Mesh was a digital animation scheme that brought together a diverse range of talented, young animators, who created twenty-seven award-winning works between 2000-07. Produced by Nicola Black, in conjunction with Channel 4 and Nesta, Mesh was a neat idea, one that is typical of Black’s imaginative and uniquely original approach to program-making. 

It was also the kind of series that benefited TV, as it allowed anyone to submit an idea, script and storyboard for consideration, out of this a short list was drawn-up, from which 4 animators were chosen to develop and make their films. The scheme also involved seminars and courses, where the animators worked with established film-makers and script-writers to develop their projects.

Amongst the animators were Grant Orchard, whose Welcome to Glaringly was voiced by Little Britain’s Matt Lucas; James Merry who went onto work on Monkey Dust; Darren Price, who animated the true story of a bear who loved vodka; Yasmeen Ismail who made a simple animation about size and shape before going on to form Sweetworld and Rhumbaba: John Butler who created his clever, idiosyncratic consumerist fable; Stephen Cavalier who crafted a homage to 1950s sci-fi; and Neil Coslett, whose Killing Time at Home was used by Placebo as a back projection on their recent tour. All of have gone on to bigger and better things, but Mesh was where it all started. Here is a small selection of some of these animations.
 

 
Five bonus ‘Mesh’ animations after the jump…
 

 
Graeme Ronald is the talent behind Remember Remember, a Glasgow-based electronic group, who has produced some incredibly beautiful, lush and rather brilliant music over the past two years - think Brian Eno meets Philip Glass.

Remember Remember’s self-titled debut album is a must-have, and the group are now about to release an EP.

Due for release on November 1st, RR Scorpii contains 4 tracks recorded at Glasgow’s Green Door studios. In addition to their collage styled electronica, the band have borrowed from psychedelica and the instrumental landscapes of 70s rock.

Containing some typically intricate compositions, Remember Remember seem to have developed renewed confidence. The Glasgow based seven piece move from relatively lush soundscapes to the brittle guitar instrumental ‘Aria’ unveiling a number of new influences.

Ronald has an incredible CV, having been a member of such highly-praised bands as Multiplies, The Royal We and Sexy Kids, and touring guitarist with Mogwai.

This short film was made by Gregor Barclay to accompany Remember Remember’s Imagining Things, a track once deliciously described as a “mindgasm”.

 
Via Iain David Stewart
 

 
Back in 1999, Channel 4 aired Mirrorball a TV series that showcased the best promo directing talent across the globe. Two series and one animation special were made, featuring the talents of Spike Jonze, Mike Mills, Michel Gondry, Jonathan Glazer, Jonas Akerlund and Chris Cunningham. Each program was dedicated to one director, with an interview, a selection of their work, and a specially filmed insert (from Gondry drumming to Glazer mucking around with actor Paul Kay - aka Dennis Pennis).  Mirrorball was an instant hit and has gone on to become a cult TV classic since the series was cancelled in 2001.

Inspired by Edinburgh Film Festival’s Mirrorball screenings, the offshoot TV series was a collaboration between the Festival’s David Smith and Blackwatch Media, under producer and director, Nicola Black. As Black explained to Dangerous Minds:

“It was a fantastic opportunity to bring together groundbreaking directors and treat their work seriously, for the first time. We wanted to reveal the process behind these incredible pieces of work, which used cutting edge technology and post production techniques to achieve startling and unforgettable visuals to tell brilliant stories.  You have to remember, this was way before any of these directors had made their names in movies.

Black started out as an intern working with Derek Jarman, before moving on to directing and producing. She set up her company in 1995, making an internationally acclaimed documentary on crime writer James Ellroy’s search for his Mother’s murderer. Since then, Black has made a variety of award-winning shows, animations and “hard-hitting” documentaries, and started the trend in “shock docs” with Designer Vaginas.

“Mirrorball was a great series to make, not only in terms of the breadth of creative work shown, but also by the fact it gave insight into the early works of film-makers like Spike Jonze, Mark Romanek, who went on to make One Hour Photo, Michel Gondry, who made Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Jonathan Glazer, who directed the brilliant Sexy Beast.”

There were many great highlights to choose from the Mirrorball series (including Jonze’s superb short film How They Got There, Gondry’s genius work with Massive Attack & Daft Punk, Glazer’s collaborations with Radiohead, Akerlund’s Smack My Bitch Up and Mills promos for Air),  but we’ve gone for a selection from Chris Cunningham’s work, whose promos for Aphex Twin (aka genius Richard David James) are amongst some of the most original and disturbing ever made. Enjoy!
 

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Bonus clips of Mirrorball after the jump…
 

 
Over the past few decades, Scotland has had a flourishing of incredibly talented and original writers and artists for Marvel and DC Comics. Out of Glasgow, comes this fabulous posse of talent, Jamie Grant, Frank Quitely, Gary Erskine and Dominic Regan, who are based at Hope Street Studios.
 

 
Via The Comics Journal and with thanks to Scheme Comix

 
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Scotland carried out a series of social experiments, which dealt with an acute housing shortage caused by the sudden increase in the post-war population. Over two decades, thousands of working class families were moved out of slum tenements, from the city of Glasgow, into a series of New Towns, literally modern housing schemes, scattered across the country. 

In 1947, East Kilbride was designated as Scotland’s first New Town, with the aim of bringing together “new methods of production and assembly in order to create dwellings, serving humanity and also reflecting a type of technological progression.”
 

 
More from Hedgefund after the jump…