What if there really is no heaven? What if there really is no time? These are two of the queries put forward in Australian filmmaker Kew Keilar's International Motion Art Awards-winning video "Logical Questions to God." Keilar calls the piece an "immersive music video," in that it features a song by noted Australian singer-songwriter Jeff Duff, who also makes a cameo appearance. "My use … Read the full Story >>
Brooklyn, NY-based illustrator, graphic designer, and animator Andre da Loba's "On Thoughts," a personal motion-art project based on a picture book, was three years in the making. Combining illustration, animation, and a poem written by Emilio Remelhe, the 2:30 piece takes viewers on what da Loba calls "a coming of age journey through transformative moments lived, lost, found and yet to come." After sporadic … Read the full Story >>
Last year, while taking a children's book illustration class at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, GA, Denise Plauche got her first chance to experiment with animation. "Typically, this class involves producing a book of ten illustrations," she says, "but professor Julie Mueller-Brown, after discovering the work of illustrator Takahiro Kimura and animator Rui Miyoshi, asked our class if any of … Read the full Story >>
Illustrator and animator Aimee Van Drimmelen lives in a small house in Victoria, British Columbia, where, she says, she makes art by day and music by night. And it was music--not her own, but the single "H.C." from the Canadian indie-rock band Plants and Animals--that inspired her International Motion Art Awards-winning short. "The band had seen my first animated piece and liked it, and … Read the full Story >>
Sports Illustrated calls Chordale Booker "Mr. Get It Done," because that's what he does in the ring: "Part the ropes, point him to an opponent, and Booker will knock down that obstacle," notes SI. That's also what the fighter has done outside the ring. Booker, who is from Stamford, Connecticut, came to boxing after being arrested in 2009 for narcotics possession, marijuana possession and … Read the full Story >>
In a little under two minutes, the International Motion Art Awards-winning video "Billable Hours" conveys the tedium of the modern-day desk job and comments on the desperation of white-collar workers passing through their most productive years doing inconsequential paper work. Directed by Frank Guzzone, the bitingly funny video was written by--and stars--Lyle Shemer, a veteran advertising copywriter. "There is a hell of a lot … Read the full Story >>
Tyler Stableford has earned a reputation as one of the world's top action-sports photographers and more recently has emerged as a top action-sports cinematographer and film director. His motion work is distinguished not only by its beauty and drama--man's need to test himself against nature is a theme that runs throughout Stableford's videos--but also by its emotional authenticity. A case in point is his … Read the full Story >>
Brooklyn-based filmmaker Dustin Cohen's short documentary "The Shoemaker" is the fourth installment of a video series about the craftspeople and artisans who live in his beloved borough. "Whether it's a couple of young guys opening up a woodworking shop in Greenpoint or a shoemaker in Bensonhurst who's been at it for over seven decades, I find it amazing how many people are creating and … Read the full Story >>
"Working with John, I'm always looking to do the bizarre, something a bit shocking and uncomfortable," says Chicago-based photographer and filmmaker Sandro Miller. The John he speaks of is the actor John Malkovich, a longtime friend and frequent portrait subject, and the motion work they have created together is indeed unsettling--brilliantly so. The latest example is the International Motion Art Awards-winning vignette "Ecstasy," in … Read the full Story >>
Jason Willis's International Motion Art Awards-winning short cost only $25 to make, and that money, he says, almost all went to buying ... catnip. Willis, who describes himself as "a big fan of oddball films," is in particular a devotee of old classroom educational films, and he set out to create one of his own. His subject: The bad trips awaiting felines who imbibe … Read the full Story >>
New York-based photographer Platon has created enduring and provocative portraits of artists, astronauts, authors, and world leaders, but, he says, he has found a way to go further to reveal the people in front of his lens. "During a photo shoot, we go through such a journey together, the sitter and I, and at the end of it there's this openness, honesty, and humility … Read the full Story >>
Los Angeles-based photographer Scott Montgomery built a career shooting people and lifestyle advertising images, but for the past several years he has also been collaborating with the LA band William Pilgrim on a unique body of video work, two examples of which were selected as winners in the International Motion Art Awards 3 competition. The project involves a documentary about the band's lead singer, … Read the full Story >>
Last spring, New York-based photographer and filmmaker Baldomero Fernandez was tapped by Temple University to create a short promotional film about the school's underrated football program. "It's not one of the premiere programs in the country, but the team is very good. The players and coaches all have a bit of a chip on their shoulder," says Fernandez. "They wanted to show the grittiness … Read the full Story >>
"In the past few years the revolution in digital-filmmaking platforms has made it effortless to move back into my first love of storytelling," says New York City-based photograph Eric Ogden, who grew up in Flint, MI, making Super 8 films. Last year, Ogden got an assignment from Fast Company to shoot actress Anna Kendrick for the cover of the magazine's "100 Most Creative People … Read the full Story >>
Today we begin an occasional series called "How I Did It," in which Motion Arts Pro readers give us a behind-the-scenes account focusing on recent projects. First up is illustrator and filmmaker Gayle Kabaker's "Travel Changes Lives," a short promoting educational travel company ACIS. "It's a very cool project," Kabakeer says of the two-and-a-half-minute piece, which was named a winner of the International Motion … Read the full Story >>
Talks / Book Events / Screenings / and Beyond Wednesday, November 1-Sunday, November 19 Performa 17. Diverse venues throughout NYC. Info Wednesday, November 1-Sunday, November 5 Festival Albertine, organized by Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan. The Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY Info Wednesday, November 1 Poster House | An Evening with Tommy Gunn, 6:30-7:30 pm. Poster House, 119 West 23rd Street, NY, NY … Read the full Story >>
Photographer and filmmaker Eric Ogden has recently been revising a dummy for his first book, which he hopes to present to publishers in the fall. It's not a collection of his best celebrity portraits or advertising work; rather, he calls the book a "visual memoir" about his home town, the city that cradled his creativity and his distinctive visual style: Flint, Michigan. Art careers … Read the full Story >>
In the era of Adult Swim and "Family Guy," it may be hard to recall, but there was a time when animation was strictly for kids. While grown ups might have enjoyed the art and humor of "Tom and Jerry," animation was for years largely ghettoized in Saturday morning children's programming blocks. By late 1980s, however, as Baby Boomers grew up, animation took on … Read the full Story >>
