Animusic

Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for Animusic 2
Review: Not since Fantasia have I been blown away by a combination of animation and great music. Unlike Fantasia, all of the music on Animusic are original compositions which are highly enjoyable by themselves, and when they are combined with the animation the effect is mind-boggling creativity. I let a family with four children (ages 7 to 15) watch it and everyone sat riveted for all 7 videos. And then they asked to watch it again.
My personal favorite is ACOUSTIC CURVES. I love the music and the drop down inside-out robotic clavichords.
I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS DVD HIGHLY ENOUGH!!!

Rating:
Summary: worth the money
Review: One of the cleverest and most refreshing combinations of music
and animation this side of fantasia. Everyone I've showed it to loves it and wants to see it again. Animusic consists of a series of 6 or seven set pieces each about five to seven minutes long. Intricate arrays of otherworldly instruments play music
without the aid of musicians. It's a real feast for the eyes and you'll have fun watching the multitude of mechanics that support
the instruments. I can't wait for a followup!

Rating:
Summary: GREAT DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: REALLY cool!!! seamlessly done animation...very neat. never seen anything quite like it before.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: Shortly after ordering my Radeon 9700-Pro graphics card, ATI had released the animation "pipe dream" which I downloaded, and ran in real-time on my system. After watching that, I purchased the full DVD. It's simply amazing what they've managed to cook up. If your into computer graphics, this is a dvd that begs you to own it.

Rating:
Summary: An unparalleled audio and visual feast.
Review: Stunning. I was completely blown out of the water by this video. It is, perhaps, the most amazing thing I've watched on a screen: seven virtual bands of creatively fictional instruments "performing" the seven pieces. I can't stop showing it to other people, and everybody who sees it--musicians, video designers, computer scientists, kids, adults, grandparents, students, professors--they all love it. My favorite is PIPE DREAMS, which I watch over and over. And as stunning as the video is, the music stands on its own also.

Rating:
Summary: Animusic leaves me in awe
Review: The moment my Animusic VHS tape arrived in the mail, I popped it into the VCR to watch it.

I was already familiar with Animusic's Wayne Lytle's work, from a short I had seen entitled "More Bells and Whistles", created in 1990. So I had a basic idea of what to expect.

The video started with "Future Retro", a very nice piece, in which mechanical instruments play the music. The creativity in the instruments was stunning, with a guitar that had 3 ends, a flute-thing, and more. The drums were played by moving arms holding drumsticks. The composition was incredible, and the perfectly-timed animation made the piece come alive; it seemed as though the animated instruments were actually playing the song.

Next up was "Stick Figures", in which the instruments play themselves with their arms. A very interesting concept, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece.

Then came "Aqua Harp", in which a unique harp stands in a pool of water, under a starry night sky. The harp is actually four instruments: the harp-strings, tubular bells, air-flute-thing, and strings. The song was soft and slow, and matched the scene very well. This piece was incredible.

Next was "Drum Machine", where the instruments are played by sticks attached to gears, which rotate to hit the drums. It was impeccably well-done, where even the gears attached to the other gears turn, and at a different speed. If you've ever wondered if a machine full of gears can create music, this will answer your question.

Next was "Pipe Dream". This piece takes it's concept from one of the original instruments in the first production, "More Bells and Whistles", in which balls would shoot out of a central machine and hit the correct note exactly on time. Pipe Dream extends this, with every instrument being played by small metal balls shooting out of pipes, hitting the instument, and then re-entering a pipe. The timing was incredible, and seeing thousands of balls all creating music was an awe-inspiring sight. This animation was probably the most interesting.

Then came "Acoustic Curves", which is probably one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have heard. The instruments are all arranged in a circular shape, (thus the name), and they play together with incredible timing. It all adds up to make a very exciting piece.

Last but not least, "Harmonios Voltage" sizzles up my TV with it's slow and futuristic music. Lasers, plasma, and switches all come together to make this piece come alive. An excellent piece to end the video.

I would recommend this video for anyone who enjoys any kind of music, it's totally awe-inspiring. I've watched it 3 times already and there is always something new to be seen. This video truly is a 5-star production!

Rating:
Summary: The future of music and animation blended together!
Review: This day and age, it's very difficult for something related to music to be unique. If you've heard one song, you're bound to hear something like it again. The same principle applies to animation; big-budget blockbusters loaded with special effects are becoming boring and tiring. But "Animusic" outshines all of this bloated blandness by giving us a completely new and unique experience unlikely to be found anywhere else.

Essentially, "Animusic" consists of seven music videos that, back to back, run for 33 minutes. Sounds boring, doesn't it? But it isn't. Though it is a little short, the presentation of the "Animusic" videos more than make up for it. Each music video is a computer-generated movie in which instruments play music. Interested yet? Then hear this: each and every instrument plays each and every note precisely and exactly. That's right. It's obviously easy to make perform the same illusion and do a sloppy job of it, but "Animusic" goes through great lengths to create a visual and musical masterpiece of sight and sound that is, to say the least, perfect.

Visually, "Animusic" rivals a lot of today's Hollywood blockbusters. Each video on the album is unique with different kinds of instruments to play the music. For example, "Aqua Harp" uses a harp combined with chimes, chellos, and pan flutes, "Future Retro" utilizes robot hand-played electric guitars and drums, and "Harmonic Voltage" plays using electronic lasers. The variety found here is so amazing it's difficult not to find something to like. And, as mentioned earlier, each instrument plays each note heard.

Musically, it's phenomenal. Each song accompanies each set of instruments perfectly. All music is played using MIDI sounds, but they sound so crisp and lifelike it's magical. And again, it's difficult not to find favorites.

Extras-wise, there's quite a bit here to find (if you have the DVD). Each video can be played indepedently, as a whole, or as a whole in a loop. There's also the option of listening to the entire thing with commentary by Wayne Lytle, the creator of "Animusic", who explains how "Animusic" was created and other things like that. A viewer can also watch a single video using a "Solo Cam", which focuses on a single instrument of the piece. Finally, a viewer can see galleries of early constructs of each video.

With all that said, is "Animusic" worth it? Answer: without a doubt, yes. For someone not to like this video album, he either has to be cranky or very limited on taste. Anyone who sees "Animusic" will be captivated by it, and some people will even want to see it again right afterwards. Despite its unfortunate length of 33 minutes, the lasting appeal will more than make up for it. I can only hope that "Animusic" will get the attention and respect it deserves and that Wayne Lytle will impress us again with another video album.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: This DVD far exeeded my expectations. First of all, the material is fantastic. The visuals amaze you while the music leaves you tapping your foot for hours. Secondly, Animusic is much more worthwhile with the DVD version. You get Wayne's commentary, multiple angles and chapter selection. Obviously a lot of time has been put into the DVD functions. Rock on!

Rating:
Summary: Music done to digital animation
Review: This DVD is absolutely awesome. This video album is truely great. Words cannot describe the workmanship gone into this production. I would recommend this to anyone.
The special features really make watching this DVD fun with 3 different angles per animation called "Solo-cams" This allows you to watch a single instrument.
Then the directors comments on why certain things are the way they are in the animation. I found out the "Pipe Dream" is sequel to "More Bells and Whistles"

Mr. Lytle, keep up the good work. I'm already looking forward to the next DVD.

Rating:
Summary: The First Successful Computer-Animated Music Video
Review: This DVD is an amazing achievement. Seeing that the credits list all of three people makes this even more amazing. It is awe-inspiring to think that just a couple of people can amass the creative, artistic, and technical hurdles to assemble this DVD. I have seen this disc countless times now and my two year old son is enamoured with it.

Your first viewing will leave you slack-jawed. (I wonder if Disney's Fantasia had such an impact at its debut.) I have followed computer animation for quite some time, but this is the first time I have seen a truly successful marriage of music and computer animation. For me, "Drum Machine", "Pipe Dream", and "Acoustic Curves" are particularly appealing because they appear like machines that could exist in reality given a NASA-sized budget, much like Rube Goldberg inventions. The others are more fantastical, with floating drum sticks and string picks that appear to be operated by ghosts, and pretzel shaped laser beams. Although there is some duplication among the fictitious musical instruments, there is enough creative range between the pieces that no one is likely to complain about repetitiveness.

The appeal of the music itself will vary depending on your current musical fare. If you have listened to early John Tesh or mid-career Jean-Michel Jarre, the music will strike you as unoriginal. In fact, most of the music will feel very predictable - a solo instrument that is joined by additional instruments, rising to a climactic symphony of instruments. If you don't regularly listen to "New Age" music, this will be a fresh exposure to purely instrumental pop music.

This is a unique fusion of technology and art and I look forward to the already announced sequel.