Student Work

Poilus – The Hairy One.

Once again I am absolutely blown away by the quality of work that is being produced by students these days. I know the hardware and software are better than it was even ten years ago let alone twenty plus, but there is more to it than the simple mastery of your tool set. The story telling level is better, the understanding of atmosphere, and how to build tension, the editing, etc. The animated short below was created by a group of seven students at ISART DIGITAL, the Video Game and 3D Animation / VFX School for their graduation film The title “Poilus” means the hairy one. It is a term of endearment for a French WWI infantryman the main character of the film. This is really solid work, and I have no doubt this crew will go on to great things as they leave college and embark on a career in animation.

3D Animation : Guillaume AUBERVAL, Léa DOZOUL, Simon GOMEZ, Timothé HEK, Hugo LAGRANGE, Antoine LAROYE and David LASHCARI
Music & Sound Design : Aina ANDRIAN, Paul BARRET, Gabriel DALMASSO, Auriane FATON, Elio GERMANI and Lesly VERDEROSA

Accidents, Blunders, and Calamities.

Once again student work that is blowing my mind with high-quality production values, attention to detail, story craft, and animation skills. The video below was put together by a team of 44 students at Media Design School. The students crafted 30 CG animals and blended them with live action footage to create a short black comedy inspired by the work of Edward Gorey. This really is a fantastic little short, and it truly shows just how far design, animation, film making, and illustration have come in the last 10 years. When I look back on the student animations and films that were being produced when I was in school, this makes them look positively horrible in terms of quality. Then again when I was in art school, a Mac II was about the most powerful computer you could find.

Put Your Type in Motion.

Here is a little Friday afternoon time waster for you. A series of animated typographic treatments from Starov Evgeniy a student in St. Petersburg Russia. That’s right this is student work. This is a testament to how far we have come in the field of graphic design in the last 20 years. I couldn’t imagine creating 12 of these when I was in art school. It would have taken me an entire semester to illustrate and film a single one. Awesome work Starov.

Type1

Type2

Type3

Type4

Type5

Type6

Type7

Type8

Type9

Type10

Type11

Type12

Johnnie Walker. “Dear Brother”.

Not to be a downer during the holidays, but the video below while quite beautiful, does have a bit of a dark twist to it. The story however, rings true to what Johnnie Walker’s brand stands for.

The ad was produced as pure spec work by two students, Daniel Titz and Dorian Lebherz, who are currently studying at Film Academy of Baden-Württemberg. What they have produced is a hauntingly beautiful piece of cinematography that captures the Scottish landscape while weaving a story that draws you in, building up to an unexpected finally.

This is the kind of work that just goes to show how much the game has changed in the last ten years. 2 students, with no real budget, and a small crew produced an epic spot for Johnnie Walker that rivals and or beats anything a big budget agency would have produced for an outrageous amount.

In the video you see two brothers walking across the foggy terrain of Scotland’s Isle of Skye, what feels like their childhood home. As the progress a poetic voiceover tells their story and connection. The script and the voice over lead you into the narrative as the two brothers climb over rocky hills and mountains to the destination of an abandoned farmhouse. The product makes a brief appearance as the two have a drink before continuing to the edge os a cliff and the dramatic conclusion. The spot is memorable, and ties directly into the bonding that happens with family over a drink, at the outcome of a stressful event. Powerful stuff. Great work.

This dropped on YouTube 3 days ago. It already has more than 2 million views, and with good reason.

Actors: Robin Guiver, Mathew Lewis-Carter
Voice Actor: John “Bang” Reilly

Idea: Daniel Titz & Dorian Lebherz
Director: Dorian Lebherz & Daniel Titz
Producer: Madlen Folk & Johann Valentinitsch
DoP: Jan David Günther
Editor: Raquel Caro Nunez
Visual Effects/Compositing: Daniel Titz & Dorian Lebherz
Film Music: Renée Andre Abe
Sound Design: Marvin H. Keil