SHINE by Nordic Giants – Animation Review
Bram Ttweam may not be a name that roles off the tongue easily, yet he has worked on many Aardman projects such as Loaf and Death, Cracking Contraptions and the wonderfully demented Pierce Sisters. This music video animated by him with artwork by Tristan Stevens, is his own project, not an Aardman production as such but well worth checking out:
Ttweam s previous work at Aardman has been in the area of visual effects and it certainly shows here as the video is technically very accomplished. Yet what is more impressive still Ttweams handle on story, emotion and character. He atrributes this greatly to the music itself.
“The emotional depth of Cate Ferris’ words charged with the power of the Nordic Giants musical interpretation immediately inspired the storyteller in me.” says Ttweam. Indeed the style is simple but it fits the music like a glove.
The video’s simple yet beautiful artistic style is the work of Tristan Stevens, a Sommerset based Artist whom Nordic Giants discovered and quickly built up a collaborative relationship with.
‘Tristan’s work feels like a complete world, it is dense and ethereal at the same time, and the creatures who populate this world have a poignancy and depth that really intrigues.’ say Nordic Giants.
The same could be said of the video which has a wonderous simplicity to it, and a story that I found genuinely affecting. Whilst simple in style this helps to convey the story and perfectly suits the sublime vocals. The animation too is excellent and there is a real poignancy and emotion expressed through the animation that makes you believe these characters are real. As Ttweam puts it “This video may tell a simple story but it doesn’t shy away from packing an emotional punch.”
To explain the story would be to ruin the fun of the video and as with all great animated works this has to be experienced first hand.
On the larger scale of things, TV, Feature Films, CG is almost exclusively being used to recreate realism. It seems that increasingly within the genre of the animated music video in particular, there is a reaction against that. To have a style that is low key and simple yet allows you to believe in it not through the look but through the ideas and the characters.It is interesting and refreshing to see work that uses this technology in an entirely different way, to create a world which is not realistic but hangs together through the art design and the animation and of course the music. Shine is a fantastic example of this and a reminder if one were needed how essential good story, character and emotion are, above and beyond the visual style.