Two months of writing, shooting, and editing (oh, god, the editing) all add up to the coolest thing I’ve ever worked on:
While I directed and edited this piece — and it’s a piece that I’m immensely proud of — the most pleasant surprise of the experience was how the creative effort of everyone involved came together so neatly. I’ve directed videos before, but this project marked the first time that I approached ten different people and said, “Hey, could you contribute your valuable time and talent to help make this video as good as it can possibly be?” Every time I was met with a resounding yes, and the resultant piece is largely an amalgam of wonderful things that I could have never created myself. It’s a good feeling.
I have more to say, but it’s late and I’m tired. If you’re interested in hearing more, definitely check out the Olde English blog in the next few days. In the meantime, I hope you’ll excuse me while I bask in the pleasure of finally being done.
As an experiment, I’ve decided to try shifting some of the linkblog content (which, as you all know, is the only regularly-updated section of this blog) back into the central column, mainly because there are certain items which benefit from a fuller presentation. The following item, JibJab’s music video for Weird Al’s “Do I Creep You Out?” isn’t necessarily one of them — the song is entirely unfunny and unmemorable, and the source material too boring to be a good subject for parody. The video itself, however, is noteworthy for its strikingly unique animation style.
[Update: Removing embedded video, because it was messing with the page layout. Link to the video here.]
The video’s pastiche of animated real-life stills, keyframed distortions, and drawn backgrounds is something that I’ve never seen before — check out 1:40, for example, where Al’s chest rises and falls in a way that’s totally convincing and emotive, yet still lets us see the strings underneath the animation. Whoever directed this piece should quit JibJab and start producing for people who will give them proper credit for their innovative work.