Here’s something I’ve not featured for a while, a bandwidth-crunching animated GIF!

This frenzied loop is ripped from Neill Blomkamp’s magnificent “District 9” (2009), for my money the best allround, accessible Sci-Fi flick since Jim Cameron’s “Aliens” (1986). The great thing about District 9 is that it’s a Sci-fi film that spans way beyond the confines of just one genre, it’s an absolutely fascinating blend of docudrama, social commentary, cutting edge Sci-fi, and (sporadic) breakneck action – add to this the very finest Peter’s Jackson “splatterhouse” FX then lace with wry black humour – superb! I also think a very good indicator for it’s greatness is the fact that most of my friends enjoyed it, and (unlike myself) most of them aren’t geeks!

I’ll say nothing about the featured footage, just in case you’ve still not seen it! anyway you should – available at Amazon http://bit.ly/bwBWiO << treat yourself to the Blu-Ray I reckon….

An animation of the sun, seen by NASA’s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) over the course of 6 days, starting June 27, 2005. (Courtesy of SOHO/EIT consortium).

Image featured from “The Sun – The Big Picture” part of a jaw-dropping set of images via boston.com

Full link: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/the_sun.html

Here’s something I spotted on FFFFound a while back and bookmarked, super freaky techno spirtualism! courtesy of Brasilian Illustrator / Artist Bruno 9li (AKA Bruno Novelli) – this character an off-the-wall, underwater mix of Afrika Bambaataa Planet Rock, Shiva and erm Tron!  Not just a great style, but also a great demonstration of how  even with just a few frames it’s possible to breath life into an  Illustration via the simple medium of an animated GIF loop – clever stuff indeed!

See much more of Bruno’s random and chaotic style’s at : http://www.bruno9li.com check out the videos section too!

Also of interest: a quick flick through of his book ‘Agora Eterno’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3p61kz2T8Y alas this seems a little hard to get hold of? is out of print?

Another example of early CGI, this time taken from Star Trek 2 “The Wrath of Khan” (Directed: Nicholas Meyer, 1982).

“Wrath of Khan’s” opening chapter starts with the infamous “Kobayashi Maru” simulation, from which this mechanical (and slightly trippy) Bridge-Screen visual is taken… Wicked film, with plenty of great quotes and the usual over acting, It’s generally regarded as best in the series, and it’s also probably the most accesable to non-trekkies.

Read more about it here: www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/ and here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrath_of_Khan check the trailer here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UJTi7KJPx_E

Screenshots and Animated Gif’s taken from the pioneering Sci-Fi Adventure Film “The Last Star Fighter” released in 1984. Following in the footsteps of Tron (1982) this was the second film to make extensive use of Computer Graphics; Physical Models replaced by 3d digital renderings – absolutely cutting edge for the time. Interesting to note that the protagonist Gunstar Model was designed by Ron Cobb of Starwars/Alien fame. All animation and graphics were rendered on a Cray X-MP Supercomputer, and in total 27 minutes of footage was created, a mammoth task in the early 80′s.

Read more about the film here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter
and at imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/

Here’s something a bit different that’s pretty certain to send my Bandwidth cost’s through the roof – an animated Gif loop – as made popular by FFFFound.com!  This is taken from the 1982 Clint Eastwood Cold War / Sci-Fi  Thriller “Firefox”