I shared this amazing animated short a few days ago but I feel I sold it short. Nominated for the 84th Academy Awards, this masterpiece has already won numerous awards. It’s an extraordinary work. Fifteen minutes of pure joy and a perfect way to enter the weekend.

After busy Lunar New Year, Republic Day (India) and Australia Day celebrations here’s a chance to unwind and relax. The video above is from the Imaginary Worlds Festival. It features a collection of animated film shorts telling stories set in weird and wonderful universes. Some of the films are a little weird and some are downright crazy, but they are all wonderful. Enjoy.

Some weekend fun.

Have you ever wanted to know what English sounds like to a non-English speaker? It might sound something like this short film. Brian Fairbairn has directed a wonderful snapshot with a truly unique twist. Beautifully acted by, co-writer and editor, Karl Eccleston and Fiona Pepper.

Warning: It does contain some NSFW language.

Have you ever wanted to visualise your Google Plus relationships? Well now you can with the Circles of Trust.

Green means that you are mutually circled, yellow means that you have circled them but they didn’t and red means they circled you but you didn’t. It’s a fascinating use of the Google+ API and an intriguing way to see an overview of your social network.

I know this is a few days old but I felt it was worth reposting. As a fan of TinTin I’m very much looking forward to this movie, however I’m terrified that they’ll soil the legacy. While there’s nothing in this trailer to indicate they have, I have to say that despite liking the trailer it does leave me with a very uncomfortable feeling that I’ve seen it all before: the action scenes are very reminiscent of the Indiana Jones series. Do you also get that from the trailer?

This explains everything.

Here, as promised, are a couple of videos that we did as tests to demonstrate various motion graphic techniques.

This is a still from some motion graphic work I’ve been doing. One of the great things about doing motion artistry is the ability to create something beautiful and then take viewers on a journey through it quickly and easily. Unlike virtual worlds, for instance, there’s no need for additional software for them to engage in the artwork. I like this piece and hopefully it will be available soon to share in all its splendour.

Here’s a great trailer for a documentary (still in post-production) about how the introduction of 20,000 bicycles over 20 years has transformed the impoverished city of Rivas, Nicaragua.

What happens to an impoverished developing nation town when you flood it with 20,000 bicycles? You lift three times that number of people out of poverty. Pedals for Progress and founder David Schweidenback have been shipping used American bicycles to Rivas, Nicaragua for the last two decades and the transformation has been incredible.

– The Bicycle City Film

You can donate to the film-makers to help them complete the film.