Sometimes an off the wall idea just strikes somebody. Such was the case with Mogipbob a 37-year-old heavy-duty parts journeyman from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
The animation hobbyist started off
working his skills on cats and dogs. But he ultimately decided to blend a
couple of interests. In a recent interview he told us, “As an admirer and
collector of cars, the idea of animating them came easy.”
The result is some of the most entertaining
music videos on YouTube — a series of singing motor vehicles. Mogipbob picks
the tunes in a very logical way. He explained, “I usually select my songs from listening to the radio.” But
since the vids started to rack up a fan base he noted, “I get a lot of requests
and try to do as many as I can.”
What makes the songs so great is the flawless
pairing of car or truck and musical track. For example, is there a better
machine than a yellow cab to croon Frank Sinatra’s version of “New York, New York”? And only a big rig could belt out “Wichita Lineman” like Glen Campbell.
Mogipbob described his creative process. “I tend to pick vehicles with a decent
'face' — one that can incorporate a mouth easily. I spend a great deal of time
searching for the right vehicle for the right song [unless the vehicle and song
were a request]. I often try to pick a vehicle that is era correct as well.”
Once he’s matched the look with the voice, he
dives into the actual animation. He recounted, “It literally takes 1000s and 1000s of mouse clicks and many
hours to make one video. The process can take over two weeks. As I have gotten
better at my animations, the time necessary to create them has increased.”
So every few months for the last couple
of years, a new set of wheels has hit Mogipbob’s musical highway. And there are more on the way. He
revealed, “I have several videos
'on the go'. I should be uploading a new one in a few days.”
And he has more
planned. “There are several songs I want to animate. I have had many requests
to animate 'Convoy'. I am looking for the right trucks to make this with. I am
also trying to animate a video with a moving road/highway.” And he someday
plans to expand the series into other modes of transportation. He added, “I
want to animate airplanes, trains and even boats. When I find suitable 'character(s)'
I will animate them.”
As for the artists that Mogipbob has
paid homage to in his mobile videos, he’s only heard from one group so far. He remarked,
“I have received compliments from the Oak Ridge Boys on the video I did of
them.”
For
more pop culture stories read:
I would love for him to make one of our fire engine. To the tune of "Yellow Bird" by the brothers four. Our truck's nickname is yellow bird. We're Moose's Antique Fire Brigade Parade Battalion 29 in Gloucester City, NJ.
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