CHECK IT: Ruin - An incredible post-apocalyptic animated short

Amid the seemingly unending sea of animated shorts that pop up online from time to time, none has stood out as much as Wes Ball's Ruin. Ball is an eight year veteran of Hollywood, where he has primarily stayed behind the scenes, doing graphic work for HBO and special features featurettes Well no more of that. With Ruin, Mr. Ball  has launched himself into the limelight, and we can expect to hear a lot more from him and his company, OddBall Animation.

Naturally, any news will be accompanied by many ballin' puns from yours truly.

What stands out about the short is the visceral feel of the action, an area where other animated science fiction shorts, notably the heralded Rosa, have stumbled. Any great action director imbues their work with a certain kineticism that heightens the tension immeasurably. Whereas the action in Rosa is stilted, as if the characters are floating; silkily dancing around each other in a pantomime of fighting, Ruin is an eight minute long exercise in the act of gut-wrench.

If the recent announcements that Rosa and previously Salted short Archetype will receive feature-length adaptations, surely we can expect the same for Ruin. Or at least a major directing gig for Ballin' Wes Ball, a name we'd do well to remember.

Hit the jump to watch Ruin.

You can check out some great making-of stuff over at OddBall's website

[Spotted on Slashfilm].