Correction: the character "Ratboy Genius" is the yellow rat character, NOT the pale skinned rat character who sings the song i showed, that is actually "Little King John", the arch nemesis and antagonist of Ratboy Genius. Thanks for correcting me in the comments guys.
Little fun fact about AMF as a company. Most people know them for the automated bowling systems they made, but they also built nuclear reactors and Harley Davidson motorcycles for a time
... I feel like this video didn't actually answer the proposed question. This answered more why the animations *feel* weird. The question remains of why were the bowling animations deliberately made to be weird.
thats easy they probably hired young professionals still in there experimental phase who would work for cheap and be able to produce animations on time that functioned
Yup I would have loved a video about the AMF company and their employees and history and why those were used. I was in an animation university once and small businesses and clients would ask for commissions and we would get graded on these. We were ofc asked to do small animations like 4-10 seconds and easy ideas and characters bc we were beginners. We often laughed at the 3D trash we made before we polished our animations.
A CG animator here. Why are they so weird.... 1. I think a lot of CG animators kind of don't even notice the uncanny valley so much because we end up fighting with animation software so much that sometimes we will make a lot of cringy stuff and not really realise it for years. At the time we are just happy to get the program to do whatever it was we wanted it to do. 2. I am going to take a guess the animators who did bowling animations where probably, fighting old software with a lot of limitations, could be learning as they go, and under the gun of time limits and also probably not getting payed enough to care how it looks.
Only thing i know is that almost all bowling animations come from the late 90's when they 1st got screens. these animations aren't so weird for that time. I was hoping he would refresh my mind on this matter but instead he went more into the how indeed. and yes, it was a fun watch =)
Same!! Perfect timing for me, needed a silly but nicely produced video essay to fall asleep to, safe to say I stayed up all the way through this video and found a cool (very underrated) youtuber!
I appreciate this sampler you put together, but it's not what I expected from the video title. You've presented "what makes bowling animations so weird", when I sort of assumed the title would be more "what is the reason bowling alleys use such weird animations". Good video though! PilotRedSun's Grinch video is fantastic, highly recommend that one in particular.
Thank you for saying this! That's what I came here for- I wanted to know if there was any interesting reason why they tended to be like this, not what qualities they have which make them look strange! I like seeing all the animations but I don't think this video needed to be quite so long as most people can pick out what makes the animations strange on an aesthetic level. This video would be better titled "various things which reminds me of bowling animations"
I thought I recognized a couple of the characters, then I realized the artist contributed to Shrek Retold. If you haven't seen it yet and like fever dreams it's absolute wild.
As an animator myself, I'd like to weigh in on this conversation from a technical standpoint; You mentioned these animations have a "dream-like quality" to them, and I agree. Not only are they weird scenarios, but alot of the AMF one's in particular have very slow movements and all feel kinda floaty, which reminds me of dreams where you are trying to run but are barely moving. The slow movement result's from of a lack of easing! Easing is one of the 12 principles of animation, and it really boils down to the speed at which a character moves. Alot of these characters move at different speeds from each other in the same clip, eg, the pins walking very slowly and the ball quickly appearing out of nowhere at 9:22. The animation directly afterwards this also shows the lack of easing, in the motion of the orange pin "walking" into the jail cell. It kinda feels like it's being pulled in there against it's will and the immediate stop rather than a slow out of that motion also adds to the awkwardness. You did touch on this in the video, but another aspect that adds to the uncanny feeling of the jail cell animation in particular is the other characters in the scene aren't moving at all. Even the main character stands there motionless after it is pulled into the cell, rather than reacting or acknowledging the other pins in the cell. If you watch a Pixar film, the characters never outright STOP in the middle of a scene. Even if it's just small things, like their eyes moving or them repositioning themselves while standing off to the side in a scene, it is very important for the audience to feel the character is alive. Living people don't just STOP, so neither should these 3D characters. In fact, it's pretty much impossible to not move when you try to stay still as you can. Its just something to keep in mind. I think this lack of polish is a time saving effort from the artists responsible for these animations. 3D models take hours to make, and then rigging them up for animation takes even longer. I can see the use of time saving measures here; such as repeating keyframes rather than setting new ones, adding a spline for a character rather than animating a walk cycle, and also just disregarding/ making the most simple rigs possible. I hope this was interesting, I enjoyed your video and i'm glad to see you talking about these animations, they're technically flawed, but so nostalgic to me too :))
Ok, this might sound very weird, but I am from germany and I work with someone named Ralf. I talked to him some day and he showed me his hobby. 3D animations in blender. They looked really uncanny and he was somewhat proud of his work. This may be a long stretch, but it also does not sound like a coincident because he does this for ages and started very early on.
i was hoping this would be the full history of those bowling animations complete with interviews with the animators themselves 😔 but i love having any reason at all to go on (arguably pointless) internet deep dives so actually Thank You For This ♥♥
Back in the mid 00s my brother and me were in.a bowling league so I feel like I've seen so many of these dozens times. Tbh they really haven't n changed that much haha
I find bowling animations to be a more interesting topic from a business/industry perspective to be honest. Like, why are corporations green lighting this kind of content, what is the rationale for choosing something so weird, and does including so weird of animations actually make customers want to come back to bowl more? Maybe some of the history behind who actually made the bowling animations for AMF and others would be interesting too. But rhetorically, this is a great start of the topic of something that I'm sure goes even deeper than anyone expects.
Brilliant video, I never realised just how similar bowling animations are to the vast array of weird animations, would have loved Foodfight to get a mention but everything included was interesting and I can't wait for your next video
they're not even creepy to me. they're just utterly hilarious. genuinely my main sense of humour is things that are so low-quality and obsurd that they end up looping back round to being "genius" and "peak comedy"
Honestly, I'm kinda shocked that Jack Stauber wasn't mentioned, just go see his short animation called POP FOOD, which was made to promote his album Pop Food
when u compared the normal animations to the weird ones at the start my immediate thought was lighting. what we are more used to is evenly lit. all the bowling animations and the weird ones are lit from a particular angle and has spooky shadows
loved the incorporation of the uncanny valley. im so happy to see a full-length video talking about one of my obscure interests. i feel a little more sane knowing that im not the only one who regularly thinks about this sort of media. thank you for making this video.
"Uncle Samsonite Pays a Visit" is another piece of media that i feel falls somewhere on the uncanny valley triad, as while only 16 second, it gives a surreal experience similar to ratboygenius and jonny jonny yes papa (although it got more cheesy as it turned a full series). This video was a blast to watch and super refreshing after back to back icebergs, keep it up! 🔥🔥🔥
This is an amazing video. I love all the examples you listed and how they all make sense together. The terminology you use, like "Uncanny Valey of Animation," is also very well-made. It's trippy and fulfilling!
Honestly I'm excited the game has been getting attention recently. It's such an interesting little gem. That segway into it was so smooth and unexpected, I thought the logo was there for a joke 😅
Don't forget about the importance of flat textures & bad lighting when it comes to these absurd projects, staples of early 3D rendering. I think that these full-feeling worlds where the lighting is only coming from one angle like it's a dark room with a lamp on, or the fact that every character model looks like melting clay, is a major factor here. It almost gives the same impression as something like stop motion at times.
the fact that i saw a meme of a bowling ball getting gangbanged by three pins and still got tricked into thinking it might be an actual bowling animation just shows how uncanny they are.
I think it's because the pieces they cartoonify are kind of trivial like cheek bones and other weird things. The eyes don't really have much reflection in them making them seem dead. The texture is kind of a muddy clay thing and it's used for most of the model if not all of the model.
When I first clicked on this video I expected a lighthearted “old bad animation is bad” take. Much to my surprise, I came out with a whole new understanding and appreciation for what makes every media you listed so memorable. (And i didn’t even need a separate task to focus on the video lolz) Thank you!
I went bowling a few months ago, first time in a decade, and the lack of these weird turn of the century animations genuinely took away some of my enjoyment. This video was the nostalgia I needed!
I thought I was getting a history lesson in where did those weird bowling animations came from, but I got a video essay explaining the appeal of weird animations. Nothing wrong with that, but I would much rather know where did those animations come from, and who made them, rather than some overthinking analysis on why weird animations are appealing
Well that's a cool video but I kinda was expecting the history and studio making the bowling animations and the story behind them and who works there etc
Nice video, and Bowling anims are really weird indeed. But I am actually interested in just why huge companies like Brunswick seemingly only invest 50 ct in their bowling animations. They sometimes look like they are done using an Amiga computer and a bit of Deluxe Paint. Just why can't they be better?
im glad this showed up in my recommended, this is a great video that does a good job explaining exactly why primitive 3D animation feels so creepy. another good example i feel i the show xavier renegade angel, with its extremely rudimentary 3D models that pair with weird empty environments to make for an eerie looking show. not to mention the weird shaman like music and random sound effects that play and xavier's nonsensical rambles and plotlines, it fits pretty perfectly into all 3 aspects you listed in the vid to make for a really surreal experience
I used to bowl for my high school and let me tell you... the alley i went to had REALLY weird animations. Like. Unnerving "sexy" pins with lipstick and massive chests cheerleading. There was also one where a pin flashed you under her skirt. 😭
This was such an amazing experience, one of my favourite video essays in a while and scratches a similar itch to that of Jacob Geller and EmpLemon in being able to give me a deeper appreciation of a topic I really didn't care much for to begin with. I really hope you will get the attention you deserve moving forward.
This is such a great video!! Maybe consider changing the title to why bowling animations FEEL weird because I was kinda expecting more talk about the specific animation techniques they used and maybe the history of them but this is more psychological. Can’t wait to see more of your videos! :)
You know, I watch a lot of youtube, it all kind of blends together into being the same shlock at some point. Most of it doesnt mean much to me. But this video, this is one of those videos that just shares something interesting. I may have known a little bit about it before but its just an interesting idea that's succinctly put into a video essay. And that's not something I come across every day.
Such an amazing video. Very thought provoking and 40 minutes of quality education and entertainment. Deserve many more subscribers and eyes on this channel as some serious talent right here.
I'm glad Nicholas Fedorov came up, back in the day I loved his stuff, I was like distraught when he disappeared. Every halloween I end up making some reference to Platonic Hydrocarbon Law and no one gets it. It's sad.
Hearing Fleece Snowkbs in the beginning just brought up a lot emotion because PilotRedSun was the first thing I thought of when seeing Bowling Alley animations and this video. Both his music, animations and that weird uncanny area of 3D art is a huge part of my childhood. I'm really glad you did an entire section on his work because he's one of my favourite artists and I wish more people knew PilotRedSun's work, especially his incredible discography. That music really is the audio equivalent of the childlike nostalgic feeling that's mixed with the uncanny.
the creator of the series writes their own music so I imagine whatever weird fascination that drove them to create a character based on a brief simpsons gag also made them feel compelled to accurately represent the notes being played.
I think sound absolutely has something to do with the silent ones being so uncanny. I dont think they would be nearly as uncomfortable without the maddening silence.
Just had this video pop up on my recommended. I just wanted to say that you have created a masterpiece here. I thoroughly enjoyed your video and I love these kind of videos. Your tone and sincerity or something that is greatly lacking in the video essay space. I hope that you continue to make high-quality videos like this and that you get the subscribers and recognition you deserve. I can’t wait to check out more of your channel, sending love from my corner of the internet.
Bro this video had some insane editing and visuals that made this an amazing watch, glad your getting more appreciation from your recent works. Your awesome dude
This 3D animation style fucking petrifies me. It’s been a thing for as long as I can remember. They torment me for hours after I see them, it’s feels like they’ll pull me in to an endless purple void on a bowling platform with just one pin and leave me stranded in a horrifying uncanny cgi realm of torture. But it wears off once the screen is gone, so no biggie
at most of the alleys I frequented the systems were too old for animations, but I vividly remember the Brunswick ones. they were really fun to watch during long tournaments
This is awesome!! I was already subscribed to PilotRedSun before I saw this video, and I'm so happy the algorithm threw this video at me. PilotRedSun is most memorable to me because their video 'Not so fast'. It was surreal, fascinating, and artistic all at the same time. Like I want a full length movie from them.
I have no idea how I got here but I'm glad I did. This is a genuinely well-crafted video with real care put into the editing. This truly was a surreal bowling animations.
My local bowling alley is really fucking old, the whole place is strange, but there's a distinct lack of animations. The only time you get anything on the tv's after your turn is if you get a gutter-ball, and in response the tv displays an extremely old pixelated image of a woman in a slip dress bending over the bowling ball dispenser, and a man staring at her with the words "I was distracted". Its horrible, but never ceases to make the group laugh, honestly just at how awful of a decision it was to pick that and only that for the alley.
this video is great but please consider re-recording your voieover and fix the gain on your mic, you're either topping out or you just have a bad mic and its a little hard to listen to
Man I really hope the guys from Corridor Crew come across this video and it prompts them make a challenge for making these uncanny weird bowling animations.
This could have been a 10 minute video but you keep describing what we are already seeing on the screen like we are blind. You didn't even answer the question in your title.
He explained that it was a mix of factors from premise (being the most important), quality (as in technical execution of the animation, not image quality), and sound (which can sometimes not apply). The part of the video where he relates this to bowling animations exclusively is around 15 minutes long. The other 22 goes more in depth with these factors with specific examples that perfectly encapsulate one or all of the factors so we can see exactly why something gives us a "bowling alley screen" vibe.
Correction: the character "Ratboy Genius" is the yellow rat character, NOT the pale skinned rat character who sings the song i showed, that is actually "Little King John", the arch nemesis and antagonist of Ratboy Genius. Thanks for correcting me in the comments guys.
Potato knishes! Potato knishes! I love potato knishes!
Thank god you corrected that! I almost took it out in my special needs son! Smh!
@@LimeLoaf you should do that anyway
@@Raichu159 This is why you're better than pikachu
thanks I was so sad when you said "this is ratboy genius" and played little king john's song
Little fun fact about AMF as a company. Most people know them for the automated bowling systems they made, but they also built nuclear reactors and Harley Davidson motorcycles for a time
They also made the CIA deer gun. A single shot 9mm pistol that the CIA planned on giving to Vietnamese civilians to be used to kill VietKong.
Just one of those companies I guess… kinda like Yamaha, building stuff like motorcycles and outboard motors to audio speakers, pianos and drum sets.
Good to know
Makes me think of Shinra from FFVII. They also had energy reactors, vehicle manufacturing and silly early 3D presentations lol
They did whaaat?!
They look like every Pixar storyboard “here’s what the idea looked like before millions of dollars was poured into it”
... I feel like this video didn't actually answer the proposed question.
This answered more why the animations *feel* weird.
The question remains of why were the bowling animations deliberately made to be weird.
thats easy they probably hired young professionals still in there experimental phase who would work for cheap and be able to produce animations on time that functioned
I had the same thought. I liked the video, but as far as I can tell, didn't answer the question.
that’s my main complaint with the video too. i’d really like to know the process of how the animators decided on the animations that they created
@@kelseybartonI'm guessing being overworked and being asked of quantity over quality so someone higher up can pick from them
Yup I would have loved a video about the AMF company and their employees and history and why those were used. I was in an animation university once and small businesses and clients would ask for commissions and we would get graded on these. We were ofc asked to do small animations like 4-10 seconds and easy ideas and characters bc we were beginners. We often laughed at the 3D trash we made before we polished our animations.
that intro scratches an itch
Your name is so silly I love it
It went on way too damn long.
@@WobblesandBeanTo each their own
The bowling cinematic universe
You could say it strikes a pin in you
A CG animator here. Why are they so weird....
1. I think a lot of CG animators kind of don't even notice the uncanny valley so much because we end up fighting with animation software so much that sometimes we will make a lot of cringy stuff and not really realise it for years. At the time we are just happy to get the program to do whatever it was we wanted it to do.
2. I am going to take a guess the animators who did bowling animations where probably, fighting old software with a lot of limitations, could be learning as they go, and under the gun of time limits and also probably not getting payed enough to care how it looks.
I enjoyed this, but it’s more *how* they’re so weird rather than *why* they are
I think the why of it is simple. Someone was bored at work
Eh. I'd say it's why we *find* then weird more than anything.
God forbid you have to bring your imagination to the table in appreciating a work of art!
Only thing i know is that almost all bowling animations come from the late 90's when they 1st got screens. these animations aren't so weird for that time. I was hoping he would refresh my mind on this matter but instead he went more into the how indeed. and yes, it was a fun watch =)
@@Deadflower019 I mean they didn't just appear from the aether. We can assume they were purposefully created with human intent.
I'm so glad this appeared on my recommendation feed
Same!! Perfect timing for me, needed a silly but nicely produced video essay to fall asleep to, safe to say I stayed up all the way through this video and found a cool (very underrated) youtuber!
Same.
Why
Inclined Intelectual abilities
@@sofiasvoid mfs watching brain rot and like I'm so glad I was suggested this 😭
1:31 the 2nd vampire looks sad like someone is yelling at them and they're holding back tears
Oh that’s kind of sad
@@Angelzfoodcake sorry lol. That is what it looks like tho right?
@@dairekelly8620 not wrong
Yeah it does
BRUH IT REALLY DOES
I appreciate this sampler you put together, but it's not what I expected from the video title. You've presented "what makes bowling animations so weird", when I sort of assumed the title would be more "what is the reason bowling alleys use such weird animations". Good video though! PilotRedSun's Grinch video is fantastic, highly recommend that one in particular.
Thank you for saying this! That's what I came here for- I wanted to know if there was any interesting reason why they tended to be like this, not what qualities they have which make them look strange! I like seeing all the animations but I don't think this video needed to be quite so long as most people can pick out what makes the animations strange on an aesthetic level.
This video would be better titled "various things which reminds me of bowling animations"
I'm an unironic ratboy genius fan. The music is really well done.
Misty mountain, up in the sky over the valley
Me too brother, I’ll be real
Louie would eat Ratboy Genius
I thought I recognized a couple of the characters, then I realized the artist contributed to Shrek Retold. If you haven't seen it yet and like fever dreams it's absolute wild.
nothing makes me happier than that whole channel i love it so much . the flood and lkjs character arc changed me fr
As an animator myself, I'd like to weigh in on this conversation from a technical standpoint;
You mentioned these animations have a "dream-like quality" to them, and I agree. Not only are they weird scenarios, but alot of the AMF one's in particular have very slow movements and all feel kinda floaty, which reminds me of dreams where you are trying to run but are barely moving.
The slow movement result's from of a lack of easing!
Easing is one of the 12 principles of animation, and it really boils down to the speed at which a character moves.
Alot of these characters move at different speeds from each other in the same clip, eg, the pins walking very slowly and the ball quickly appearing out of nowhere at 9:22.
The animation directly afterwards this also shows the lack of easing, in the motion of the orange pin "walking" into the jail cell. It kinda feels like it's being pulled in there against it's will and the immediate stop rather than a slow out of that motion also adds to the awkwardness.
You did touch on this in the video, but another aspect that adds to the uncanny feeling of the jail cell animation in particular is the other characters in the scene aren't moving at all. Even the main character stands there motionless after it is pulled into the cell, rather than reacting or acknowledging the other pins in the cell. If you watch a Pixar film, the characters never outright STOP in the middle of a scene.
Even if it's just small things, like their eyes moving or them repositioning themselves while standing off to the side in a scene, it is very important for the audience to feel the character is alive. Living people don't just STOP, so neither should these 3D characters. In fact, it's pretty much impossible to not move when you try to stay still as you can. Its just something to keep in mind.
I think this lack of polish is a time saving effort from the artists responsible for these animations.
3D models take hours to make, and then rigging them up for animation takes even longer. I can see the use of time saving measures here; such as repeating keyframes rather than setting new ones, adding a spline for a character rather than animating a walk cycle, and also just disregarding/ making the most simple rigs possible.
I hope this was interesting, I enjoyed your video and i'm glad to see you talking about these animations, they're technically flawed, but so nostalgic to me too :))
Thank you for the comment it's very interesting
Yea
@@natanolman9211 I'm really glad to hear you found it interesting!
Thanks u just saved me 30 minutes of this dude repeating “these obscure animations are weird look”
this basically explains the artstyle of baldi’s basics, vlif’s animations, and scott cawtons old projects
woahh 200 likes??
@@kolpkiikeep quiet
@@Zesteas bro :(
Why yes, I would absolutely enjoy a 37 minute video about bowling animations at 2 in the morning
Yeah fr let me watch with u
@@flofloouou3073 Can i join?
Are we all only getting recommended this at 2am specifically?
@@peachpixiedustyes
Yes, 1:40 am for me
Ok, this might sound very weird, but I am from germany and I work with someone named Ralf. I talked to him some day and he showed me his hobby. 3D animations in blender. They looked really uncanny and he was somewhat proud of his work. This may be a long stretch, but it also does not sound like a coincident because he does this for ages and started very early on.
18:20 that's not Ratboy Genius. that's Little King John, who I think is one of the primary antagonists of the series.
I WAS ABOUT TO COMMENT THIS. Is it wierd to be mad that he got this wrong?
i was hoping this would be the full history of those bowling animations complete with interviews with the animators themselves 😔 but i love having any reason at all to go on (arguably pointless) internet deep dives so actually Thank You For This ♥♥
I read "I love having any reason at all to go on" and was like man.. this bowling animation video be saving lives. 😅🎳
Back in the mid 00s my brother and me were in.a bowling league so I feel like I've seen so many of these dozens times. Tbh they really haven't n changed that much haha
same 😫😮💨
Does anyone actually know who made the bowling animations? Like, what cgi software did they use?
Same
I find bowling animations to be a more interesting topic from a business/industry perspective to be honest. Like, why are corporations green lighting this kind of content, what is the rationale for choosing something so weird, and does including so weird of animations actually make customers want to come back to bowl more? Maybe some of the history behind who actually made the bowling animations for AMF and others would be interesting too. But rhetorically, this is a great start of the topic of something that I'm sure goes even deeper than anyone expects.
Brilliant video, I never realised just how similar bowling animations are to the vast array of weird animations, would have loved Foodfight to get a mention but everything included was interesting and I can't wait for your next video
they're not even creepy to me. they're just utterly hilarious. genuinely my main sense of humour is things that are so low-quality and obsurd that they end up looping back round to being "genius" and "peak comedy"
Don't you mean, "gutterly hilarious"? 🤣
You've been the target audience
as such, ua-cam.com/video/RmZknIe9mU0/v-deo.html
You just described a good shitpost
I was gonna comment "GOD I hope PSR will get mentioned" but now I am in the weird animation section and I think it might happen
RATBOY
Kinda freaked out also I started humming pilotredsun casino night and then it started playing at like 20:55 , pretty freaky
Honestly, I'm kinda shocked that Jack Stauber wasn't mentioned, just go see his short animation called POP FOOD, which was made to promote his album Pop Food
Ooh yeah Jack Stauber was one I used to watch, cooking with Abigail is great
when u compared the normal animations to the weird ones at the start my immediate thought was lighting. what we are more used to is evenly lit. all the bowling animations and the weird ones are lit from a particular angle and has spooky shadows
I was notified of this video by someone on discord. Very much appreciated and well researched. I appreciate your kind words.
YOOOO IT'S THE MAN HIMSELF :0
Omg it’s you
loved the incorporation of the uncanny valley. im so happy to see a full-length video talking about one of my obscure interests. i feel a little more sane knowing that im not the only one who regularly thinks about this sort of media. thank you for making this video.
"Uncle Samsonite Pays a Visit" is another piece of media that i feel falls somewhere on the uncanny valley triad, as while only 16 second, it gives a surreal experience similar to ratboygenius and jonny jonny yes papa (although it got more cheesy as it turned a full series). This video was a blast to watch and super refreshing after back to back icebergs, keep it up! 🔥🔥🔥
oh my gosh this brought back so many memories 😭😭 those vids freaked me out so bad
"its time to play with uncle samsonite"
This is an amazing video. I love all the examples you listed and how they all make sense together. The terminology you use, like "Uncanny Valey of Animation," is also very well-made. It's trippy and fulfilling!
LSD Dream Emulator: Bowling Animations
Edit: Commented before finishing only for you to include LSD Dream Emulator lol
Honestly I'm excited the game has been getting attention recently. It's such an interesting little gem. That segway into it was so smooth and unexpected, I thought the logo was there for a joke 😅
@@CyntariaI thought it was a joke too lol I'm really glad it was included tho lsdde is one of my favorite games :)
I bought a copy for 250€ back in 2016 :) Crazy to think thats almost 10 years ago
This is honestly quite interesting and definitely not the video I was expecting. Well done!
how you intro'd this video had me hooked, and the rest of the ways you broke down the science of specific animations was fascinating.
Don't forget about the importance of flat textures & bad lighting when it comes to these absurd projects, staples of early 3D rendering. I think that these full-feeling worlds where the lighting is only coming from one angle like it's a dark room with a lamp on, or the fact that every character model looks like melting clay, is a major factor here. It almost gives the same impression as something like stop motion at times.
the fact that i saw a meme of a bowling ball getting gangbanged by three pins and still got tricked into thinking it might be an actual bowling animation just shows how uncanny they are.
That's not the original by the way, the original is the ball raping a pin, the artist just made sequels because it became a meme
@@Mate_Antal_Zoltan Yikes
I think it's because the pieces they cartoonify are kind of trivial like cheek bones and other weird things. The eyes don't really have much reflection in them making them seem dead. The texture is kind of a muddy clay thing and it's used for most of the model if not all of the model.
When I first clicked on this video I expected a lighthearted “old bad animation is bad” take. Much to my surprise, I came out with a whole new understanding and appreciation for what makes every media you listed so memorable. (And i didn’t even need a separate task to focus on the video lolz)
Thank you!
its been a long time since i was so interested in a video that i stopped everything i was doing just to sit and watch... fantastic job!
I went bowling a few months ago, first time in a decade, and the lack of these weird turn of the century animations genuinely took away some of my enjoyment. This video was the nostalgia I needed!
Fantastic delve into a niche that I didn't even know that I was interested in. Hope to see more kinds of videos from this channel. Great job, man. 🙂
Underated as hell! Clicked expecting a small video with some kinda good commentary but this was so good!
found this video while lookin for videos to listen to while studying, realized id need to actually watch, came back with dinner
This video is super well made, dunno how this doesn't have more views on it. You honestly really deserve more
I thought I was getting a history lesson in where did those weird bowling animations came from, but I got a video essay explaining the appeal of weird animations. Nothing wrong with that, but I would much rather know where did those animations come from, and who made them, rather than some overthinking analysis on why weird animations are appealing
Thanks for the reminder of LSD dream emulator. I knew I was forgetting something to put on my list now that I have a PS2.
I dont know if you got one or learned the hard way but physical copies of LSD: Dream Emulator can cost upwards of $1000 so good luck
@@Jacob-Sophia Yeah no I immediately burned a disk.
I meant my list of "games to play" not necessarily games to buy.
@@Yipper64 Yeah I assumed even if you were planning on it you would've been quickly cured of any desire to go looking for one lol
@@Jacob-SophiaI bought my copy for 250€ back in 2016 :)
@@MrGreen489 Glad you got lucky. At least I assume, I have no information on the European secondhand rare games market. Also that's about $370 USD.
20:49 that was a damn vsauce level transition there
Well that's a cool video but I kinda was expecting the history and studio making the bowling animations and the story behind them and who works there etc
Everybody gangster until someone mentions the famous unofficial animation where the pin gets pegged.
the dino bowling pin with the green blood had me crying laughin
How does the UA-cam algorithm know I took two pots and needed this exact video?
I loved the Rat Boy Genius series. Potato knish still stuck in my head to this day
Nice video, and Bowling anims are really weird indeed. But I am actually interested in just why huge companies like Brunswick seemingly only invest 50 ct in their bowling animations. They sometimes look like they are done using an Amiga computer and a bit of Deluxe Paint. Just why can't they be better?
im glad this showed up in my recommended, this is a great video that does a good job explaining exactly why primitive 3D animation feels so creepy. another good example i feel i the show xavier renegade angel, with its extremely rudimentary 3D models that pair with weird empty environments to make for an eerie looking show. not to mention the weird shaman like music and random sound effects that play and xavier's nonsensical rambles and plotlines, it fits pretty perfectly into all 3 aspects you listed in the vid to make for a really surreal experience
I used to bowl for my high school and let me tell you... the alley i went to had REALLY weird animations. Like. Unnerving "sexy" pins with lipstick and massive chests cheerleading. There was also one where a pin flashed you under her skirt. 😭
I never expected this video to get around rat boy genius and crude animation in general
This was such an amazing experience, one of my favourite video essays in a while and scratches a similar itch to that of Jacob Geller and EmpLemon in being able to give me a deeper appreciation of a topic I really didn't care much for to begin with. I really hope you will get the attention you deserve moving forward.
Smirkin" Turkey is the greatest band name I've heard in a long time
This is such a great video!! Maybe consider changing the title to why bowling animations FEEL weird because I was kinda expecting more talk about the specific animation techniques they used and maybe the history of them but this is more psychological. Can’t wait to see more of your videos! :)
Or something more broad like “a deep dive into unsettling animations” because the second half of this video is INCREDIBLE!!
What's it gonna be? Are you gonna be a strike? (STROIK) Or a split? (SPLOT)
6:14 Holy shit! They name dropped this animation directly in the third episode of Moonbeam City! I always thought they were making it up.
You know, I watch a lot of youtube, it all kind of blends together into being the same shlock at some point. Most of it doesnt mean much to me. But this video, this is one of those videos that just shares something interesting. I may have known a little bit about it before but its just an interesting idea that's succinctly put into a video essay. And that's not something I come across every day.
They kind of remind me of 3D Clip-art, which was also kind of uncanny sometimes.
Such an amazing video. Very thought provoking and 40 minutes of quality education and entertainment. Deserve many more subscribers and eyes on this channel as some serious talent right here.
thank you for resparking my interest in uncanny/unnatural/off putting videos/music/art. amazing video!
It's so interesting because I've never seen any of these animations
So there must be different ones in different regions
They all look like they’re animated in the old “kahoots” animation software we had on our computers in the school computer lab. (Same era as kidpix)
I'm glad Nicholas Fedorov came up, back in the day I loved his stuff, I was like distraught when he disappeared. Every halloween I end up making some reference to Platonic Hydrocarbon Law and no one gets it. It's sad.
Hearing Fleece Snowkbs in the beginning just brought up a lot emotion because PilotRedSun was the first thing I thought of when seeing Bowling Alley animations and this video. Both his music, animations and that weird uncanny area of 3D art is a huge part of my childhood. I'm really glad you did an entire section on his work because he's one of my favourite artists and I wish more people knew PilotRedSun's work, especially his incredible discography. That music really is the audio equivalent of the childlike nostalgic feeling that's mixed with the uncanny.
No but the fingers on the piano at 19:20 being accurate to the music is mad impressive
the creator of the series writes their own music so I imagine whatever weird fascination that drove them to create a character based on a brief simpsons gag also made them feel compelled to accurately represent the notes being played.
I think sound absolutely has something to do with the silent ones being so uncanny. I dont think they would be nearly as uncomfortable without the maddening silence.
This is amazing... i can feel the uncanniness coming inside me
The uncanniness is coming in your valley.
Just had this video pop up on my recommended. I just wanted to say that you have created a masterpiece here. I thoroughly enjoyed your video and I love these kind of videos. Your tone and sincerity or something that is greatly lacking in the video essay space. I hope that you continue to make high-quality videos like this and that you get the subscribers and recognition you deserve. I can’t wait to check out more of your channel, sending love from my corner of the internet.
this a pretty great vid. Very interesting premise I don't think many talk about in this fashion.
I love finding that someone got these animations covered 💯👌
The character shown isn’t actually rat boy genius, it’s little king John
How intriguing. Thank you for making this video and bringing these bizarre pieces of media to my attention. I've subscribed.
amazing, love learning about this kinda stuff and u did it perfectly, hope to see more from u!
Really well made video!
It explained (for the most part) the unexplainable feel of these animations!
Good work! Can't wait to see more :D
1:18 every time I see these kinds of animations I can’t not hear Money for nothing by Dire Straits in my head
That Pringles animation was so unnerving, the Creator did amazing job lol
That first mouse looks like a Care Bear
Bro this video had some insane editing and visuals that made this an amazing watch, glad your getting more appreciation from your recent works. Your awesome dude
This 3D animation style fucking petrifies me. It’s been a thing for as long as I can remember. They torment me for hours after I see them, it’s feels like they’ll pull me in to an endless purple void on a bowling platform with just one pin and leave me stranded in a horrifying uncanny cgi realm of torture.
But it wears off once the screen is gone, so no biggie
Using PilotRedSun music for this video was a perfect choice
at most of the alleys I frequented the systems were too old for animations, but I vividly remember the Brunswick ones. they were really fun to watch during long tournaments
Great video man, it feels like UA-cam is over saturated with videos treading similar topics. In contrast, this felt fresh and personal.
based & pilot-pilled
*A thing of beauty, I know
Will never fade away*
And now we have "AI FEVER DREAM: Mario's Trip" gotta add that one
This is awesome!! I was already subscribed to PilotRedSun before I saw this video, and I'm so happy the algorithm threw this video at me. PilotRedSun is most memorable to me because their video 'Not so fast'. It was surreal, fascinating, and artistic all at the same time. Like I want a full length movie from them.
LSD dream... Emulator (Vsauce theme starts playing)
I have no idea how I got here but I'm glad I did. This is a genuinely well-crafted video with real care put into the editing. This truly was a surreal bowling animations.
My local bowling alley is really fucking old, the whole place is strange, but there's a distinct lack of animations. The only time you get anything on the tv's after your turn is if you get a gutter-ball, and in response the tv displays an extremely old pixelated image of a woman in a slip dress bending over the bowling ball dispenser, and a man staring at her with the words "I was distracted". Its horrible, but never ceases to make the group laugh, honestly just at how awful of a decision it was to pick that and only that for the alley.
As someone who used to go bowling once a week, I had no idea there was more than a handful of bowling animations...
this video is great but please consider re-recording your voieover and fix the gain on your mic, you're either topping out or you just have a bad mic and its a little hard to listen to
Thanks for the feedback, super useful, and thanks for the kind words.
@@lugalan no problem man this video was fantastic, i'll definitely be back for whatever you decide to work on next
First time seeing your channel, and I just wanna say the production value and editing are really great, dude.
Awesome video too.
Don't forget about the fake and just as uncanny NSFW bowling animations
Finally someone remembers the ones that went viral on Twitter a couple years ago
I wanted to forget...
Do yall know about THOSE bowling animations? Or am I just traumatized? Nice video btw
anyone know the exact prs track at 3:14?
it seems to be a slowed edit of fleece snowkbs
Think I've watched this like five times. Genuinely enjoyed this trip through funny little creations
I believe Jack Stauber deserves a place on this list.
Some of the Residents music videos too (Constantinople, Gingerbread Man or the whole Freak Show thing)
Man I really hope the guys from Corridor Crew come across this video and it prompts them make a challenge for making these uncanny weird bowling animations.
This could have been a 10 minute video but you keep describing what we are already seeing on the screen like we are blind. You didn't even answer the question in your title.
He explained that it was a mix of factors from premise (being the most important), quality (as in technical execution of the animation, not image quality), and sound (which can sometimes not apply). The part of the video where he relates this to bowling animations exclusively is around 15 minutes long. The other 22 goes more in depth with these factors with specific examples that perfectly encapsulate one or all of the factors so we can see exactly why something gives us a "bowling alley screen" vibe.