Piper-Heidsieck Ad Bubbling with Motion Graphics

Pop some bubbly and check out this gorgeous ad that the production house Parking Studio put together for champagne producer Piper-Heidsieck. The ad is free flowing timeline showcasing the subtle influences of Piper-Heidsieck during its 200 and some odd years of production.

Parking Studio put together some stellar motion graphics using Piper-Heidsieck’s recognizable label as the backdrop for their time-space journey. Unfortunately ads of this length and pacing don’t make TV in their full form too much any more, so check be sure to watch it now for the full effect.

– chris

(via the entertaining Nozap )

Megunica Trailer Online

The trailer for Megunica, the latin-american travel and street art documentary has finally made it’s way online. From the looks of things, they’ve captured the communities they’ve traveled through as much as the art they’ve created. Impressively, they cut the trailer  just a few weeks into editing.

The Megunica team has done a great job of promoting themselves thus far and I expect them to continue to do so. It’s nice to see them embrace the net-art scene and build a following by making themselves available and open to the community.

Check out the trailer, give them some feedback and see our previous coverage for more of Blu’s street art.

– chris

Max Tyrie’s Modest Mouse Music Video

About a month ago I covered the Modest Mouse music video contest, so it’s about time to check in on some of the entries. I was having trouble getting the entries on the official site to work, but fortunately the Wooster Collective came to the rescue by featuring an amazing entry done by a man name Max Tyrie (who apparently did character animation for spiderman 3?).

Max cut the shots the way he wanted, printed them out, photocopied them, then painstakingly photographed and animated them after integrating them into alternate environments.  If technique sounds vaguely familiar you’ve probably seen the amazing short Copy Shop, if it doesn’t then watch it now.

Max’s entry is unique take on the green screen concept and I’m sure it will stand out amongst the other entries.

Watch the video and check out the official site if you think you can get the videos to work.

– chris

Turbochef Ovens Residential Redesign

Fastcompany has put together a great little slide-show chronicling the design process that went into creating the Turbochef 30″ Double-Wall Speedcook Oven. Turbochef industrial ovens have been used commercially for years to dramatically cut cooking times, but a redesign was in order to sex them up for the residential market.

You can check out Fastcompany’s slide-show or head to Turbochef’s official site if you feel inspired to purchase the real thing.

– chris

Mindblowing Automated Video Improvement

Ajit over at Ticklebooth has found some remarkable new technology for filmmakers. Imagine having the quality of your footage enhanced, overlay masks automatically generated and adding HDR effects to your videos easily in post.

Software developed at the University of Washington aims to automate all those effects and more, by compositing still photos over video and interpolating everything in between. Their example is mind blowing.

Depending on price, this software has the opportunity to revolutionize the quality of independent video.

Watch and be awed. Head to their official site for more info.

– chris

Gondry Directs Sir Paul’s Dance Tonight

I hate to be a one trick pony, but I must spread the word about Paul McCartney’s new music video directed by the illustrious Michel Gondry. The video features appearances from Mackenzie Cook (a.k.a. Gareth from Ricky Gervais’ The Office), Natalie Portman as a ghost and Sir Paul McCartney.

The video, Dance Tonight, is populated with understated handmade effects and bubbling with Gondry’s quirky style.

Watch it now!

– chris

Video: Breaking Down Visual Effects

This is a great video highlighting the power of visual effects and composition. Apparently the clip was put together to showcase the skills of RI0T Manhattan, a portion of RIOT Inc a bi-coastal production house. The vid features some really fast cutting, but it’s an excellent look for anyone interested in how this stuff works.

To check out more great videos from RIOT head to their official site. Be sure to check out the excellent HOWTO the cut, showing off all the killer effects and composition they put together for a recent Orbitz commercial.

– chris

Video: Michael Moore’s Sicko

Micheal Moore’s new film, Sicko, is coming to theaters in late June. Having just premiered at Cannes, it is being received with overwhelming positive reviews. Moore set out to document the state of health care in the US and compare it to the rest of the world.

So far there is not much for the general public to see but newly released clips from the film, although brief, are shocking.

Watch the clip and check out Moore’s site for more details.

– chris

C’était Un Rendez-Vous

Wow, this is one hell of a short film. I hadn’t seen C’était un rendez-vous in a couple of years, so I figured it was about time to revisit it. C’était un rendez-vous is a nine-minute, one take, one-shot film mounted on the front of a Mercedes speeding through Paris at 5:30 in the morning.

It was shot in 1976 by Claude Lelouch and is credited with starting the cinéma vérité movement. There are no special effects or camera trickery, it’s very real and very dangerous.

To see more: Grab the DVD for the full experience, watch the recently produced making of and check out a new music video for Snow Patrol’s – “Open Your Eye’s” featuring five minutes of Rendez-vous.

– chris

The 9 Minute Ratatouille

Scott Kirshner over at CinemaTech points out that Rat-a-touille, Pixar’s big summer release, has put 9 minutes of the film online for all to see. Scott points out that this is a great opportunity for filmmakers to monitor what type of video to release online when trying to promote a larger piece. There are risks involved, you can drive viewers away if you choose the wrong clips or if you put too much content online.

After watching the nine minutes of Ratatouille they released, I was instantly convinced. Pixar has taken their graphics to a new level and it looks surprisingly entertaining, tight and fun. Check out all the Ratatouille videos and decide for yourself.

– chris