On Thursday 3 November we went with the VjAcademy students to the 10th edition of Playgrounds Festival in Amsterdam. Playgrounds is a festival dedicated to film and animation, where you can attend workshops and listen to inspiring artists.
The first artist we visited was American Jordan Bruner. A fantastic woman, who grew up surrounded by her mother's art. Her sense of humour also comes through in her work. Take a look at her stop-motion video. (video)
Next up were Lennart and Sander, two highly regarded Dutch artists with a very distinctive style. A style that's perhaps appreciated a little too much, since their work is suspiciously often copied by other companies. That was the subject of their presentation. Lennart and Sander showed their work and then the (often poorly) copied version. Let's take a look at the video they made for the latest album by Jeugd van Tegenwoordig. (video)
After that, our senses were stimulated by the intense show by Nonotak. A duo consisting of a female illustrator and a male musician from France. The combination of penetrating beats and translucent screens, onto which sleek visuals were projected, made this an unforgettable show. (video)
Time for the men of Art&Graft. A design studio in England producing top-notch work. Among other things, they made the official promo video for the British team for the 2016 Olympic Games, and the video for the new house style of TV channel Boomerang, which you'll see now. (video)
The next design studio made a truly special video. ManvsMachine dove into the studio with dead animals and hundreds of cameras, in order to bring them back to life with their inhuman skills. Take a look! (video)
Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Ghostbusters are just a few of the endless list of films he's worked on. Phil Tippett is an American movie director and visual effects supervisor and producer, specialising in character animation and creature design. Among other things, he made the epic stop-motion film 'Mad God'. (video)
Now we arrive at the last, but certainly not the least, of the list: studio Laika. They don't just make animated films with their computer, they also build their own sets. They've worked on films such as Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings. (video)
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Video Jockey is a young profession, even younger than robot builder. That's how it can be that the VjAcademy in Amsterdam, with only 5 or 6 - strictly selected - students per year, is still the largest VJ school in our country. Students are trained to create and operate the video backdrops for festivals, concerts, conferences, and more.
Last week, the newest class of the VjAcademy graduated with their final exam project. The assignment: create an engaging and surprising public video experience. Here's an overview of their work.
Mapping on a vertical rock garden
Japanese gardens are often arranged with rough natural stones in geometric patterns.
VJ Lise Custers built something similar for her exam, but vertically:
Floating Stone. She then brought the patterns to life with 3D mapping: she can give each stone its own individual mini-projection. Interaction seems to be the magic word among young makers: the audience can influence the patterns via a Kinect. She's still researching what the most intuitive translation is from gesture to visual effect.
Projection via mesh sculptures
VJ VISH is in the new young band
Dialoque - as VJ. Her exam work
Sea Through is therefore a concert, at A-Lab. VISH is fascinated by the unpredictable patterns that emerge when you project onto and around unpredictable materials. In this case, clouds of steel mesh, floating between the audience and the band. As an audience member, you watch the reflections on the clouds, the play of light and shadow on the band members and behind them. VISH varies between ever-different colour schemes and makes her organic, abstract shapes and stains writhe to the beat.
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