For the launch of the multi-platform video game Condemned 2, Sega turned to director Julian Stokoe at Yukfoo Animation to bring their viral campaign to life. Stokoe, along with Clemenger BBDO Sydney Australia directed 3 Flash-animated shorts that play counter to the gory visuals inside the game. Mukpuddy produced the animation. Here’s Pony Heart Quest:
Watch the other two - Lollipop Gift Parade and Clown Flower Time.
This year’s Channel Frederator Awards will take place on June 4th in New York City, and I hereby implore you, as a Flash-loving fool, to go vote - especially in the Best Flash Film category. Last year Jessica Borutski took the top prize for her I Like Pandas short, and this year the 3 finalists should all be familiar to CHF regulars - The Bros. McLeod (The M Man), Doug Bresler (Trapped in the Drive-thru) and Chris Harding (Make Mine Shoebox). We posted about Make Mine Shoebox, a collaboration between Maura Cluthe and Harding, back in 2005 - but let’s enjoy that again…
Alex Dron, who was featured here back in November, is up for the Kiwi Award, which will highlight the top film from New Zealand. His short Fot is up against Mukpuddy’s Sparkle Friends - go vote!
The holiday season typically sees a flood of great holiday animations, and this year is no different. Here’s a pile of shorts and even one interactive piece…
Perhaps the most unique one is from Angel De Franganillo at antiheroe.com. It’s a Santa operation kit - slide his clothes off, drop the scalpel on his chest and start removing parts. Hey! I didn’t make it - don’t shoot the messenger elf.
The gang at Mukpuddy gave Santa a few drinks before animating this card…
Last Friday night I attended the 2007 Nicktoons Network Animation Festival in Burbank, which is co-sponsored by Frederator. As far as I could tell, there was only one short in the finals that was produced in Flash - Hedgehug by Dan Pinto. The short had already won Best Student Film at this year’s Animation Block Party. To see this year’s winner’s of the Nicktoons Festival, tune in to the network on August 31st at 10pm ET.
I bumped into all sorts of animation folk on Friday, including a few I’d never met. Most notably, the Mukpuddy gang. These guys flew to the states from New Zealand for a couple weeks to take in Comic-con and events like this. I’ve been a big fan of their since I interviewed them in 2005. They’ve built their animation shop from scratch, originally working out of a basement office. From what I heard on Friday, it sounds like many productive years of animation are ahead of them. For more on their American adventures, check out the Mukpuddy blog.
Thanks to the Nicktoons and Frederator folks for inviting - and for a great night of cartoons!
Animation can be a tedious process, inching along at 2 or 3 seconds a day. It can also be lightening fast, as proved by Mukpuddy at the New Zealand 48Hours Film Competition. To ensure no teams write their work beforehand, the film must include random elements announced at the beginning of the competition. This year’s list included a hypochondriac character named Jerry Reed, the use of the dialog “What do you call that?”, and the use of a rope.
Mukpuddy’s film Cape Fear went all the way to the National Finals, winning the Auckland division. Congrats, guys.
The talented gang at Mukpuddy Animation have posted a few new episodes from their series Sparkle Friends. Episodes 11 and 12 each feature over 3 minutes of animation and are airing on New Zealand TV as part of a variety show called What Now. Here’s episode 11, titled Return of the Gungi. Head over to the Mukpuddy blog to see episode 12, Yabba Dabba Don’t!
New Zealand-based animation studio Mukpuddy is back with a second season of Sparkle Friends, due to air soon on New Zealand TV. You can watch the trailer below, and to all Flash animators out there - the Muks are looking for a clip of broadcast-quality animation to place inside a TV screen on their show. Head over to their blog to read more.
