Christopher Webster [Celluloid 05.19.10] movie news short scifi animation video



The gang behind stunning scifi short Azureus Rising are clearly a talented bunch, but it's tough not to dwell on all the cliches going on here. Obviously inspired by video games and hours of studying The Matrix, their main character, a "freedom fighter" (against who? does it matter?), goes through all the slick motions and poses you might expect from a high-flying scifi protagonist.

Maybe Azureus Rising feels odd because it's so different from the trends of our post District 9 media landscape where everyone's obsessed with making everything feel "real" and "gritty." Perhaps it's nice to see something a little different. So no, I'm not knocking it, just telling it like I sees it.

Synopsis:
Azureus is the story of a young man who after escaping death and enduring a life changing journey - matures into a heroic freedom fighter. Azureus Rising is an epic tale of self discovery, obligation and love against all odds.

I guess this short will be used as a proof of concept to sell the project and tunn it in to a trilogy. Not sure if that means animated or live-action but you can check out the official web page to find out more.

Watch the entire short (via: Twitch) after the break.

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Jimmy (10 years ago) Reply

If only this animator spent more time thinking originally instead of absorbing Japaname mediocrity they might have made something more than a tech demo for Maya.

GET TO DA CHOPPAAAAA (10 years ago) Reply

yo...this is so badass. animation's top notch, action sequences are creative and breathtaking, tech and landscape are beautiful! who cares about cliches and non-originality. it's pure fun.

@jimmy, get your head stuck out of your ass and learn to enjoy art.

remixthis (10 years ago) Reply

This was pretty @#%*& cool!!!!

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

awesome but i still dont get the fussy hair style

sunolet (10 years ago) Reply

I thought it was pretty frigging awesome

@Jimmy
It's easy to criticize, lets see you make something better!

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

In a word... fantastic!

Fabrizio Bianchi (10 years ago) Reply

I am with Jimmy. The Twilight Zone is more exciting to me than this: it's a matter of feeling pleasure when neurons burst.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

jimmy is right...
obviously is great work. superbly done. great 3d and animation skills. however theres no story and a lot of chlichees.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

There isn't supposed to be a story. That was intentionally left out. When taking on a project like this, you have limits that are transparent to the viewers. Things such as time, hardware, budget and the availability of artists. They have day jobs, so you do what you can. Unlike other professional environments where you can keep refining until you get it right, they didn't have that luxury. Criticism is great, but the intent was to appeal to teens, kids and adults.

Hot Fuzz (10 years ago) Reply

If there's no story then there's no point. Film is a storytelling medium... at least this kind of filmmaking is. Without a compelling character who has a compelling problem to overcome you're asking a lot of an audience.

If these guys want to break into movie making they need to stop playing video games and start watching films to disect the scripts that makes them great.

Jay (10 years ago) Reply

I agree, while it is cool as hell and I think it will generate interest maybe it would have been cool if between the scenes they had the character looking at picture of his parents or something and narrating a little bit. Because we can't see the characters eyes and don't know what he looks like, there is a little bit of a disconnect. It would have been cool if during the first fight the mask could have gotten knocked off some how. That would show his face and also show that he's can be hurt. I wonder how much that would have impacted production though...

GET TO DA CHOPPAAAAA (10 years ago) Reply

damn guys...why does everything have to be perfect for you? why does something that's fun to watch must have a deep story? the premise was already set up for us. why is something that's beautiful and exciting not allowed to have any cliches? i'm pretty sure the creators aren't thinking oscars, here. it's fucking free! if i had to pay money, then i'd demand a story, but since the creators are giving us the pleasure to view their work, i'll take it and appreciate them for their vulnerability in putting themselves out their for critique. unfortunately, most of you think your wasted 5 mins is worth more than the time and effort they put into this project. fuck off guys and go watch the animatrix over again.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

These guys are going some where! It's not as good as Say Anime KARAS but this is really impressive animation! Great Folly FX and the music is working also!

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

While I agree with the comments, "hey it's a short", "it's for free", "they weren't thinking oscars"... bottom line is people who make movies make them for audiences... not themselves... good or bad... public opinion matters. If people feel they need a compelling story and feel short changed by what they watch, it's up to the filmmakers to step up and make sure future attempts take that into consideration. These guys did great... can they do better... yes. Wishing them the best in future endeavors!

David (10 years ago) Reply

The majority of you guys should relax. Is some of this cliche? Yes. Is some of it derivative of other works? Yes. Is it first rate animation, better than 90% of the stuff out there? Definitely.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

As stated in the article this short is a proof of concept (POC). For those who don't understand that, a POC is created in order to generate interest to make a feature film or get producers interested. One would assume that the feature film (which it clearly states in credits that this is derived from a full story) will provide you with all the story you need. However, this being just a POC, the filmmakers are simply showing what they are capable of doing in order to generate more interest; I assume in hopes of finding a producer to get on board. I think it looks great, shows they know how to produce action-packed, crisp animation and I say kudos to them.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

I'm not steeped in anime/manga/japanimation SO, this doesn't feel derivative, cliched, or stolen to me. This was technically impressive, visually impressive, with well paced action sequences, and a sense of humor in the action.

All in all, I think the people involved with this deserve to get their chance.

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