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WeeblsStuff

www.weebls-stuff.com

Dave Gordon

Unfortunately the vast majority of video content on the Web is markedly traditional in structure and does not take advantage of the new artistic opportunities offered by the Internet. On the Weebls-stuff website animation is being streamed which could not be presented on television in theaters or on the independent film circuit and which takes advantage of the new narrative possibilities offered by the Web.

The majority of content on the Weebls-stuff website while interesting is structured fairly traditionally which I will discuss later. and we will discuss it later. The content which is most original is designed to loop repeatedly until stopped by the viewer. Appearing regularly in the “Toons” section of the website these animated loops, by Jonti Picking, are usually accompanied by music.

Being forced to view an endless loop of almost anything is incredibly annoying. Clearly this form is only appropriate for circumstances where the viewer is able to easily stop the loop and move on to something else. On the web where the viewer has this control Mr. Picking demonstrates that annoyance can be replaced by a surprising level of enjoyment. ( www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/badgers/ )

With the reduction of annoyance that comes with control, loops offer new artistic opportunities. For instance in traditional film information cannot be laid on too thickly or quickly lest it be passed by without the viewer being able to absorb it. The Weebls-stuff loops often contain information and even text which deliberately passes by too quickly to be fully comprehended in one view through. This means that the viewer can watch a loop multiple times without getting bored, discovering new things each loop. In fact figuring out what everything is becomes part of the fun. (www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/scampi/ )

Mr. Picking employs several variants on the straight loop including a nonrepeating intro which leads into an endless loop (http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/magical+trevor+2/ ) and a repeating loop embedded in a nonrepeating cartoon (http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/science/ ).

Whether making loops or not Mr. Picking’s work in the “Toons”section of Weebls-stuff often appears to be more of an artistic expression then a commercial one. He frequently makes animations which have as their goal some sort of personal self-expression rather than any attempt to appeal to a broad audience (http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/harricot+verts/ ). He also sometimes makes variations on themes which remind me of the way that painters sometimes make variations on a subject returning to it over and over again under different lighting conditions or different seasons. http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/badgers2/ , http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/special+edition/ , http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/footy/ , http://www.weebls-stuff.com/testy/AdventCalendar/day24.htmlAt their worst the loops on Weebls-stuff are down right annoying (http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/aaaaaaaaaaaaahaha/ ). At their best they are highly entertaining and even charming (http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/kenya/ ).

Background Weebls Stuff is a website created by Jonti Picking and a team of six compatriots in England focusing primarily on flash-based animation and video games created by Jonti and his friends. Jonti is also the Director of Sumo Dojo Productions ltd. a company which produces animated television advertising and other creative content for companies in England. He first began making “Weebl and Bob” for MTV in 2002. He claims his website weebls-stuff.com receives 50 million hits a month.

What's interesting about Weebls-stuff is the animation. The website itself seems to be pretty straightforward in design. The major content is in the center and is surrounded on either side and on top by links and advertising. In addition to advertising the website generates revenue from sales of content related merchandise.

Presumably the Weebls-stuff website is named for the semi-episodic “Weebl & Bob” cartoon which accounts for roughly a third of the website's content. Approximately another third of the content is flash-based video games. The Weeble & Bob cartoon and the videogames are strange and reasonably entertaining but not nearly as interesting as the animations in a section of the website called “Toons”. Here you will find a mixed group of animations which are truly bizarre, incredibly innovative, and at least as often great as terrible.

Clearly inspired by rave culture and occasionally suggesting the use of psychedelics, the animation in the Toons section ranges from having a traditional narrative structure (www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/worms/ ) to having almost no narrative at all and no end (http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/annoying/).