Fan-made title sequence for The Walking Dead will blow you away

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Check out this utterly brilliant piece of art created by Daniel Kanemoto, a long-time fan of Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel The Walking Dead.  In his spare time, talented graphic designer Kanemoto used After Effects to combine Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore’s The Walking Dead artwork and music from Eels (the track is called “Fresh Blood”, how fitting) to create an animated spec title sequence for the upcoming AMC adaptation.  You certainly do not have to be a fan of Kirkman’s work to truly appreciate what Kanemoto has done here.

He says: “Just so there’s no confusion, I’m not affiliated with the production in any way — I’m simply a huge fan of both Frank Darabont and Robert Kirkman, and this is my attempt at creating a cinematic introduction to one of the all time great “continuing stories of survival horror.””

Word got out about Kanemoto’s masterpiece when Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof tweeted about it (“We are arriving at that unique moment in time where the term “fan-made” becomes moot. This is extraordinary.”) and blogger Cory Doctorow posted it on BoingBoing.  The video reached an even wider audience when EW’s Jeff Jensen interviewed Kanemoto to discover his inspiration for the spec.  You can read said interview here.

Now I am oh-so-interested to see if the editors and animators of the upcoming show can out-perform Kanemoto’s fan-made title sequence.  We shall find out when The Walking Dead premieres October 31 at 10PM on AMC.

[Via @DamonLindelof; Vimeo]

The Max Weinberg 7 is no more

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When you tune into the premiere of Conan on November 8, don’t expect to see Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg 7 stage left.  The famed Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band drummer will not be joining Conan’s move to TBS for reasons undisclosed.  Guitarist and keyboardist Jimmy Vivino will be taking over as bandleader.  You will recognize him since he’s been part of the Late Night and the short-lived The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien house band for some time now.  James Wormworth, the barefoot drummer who would take Weinberg’s place when he’d be absent and on tour with Springsteen, will permanently become the new drummer.  Max Weinberg, it’s been a real pleasure.

[Via NYTimes; RiverfrontTimes]

NBC CEO Jeff Zucker to leave his post when Comcast takes over

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Last December it was announced that Comcast would supercede General Electric to become NBC Universal’s controlling parent company.  Last week brought news that NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker will be leaving his post when the merger is finalized later this year.  “Now, it is clear to me that this is the right decision for me and for the company, said Zucker.  Comcast will be a great new steward, just as GE has been, and they deserve the chance to implement their own vision.”  Unfortunately Zucker will not be remembered for much success in the NBC Entertainment division.  NBC is currently in fourth place (behind CBS, FOX, and ABC) in overall network ratings and who can forget last year’s terrible decision to axe Conan, give Jay Leno is own show, and wipe out regular primetime programming in the process.  NBC needs new leadership and vision if it wants to play catchup with the other networks.  I’m glad Zucker (publically, at least) sees it this way.

[Via CNN]

Animation Domination premieres tonight on FOX

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Need your animation fix?  The Simpsons (8pm), The Cleveland Show (8:30pm), and Family Guy (9pm) premiere tonight (9/26) on FOX!

In “Elementary School Musical”, Lisa goes to performing arts camp where she meets friends (voiced by Glee‘s Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Amber Riley) and artsy counselors (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords).  The 22nd season of The Simpsons will be jam packed with guest voices.

In “Harder, Better, Faster, Browner”, Cleveland helps struggling rapper Kenny (aka Kanye) West by encouraging him to record a new hit single.  Get a taste of “Be-Cleve in Yourself” here.  The episode also packs other Kanye references including a humorous nod to the Swift incident and a montage backed by Late Registration‘s “Touch the Sky.”

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The one-hour Family Guy premiere “And Then There Were Fewer” plays out like a cinematic murder-mystery in a case of whodunit.  James Woods invites virtually all of Quohag to his ominous mansion where all the light drama unfolds.  Fun fact: Family Guy has finally gone HD this season!

Glance at the premiere stills above, and get ready for three hours of animation domination tonight on FOX.  (American Dad fans–your show premieres next Sunday, October 3).

[Via IGN, here, here & here; FOX]

G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West – “So Appalled” (Featuring RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Cyhi the Prynce)

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This past Friday brought another Kanye West track.  “So Appalled” features familiar G.O.O.D. Friday vocals from RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, and Swizz Beatz.  Cyhi the Prynce recently sighed to ‘Ye’s label over the summer.  Preview and download the track below.

Download: Kanye West – “So Appalled” (Featuring RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Cyhi the Prynce)

[audio: Kanye West – So Appalled.mp3]

[Via KWBlog]

This chandelier made of 15,000 feet of fiber optics is ALIVE

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This unique chandelier constructed by MadLab is called Bacterioptica.  It was designed specifically for an extended family household that includes two parents, three children, a dog, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Bacterioptica was imagined “to synchronize with the life” of this large household in a rather bizarre manner.  Besides being composed of 15,000 feet of fiber optics, the chandelier is a literal “household organism” in that it also contains an assembly of metal rods and glass petri dishes with bacteria living inside.  The idea is that this extravagant piece of lighting represents another living, breathing member of the family.  See?  Bizarre.  Different sized petri dishes can be swapped out, the light intensity can be adjusted, and the fiber optic feeds can be rerouted to make for an infinately customizable light fixture.  I am left pondering this question: Is there a real life Addams Family?  Because only a family as other-worldly as them would allow for a science experiment such as this to hang high and mighty above a dining room table upon which food is consumed.

[Via Gizmodo; MocoLoco; MadLab]

Spinning lights atop a vinyl record player groove along with the Tron theme

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In this time-lapse stop motion video, one Kim Pimmel managed to control a series of lights spinning on top of a vinyl record player to the fast-paced electro beat of the new Tron: Legacy theme.  Pimmel explains:

The video is stop motion, so every frame is an individually shot photograph. Each photograph is a long exposure photo, with exposures reaching up to 20 seconds in some cases.  To control the lights, I used an Arduino controlled via bluetooth to drive a stepper motor. The stepper motor controls the movements of the lights remotely from Processing [computer software].  The light sources include cold cathode case lights, EL wire, lasers and more.

Daft Punk would be proud.

[Via Gizmodo; Vimeo]

Teeny tiny Dot stars in the world’s smallest stop motion video

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UK-based animators Aardman were recently entered into the Guinness Book of Records for creating the world’s smallest stop motion video.  Dot, a tiny 0.35 inch model figurine, struggles through a microscopic world made of fabric in this fun one minute thirty-seven second short film.  The video was shot using a Nokia N8, a smartphone that boasts a 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics, attached to a CellScope microscope.  Yeah, this is technically a viral marketing stint by Nokia, but that does not take away the sheer magnitude of awesomeness surrounding this record-worthy feat.  Peek after the break to watch a making-of video.

[Via Gizmodo; TechRadar] Continue reading Teeny tiny Dot stars in the world’s smallest stop motion video →

Trained dogs star in OK Go’s latest and greatest music video “White Knuckles”

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I’m not so sure if this music video tops OK Go’s Rube Goldberg-inspired masterpiece in “This Too Shall Pass“, but it most definitely ranks up there in the band’s collection of bizarre yet intricately impressive outings.  After four weeks and 124 takes (take #72 was the winner), OK Go bandmates Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, and Andy Ross successfully choreographed a music video with 12 dogs and 1 goat.  Watch the furry fellas jump through mazes of furnature in this blink-and-you-miss-it extravaganza.

[Via EW; Gizmodo]

Andy Samberg fights Jack Johnson in music video “At or With Me”

Hilarity, Music, Video, , , ,

Despite all the times SNL cast member Andy Samberg’s made fun of the too-mellow Jack Johnson, the artist asked for him to take part in his latest music video for the track “At or With Me” off the album To The Sea.  Punches are thrown, bottles are cracked; all in all it’s a rowdy, fun time.  Samberg is joined by Lonely Island mates Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer.

[Via EW]