Not everything has to be smooth and easy, right? 21st-century Dutch animation has also explored less narrative territories. Take this dazzling tour around a.o. Google Earth abstractness, a dizzying music video, a breathtaking 3D-study of pursuits, the decay of the human body and an anthropomorphic cat and dog. Meanwhile, learn how great short films don't necessarily have to be narrative.
Noise literally means unwanted sound. When many undesired signals accumulate, the wanted signal is suppressed and overtaken. But what if we tried to understand the signal as a whole rather than only focusing on the wanted signal? Noise is a big source of signals that could have a larger value which we have not yet discovered.
An anthropomorphic cat and dog, their images divided over 4 panels, receive an invitation for a romantic rendezvous.
When they eventually arrive at their destination after multiple moments of near-interaction the lovers don’t turn out to be whom we thought they were.
At the end it’s their abandoned spouses who meet and reveal the naked truth.
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An abstract pursuit that leaves you gasping for breath.
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CROPS is a stop motion film on centre pivot irrigation in the USA, using over 1000 circles, captured and cropped in Google Earth. Long water-sprinkler arms rotate around a central pivot.
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Straight monochrome image is transformed into a dramatic, silent spectacle where the colour subtly melts and solidifies lines and transfusing conical shapes. Colours eventually lose intensity, leaving only the basic structure, the "skeleton" picture. For this computer abstract film, Vegter used Fourier transformation.
An absurdist meta comedy on the bizarre relationship between daily life and global news. Here, war is waged on the kitchen table while a man drinks coffee. Helicopters shred his newspaper, a drone fires at a plate of broccoli. A playful critique on the level of media saturation we're bombarded with.
'Depart at 22' is a poetic animated short about growing old and the fear of losing the beauty of youth.
In this hand-drawn animation a line is being extrapolated through a grid. When the line exceeds the boundaries of the grid, the process spreads to and reflects on its surroundings. Beyond each boundary the extrapolation of movement is causing deformation in a systematic but speculative way. Hypnotizing throughout.
Grindin' is a music video for Nobody Beats The Drum, A Dutch electro collective for whom visuals are as integral a part of the performance as the pounding beats they unleash. The stop-motion film is based around an intensely choreographed sequence of four thousand photographs and plays with the boundaries of sound, music and perspective.
Drawn directly on film, both the animation and the soundtrack are abstract. Scratch is an intriguing conversation of sounds and images.
Kaboom Animation Festival is the one-stop-shop for the latest and greatest in all things animated. Ranging from cutting-edge experimental arthouse to colorful stories for families and kids, Kaboom will cater to the animation needs of all. Yes, even yours, my amazing weirdo friend!
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