact it's probably closer to worst) Absolut Vodka still has some of the best commercials out there. Following the stunning water-and-glass spectacle in "Absolut Dissection", the Swedish booze maker came back with two ads, one in black and another in white. Produced by Important Looking Pirates, both ads feature broken objects and pieces frozen in air, as if time has stopped. Then as the camera rotates, the objects slowly forms into the shape of their iconic vodka bottle.

雖然他們家的酒不是我喝過最好喝的 (事實上, 比較接近最難喝的) 絕對伏特加的廣告卻還是在酒類廣告裡最有趣的. 繼他們上一部由晶瑩剔透的水與玻璃搭配的 "Absolut Dissection" 之後, 這個瑞典酒商一次連打兩支廣告, 一支黑一支白. 由 Important Looking Pirates 製作, 兩個廣告裡都看得到一堆物品和碎片, 漂浮在空中, 好像時間被凍結了一般. 攝影鏡頭不停旋轉, 最後看到那些四散的物體在特定的角度下形成了絕對伏特加有名的酒瓶形狀.

The Hero

A friend of mine from Israel has sent me this super interesting video. It's a short about a hero who has apparently saved and inspired many people around the world, and guess who is this hero? It's... me! That's right, the person in the picture that the lady is holding is me, and that portrait of mine shows up in other parts of the video as billboards, paintings, and signs. Apparently, this website, "DRAFTFCB", allows you to create a movie about yourself or your friend by uploading a picture of a person, and it processes that picture and then integrates it into the short film, making you or anyone you know the star of the show. The video takes a while to load because the picture conversion process probably takes a long time, but trust me it's worth the wait. Try to make a movie of your friend, send it to them, and see their reaction!

我的一個在以色列的朋友寄了這個相當有趣的影片給我. 這個短片是有關一位拯救並啟發世界上許多人的一個大英雄. 猜猜看那個英雄是誰呢? 那就是... 我! 沒錯, 上圖那位小姐捧著的就是本人的照片, 而且那照片還在影片其他地方以不同的形式出現. 有時候我被登在廣告牌上, 有時候變成一幅油畫, 有時候變成人們高舉的告示牌. 事實上, 這個網站 "DRAFTFCB" 能夠讓你製作一部有關於你自己的電影. 你只需要把一張相片上傳到網站上, 它就會處理那個圖檔, 最後把那張相片合成到影片裡面, 讓你本人變成這電影裡的主角過過癮. 影片下載的時間很長 (可能是因為處理圖檔的程序很繁雜) 不過等待是值得的. 試試看把你朋友的相片上傳進去, 然後把影片寄給他, 看看對方會有什麼反應.

Thanks, Dana!

Penguins Could Fly

BBC has made an amazing discovery. They've shot this footage which reveals that, contrary to popular belief, some penguins could actually fly! According to the host in the video, these penguins "fly thousands of miles from south pole to the rain forest in south america to spend the winter bathing in tropical sun." Pretty amazing isn't it?

Edit: Some of you probably have found out that it's actually an April Fools' joke :P, but it's still pretty amazing how far BBC would go to pull a prank like this. Here is a making of for the video.

BBC (英國新聞電台) 最近有了一個歷史性的大發現. 他們在南極拍到的這個紀錄片很明顯的證實, 企鵝其實是會飛的! 而且飛得又遠又高呢! 根據影片裡主持人的說法, 這些特種企鵝跟普通企鵝不大一樣, "冬天到時,他們會成群結隊的飛到數千里遠南美洲熱帶雨林必寒. 享受充分的熱帶陽光." 這則相當驚人的新聞完全推翻了一般大眾的常識呢.

跟新: 眼尖的讀著們可能已經察覺到了這其實是個 4/1 愚人節的玩笑 :P. 不過, 還是不得不佩服BBC為了這個騙局而花了多少功夫製作這影片. 按這裡看看幕後製作.

Create Your Own Flame

So did you get a chance to catch "How to Train Your Dragon" last weekend? (If not, get your butt off your seat and go watch it now! 97% on rottentomatoes.com now!) Do you like the dragon fires that our effects team created? If that made you really tempted to draw your own fiery art but don't know how, fear not. Peter Blaškovič has created this awesome web application that allows you to create beautiful flame images with a few simple strokes. I created that top image in a few seconds, and I dare you to do better! Check out his gallery for some other cool apps, the other one that I really liked is the fire simulator.

各位上周末有去看 "馴龍高手" 嗎? (沒有的話還不趕快現在去看! Rottentomatoes 的分數現在已經飆到97%了!) 有看到我們特效組所做的各種火龍所噴的火焰嗎? 如果那些火焰讓你覺得手癢, 也想來創造一些漂亮的烽火圖卻又不知道該怎麼畫的話, 別擔心. Peter Blaškovič 製作了這一套超酷的網路應用程式, 讓你簡簡單單幾筆畫就可以完成一張火焰畫. 上面那張圖是我花了幾秒鐘畫出來的, 你一定可以畫得更好. 看看Peter的一些其他的應用程式, 都很有趣. 我另外一個很喜歡的是這個火焰模擬器.

Thanks, Tim and Lauren!

Het Klokhuis

"3D printing" is a technology usually used in the field of architecture and industrial design. Basically, designers would first create digital models with CAD programs. Then, the printer would "print" out physical 3D models of the design by putting layers of materials on top of each other. I remember people back in architecture schools and companies used it for design visualizations. However, it's the first time I'm seeing 3D printing used in stop-motion animation. It's the title and ending sequence for the Dutch science show "Het Klokhuis" (The Apple Core), created by Nexus, and the result is really quite interesting. Here's a behind the scenes look of the process.

"3D 列印" 是建築和工業設計行業常用的一種技術. 基本上, 設計師會先用電腦CAD程式設計出數位模型, 然後把檔案輸進3D列表機. 列表機就會 "印" 出一層一層的塑膠物質, 最後築構出實際的立體模型. 我還記得之前在建築學校及公司裡有許多人用這方法來把他們的設計實體化. 不過, 我還是第一次看到有人把這科技用在動畫上. 這個逐格動畫是 Nexus 為荷蘭的一個電視節目 "Het Klokhuis" (蘋果核) 所做的開頭以及結尾影片. 使用這創新的方法所製造出的效果真的蠻有趣的. 按這裡看看幕後製作.

"How to Train Your Dragon" Opens Tomorrow!

The very first movie I've worked on, "How to Train Your Dragon", opens tomorrow in both 3D and IMAX theaters everywhere! I feel super lucky to have worked on it since, in my opinion, it's really the best DreamWorks movie so far. (With Kung Fu Panda coming in at a close second) you know I mean it when it's currently rated at 95% "fresh" on Rottentomatoes.com. If you do catch it this weekend, you'll spot my name in the credits under "Effects", close to the left side. Oscars for best animated film next year anyone?

我第一次參與製作的動畫電影 "訓龍高手" 明天就要在台灣各大戲院以及 3D IMAX 與美國同步上映了! 我覺得能夠參加這部片的製作真的相當幸運. 因為我認為這大概是夢工場動畫有史以來最好看的電影. "功夫熊貓"很接近, 不過還是在第2名. 當你看到 Rottentomatoes.com (美國一個很有名, 專門評分電影的網站) 目前給這部片95%分的時候, 你就知道我不是在吹牛. 如果你這周末有去看的話, 我的名子 "Robert Chen" 會在電影最後的製作名單出現. (在 "Effects" 特效部門下, 靠近螢幕左邊) 猜猜看這部電影會不會獲選明年奧斯卡最佳動畫片呢?