Schwartz Flavor Shots

‘The Sound of Taste’ is an audio visual installation created for Schwartz Flavor Shots. The beautiful and visually-stimulating slow-motion video shows several tons of black peppercorns, cardamom, turmeric, paprika, cumin seeds, ginger, chili and coriander exploding. With bags and bags of spices shooting up into the air in accordance to the sound of music the video attempts to answer the question what does flavor look like? What does it sound like?

Zach King

Los Angeles-based video artist Zach King has made a name for himself with his quick-cut style Vines, even making it to the semi-official Best Vines of 2013 compilation clip. Now you can watch and be baffled for seven straight minutes as King pulls kittens from computers, jumps through walls, and fries a ping pong ball like an egg, among dozens of others tricks.

Thanks to Bill Litfin for today’s fodder.

Charles Huettner

Artist Charles Huettner frequently posts a lot of strange and colorful illustrations and animation loops. He recently took on a larger project in a pretty neat two-and-a-half minute short called The Jump. Like a charming children’s book, it’s got a lot of bold colors and fun character design, but also deals with some dark themes like death, and spirits.

The Jump from Charles Huettner on Vimeo.

Bear and the Hare

UK department store chain John Lewis has become well-known for the high production value of their annual holiday commercials. This year’s festive ad, The Bear & the Hare, could have been produced using standard animation, but the creative team opted for a much more complex and time-consuming hybrid of hand-drawn animation converted into stop motion animation. The making-of video is almost more impressive than the actual commercial.

The Mimi Foundation

Inspired by a patient’s statement that before cancer, she used to be much more carefree, The Mimi Foundation gave 20 cancer patients makeovers. The only rule was that the patients keep their eyes closed while make-up artists applied gaudy eyeshadow, bright lipstick and lavish wigs. The idea was that the participants’ discovery of how silly they looked “allowed them to forget their disease, if only for a second.” A photographer was positioned behind a one-way mirror during the reveal, to capture their reactions.

Thanks to Tami Bohn for today’s fodder.

Danny MacAskill’s “Imaginate”

For two years, street trials biker and Red Bull athlete Danny MacAskill has been working on his extreme sporting short film, titled Imaginate. The film, already boasting viral video status with over eleven million views, shows Danny as a character in a little boy’s imagination–seemingly shrunk down and biking around a toy chest on a slew of giant, classic toys.

Upworthy’s Viral Video Playbook

Viral videos have proven to have near endless capabilities–in recent years we have all seen a homeless man a job,  multiple wrong waitresses righted, and numerous adorable kittens just being kittens. While the content itself is important, the difference between a cute forwarded email and a worldwide phenomenon is how and where the content is presented. Social media gurus Upworthy have posted a Viral Video Play Book, an insightful collaboration between individuals responsible for many of today’s most famous internet stars.

Thanks to Dave Bauer for today’s fodder.

Volvo Trucks

90s action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme, best known for his martial arts skills, has teamed up with Volvo Trucks to demonstrate the stability and precision of Volvo Dynamic Steering. Also, it illustrates that even at the age of 53, JCVD is still pretty badass.

Air New Zealand

The folks at Air New Zealand have done it again. They’ve just released a new in-flight safety video featuring former Golden Girls’ actress Betty White with fellow residents of the fictional Second Wind Retirement Resort in the US.

Air New Zealand has established a global reputation for creating buzz worthy in-flight safety videos. In the past, their videos have featured Sir Peter Jackson, Bear Grylls, and Richard Simmons.

Thanks to Elizabeth Narwicz for today’s fodder.

Vodafone

German director Sebastian Strasser brings forth this epic new film for British telecommunication company, Vodafone. The project was shot over 6 days in Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania almost completely using hand held cameras, enabling the team to capture more fluid, natural movements. Time Based Arts, a London based Production Studio, was then called in to blend the 3D, CGI and live action.

Thanks to Julie Smith for today’s fodder.

Vodafone – Add Power To Your Life from Stink on Vimeo.