A Quiet Moment Amongst Friends

Things I Saw Last Year

 

Over the long New Years weekend I slapped together all of the video footage that I'd taken with my iPhone over the previous year. I somehow ended up making a real-deal experimental film with close-up footage of insects and long shots of escalators. My friend Carl W was kind enough to help with an original soundtrack. Without music, this would be tough to watch.

UPDATE: This video bookends nicely with this video I made last year.

Things I Did in January

 

 

This past January I participated in the annual Fun-A-Day art show. The event takes place in cities across the country and the only requirement is that participants create one art piece per day for the entire month of January. For my project, I created a daily animation based on the most notable thing that happened each day. At the end of the month I had thirty-one very short films that I stitched together into a silent movie that was shown on a loop at the Rock Paper Scissors Gallery in Oakland.

For the web version of the video, I asked my friend Carl W to help with a soundtrack. I was basically asking for Carl's interpretation of my interpretation of my month. It could have been a huge mess, but Carl came through with a big song that gives the animation some emotional depth. Slam dunk.

UPDATE: Here are some pictures from the show on February 4. (Photos courtesy of Nick L, the show's curator):

 

Wood Talk with Nick Shuminsky: A Free Energy Web Gem

 

Short film, original score, digital video, color, 1:21 minutes, 2009

My friend Nick S is in the rock band Free Energy. He and the other dudes in the band created this video to teach people how to properly dispose of old Christmas trees. Gather some friends, chop up some wood, and kick back by a homemade campfire. I love how these guys think. 

You can learn more about Free Energy on their website.

 

Stains of Saints by The Weather Machines

Music, video, color, 3.5 minutes, 2006

This song was recorded by my friend Jason W's band, The Weather Machines, in 2006. The video was directed by Adam B. If you like pop music and videos about time warps and cloning, then you will love this jam.

The Weather Machines are from Portland, Oregon by way of Rapid City, South Dakota. You can learn more about the band on their website. Their music can also be purchased at all of the popular internet download sites.

UPDATE: I know three minutes is long for today's short attention spans, but don't miss the end of the video. It gets more awesome.

Shark: An Animated Motion Picture

Video, stop-motion animation, photoshop, 45 seconds, original score, 2009

I adapted my drawing of the fist and the shark into a stop-motion movie. Carl W created an original score using a computer program with beats.

I also created an Animated GIF from the movie's climax that you can share on MySpace or your personal website. 

Making your own cartoons is fun! This is going to put Pokémon out of business.   

UPDATE: Here is the video in a new and exciting format. Thanks to Ben D for the hot tip. 

UPDATE 2: I apologize if it seems like the fist is bullying the cute baby shark. That was not the intent! It was supposed to be about the triumph of good over evil. Like this movie.  [found at this site]

"Mama Mia" by Togetherness

Music, digital video, color, 3 min, 2007

Carl W made this video for the song "Mama Mia" by his band Togetherness. Mama Mia is a feel-good song about the benefits of cutting loose and having fun with friends. The girls in the video are all in the band! So is the crusty dean who stomps out the girls' cigarettes. Classic! 

Togetherness is an underground band from Minneapolis/St. Paul that might not even exist anymore. Some of their songs can be found on MySpace.  

Carl and I went to college together in Minnesota. We were super cool, just like the motor bike dudes in the video.

Anne Boleyn by Eux Autres

3 min 20 sec, Claymation Music Video, 2007

Eux Autres - "Anne Boleyn" from Nicholas Larimer on Vimeo.

Nick L thought the artwork on this site was childish so he decided to raise the bar. Like a renaissance man from days of yore, Nick wrote and recorded a song and then created an honest-to-god claymation music video. It's like when the California Raisins formed a band in the eighties and released their hit, "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" or when the Noid stole all that pizza and got thrown in jail.

Nick is a recent transplant to San Francisco. He has a real art degree and makes his living in advertising. Many years ago, I helped Nick get a job at an alternative weekly newspaper selling ads to escorts.