Review: Wire and Flashing Lights

Not only is the content of Victor Haegelin's stop-motion animation a natural match with the music, but this project succeeds on so many levels that it can be appreciated as a masterclass for creative and engaging strategies to locate the expressive qualities in physical objects while also finding a visual language for communicating what is delightful and whimsical about Professor Kliq's music.

Wire and Flashing Lights is a stop-motion animation designed and produced by Victor Haegelin. Within this film, there is wire, flashing lights and paper all animated in a crazy-catchy groove. The film consists of a man made of wire walking through a dark room to the beat of the music, with flashing lights and reappearing cubes which perhaps symbolises a music producing board, as the cubes move in time with the beat of the music also. 

A quote from Professor Kliq: ''I woke up one morning to this video in my inbox, along with a short note asking “Is it alright if I use this track?” As you could imagine, I was absolutely blown away by the quality, execution, and creativity in this video. I went on to form a friendship with Victor Haegelin, the creator of this fine video. It was originally set to possibly my most popular track “Plastic & Flashing Lights”, but that track was made so long ago, before I had an education in music or even a hundredth of the technology I have access to now, so I gave it a bit of a facelift. Thanks for making such an amazing video, Victor.''

It is clear that it would have taken hundreds, possibly thousands, of shots to complete this film. You can identify this as the movement of the wire man is smooth, which comparing to some stop-motion animation films, is unusual as some are normally quite jerky and jolty. The way the whole production reflects within the floor gives it that extra area of dimension within the production and again, makes it more like real life. 

Still frames from the production 'Wire and Flashing Lights'

Although looking at the whole production as this creative masterpiece, the concept and design of the overall film was built up of many simple ideas. Bending wire, 3D cardboard blocks and flashing lights are the three main features the audience sees throughout the production, and I believe that it would be quite a low maintenance production too. The real time and effort came in when they began shooting the frames and positioning the wire man to set high standards of footage to make the whole production possible. 

Behind the scenes during the making of the film

I think the whole video is absolutely fantastic. The way it has been put together and edited is pure genius on behalf of the production team and I really liked the way the music matched the visuals. It's easy to see in the images I have attached that a lot of thought, effort and time went in to the creating of this production and the concept of the film is very clever.

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.



http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2013/07/09/wire-and-flashing-light-stop-motion-animation-cc-success-story/ - accessed on 18-Sept-2013