Toronto-based animation and design studio Crush turned out this paper craft-inspired spot for Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo via creative agency Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener, Seattle. This animation journey takes us through the zoo with looks at the various animal inhabitants, and the personalities, moods and vibes they represent.
Crush used a lot of classic illustration as reference for its designs and color palette, but then developed them into something very contemporary. Crush designer Jullian Ablaza developed the look of the animals and with the help of artist and children’s book illustrator Ashley Barron brought each animal to life. Once the animals were created, Ablaza designed the environments to be simple but to complement the animals as the film flowed from scene to scene. Crush sr. designer and animator Yoho Hang Yue put together the animatic and ultimately the animation. To keep the project streamlined and cost efficient, Yoho created the entire project in After Effects, adding textures to the final piece.
“We wanted a very tactile feel, which we would have done in camera if the budget and timeline allowed,” said Gary Thomas, creative director for Crush. “The end result was very close to that and allowed for a lot of flexibility. The creative team at Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener were a dream to work with.”
Sundance Documentary “The Alabama Solution” Shows Horrifying Prison Conditions
Incarcerated men in the Alabama prison system risked their safety to feed shocking footage of their horrifying living conditions to a pair of documentary filmmakers. The result is "The Alabama Solution," which premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman became interested in Alabama prisons in 2019. Jarecki, the filmmaker behind "The Jinx" and "Capturing the Friedmans," and Kaufman first gained access to the restricted grounds through a visit with a chaplain during a revival meeting held in the prison yards. There men pulled them aside and whispered shocking stories about the reality of life inside: forced labor, drugs, violence, intimidation, retaliation and the undisclosed truths behind many prisoner deaths.
This process eventually led them to incarcerated activists Melvin Ray and Robert Earl Council (also known as "Kinetik Justice") who had for years been trying to expose the horrifying conditions and deep- seated corruption across the system. They helped feed dispatches to the filmmakers with contraband cellphones.
"We're deeply concerned for their safety, and we have been since the first time we met them," said Kaufman. "They've been doing this work for decades and as you see in the film, they've been retaliated against in very extreme ways. But there are lawyers who are ready to do wellness checks and visit them and respond to any sort of retaliation that may come."
On Tuesday at the first showing of the film, she had Council on the phone listening in. They put the microphone up to the cellphone so that Council could speak.
"We thank you all for listening, for being interested," Council said. "On behalf of the brothers of Alabama, I thank you... Read More