This week has been a very complicated week for me, so this post will be a bit shorter than usual.
Now here's something that's definitely in the spirit of the Vortex Machines. Artist/sculptor Mike Libby combines insects with mechanics to create some very fetching technological arthropodal hybrids. And I love the cold, precise functionality of cogs, gears, electrical components and such. And I love how the mechanical behavioral patterns/functions of insects reflect this in nature. So something like this fellow's creative output I find rather aesthetically pleasing indeed.
Hey there folks. Welcome to another Randomitronica post. This week I'd like to write about a certain animator and his work.
The animator's name is Adam Phillips, he currently lives in Sydney, Australia. He's animated a great many things, but the main focus of this blog will be on the subject of his Brackenwood series of short animations. There are currently 6 animated Brackenwood shorts (plus a music video thingy) available at Phillips' website www.biteycastle.com . They feature the doings of various denizens of Brackenwood, a planet mostly covered in forest, full of various creative forms of wildlife sprung from Phillips' imagination with a dash or two of mythical creatures and Cryptozoology thrown in for good measure.
The main character (I hesitate to refer to him as a protagonist, he's much more of an antagonist) is Bitey, a satyr/faun, who also happens to be the fastest creature on the planet. Bitey is not a nice guy. Apart from the basics of day to day survival in this world, Bitey's main focus tends to be creating mischief towards and at times downright malicious havoc upon his fellow forest dwellers. Well, at least the ones that are smaller and weaker than he is.
Lookit him there, looking all sinister n stuff.
Personally, I think he's great. He looks after himself, takes the piss out of everyone, and can move like a motherfucker. Here, have a look for yourselves.
Now bear in mind that this stuff was animated by only one person, Phillips himself, in Flash. There is a plan for a Brackenwood feature film that has taken its first few tentative steps towards being a happening thing. Phillips has just scratched the surface of the potential of his characters and world in the Brackenwood shorts, I for one reckon a feature length Brackenwood animated film would be a mighty cool thing indeed. So hopefully it does all come together and Mr. Phillips gets the support and financial backing to turn his goal of expanding this concept into a film with A grade production values and with the freedom and time to do it the way he envisages it.
It would certainly be vastly, vaaaastly more entertaining than trash like this. Eh? Eh? Ammirite? Of bloody course I am.
Incidentally, a few years back Phillips did this poignant little music video for Ween. This video clip was my first exposure to Phillips' work, and is how I discovered Bitey Castle in the first place.
Hopefully you'll enjoy having a look through the animations on the BiteyCastle site as much as I do. Be sure to click the castle next to the header in the animations section for a bunch of other animated goodies. As for moi, I'm off to bake/burn some cookies. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Before I go though, here's a bonus clip of Joe Pesci havin' a rap. He's like, totally serious yo. Fffpmmwaahahaha! Good grief O_O
Yes, that is indeed Naomi Campbell as the "brunette". Thanks to Akira The Don for bringing to my attention this sterling example of a complete lack of taste and good sense.
Randomitronica — what's it all about then, eh?
One of the largest cogs of The Vortex Machines, Randomitronica ran from May 8th 2009 until July 15th 2010, and was written in the "voice" of Chloé Kovac, one of the main characters in Maxwell Vex's Agents of the Endtimes webcomic (which can be found here).
Randomitronica contains a bunch of opinions, reviews, interviews, general musings on various topics that Chloé found of interest, and probably more than a handful of now-defunct hyperlinks.
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