The advent of relatively easy and affordable computer animation techniques seem to have caused a wave of highly creative animation films to be made by students all over the world, all of which end up on Youtube or some similar website it seems.
Every self-respecting university or art school now seems to have a department of computer animation studies, which have produced some simply wonderful and often beautiful animations, which are a source of continual joy to me.
Generally on my blog I have looked at the more extreme forms of animated film making, Gothic, horror, weird or simply eccentric, but as I say, there is also a school of animation making that concentrates on simple, gentle and “normal” themes.
One such is this wonderfully sentimental and predictable film about a poverty stricken and lonely street musician and a stray street dog who comes into his life. Whilst the whole story is entirely predictable, the way in which it has been done makes it gripping, moving and most enjoyable to watch – well that is my feeling about this short film.
So, without more ado, here it is for your viewing pleasure – and you will have to be a very hardened cynic not to get some degree of pleasure from this film…. If for no other reason than how beautifully the city it all plays out in has been created…..
By the way, the title of this piece is “Rubato”, a musical term with the following meaning:-
the temporary disregarding of strict tempo to allow an expressive quickening or slackening, usually without altering the overall pace.
See what I mean? I trust you enjoyed that one. Apart from anything else, as one who has been using computer from the mid 1980’s, I am constantly astounded by the way in which computer animation has evolved from the early days when it took weeks to render even a relatively simply image in 3D, and now we have this…. Just look at the rendering of the fabric on the guy’s clothes and how it all moves.. astonishing to an old fart such as I.
I remember going to a talk by John Lasseter ( one of the guys who founded PIXAR Studios) at an art college in Groningen in Holland many, many years ago, when I was still happily working away with a couple of Amiga 2000’s in which he discussed the problems they had had with animating those famous mother and child anglepoise lights, and how he hoped the world of computer animation would develop – And of course, as we all know, he got it right!
Now for something completely different (Sound familiar?)
Just to balance the slight overdose of sugar in the above animation, here is one that is simply funny. Enjoy it.
Nice eh? I had never thought about how a statue such as the David, might feel about being so very naked in public….
OZTHOUGHTS 