Stash 33

Stash is a monthly DVD magazine compiling innovative animation in short films, music videos, commercials, network promos, game cinematics, and more. This latest issue features 27 items—ranging from products by AT&T, Kraft, and Toyota, to promos for media outlets such as MTV and ESPN—that showcase the work of designers and production companies around the globe (full credits for each entry are included in a lavishly illustrated booklet). The technical expertise and level of imagination throughout these mostly 30-60-second pieces are very high (and in some cases border on the positively weird), and the disc also includes a five-minute student film from France combining scenes from classic films with stop-motion animation, as well as a pair of animated shorts (seven bonus music tracks are also available for download). This type of anthology will be of obvious interest to advertising agencies, production companies, design groups, studios, and post-production outfits, but film school faculty and students would also benefit from seeing these cutting-edge efforts. A bonus disc featuring promotional pieces from six agencies is also included. Earlier issues of Stash are also available, either individually or bundled together into six packs (priced at $129 each). Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)