Before you ask: no, this is not a trailer, teaser or even proof-of-concept for any upcoming live-action version of Shirow Masamune's famous manga Ghost in the Shell, or the many anime it spawned. Like the live-action Akira trailer last month, this is a project made by fans, and 100% non-commercial as the makers don't hold any of the franchise rights.
Computer artist Ash Thorp, designer Filipe Carvalho, and photographer Tim Tadder wanted to do a photo tribute to the iconic opening credits sequence of Oshii Mamoru's anime version. Just a nice labor of love, which would allow them to show off their skills. But the idea caught on amongst other participators of artist group Project 2501, and the tribute quickly became a short film with several international crews, spread around the world, working on it.
So far the results are... well, judge for yourself. I am a rabid Ghost in the Shell fan who knows the original sequence by heart... and I'm really impressed by what I see here. This team has made some really spiffy-looking segments, photographs and posters, a selection of which you can see in the video and gallery below.
Do note that Oshii's animated opening credits sequence was always a bit NSFW, so it should not be a surprise that this tribute video is not safe for viewing in the office either. But even if you suspect this to be just an insanely convoluted excuse for some nerds to film a swimming nude model (Christine "Idiivil" Adams), there is no denying the skills and obvious love for the source material apparent here.
And if you like what you see, I urge you to visit the project's website (click here), where you can find loads more of these.
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