Cold Hard Flash: Flash Animation News, Videos and Links

Story of Khale Back in Session

aaron — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:53:11 +0000

Kevin Okulolo, a student at UC Davis, just wrapped up 6-months of production on his second Story of Khale episode. About a year ago, we featured episode one, and noted his warm reception at Newgrounds.com. This episode, titled Hooked, follows our hero, Khale, through his morning routine on the way to school. Doesn’t sound like much upon retelling, but give it a watch, and you’ll see why Okulolo is one of the more promising young animators around.

[watch at Newgrounds.com]

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Critics Sing Praises Of Paley’s Flash Film

aaron — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:16:02 +0000

The gargantuan effort and time Nina Paley spent to get her independent film, Sita Sings the Blues, to the silver screen appears to have been well spent. This 82-minute, Flash-animated feature has already wowed audiences at the Berlin International Film Festival, but her recent screening at the Tribeca Film Festival (where she caught “Tribeculosis” - ha!) has revealed a torrent of glowing reviews. This morning, Variety’s Ronnie Scheib said that her film “constitutes an irrefutable argument for classic 2-D animation as a viable, vibrant low-budget arthouse medium for adults.” How ’bout them apples?

Along the way, Paley paused to join Bill Plympton, Matt Singer and Alison Willmore in an animation discussion with IFC:

If you haven’t seen it already, here’s the trailer for Sita Sings the Blues, dubbed “The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told”:

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Bogaty Pulls Off a Summer Heist

aaron — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:51:14 +0000

The Seattle-based band Denelian apparently liked what Anton Bogaty did last Fall for their It’s Nothing Personal, We’ve All Got To Eat music video. They’ve since invited him back for another round, this time for their song Summer Heist. This Flash-animated video features a high-speed chase worthy of a summer blockbuster, or perhaps it’s more of a Bonnie and Clyde vibe. Either way, Bogaty delivers splashes of humor and high-octane intensity all mixed into a touching love story.

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Flash Animated Christian Aid Ad

aaron — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:10:59 +0000

As we’ve all helplessly watched the Myanmar tragedy unfold, British ad agency SHOP recently tapped the director trio known as PAM and London-based studio FINISH to bring a TV spot for Christian Aid Week to life. The designs for the ad were illustrated by EBOY in Photoshop, and then animated by Richard Mitchelson in Flash. Flame artist Jason Watts then composited the final piece. When you’re done watching, head over to the Christian Aid site to donate, or give a few bucks to the World Food Program.

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Meth Minute’s 8-bit Time Warp

aaron — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:10:01 +0000

This week’s Meth Minute 39 short takes a look back at the cartoon series through a Nintendo NES lens. Dan Meth called upon Ben Ross to visualize the various shorts from his series in an 8-bit style, and they put it against Nik Anesti’s lo-fi sounds.

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Chapman’s Cool Interview For Animation People

aaron — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:10:45 +0000

Last week we reported on the new Homestar Runner Wii game Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People (SBCG4AP), which is due out in June. While the game series, which is being produced by Telltale, doesn’t feature any elements created in Flash, it’s fun to follow the growing empire that was spawned from one of the first Flash-animated hits to start on the web. So we turn to the source for answers - the Chapman brothers, Mike and Matt, who have answered a few questions about this much anticipated game title.

AARON SIMPSON: The question always seemed to be “why not turn Homestar into a TV series?” Is a platform game a more natural evolution for you guys?

CHAPMAN BROTHERS: I think so. Video games have always been a big part of homestarrunner.com - from visuals, to music, to the actual games on our site. And the WiiWare download service also seems to fit with the way we do things.

AARON: Was SBCG4AP in motion before you created the Viidelectrix Wii game page (which features games designed for the Internet Channel of the Nintendo Wii)?

CHAPMANS: No. We had made the Viidelectrix page several months before we heard from Telltale.

AARON: It seems like every Nintendo platform has appeared in some form or another in the Homestar universe, so this game only makes sense. But had you two discussed a Homestar Runner platform game in years past?

The very first Homestar Runner episode,
Super NES, produced in Mario Paint

CHAPMANS: Not really. But it’s true that a game on a Nintendo console “makes sense.” After all, the first time these characters were animated, it was in Mario Paint.

AARON: For those not up to speed, what is a “point and click graphic adventure?”

CHAPMANS: The player uses the Wiimote (the Wii remote control) to point at and click on objects or characters in the game to make Strong Bad interact with them. He’ll talk to it, walk to it, pick it up, use it, make fun of it…whatever the appropriate reaction would be. You basically explore the world and use the objects to make Strong Bad do the kind of stuff Strong Bad likes to do.

AARON: Do you think gamers unfamiliar with Homestar Runner will “get it?”

CHAPMANS: I think so. As with any game based on a preexisting property, being familiar with the characters and the world beforehand might enhance gameplay in some ways, but I don’t think it will make playing the game or solving the puzzles any easier. The first episode is a pretty good intro to the characters, so I think newcomers will be able to figure out what’s going on pretty easily.

AARON: Was Strong Bad the obvious choice for the game lead?

CHAPMANS: Yeah, Homestar would’ve been fun too, but Strong Bad made the most sense.

AARON: You’ve experimented with 3D animated versions of your characters in the past, but this is by far the biggest undertaking with the extra “D.” Was there a particular character that proved most difficult for the team to design?

CHAPMANS: Homestar and The Cheat always present problems when the extra D is added. They usually only get seen from a side view, but you see both eyes so it’s not a true side view. Anyway, the 3D modelers at Telltale did a great job of solving those issues.

The Cheat makes his transition into 3D-vision

AARON: You’ve said in a previous interview that the project required “millions of emails.” Did you ever find your way to the Telltale headquarters in California?

SBCG4AP was produced by Telltale Games
the team behind Sam and Max

CHAPMANS: We’ve been there a couple times. It’s right next to the San Quentin prison, so that’s pretty cool. They have the exact same oval posterboard portrait of Abraham Lincoln in their office as we have in ours.

AARON: What type of animation guidance did you give the team?

CHAPMANS: We sent them a bunch of .swfs to show them all the ways the characters tend to move in different situations.

AARON: Rob Schrab (Scud: The Disposable Assasin, Twigger’s Holiday, co-writer of the Oscar-nominated film Monster House) appears to be a big Homestar Runner fan. Have you guys ever collaborated?

Download Rob Schrab’s Trogdor wallpaper
1024×768 - 1600×1200

CHAPMANS: We met Rob via email in 2001 and have met him several times when we go out to Los Angeles. Matt was a huge Scud fan back in the day and even dressed up as Scud for Halloween in college, so when we heard from him we were psyched. Matt did animated sequences for a couple of Twigger’s Holiday episodes and for a Channel 101 awards show and even has a pinup in the latest issue of Scud (#23).

For Trogdor’s 5th birthday, Rob did a desktop wallpaper (1024×768, 1600×1200) for our site. We’re always trying to figure out ways to do something cool together but busy schedules and opposite coasts keep delaying the inevitable coolness that will go down when we can finally collaborate full-on.

Let’s get a little more info on that topic. We turn to Rob Schrab, an amazing independent creator in his own right.

AARON: Rob, do you remember how and when you first discovered Homestar Runner?

ROB SCHRAB: I remember hearing about this internet cartoon Homestar Runner over and over again. One time my writing partner, Dan Harmon, told me “You gotta see this. These guys made their own little world!”

I checked it out one rainy, depressed afternoon and it turned my day completely around. I ate up everything the Chap bros. had to offer. I had to write them just a quick note, “Hey guys, love your site!” They wrote back right away, saying they knew Scud and Robot Bastard. I was totally flattered.

AARON: Which Twigger’s Holiday sequences did Matt contribute to?

ROB: Episode 2 and 5. Ep. Two is great, it’s during the I Hate Reading! song. Matt did all of this crayon animation (based off a Batman cartoon he did for a film fest Harmon and I did). Really made the show pop. Super fun. Then he threw together this beautiful opening for the beginning of the final episode. Actually, I have to say Homestar Runner is a big inspiration for Channel101.com. I loved the fact that there was an episodic story being told on the internet, like mini TV show. So I glommed that off the Chaps.

AARON: What kind of direction, if any, did you offer to Matt for his Scud pin-up?

ROB: I gave Matt no direction on the pin-up. I wanted to see what he came up with. Those guys are amazing designers. I love what they do.

AARON: Congrats on the incredibly successful conclusion to Scud: The Disposable Assassin. What should Flash animators know about the Scud Fan Film Contest?

ROB: Put Scud in the short! You’ll have a chance to win then.

I keep hearing people say “I’m doing a fan film about a guy reading Scud.” or “It’s about two guys fighting over issue 24!”

Really, put Scud in it. This contest is about how you see the comic book as a moving image. Flash is perfect for this!

AARON: Alright, back to the Chapman brothers. Are there any other noteworthy Homestar Runner fans you’ve come across in recent years?

CHAPMANS: Um, someone emailed us that Geddy Lee was wearing a Trogdor shirt at a concert a couple weeks ago. I don’t know if it’s true or not.

The 1989 NES game Baseball Stars

AARON: Do either of you have a favorite NES game?

CHAPMANS: My friends and I played Baseball Stars well past regular NES’s heyday. I always liked Golgo-13 a lot too. It had side-scrolling stuff, sniper gun-sight stuff, and driving stuff too, I think. It had a decent story too. At least as a ninth-grader I thought so.

AARON: A least favorite?

The 1988 NES game Seicross

CHAPMANS: Magmax? Seicross?

AARON: What game platforms do you guys currently use at home?

CHAPMANS: Most of our game playing is on the DS, but we both have and Xbox 360s and Wiis.

AARON: What’s a favorite Wii game at the moment?

CHAPMANS: We have been playing Mario Galaxy during lunch for the last however many months and just got to Bowser last week. We’ll generally play until we get 1 star and thats it, so it’s taken awhile. We just got to Bowser, so we’ll be done soon.

AARON: Thaks, guys. For more answers, check on the 2-part Cold Hard Flash interview with the Chapmans from 2005.

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The Making of 3D Machine

aaron — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:09:40 +0000

Back in January, we wrote about Ka-Ching Cartoon’s Flash animated short 3D Machine. I’ve now seen the 7-minute film, and Joost van den Bosch and Erik Verkerk have created an extremely unique short, and the process by which they created this eye-popping 3D experience is equally as unique. Below we start with the trailer for 3D Machine, and then we’re treated to 3 “making of” shorts. [3D-glasses optional]

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Two Farewell Films: Unicycle Joe and Kaboom

aaron — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:27:40 +0000

Late last month, we profiled a few final films from graduating Sheridan students. Since then, two more bubbled up, and the first is by Alan Cook and Philip Rodrigues. Eight months in the making, Unicycle Joe is the story of a boy with a unicycle leg. The film was animated entirely in Flash, and composited together in After Effects with Photoshop backgrounds. When you’re done, get an eyeful of the color script at Alan’s amazing blog.

Next up is kaBOOM, a short by Jordan Lamarre-Wan that features an unusual trio competing in a drag race. Jordan teamed up with Brian Seligman who composed and performed the original score. A big batch of development art is available at the film’s website kaboomfilm.com, and you can see Jordan’s animatic (or Leika) at his blog.

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Radiohead/Aniboom Interview With Andrew Kauervane

aaron — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:49:29 +0000

As part of the ongoing CHF Radiohead/Aniboom Interview Series, we visit with Andrew Kauervane, an artist with a history of music videos, and also a man with some skin in the game. He recently submitted this Flash-animated piece below to the contest. This is Andrew’s take on Radiohead’s moody track All I Need.

Here’s some concept designs Andrew sketched out before diving into production:

[Show as slideshow]

AARON SIMPSON: Tell us about the concept of your Radiohead contest submission?

ANDREW KAUERVANE: My concept really revolves around the concept of loneliness and love. I know it sounds corny but that’s what the lyrics did for me. My video exhibits a bit of a self-help message: There is someone out there for everyone. A rainbow to add meaning to your life. You just have to look for it; don’t mope.

AARON: How did this differ from your work on the SheBeats video you produced?

ANDREW: It’s significantly different because I’m doing something I like. I get to be as versatile as I want with the artwork and concept. With this one I’m going for a more avant garde look. I have flashing splatters serving as fills for items, film grain over the animation, and old black and white photography of wars, outdoors, and even newspaper clippings. I’m having alot of fun with this.

AARON: So, how is the process of directing a music video different from other animated work you’ve directed?

ANDREW: It’s not really that different. I stumble through pretending to know what I’m doing and people seem to like the outcome. With music videos it’s a lot less mathematical if that makes any sense. When I do “traditional” cartoons with a set script, voices, and all that I have more of a start to finish mentality. With music videos I feel like the only thing on my mind is doing it and liking the result. I’m a music kind of guy; it just brings out the best of me.

AARON: Do you have any routines for uncorking your creativity?

ANDREW: Yeah, it goes back to the music thing. Typically to get things flowing I listen to a band or musician that has a particular quirk that makes me click. That’s really about it.

AARON: Do you feel constrained to the narrative embodied in the lyrics?

ANDREW: I do. But that doesn’t mean I can’t really bring out the best of the lyrics in visual interpretation.

AARON: Do you find feedback important during the creation process?

ANDREW: I’ve actually never really thought about that. I suppose I do, I’m constantly sending progress of my work back and forth to this girl. I guess if I’m really close to the person I think feedback from them is really valuable; it is important.

AARON: Speaking of “important” - how important is it to keep the animation aligned with the rhythm of the music?

ANDREW: It is typically vital that the animation of a music video syncs up with the rhythm. At least for me anyways. It keeps me interested to see things move in accordance to its sound, it makes the animation vivid and, I think, makes listening to the song more enjoyable if it’s your first time hearing it.

AARON: How do you break up your process within the software? Animatic, rough animation, final?

ANDREW: At this point in my “career” I’m actually getting more into the preparation processes. In the past, I didn’t do any kind of storyboard or rough animation - I just had a drawing of the characters head shape behind everything, and I went straight into animation. However with the Shebeats video and now this All I Need project, and even with my more recent cartoon projects, I’ve been dipping my fingers in some storyboarding. I always thought it was interesting to see rough drawings go into something polished, so for me it makes the animation experience somehow… psychologically rewarding. If that makes sense.

AARON: Let’s take a look at some of Andrew’s storyboards from his Radiohead contest submission:

[Show as slideshow]

AARON: Do you currently have a favorite animated music video?

ANDREW: I would have to say my favorite animated video of all time is Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz. To this day I still strive to learn to make my animation move like Jamie Hewlett’s. Truly talented people.

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Pedro Produces Pug’s Life

aaron — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:52:03 +0000

Vancouver Film School’s animation program recently said goodbye to Pedro Eboli. But before he left, Eboli took 2 weeks to learn how to use Flash, and in the following 2 weeks he created this short below, titled A Pug’s Life. Congrats on graduating, Pedro!

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Cold Hard Flash: Flash Animation News, Videos and Links

Story of Khale Back in Session

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Critics Sing Praises Of Paley’s Flash Film

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Meth Minute’s 8-bit Time Warp

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Chapman’s Cool Interview For Animation People

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The Making of 3D Machine

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Two Farewell Films: Unicycle Joe and Kaboom

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Radiohead/Aniboom Interview With Andrew Kauervane

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Pedro Produces Pug’s Life

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