This video kinda reminds me of my brother. In his pre-teen years, he used to have an impeccable love for dogs. Once we went to visit our uncle, who owns 5 dogs, and my brother spent the entire day playing around with them. At night, he went into their dog house and slept with the dogs overnight. My parents were a little worried… but I think my brother is fine now, he only howls once or twice a week these days.

這部短片讓我想起了我的老弟. 在他很小的時候, 他對狗有種莫名的熱愛. 有一次, 我們全家去探望我的叔叔. 他養了五六隻大大小小的狗, 我弟一整天都不停的跟那些狗玩. 到晚上, 他居然跟那些狗鑽進了狗屋裡,  和它們一起睡覺. 我爸媽那時有點擔心, 不過我想他現在應該正常一點了. 雖然偶爾他還是會對其他的狗嚎叫一下… (by Natalie Bettelheim)

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What do you get when you mix the ordinary soap bubbles you see everyday with the exotic and uncommon ferrofluid? All kinds of magic happen: the growth of voronoi patterns from the dark outlines, drawn by some sort of invisible force, finally forms into what looks like a red devil’s eye. For more bizarre things those nifty ferrofluid can do, click here.

當你把每天都看得到的普通肥皂泡沫, 與相當罕見, 只在實驗室裡才看得到的 ferrofluid (鐵磁流體) 結合在一起時, 那會是怎樣呢? 一些奇妙的景象誕生了: 墨黑的線條不斷蔓延, 形成了 Voronoi 多邊幾何圖. 被一股隱形的力量吸引, 最後形成了一顆紅色的惡魔眼珠. 想看看神奇的 ferrofluid 還有什麼伎倆, 請按這兒.

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This is not a screenshot of some alien in a sci-fi movie, nor is it a piece of jewelry design. These are just photos of regular, ordinary bugs some guy took in a forest next to his home. Miroslaw Swietek took these extreme close-up shots of bugs while they are sleeping at night, covered in glistening morning dew. Amazing how otherworldly these buggers look when viewed this close eh?

這可不是科幻片裡的外星生物, 也不是某個珠寶設計師的傑作. 這不過是隻相當普通, 正在睡覺的小蟲而已. Miroslaw Swietek 半夜在他自家附近的森林裡, 發現這些深睡的蟲被晶瑩剔透的露水給覆蓋, 於是抓住機會, 拍下了這些昆蟲的超近特寫. 很難想像這些小蟲在這個距離下, 居然這麼美麗, 像顆寶石閃閃發亮的.

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Polynoid, the makers behind one of my favorite films this year “Loom“, strikes again with an underwater world full of electro sea creatures, psychedelic colors, and wild partiers. For some reason, all their videos are imbued with this “cool” factor… I guess it must be the sleek design and the camera work.

我今年最喜歡的短片, “Loom“, 的製作團 Polynoid 又有了新作. 這次是淺入水底, 探索那充滿電子浮游生物, 迷幻色彩, 和瘋狂派對的世界. 不知道為什麼, 他們的影片總是感覺很酷. 大概是因為腳色設計都很前衛, 再加上超快速剪接的原因吧?

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You can always count on David O’Reilly to deliver the biggest WTF’s in animation. Similar to his previous film, “The External World“, this short is every bit as weird, random, and flat-out gross. Yet, hilarity always ensues. Unless you consider inter-species mating a normal behavior, please file this post under the NSFW category.

如果你生活太無聊, 需要一點WTF的話, 找 David O’Reilly 準沒錯. 跟他之前的 ”The External World” 一樣, 這部 “元氣的物語” 是同樣古怪, 亂七八糟, 低級到了一個境界. 不過, 搞笑指數也是挺高的. 除非你認為跨物種雜交是正常行為的話, 我建議你回家再觀賞本片, 不要在上班時看.

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“Killer Toys” is a visualization of children’s playful imagination on war and violence. According to the creator, Dongjie Zhu, “ The relaxed film style makes a sharp contrast with the disastrous wars in reality.” This makes me wonder what he’s trying to say… are humans just inherently violent and destructive?

“和平玩具” 是一部把小孩子們幻想的戰爭和暴力給視覺化的動畫. 根據製作人電Z的說法, “這部短片輕鬆簡單的風格與現實中殘酷的戰爭形成了強烈對比.” 這讓我有點不解他到最後是想表達什麼. 暴力和戰爭是人類的天性嗎? 從小開始打幻想的戰鬥, 到長大成人後打真正的戰爭?

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This breath-taking view of the earth is shot from outer space, all the way from the International Space Station, between the month of August to October 2011. Just look at the ever-changing aurora lights, the thin, glowing membrane covering the earth like a force field, and the little flickers of natural and artificial lights scattered across… It is really stunning how beautiful our mother planet looks. Alright, just added space travel on my top 5 to-do list before I die. (just behind sky-diving, of course!)

這部超快速影片是幾位太空人從今年8月到10月間從國際太空站拍的, 秀出了從外太空的角度看地球會是什麼模樣. 仔細看看那不斷飛舞, 不斷變形的北極光, 那層在地球上方, 像是絕對立場的發光薄膜, 以及如星星般不停閃爍, 遍部各地的人造與自然光… 真的蠻令人驚嘆的, 想不到我們的母星這麼美. 好吧, 該把宇宙旅行加入我死前必做的5件大事之一了. (不過這當然是排在高空跳傘後面啦!)

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At first, you might think this is an old film noir back in the 40s. Yet, you’d realize that you’re mistaken when the gorgeous special effects kicks in. This film combines the classic black & white film styles with modern computer effects to a fantastic result, creating an interesting mix of old and new. Check out a similar commercial for Sony done by the same guys.

一開始, 你可能會認為這是一部40年代的黑色電影, 不過, 當那些特效慢慢地融入影片裡時, 你就知道事實並不是這樣. 這部短片把那舊舊的黑白電影視覺風格, 與高科技電腦特效完美的融合一起, 製作出了相當古老, 卻又很現代的效果. 再配上那音樂就真的變很浪漫. 有空也看看同組人馬為 Sony 製作的廣告.

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Wow, for an animated short from a couple of animation students, it’s got surprisingly great visual effects everywhere… from the plumes of steam off the train, to the glowing fire, to the dark smoke around the monster. The ending really caught me off guard too, totally did not expect that. It makes me wonder if the monster was really backing away from the cross? Or was it because he saw what’s coming…?

哇賽, 以一部由幾個動畫學生製作的短片來說, 這部動畫的特效還真不是蓋的. 從一開始火車頭冒出的煙, 到熊熊業火, 到怪物身邊的黑煙, 都做得好職業. 結局也讓我大吃一驚, 想不到一部動畫短片會是這樣結束. 這讓我懷疑, 那隻怪物是不是根本不怕十字架, 而是因為看到男子身後的東西才逃掉的?

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