mt fuji animation

kyohappClay_animation

some friends and i got together today for a short course on clay animation. i have played around with imovie, sprouted fancy ideas and made a few video collections but i had never known the technique behind the pingu style flicks.
after a quick brainstorming sesh, we decided to go with the erupting volcano theme. scanning the classroom we were in, we caught site of a spring water bottle brandishing the almighty fujisan as its logo. we were thinking something educational with a twist. a simple 123 or abc concept, infused with a splash of mechanically operated and heavenly sent natural disaster.
the end result... "Now is the time to learn count to 4!"
You can click here or on the above photo to check out our first and slightly rushed attempt at clay animation on vimeo.
for those of you who cant view it...
its basically a paper and clay model of fuji with cherry red lava already spilling over the sides, a fine looking hand comes down from the heavens, finger outstretched to press an oversized button perched on the side of the volcano, causing a construction paper and clay explosion resembling a volcanic eruption. numbers in sequence start to fly out, spinning this way and that... (we originally wanted to count to 20...but ended up getting to 4) and landing next to fujisan which continues to erupt with ferocity until that same hand reaches down squashing fuji with almighty force and then rips it fair off the earth. (a bit of dramatic and horrific counting practice for early childhood learners - that oughta get em lovin math!!!)
oh and 'the watch' well thats another story...

integration matsuri - claska

clicking around the yogajaya
site, as i often do in the hope that i will latch onto enough
inspiration and good intention to propel me from my daydreamy state in
front of this bloody computer fair onto the floor of their studio in
omotesando with the yoga mat i bought for the purpose 3 MONTHS AGO, i
found that an ultra cool event had been organised. an event i wasn't
going to miss for the world.

integration matsuri was a line up of all the things my daydreamings
consist of...capoeira, yoga, smooth tunes and lush vodka and tonics,
all in a very sleek space - claska meguro.

most excitingly the craziest awe-inspiring man i have ever had the
pleasure of casting my dreamy eyes over (as i laze around staring at
the photos of him in his books in seriously impossible yoga
poses)...david swenson - ashtanga yogi extradonaire.

the night, for us, kicked off (literally) with a high energy, steam
building capoeira performance by an very fine looking yokohaman group

and ended as i turned around to watch zume drop, with fainting
motion from the perch he had been sat up on, all pale faced and ready
to vomit over the silent and yogafied crowd.  seems that the warm,
concentrated energy of the room created during the yoga performance
coupled with the fact that the room was asked to be silent to aid the
focus, was all too much for the boy who had been clock watching, deep
yawning, mint chewing and fidgiting for 20 mintues in an attempt to
prolong the inevitable...a near social disaster and a rapid escape from
the over heated and far too centered room.

an extremely awesome event!