Thursday, February 26, 2009

Waking Life

Recently I've been pursuing films of a particularly creative caliber, specifically, ones that make the mind truly think. "Waking Life" a 2001 animated film by director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused) truly stranded my mind out to sea. But after a lot of consideration, it is safe to to say that although my mind was lost, it was lost in a good place. A remote island, if you will, where suddenly life seems a little more interesting. This movie explores many views about the nature of life itself, in a beautifully animated format that complements its subject matter with perfection.
"I see this as a realistic film about an unreality," Linklater says. "The gestures, the sound, the human expressions all seem real, but this reality is then re-interpreted artistically. It becomes a kind of moving painting."

Animating a Waking Life

Even for those uninterested in the complex and vivid language of this movie. (It delves into ideas of existentialism, nihilism, social Darwinism, and even physics to say a few.) Equally fascinating is the animation itself. Constantly moving and changing in color and style, every scene puts amazing emphasis on the human form and its interaction with its surroundings.
[T]he rotoscope technique – which, in a sense, allows the filmmaker to trace over the photographic image - complements the ambiguous dream/wake duality of the film: it’s reality and yet it’s not.

The Animation Pimp » Blog Archive » Waking Life: The Truth is in the Animation (Montage Magazine, 2004)


Different artists were used for each scene, giving each space and character a unique personality. This adds another layer of existential fragmentation while, at times, playfully poking fun at some of the characters. At the same time, the lack of a cohesive style along with the shifting, floating, dislocated backgrounds and landscapes keeps the viewer on edge, at a distance.

The Animation Pimp » Blog Archive » Waking Life: The Truth is in the Animation (Montage Magazine, 2004)



Sunday, February 8, 2009

Happy surface day!

On Friday, Mary and I decided to call in sick and take a personal day up at brighton. We got there around ten and snagged a couple pairs of the Live Life 2s and filled our pockets with vitamin water. To say we had a good time would be an understatement - i'm currently fighting a very strong impulse to empty my bank account and buy a pair. Regardless it was a super awesome time!
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