12.31.2008

quick note

Hola,

For those of you who have taken a liking to my work... THANK YOU SO MUCH! I wanted to let you know that I am busy working on some great new videos that will be up by the end of January. I know that's a while away, but it'll be worth the wait trust me. I've got TWO music videos scheduled to be released around then. It'll be very interesting to see the reaction to these two, since they have something in common but with totally different interpretations. You'll see...

In the meantime, I have some great news! My feature documentary Night People has been placed online as a series of episodes over the last 2 months. Today marks the day that the final episode was posted! When I can figure out how to place them nicely in a blog post I will do so. You can watch them from the following URL: http://www.vimeo.com/album/44990

Good stuff coming in 09'

I'm excited!!!

12.28.2008

Check this out!

Hey everyone,

So I decided to show you something else other than my work. Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by both classical music and video games. When the two come together, me and all my fellow nerds get that crazy goosebump feeling.
I believe some of the most impressive arrangements in music come from the gaming world. There's some serious art going on in these tunes. So today I am sharing with you an orchestrated medley of some classic Zelda themes. This is the stuff I listen to as I make my animations. Enjoy!

12.19.2008

productions

I'm almost finished with my latest music video! Actually it's done, but may need to tweak one or two scenes.
I also began production on a new video that is guaranteed to make your head turn. more details on that later. Here's a few images to freshen up the blog.


12.10.2008

2008 Music Videos - A look back

2008clearprovids
Following suit with the blogging community, I am here to give a look back into the work I've completed in 2008. I'm very happy with the videos I have made this year and things seem to be picking up for your humble director. So let's take a little journey through the productions of all completed music videos (thus far) for 2008! (in chronological order of course).

VERTIGO JONES - THE STRANGEST THINGS
At the start of the year I was making a transitional move from Dallas back to my stomping grounds of Austin. In my free time I created this animation of a man lost in a dream world as part of my reverse music videos side project. For those unacquianted with this concept, it goes as follows. I make a video then send it to a band to create an ORIGINAL song designed specifically to the animation. It's a way to switch the process back to the musician. I always try to make the videos follow a logical structure and timing to make it easier for the bands to 'match' the scenes. Take a look:

Vertigo Jones - The Strangest Things from Eric Power on Vimeo.

IN CADEO - THE ARCHER
New York band In Cadeo approached me with their song 'The Archer', asking for a suitably cool video. They gave me absolute freedom of control on this one (which is always the best way to work). I opted to tell a loose story of a household gone awry in the form of pictures on a wall. I wanted to use as many styles of animation as I could to tell this story so that each 'painting' would feel like a different artists work. I was fortunate enough to be able to use Bob Sabiston's rotoscoping program for a few short segments throughout the video, thereby helping me achieve the different feels I was going for. Thanks Bob! The band sent me in some hilarious footage of themselves singing the song for me to base these segments off of.

In Cadeo - The Archer from Eric Power on Vimeo.

THE LOVELY SPARROWS - YEAR OF THE DOG
Not long after In Cadeo, I started work on a completely different video for the Austin band The Lovely Sparrows. I'm a huge fan of their music and they just released a new LP called Bury the Cynics that I listen to frequently. It's my favorite album of the year! This project ended up being a stop motion paper cutout animation telling the story of a year in the life of a wolf (close enough) and his ill fated romance. In a few scenes I added digital elements to create some nice camera movements as we roam in and out of forests and treetops. This is my favorite video.

The Lovely Sparrows - Year Of The Dog from Eric Power on Vimeo.

THE BOXING LESSON - DARK SIDE OF THE MOOG
The immensely talented band The Boxing Lesson had been wanting a music video from me for about a year. Finally, we had the opportunity to work together and create something great. The story of the song tells of a time machine type situation. I only implied this idea in the video in order to leave things open to interpretation. I opted for a style of animation I am very familiar with and wanted to push to new heights. I'm very happy with the end result. The band came over one day to shoot some pictures which I based their characters directly off of.

The Boxing Lesson - Dark Side of the Moog from Eric Power on Vimeo.

HUXLEY VERTICAL CABARET NOUVEAU - THE BALLAD OF LETTICE FINDING AND OSCAR CUTLET
The concept behind this video comes from the work of Edward Gorey, notably his illustrations of 'murderous mistresses' where he drew a portrait of Lettice Finding. The song is based on her and I wanted to tell my dramatization of the events that took place. I took some liberties with the original story, but I feel it gets the point across. I made this video in a mere 2 weeks, pushing my self into a state of insomnia. I was dying to get a video out in time for Halloween so I looked around my place and found a ream of matte photo paper that I used for the cutouts. I like this video in comparison to the Lovely Sparrows one I made. They are done in a similar medium with drastically different results.

The Ballad of Lettice Finding and Oscar Cutlet from Eric Power on Vimeo.

Those are all the videos currently completed for 2008, but I have one more that will be released before the years end! Stay tuned. I'm hoping 2009 will be even better than this year.

12.09.2008

SNOOOOOWW!!

It's snowing in Austin Texas! We make a pretty big deal of it when this kind of thing happens.
DSC_0012.JPG
And here's my most winter themed video to get you in that holiday spirit. It has snow in it ya know!

Hey La La - Art of Toys from Eric Power on Vimeo.

12.05.2008

ORIGAMI!!!

A few weeks ago I made this short video showing how to make an Origami Box. My studio is filled with them, storing everything from clay, paper, cds, and coins. I wanted to share with you all how to go about making these useful and cheap forms of storage.
The music used is 'Bells of Thai' from my friend Eric Bohlke!

How to Make an Origami Box from Eric Power on Vimeo.

Fairly recent bird paintings

Here's a little series of bird paintings I made recently. I wanted to give you a change of pace since (obviously) I've been on a cutout kick lately!


12.04.2008

right on schedule

Everything is going along really smoothly right now. The current music video I'm working on is right on schedule (almost done!), my short series of cut out collages, which I'm calling 'Happenings in a Forest', is kicking into a higher gear, and I'm almost ready to start tackling my larger canvases.
Here are two images taken today: a bear in the forest (incomplete) and the same bear drawn on the cut off stump of my Christmas tree!

12.01.2008

New Animation Demo Reel

Here's my latest Demo Reel for animation work from October 2006 to October 2008.

Enjoy!


Animation Demo Reel 2008 from Eric Power on Vimeo.