Optimization is the word this morning, and I discovered that my 3-Way Man Hug video -- featuring the manliest of man-on-man-on-man hugging a person could see on youtube -- was not getting nearly enough attention as its predecessor. (Which, interestingly enough, was the subject of a request from a Danish TV production -- they wanted to use the clip for broadcast! We gave them our blessing, but I don't know that I'll ever see the show. Sad face.) So, freshly optimized for the YouTube machine, here is "The 3-Way Man Hug": I'm not sure there's much to say about this video. It's another installment of my book promo videos (you can check out all of them over here). They range from complex kinetic typography animations to tightly-cut verbal pitches. This video falls somewhere near the typography animation on the spectrum, but I think it goes without saying that it's something entirely different.
Which certainly was the point. The actual production of this promo was maybe only an hour or two -- as long as I don't take into account the hours of work put into the artwork. Basically, what you're looking at is the poster/cover art of Explorers of the Unknown: Disastergeddon! and in preparation for this video, I separated all of the graphical elements into individual image files and edited/animated the whole thing Final Cut Pro X. I actually had gathered a handful of the original comic book pages, intending to edit some of that in to the video (the version of the "E" logo in the video is from the last version of the comics) but the mood of this video seemed to preclude any unnecessary artwork. A couple of things I really like: 1. The audio is a mix of about three or four different music tracks and a variety of sound effects (explosions and thunder) as well as a snippet of music playing in reverse. Most of the main tonal bed is courtesy Chris LeBrane -- musical work he did for one of my unproduced projects "The Dirt in Golden Bay" (inspired by my brief stint working in a political office. It was ugly, to say the least.) but the main theme is my own track, titled "The Dark Drip of Doom". 2. The whole dramatic mood of the opening segment. The spinning stars. The nearly-invisible 'E' logo. The shifting highlights. The transition into the trippy, warped space (which speaks to a story element -- read the damn book to find out!). All-in-all ... I'm actually really proud of this video. I've rewatched more than a handful of times and will probably watch it a few more before the night is out. Diastergeddon! linkage. IN OTHER NEWS: There's a sad mood in the house tonight. Sam came home with news that her grandmother, Granny Marie, had died today at 105 years old. I had never met the woman or seen her outside of pictures, but it's pretty much impossible to get to be 105 years old without being some kind of truly badass lady. Rest in peace, Granny Marie. |
KRUMBINE.NET
|