Swain,

October 9, 2002 2:27 PM

Swain, written and directed by Dave Jones, is the latest Flash animation from Transience's impressive body of work. Although all the pieces (and good games!) are subtly surprising, I particularly enjoyed Teev. In a time where the dominant credo is "messages are for Western Union", Transience seem to pushing an old-fashioned but timely agenda of poetry and peace, whilst using a refreshingly modern neo-expressionist aesthetic. [The website, apart from requiring Flash, has, like MetaFilter, been a bit unstable all day - but is definitely worth bookmarking.]
posted by MiguelCardoso (12 comments total)

Really nice piece. The story's a little simple, but I like the visuals, and the sound was great.
posted by mathowie at 3:02 PM on October 9, 2002

So I have this little voice inside my head, right? And most of the time he's pretty quiet, but for the last thirty seconds of that animation he was screaming "Move! Move, you idiots!"
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:13 PM on October 9, 2002

Sweet! TeeV is even better, am going to check out the rest now...
posted by dash_slot- at 3:22 PM on October 9, 2002

*fingers crossed*

Hmmm...the site seems to have been MetaFiltered in reverse: it's working perfectly now.

The Immigration Game is good fun (best strategy to follow, after enough appropriate attempts have been made...) and, for context freaks, should be weighed against the (almost Once Upon A Time In The West-length)El Emigrante multi-episode saga.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:36 PM on October 9, 2002

Miguel, when you say "MetaFilter has been a bit unstable all day", are you referring to one user in particular?
posted by jonson at 3:46 PM on October 9, 2002

ow ow ow ow, I kept waiting for them to jump out of the way just in time . . . .

great site! thanks for the post.
posted by synapse at 4:22 PM on October 9, 2002

I read/watch your post at the end of my work shift, perfecto last link for the day. Not to dive into your private life Mig, but I feel your like the friendly neighbor that drops by a spell and shares things of interest that are enjoyable. Your welcome to knock on my door any time.

PS, remind you, I do have a peep hole.............and you've only been let in through the back gate ;)
posted by thomcatspike at 4:50 PM on October 9, 2002

Love hurts.

Great links, Miguel!
posted by rushmc at 5:42 PM on October 9, 2002

Thanks Miguel.
posted by holloway at 6:04 PM on October 9, 2002

Wow. What a great use of black and white art. Perfectly charming all the way through, too--great music and sound. But I hate sad endings.
posted by Shane at 7:32 PM on October 9, 2002

Wow, this is just about perfect in it's use of Flash for economical web animation. After buffering for just half a minute it went on to display the rest of the movie without hesitation on my 56K modem. That first shot travelling down through the trees is a stunner. I love the subtle black and white line work. Funny, touching and sad, what a combo. Thanks Miguel.
posted by gametone at 4:20 AM on October 10, 2002

Miguel, I found the Immigration Game some time back, but managed to lose the link... it was so nice to find it here. I have to echo what Shane and gametone said; love the black and white!; best use of Flash for high quality, fast-loading goodness. Thanks!
posted by taz at 12:41 AM on October 11, 2002