Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog

EDIT #1: Because I want to spread the love, and because you (dear, slow reader) missed the boat on this fabulous musical, it is still online at WhedonTube.com. But you should still support creativity by getting the DVD (apparently the director's commentary will be sung!).

EDIT #2: If you've already watched the episodes, but can't get those catchy songs out of your head, the official soundtrack is coming out later, I believe. But if you absolutely need your fix NOW, I'm sure there are streaming-quality rips available for download somewhere.

During the Writer's Strike 2008, Joss Whedon (of Buffy and Firefly fame) got bored. So instead of twiddling his thumbs and worrying about his next paycheck, he decided to get creative. He made a short series of low-budget video "blogs" chronicling an aspiring supervillain, Dr. Horrible; his crush from the laundromat, Penny; and his (douchebag) superhero nemesis, Capt. Hammer.

What makes this different from any other internet video blog is that it's a musical. Also, did I mention that Neil Patrick Harris is the main character? The series is posted for free on the Dr. Horrible website for a week; after that, it gets taken down and is available on iTunes or DVD.

And in case you were too slow, here's a trailer to whet your appetite (or to salt a wound).

60s dance parties

there is something special about this amateur video that impresses me, but i can't quite put my finger on it. i love the shaky party-cam thing in high contrast black and white.. it makes it look and feel 60s authentic. not to mention that it is recorded on 8mm. i just think it's pretty sweet, simple, and fun to watch. kinda wish i had friends who did this.

if you want to see a 60s dance party master, watch cassavetes' faces. all his shots are fricking killer. regardless, anyone who loves film needs to watch faces. gorgeous gorgeous film.



how can i not mention godard when talking about 60s dance sequences. i can only think of one real dance party scene that he's filmed (briefly in masculin feminin), but he's more known for choreographed stuff. one of my absolute favorites is of anna karina dancing around in a pool hall in vivre sa vie.



wow. i'm a nerd.

MUTO

Creative stop-motion graffiti animation. I would hate to be the public works department responsible for cleanup.


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Dear Beautiful

Oh, the power of traditional 2D animation!

Dear Beautiful (by Roland Becerra) is an animated short film about lotion-gulping zombies and a man's failed marriage. While I could go into further analysis of the story and all such metaphors, I want to point out that the art and animation at times is eerily realistic. At times, I feel as if I'm looking at a photo or live-action shot, only to have something move in stop-motion speeds and tell me that I'd been fooled. The lighting is what pulls it off. Not to mention that the faces are incredibly well-drawn.

Oh yeah, the story's kinda scary too. And it's being made into a movie. Oh, and here's the trailer. But I highly encourage you to watch the short film as well.


Trailer for Dear Beautiful from Quiet Earth on Vimeo.

Wall-E

OK, honestly. You didn't think I'd let another Motion/Movie/Mograph Monday slip by without posting about Wall-E, did you?

Fear not, I won't give away the story, but since I will be talking about the end credits, so I'm bound to piss someone off with spoilers. SO STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANNA BE SPOILED.

The ending credits of the movie show humans rebuilding their civilization after realizing they've been lazy, fat, and out of touch with life for 700 years. What I found most entertaining about these end credits was how Pixar chose to present this epilogue. It showed the re-evolution of mankind through the evolution of art: cave drawings, hieroglyphics, Greco-Roman art, Impressionist paintings, finally culminating in glorious 8-bit pixel art (thus laying the foundations for 3D art). Too bad I don't have a YouTube link to post. If you really are reading this, you've either already seen it (so I don't need to repost the ending), or ignored my spoiler warning altogether (in which case you should be watching the movie anyway!).

I also came across this article about the movie in general, and thought it was a really well-written analysis.

"Wall-E" contends that real life is hard, real life is struggle, and that we live most meaningfully not by avoiding pain and struggle, but by engaging it creatively, and sharing that struggle in community.

Also in hindsight, I'm kinda upset now that I didn't pick up any Wall-E promo postcards from last year's Comic Con.