Renderphase» Music

Yellowcard Is Passed Hanging On

Rounin — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:51:23 +0000

It's refreshing a group that went on hiatus a couple of years ago has decided to come back for another great album. While groups like the Starting Line and Fall Out Boy are in limbo, Yellowcard on the other hand are done with their vacation and ready to rock the world once again. Their newest album, When You're Through Thinking Say Yes, is something that doesn't stray at all too far from their previous album. It's got it's fast moments, it mellow moments, and it's poppy moments. The best of all it still Yellowcard's signature sound. They're aren't reinventing themselves. They're just being themselves. The violin is great, the lead singers voice is the same and the whole band sound the same as they were a couple of years ago.

What I"m really saying is that this album thank god isn't something you'll listen to and say what the hell happened to them. Some people say that as bands gets older they're sound changes. And you know what, most of the time is gets worst as well. It's always good for to a see a band not follow a trend or have to prove something. It's nice to see Yellowcard do. Check out their new video "Hang You Up" below:

Visit Yellowcard's Official Website at www.yellowcardrock.com.

Angels & Airwaves Movie

Rounin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:44:57 +0000

Well, well, well, what do we have hear? After a couple of years and hearing Tom talking about a movie, we finally see a much more complete trailer. I'm not certain how much the movie has to do with Angels & Airwaves, but I do know the band is doing the soundtrack for the film. People are saying the movie is a cross between the movie "Moon" and the "Fountain". I for one wouldn't know since I haven't seen neither to make a comparison. Well, just be on the look out for it. The trailer doesn't disappoint. The movie is called "Love".

Sky High

Rounin — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:02:01 +0000

Nothing like some good visuals for a music video. This one is called Sky High. The animation is done pretty much in 2D with a hint of 3D. The design and mood is very fun and fits the song very well. I don't know why, but some of the scenes remind me of the background desktop images you get when you use Windows 7. It something about the style. Anyways enjoy the sounds and sights of Sky High.

Sa Silid

Rounin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:43:03 +0000

I don't think I've done a post in a while showing music videos using motion graphics and special effects. Well today I'll do that. Today we'll be showing SouthSuperHighway (SLEx) a band from the Philippines. The song is Sa Silid. Though the song is sung in Filipino (Tagalog), it's somewhat's understandable what's the song about through the visuals. In a nutshell, it's a relationship where they get into a fight due to the fact the other was seen cheating. It's a pretty simple song, but the way it's sung it's pretty catchy and sad at the same time. As far as the visuals go, It's pretty well done. Probably the only thing lacking is some of the animations, but that's probably due to time and budget. The look and feel was great as well as the cuts too. If you really want to know what they used as their 3D software, they used Cinema4D. It looks like their budget was small, but in the end the outcome was more than satisfactory. It's really good that the video graphics industry in the country has grown. If you're interested, you can find out more about SouthSuperHighway at http://www.myspace.com/thesouthsuperhighway or http://thesouthsuperhighway.multiply.com/.

Hologram Concerts

Rounin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:36:11 +0000

It's not really new. The Gorillaz first did it in 2006 with Madonna, but it looks like it's catching on. With the advent of Vocaloid in Japan, there are more and more people interested in the music that are being released. If you don't know what Vocaloid is, it is a program used to create voices. By putting syllables together and changing the variance in the pitch, tone, and other parameters, you get a word. No real person is singing or talking. It's all digital programming. It's has struck Japan by storm, There's even one that made at the top of the music charts there. Along with the vocaloid voice, they usually have characters to put an image with the voice. They are mostly good looking female anime characters. It's pretty surprising how far vocaloid has come. Now there are concerts in Japan just for it. I'm guessing everything is live from the vocaloid to the instruments. The techniques they use to show the character is very similar to the way the Gorillaz did it. There seems to be improvements, but it looks like you have to be at a good range of angle before the effects turns flat. As seen in the video, it's really not a 3D hologram, but more of a projection. It's pretty surprising how good it really looks when you're at a good distance. When up close, you can see some artifacting going on. I wonder how long far we are from a true hologram ala Star Wars/Star Trek. Check out the video below. Be warned, if you're not accustomed to high pitched voices, hit the mute button.

A Video Fitting For Halloween

Rounin — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:56:45 +0000

Check out this really cool music video. You're wondering what's software they used huh. Well the major one is Blender and some compositing in After Effects. It's pretty crazy that Blender is being used in all sorts of things these days. Yeah, I know. I talk a lot about Blender in this blog, but I have a soft spot for a piece of software that is opensource and does so much for so little. The actual music video isn't English, but it's still pretty good to listen to. If you're wondering who the band is, they are called Calla 13. A Puerto Rican band that won a Latin Grammy Award. Wished the video was subtitled. Oh well, the visuals are great none the less.

The Jumping Bunny

Rounin — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:08:43 +0000

I'm not really sure what the character is doing in this video, but it looks like it loves to jump rope. If you're wondering what the music is, it's by Masterlink and the song is called Super Speed. The music got a lot of attention not only for it catchy tune, but due to the fact it was created by Studio 4C and famous animator Koji Morimoto ( The Animatrix, Genius Party Beyond). I do have to say that the character in the video looks a lot like one of the characters in Pokemon. Yeah, I watch Pokemon, but not too much. Anyways, I hope to see more music videos with anime or animation being used in it.

PaperDoll In Madarin?

Rounin — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:41:31 +0000

Well looks like PaperDoll is trying to break into the Chinese market. They did their hit song "Anything At All" in Madarin. I wonder how much of the song as translated well? I don't speak Maradrin, but it sure sounds good. Also if you're in the New York area, PaperDoll will be doing a show on May 22 at 8pm at the Gramercy Theater. Here's hoping they add more shows to the rest of the states.

The Vital Airport

Rounin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:45:15 +0000

Check out this nice video by TAKCOM. The music is by an artist called Vital. The song is Airport. Let me tell you it's not about airports, but you will like the song and the video. Don't forget to check out Vital's website where he also has his EP for download. It's free as well. Check Vital at www.officialvital.com for more information.

Mustard Plug Can't Tame Crazy Aquabats in Chicago

Pixel — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:02:03 +0000

Last Friday, on March 12, The Aquabats and Mustard Plug put on a show at Chicago's Metro. I haven't seen a rock show in a while and I've always wanted to see The Aquabats after hearing Rounin talk about how his old bud, famous concept artist @Zatransis, likes the band. Plus, Mustard Plug was playing and I've always enjoyed their "Pray for Mojo" album. @Mustard_Plug even responded to our question when we twitted if they can play the song "Away From Here" (they didn’t play it as it was probably too slow in tempo). I had my usual balcony seat and I was sitting next to a kid with a little Aquabat mask that his father kept straightening out. I was surprised to a see some kids as I've always thought Aquabats had older fans because their videos had a 70's Japanese Monster movie vibe going on it. Mustard Plug sounded and looked great. I can't believe it has been about 10 years since I bought the Pray for Mojo album. They played a couple of songs from that album including Lolita. New songs were also played, but I can't remember the names. Once Mustard Plug ended their set, the lead singer, Dave Kirchgessner went back out on stage and shook hands with many people from the front row. Very cool. Then the Aquabats arrived. I had no idea what to expect, but these guys are one crazy band. They wear tight blue spandex with Robin the Boy-Wonder masks. Picture the character "Phantom", but in blue suit and big bellies. They had insane videos playing in the background and it seemed like it was synced with their music. I had no clue what music they were playing since I've never actually listened to their songs. The music had enough melody to keep me entertained and the on stage shenanigans including play fights with strange characters kept me in my seat. All in all, good show and I think I'm officially tone deaf as my ears weren't ringing even though I was near the venues' speakers.