Internet Animation - flash, comics, SWF

Check out Restraining Order, a four man, original rock band from Philadelphia, has just launched its first video. "Wars We Need to See" features the band's members performing in animated form. It includes subtitles so you can actually understand the lyrics. Good touch. Even more exciting, an animated Restraining Order online game is set to launch in late August

The video for "Wars We Need to See" was begun in 2003, and completed last month. It was completely created in Macromedia Flash, using the characters elements designed for the site. FeltTip Sound Studio was also used, just for simple conversion of the mastered CD file to be converted to AIFF format. The video was created in about 120 hours over the course of a year, which doesn't include the original time needed for the creation of the characters. That was animation, background rendering, new characters/elements, lip synching, lyric synching, testing and fine-tuning.

ArcSoft Funhouse is a totally fun and simple to use software program that lets you create hilarious ‘fantasy’ pictures featuring the faces of you and your friends. The program includes over 150 cool background templates to get you started and includes tools for creating your own custom templates from scanned magazine covers or downloaded celebrity snapshots. My kids love it! And they taught themselves how to use it....

The November elections are coming up fast and the political feeding frenzy is exploding. In the meantime, it is important to laugh once in a while. Check out this relatively non-partisan flash video from Job Jab - This Land - this is a musical comedy parody of the classical Woody Guthrie song.

It's political season and we have to do our best to support the American way of lying, cheating and slinging mud. Check out Atom Films' "Mock the Vote" collection of great politically oriented animations and short films. Good stuff. It's the Web's best and brightest political satire shorts all in one place. Check back regularly for every electoral evisceration and political pot-shot.

This is great- a cool animation that is funny and with a hook filled music track. You got to take a few moments to appreciate Tuesday Weld: "Terminally Ambivalent Over You". With animation by Alex Budovsky and sounding like someone swiped a collection of records from the 1920s, Tuesday Weld creates odd sampling collages with strong hooks and great beats. This time our hero is in prison making gramophones and longing for a loved one.

Meet SU and MO, the lap dancing bad boys of animation. Funny and cruse, these series of animated shorts are funny. " These twin brothers are notorious for their patent-pending EXTREME LAP-DANCING that they perform at the world famous Club Hippendale's. Why do they dance? With bodies like that, how can they not? Plus, the loot they get stuffed down their "mawashis" is good pay and helps them finance their animated films."

Slamdance Anarchy short at http://www.Slamdance.com. Distressed by ongoing reports of corporate corruption, Dave felt compelled to put a face to both the perpetrators and to the individuals whose lives they have disrupted. "Sharks" began as a song, which Dave wrote and produced himself. The animation was accomplished with Adobe After Effects with a blend of hand-drawn imagery and photo collage. Dave chose to go with stock images, rather than caricatures, of public figures such as President Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and high profile CEO's. "I wanted them to be quickly recognizable to anyone who has seen these faces in the news," explains Dave.

Combine a great animated Star Wars parody with an educational flick about the wonders of conception and you get Tom Newby's Womb Wars. "It's the Miracle of Life meets 'Star Wars'! I've always wanted to do a complete short totally in CG. When I conceived, ahem, 'Womb Wars,' I never imagined it would be so popular, most notably from science teachers who wanted to show it to their classes to demonstrate the reproductive process." -- Tom Newby. While you are visiting the Tech TV Eye Drops page, also checkout the short animation about the perils of being a mime. Mime in a Box. If you love animation, pay a visit to TechTV's Eye Drops. Every week or so, there is a different show posted with great information about how to make animations, the story of how the animators did it, as well as numerous animations you can watch.

Are you into politics or world events? Check out the funny flash video "Arafat: Time Bomb's Man-of-the-Year". Hosted at the Jeffrey Wiener online studio, it's not really a video but it is worth checking out. It is a large Flash file that can take a while to download or stream.

When is a bug not a bug? When it is Robot VW monster!!! Check out the VW Film at MichealSmith's web site. Not only can you see this great little clip and other animations, he has a special page that illustrates how the Robot VW animation was actually created. If you are into animation this is an excellent learning experience. By the way, this clip is also at the StupidVideos web site.

It's time to visit the universe. Lock yourself down, say good-bye to the relatives and click on SpaceWander Roundtrip First Class This is not really our typical fare but this site demonstrates a new and different way to use Internet video. Plus it is really cool and even educational. Have a nice trip through the galaxy.

Animated, written and produced by M.J. Butler, and hosted on AtomFilms.com, The Lonely Astronaut is a funny 3 minute animation that portrays what happens when a astronaut gets stuck on the moon by accident. Also check out Why the Bat lives in Caves, a very stylistic animated tale by Nick Kozis. In this timeless fable, the lion and the eagle lead the armies of the earth and the sky into battle against one another. Why do they fight? And on whose side is the mysterious bat?

Get some hot urban action at UrbanEntertainment.com. Check out the original "UnderCover Brother" cartoons as well as some cool black-oriented short films like "Intruder" and "The Corporate Negro." The online videos run the gamut from animation, to mystery and action films, to comedy, documentary and current event news. This site is definitely worth a visit.

Don't let your children watch this 4 minute animation before their dental appointment. Chad Lee's "The Dentist" is about a kid's visit to his local dentist's office. It turns into a surreal nightmare that ends with his worst fears being realized. Also at the MovieFlix.com site, you will find "Vote Early, Vote Often," a 14 minute satire about the next generation of electronic and Internet voting. Directed by Steve Procko, it is extremely well written and well produced. You may have to register at MovieFlix but the free movies are well worth it.

When is a nose not a nose? What is going with Michael Jackson anyhow? Check this short animated animation song about Michael Jackson's nose at this new web site, SpintheBottle.com (click on Michael's schnooze). While you are there, checkout some of the other animated cartoons and ongoing webcasts at this site.

It's a battle of the hip-hop rappers - Finding Bin Laden, Episode 1 - Hosted at MP4.com. George Bush, Colin Powell and Osama bin Laden grab starring roles in the new short film "Finding Bin Laden," by People Under The Stairs (PUTS).Ok, it's not really them, but animated versions of these world power players populate a hilarious clip created to promote PUTS' upcoming album O.S.T. The video finds true school enthusiasts Thes One and Double K accepting a mission from Bush to locate the notorious Bin Laden, who's hoping to infiltrate American airwaves through wack rap beats.