Between the Tweens

Blog moved ALERT ******

2008-10-18T10:17:00.001+01:00

My blog has moved to http://betweenthetweens.com Please come and check it out and make sure to update your bookmarks...

scribblebug

2008-10-16T22:45:00.002+01:00

just finished building this site for my sister. It's called scribblebug and is well worth a look. Check it out here

Photography meets Illustration

2008-07-05T11:40:00.003+01:00

See the full photo set here

Silverlight

2007-10-07T10:39:00.000+01:00

So over the past couple of weeks I have been messing around with making my first Silverlight application. I say application but really it is a just a simple hero banner which I had previously knocked up in Flash in a day. What happens is 4 images fade and scale between each other while a window expands center stage from the _yscale and text dynamically appears with a typewriter effect. There is also a button that appears on rollover with a URL programmed into it. So I got Parallels running on my mac (which incidentally is great) and had Expression Blend 2.0 (September Preview) installed which is what you need to create a Silverlight package. So Silverlight is actually the plug-in much the same way the Flash Player is a plug-in to your browser. It is Expression Blend that is the designer's tool to create the Silverlight application just as Flash 8 or CS3 would be used. I checked out the 'getting started' tutorials on Lynda.com which is well worth a look and then got started.

My overall impression of Blend is that it is similar to After Effects. The look and feel is that of dark panels with use of fixed or floating panels that can be minimized easily. It also makes use of sliders in the form of click and drag (left or down for minus amounts and right or up for plus amounts). To start building the Silverlight package you need to collect all your assets together which have to be added to the package in the same sort of way that you'd add say an image to your library in Flash. All well and good so far. So I managed to drag an image to the stage and with Expression Blend there is no need to create a movie clip and so I was ready to start animating. What you have to do first though is to create a 'timeline' which seems counter-intuitive coming to it from the Flash world. Oh and you have to watch out for whether the timeline is 'recording' or not as this will track any movement or changes. This became very tiresome very quickly. But I did manage to eventually get two images to scale and fade between each other. You have to set up key frames where you want the animation to be and off you go animating. Blend is a time based animation package which is ok but not very precise, I think I prefer animating over frames. What I did find weird was that there seems to be no way to resize an image to an exact pixel point. The only way I could manage to resize images was with the handles and then you had to resize to a 3 decimal point of a pixel which seems very odd.

Now I felt quite pleased with myself that after a day's work I had scaled and faded 4 images between each other and made the window pop open and closed at various points. By the way, Silverlight does not pixelate your images when scaling which is a problem flash has long had and is only overcome by using the BitmapData class. So my first major obstacle with Blend was how to preview the work. In Flash you would test the movie and it would appear in the stand-alone player or you could view an HTML page to see how it views in your browser. With Blend you supposedly press F5 and it tests your movie for you. But for me this did not work. It seemed frozen on the first frame. After an extensive internet search I found some xaml code (xaml is the new programming language for Blend and Silverlight and is very XML based) that would autoplay the animation on load. Now I thought that the onload command was supposed to be built in? Anyone coming at this from a non-code background is going to be very frustrated very quick. It took a bit of hacking but eventually I got the XAML to work and my animation started to play.

And so to frustration #2. When viewing the animation in Firefox the dimensions were wrong. I had set my document properties within Blend and the XAML seemed right too. So what was the problem? I decided to get my hands dirty and look at the javascript and this is where the problem lay. It seems that Blend did not create the browser page properly so by changing these width and height properties I was on my way. Although this does seem a very basic thing and one that will again frustrate many people (myself included). Leading me to think that perhaps this version is not ready for public release yet.

Frustration #3. Each time I previewed my work in Firefox it asked me whether I wanted to reload the project as it said it had been modified outside of Blend. Clearly it hadn't but I did reload it each time. This seemed weird and the major issue I had with this workflow was that it reset your page settings and layout to the default which is not cool because the animation layout is not the default setting. The Lynda tutorial recommended allowing the reload.

So my next task was to create the text. Now I wasn't going to try anything as complicated as coding a typewriter effect, I was simply going to get my text to fade in and out. So I set up my text box and typed the copy in and then I went to select my font. WHAT??? Only 9 fonts available. That can't be right. This is for a client and they need a specific font. Grrrrr. Back to the online forums. No help there. So I pulled in some resources from work and eventually got some tech support from a person who worked on the Silverlight program over in the States. He said that Silverlight only supports 9 fonts. Really? Well I suppose the same is true of Flash but you can still design with other fonts and Flash will embed them for you or you can do it yourself. Not so with Silverlight. The only solution was about 20 lines of javascript that the guy sent me. And to be honest it was way over my head. Blend creates 3 javascript files and I had no idea where to put this code. This seems crazy to me and really frustrating. So this is where my project died.

I'm off to Silverlight training for the next 3 days so I plan to ask a lot of questions then. I am required to learn this software package as the client is demanding Silverlight applications in the near future. But my advice to any fellow Flashers looking to learn another software package is hold off on this one. It is simply not ready. It is not designer friendly yet. There is potential for it being ok. But it is years behind what Flash can do and you will need to learn new code to get it to work. But then again this is Microsoft and they will be pouring a lot of resource into this project in the future so be sure it is set to challenge Adobe. But for now just sit back and wait.

gondry motorola ad

2007-09-29T12:53:00.001+01:00

I was delighted to see some new Gondry work in a medium that he is really well suited to: the advertisment. Showing here with an ad for Motorola. Gondry is the king of the lo-fi look. In his last movie The Science of Sleep there were several dream sequences where the city seems to be made of cardboard. He is obviously exploring this a little further here. I absolutely love the way he explores the features of the new phone by imagining it as a real world entity complete with people inside operating the various functions. Gondry loves the surreal but he is never over-indulgent. Always charming and forever creating a tangible and enticing world to explore. His new movie Be Kind Rewind is out soon.

Interactive Shopfront

2007-09-26T22:58:00.000+01:00

I really love this ingenious way to showcase your wares in a shop window seen here for New York Fashion Week for Elle MacPherson Intimates. Devised by Human Locator this is a great way to generate interest in a shop display as it encourages people to explore the window at their leisure and spend more time there than they necessarily would. Adding a level of interaction like this breaks the mold and reminded me of this banner of the day over at bannerblog. Exploration with your mouse to mimic your finger movement is the same in this banner as waving your hands by the window to see what is underneath. This really appeals to our inherent nature to be nosy and explore.

Review: Sticky Windows

2007-09-25T08:16:00.000+01:00

I've been using Sticky Windows for about a week now and I've got to say I'm impressed. This great little app sits in the background and is launched on start-up. It is an alternative to minimizing windows to the dock which I've got to say I'm not a big fan of. I find that doing this I often forget about what I have open and using the application switcher can often work in unexpected ways. With Sticky Windows you drag your window to the side of the screen and it morphs into an elegant tab. You can see what you have open but the windows aren't all cluttering your desktop. If you're anything like me you have several windows open at once, this is a great way to manage your workspace. That is until Leopard arrives and we have Spaces, but more on that soon.

The countdown to Leopard

2007-09-23T10:45:00.000+01:00

One of the most exiting new features in the upcoming Leopard has got to be Stacks. This could be a great new workflow for people who have to manage several files all over their system. For myself, I often find that I have a desktop littered with various files. What Stacks aims to do is to group those files by kind and stack them ontop of each other in a 3D style pile. With a click you can open the fan of files or have them arranged in grid. Thus saving a whole bunch of real estate on the desktop. Here's what you can expect from Apple in Leopard...

But of course what Apple does well has usually been done by other people first. I recall seeing the following video about a year ago and just highlights exactly the kind of bleeding-edge stuff that people are working on. An attempt to make the desktop a more intuitive space and more like the kind of space we actually have around us. Don't forget when the personal computer first came out we were expected to take on the notion of files and folders to understand the hierarchy of a computer's directory. This is just the next step....

And could this be the future. Apple is well in place to provide a home computing system like the following video. Multi-touch iMac? Open GL graphics. It's all there. The question is do we really want to be using hand gestures to navigate our personal computers?

iPhone vs iPod touch

2007-09-22T09:43:00.001+01:00

So with Apple's touch line-up now in place for the UK holiday season I must admit that I am hankering for one of these devices. But which one to choose? There are three choices.

8GB iPod touch for £199
16GB iPod touch for £269
8GB iPhone for £269

The iPod touch is undoubtedly a great device but the iPhone is an iPod as well. And it would be so great to do away with that extra device I carry around with me, my phone. So are any of these configurations worth me giving up my 60GB iPod and my Sony Ericsson? Ok so storage is undoubtedly an issue. At the moment I carry around about 30GB of data. Half of this is in the form of music and the rest is a few movies and most of my picture library. I also use my iPod as an external hard drive carrying various essential bits of data as and when needed. For me to purchase any of these multi-touch products I'd have to rethink how I treat my media and move away from the notion of carrying it ALL with me. This is do-able. I have a vast amount of music that I never listen to and I could treat it the same way I treat movies on my iPod and just have a few. But realistically is 8GB just a bit too restrictive? I think it probably is. In this sense I should really hold out for a 32GB option especially now that the touch devices have an OS to hold too.

The next question I'm asking myself is could I live without the phone facility. In reality I don't make that many calls. Most of my call activitiy is in the form of texts. Actually a wi-fi option on the iPod touch is pretty good. You get great browsing speeds and where I work falls into the city of London which is a free wi-fi network. This could work. The only downside is that Apple has decided to not bundle the mail program (along with a couple of other nice online apps) which is a great shame as I subscribe to .mac and I don't want to be going online to check my mail all the time. Big black mark against the iPod touch for this one.

So it really seems that this first round of multi-touch devices just aren't for me. I think it makes sense for me to get the iPhone at some point but I need it to be my fully functioning iPod too so 32GB is a must. Some food for future thought is that Apple must get on the 3G bandwagon for the iPhone to be a viable competitor to other UK phones (without losing battery life). They also need to address the camera in my mind. It should really be on the front side so that video chats become possible and a flash option should be included for still shots. Although camera phones have always been dodgy in my mind. My Sony Ericsson has a 3MP camera phone with a good flash but it is VERY slow and the images are just OK. Camera phones need to address their lag time to make them a viable option to replace carrying a camera with you. But when you see the quality of the video on a product like the Nokia N95 you know it is possible and really does give hope that the all in one device is just around the corner.

5 gum

2007-09-02T09:50:00.000+01:00

Wrigleys are bringing out a new line of designer high tech gum and have tasked The Mill LA to produce these awesome ads depicting what it is like to chew on their product. Some incredible production values here as you sense and experience the sensations for each flavour Rain, Flare and Cobalt. I just absolutely love the ball bearings version. I want to lie in that pool, what a great massage. You can check out their microsite here

pickled onion site is live

2007-09-01T18:18:00.000+01:00

Got the Pickled Onion (Bermuda) website finished today. It has been live with a soft launch for a couple of weeks but today I finished some minor amends to get the site fully live and complete. I'm enjoying doing restaurant websites as you get chance to create a rich media site of sorts, graphically rich and with audio. I wasn't given that many assets to work with and would have liked to have a few food shots as I feel this would really enhance the site. Perhaps I can add this at a later stage. Hopefully I have captured the look and feel of the new restaurant but your comments would be appreciated. Check it out here

go (green) gadget go

2007-08-07T14:53:00.000+01:00

As we become more and more interested in the environment and the impact we are having on it, so companies are having to gear their products towards this trend. A slew of products are about to enter the so-called green gadget market but how do you feel about these products? Here's a round up of some that caught my eye.

Solar Power

First up is the solar powered mouse. Yes you heard me right. It could save millions of batteries a year from all those wireless mice. But how practical is this product? Do we not need sunlight to charge this beast (Wait I don't sit near a window. I'm on the lower ground floor of my building. I have my hand over my mouse all day. Hmmmm)

Solar powered products are great in some instances and I think this product could be good. I know it can be a pain to remember to redock the wireless mouse at times. Although, part of me does feel like this is a bit gimmicky and simply jumping on the green bandwagon.

Now this is a great idea. Motoroloa have recently patented this solar charged mobile phone based on the fast selling Razr. Ok so this will start out as an expensive option but lots of people don't mind forking out for quality gadgets (can anyone say iPhone). And as the cost of charging the newer phones increases with a phone's complexity, this solar powered phone will be a great option. And it looks kinda cool too.

And the silly. The solar powered bikini for the woman who has it all (sat by her by the pool...and it needs charging NOW). It just looks darned uncomfortable :S

Technology made from wood

As memories of the Morris Minor fade into our collective mushroom growing memories could it be time for a bit of a revival? Could we see a day where computers coated in plastic just seemed so passé...

This bamboo polished mouse given to the organisers of Live Earth looks great and to be honest would look great on most Ikea beech effect wooden desks. I think this is nice, different and unusual. I'm just wondering what the scroll wheel is made from?

You've got the wooden mouse. How about a cardboard coated notebook? Ahem. I'm not sure about this one. I want my laptop to be able to take a few knocks and not go all soggy if a drop of water gets spilled on it. Environmentally friendly yes. Durable maybe not.

Flat packed and made from cardboard. Muji has the answer with these great little speakers. They look pretty good and the sound isn't bad. Totally portable and mostly recyclable this is a great little gift for those with a green heart. And now that Apple is going greener it will even go with your iPod nano.

Products made from gadgets

As the waste mounts up from our disposed tech so some clever and industrious people are recycling some of this waste into "attractive" jewellery. Perhaps the upcoming Sex and the City movie will see the eponymous heroine sporting a 'C' on her right ear and a 'B' on her left from her recycled old G4 powerbook, perhaps even an old piece of motherboard dangling around her neck disguised as a necklace. Now if Gaultier or Westwood are onboard....

Any ideas what this chair has been made from? It is in fact made from recycled Playstation cases and at £99 each is simply a bargain. But they are quite hard to come by at the moment. The reason? Not enough people are throwing away their Playstations (yet).

Going green is certainly a concern for many environmentally aware corporations. Just look at Blackle which demonstrates how much energy Google could save (135,227.251 Watt hours saved at the last count) just by using a black background. Highlighting a company's energy use is one way to instigate change. Awareness is on the increase. Having a smaller carbon footprint is becoming at the foremost of people's concerns. Recently the Lights out London campaign urged Londoner's to switch off their lights for an hour saving a huge amount of energy for the capital whilst raising awareness about these issues. It is only a matter of time that companies will truly cash in on this growing market of consumers and start fighting over their EPEAT rating.

we are the night

2007-07-21T09:26:00.000+01:00

I've had this album for a week now and I've got to say I am loving every minute of it. It is electronic heaven for me having always really liked the Chemical Brothers. They do not disappoint with this their latest album. Do it again is a floor filling, thumping and really catchy number that's already doing well in the charts. But the whole album is like an ecclectic look through someone's musical tastes. For example "The Salmon Dance" which is just bizarre in that it talks about the life of a salmon?!? and yet the song is really lively and catchy. This album works on first listen and just keeps getting better. Check it out on iTunes here

a rhythm of lines

2007-07-11T16:57:00.000+01:00

It's out! The rhythm of lines microsite is finally live thanks to a LOT of hard work by the boys. This is what I was telling you to look out for after the TV ad I blogged about before. This is really cutting edge Flash work here utilizing some nifty papervision-esque 3D techniques and the speed of the Flash 9 player. Vorsprung Durch Technik this really is. You create your own rhythm of lines with this flash app to create a sculpture of ribbons that exists in a 3D space. Don't forget to enter your creation into the competition because Audi will choose the best designs to be printed out and sent to you. The way I understand this working is that you essentially have a 3 dimensional sky box which is fairly vast. The centre of the box draws you into it so you can never actually reach the edge. The ribbons are drawn dynamically based on the x,y,z co-ordinates generated by the mouse movement. The car models are created by using the co-ordinates generated in a 3D package such as Maya and then having that model outputed via an app called Collada to create an XML file that contains the co-ordinate information needed to draw that shape. Enjoy!

there's something in the water

2007-07-09T06:59:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Jo at work for sending this cool animation round for V Water. I guess this product is new to the UK but I'm definitely used to it from my travels to the US. It is a nice product in itself but the way this is being marketed in the UK is quite interesting. They are going for that low-res hand drawn approach that is so popular these days. The cartoon style is playful, almost child-like. The story is fun. It is a good way to present V water as the product itself is basically water with a few extras thrown in. Tapping into the energy drink market would have been the easiest option but they are aiming towards a market who wants to try something new and different.

the dark is rising

2007-07-04T23:06:00.000+01:00

Oh my god I could vomit with excitement. Forget The Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Earthsea, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and forget Harry Potter. This series of books is superb. Written in the 60s by Susan Cooper it is an amazing fantasy coming of age story that blew me away as a kid. It was aimed at the older more discerning teen and had me totally captivated. I don't want to give away any plot points as there is one in particular that is best left for the movie but is sure to delight. I hope they aim this above kids as in my memory it was fairly adult in theme. Definitely one of your darker fantasy novels. What is also great is that it is totally British in plot featuring and melding English folk lore into present day. I hope the inclusion of an American (surely only to appeal to the US market) will not detract. Can't wait...

beyond the banner

2007-07-03T08:19:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Marc at work for this heads up. It is a good example of thinking beyond normal constraints (phew I didn't say 'outside the box'). And although this isn't technically brilliant it is a good idea and loads of fun. I won't spoil the surprise just promise you'll keep watching until the end :) It is worth it. Check it out here.

fire & water

2007-07-02T23:15:00.000+01:00

Don't you just love it when a piece of work just jumps out and says something to you...like wow. Superb photoshop skills are in evidence here as a blend of water drops forms to take the shape of fire. It really works because you do get blue flames some times (the gas hob works especially well). It reminds me of a British print campaign out now for Bacardi where the bottle's side is exploding into water. I can't for the life of me find it on the net though. Here is the original files on the web. No mention of the artist's name. Would love to find out who is responsible and perhaps see some more of their work. Oh and if anyone can point me to the Bacardi work I would be grateful.

photosynth demo

2007-06-24T10:15:00.000+01:00

Photosynth has come a long way since I saw it about a year ago. This demo will make your jaw drop open in amazement. You know how when watching a sci-fi movie like Blade Runner they zoom in on an image and enlarge tiny portions of the screen? Well this demo shows this capability. Ok so we're not there quite yet in terms of being able to do that to any image because at the end of the day the resolution of an image is always a factor. If you take a picture on a mobile phone you will never be able to do much with it. But what photosynth does is postulate that of any given landmark there are enough images taken by people that are online to be able to create an interactive map of that place. So given the meta-data of images stored, say on Flickr, this application can build up a representation of that place. You can zoom in on any feature and can even fly around a virtual 3D representation of that environment.

The demo also showcased Seadragon which is a way of displaying 'vast amounts of visual data' onscreen. A really nice touch was the ability to show every page of a magazine on screen and then really quickly zoom in to a page you'd like to see with absolute clarity. Stored within corners of a page could be advertisements say of a car which again you can zoom into. But these ads can contain tiny extra images of further details so that if the person is interested they can zoom in to read that information. It's kind of like those micro dot things we used to see in old spy movies. It's a great idea and again done by Microsoft. When did Microsoft become the innovator again? Are they now the underdogs?

LFPUG

2007-06-23T18:49:00.000+01:00

The London Flash Platform Users Group (LFPUG) is a fantastic resource for those who work in the Flash community. They meet every month at various east london bars, which is great because it means that beer is always available, and they invite guest speakers to come along and talk all things Flash. This last talk was on 3D in Flash with two sets of speakers. First up were the legends responsible for Papervision, Carlos Ulloa and Ricardo Cabello a.k.a. Mr. Doob. Carlos kicked things off by talking about how to get started with Papervision. Ok so a 3D artist is essential for most tasks and a good knowledge of a 3D package (Maya, 3ds Max etc) is helpful. But the explanation of how to think in 3D was what got me interested. The introduction of the z axis and the concept of a sky box are all crutial in thinking outside (well actually inside) the box. Check out the papervision blog and get on the mailing list. It is actually quite easy to get started with this tool, once you have your basic 3D object, and the code not too difficult (although I'm sure it does get quite involved quite quickly).

Next up were the guys over at Special Moves. This company has been around for 7 years and specialise in creating 3D for all kinds of output with Flash being a major factor for them. We learned that there are many ways to create 3D, from simply faking a parallax effect, through to isometric games, through to fully immersive 3D environments. It was great to see some GT work being showcased. Christian Aid Week was a good example for them of a 3D model that was set isometrically and the viewer had no interaction with the actual model. They admitted that this work was extremely difficult for them in terms of nailing the animation but the end result is awesome. GT is more than likely going to be working closely with Special Moves in the near future so watch this space.

Both of these talks were extremely useful for me as most of us who use Flash will touch upon 3D in some way at some point. GT have already worked with both Special Moves and Papervision in the past. Check out a rhythm of lines which is due to go live any day now for the work done by GT using Papervision... it is going to be very cool.

get the message

2007-06-23T10:54:00.000+01:00

I am finally getting around to reviewing this awesome piece of work by Glue London for the Royal Navy entitled get the message. It's just a really nice execution and great use of flash video. So aiming itself squarely at teens and mostly boys at that, this site invites a user to create a video postcard for a friend by selecting from a preset list of 6 videos each depicting a different Royal Navy inspirational scene. Once selected you get to pick your friend's name from another set of presets (this won't work if your friend has an obscure name). And then you get to type in a message limited to a fixed character length. The video is rendered and you can see the results in the link at the bottom of this post. Even more powerful is the ability to send it to your phone. This is a really cool feature and the results incredible. I urge you to try it. What is really cool is that the audio speaks the person's name (hence the presets) and also dynamically displays the message written. The area the message is written is on a loop of video that has camera shake for added drama. The text field follows the movement of the camera shake which is really nice. I'm guessing this is done in flash but I suspect some heavy back end work is going on as well. Any ideas on how this is achieved would be greatly appreciated....

Check out my video here.

faithless + coke

2007-06-10T20:08:00.000+01:00

Coke have teamed up with Faithless to create this exceptional Flash site to promote their new bottle design. In collaboration with Paranoid who are a group of international artists, Coke have come up with this gorgeous bottle design that is painted with special ink that glows in a dark room or night club. Alongside the bottle design is a delicious piece of surreal animation upon which the website is based (created by argonautenG2 from Germany). The site allows you to explore the bottle by creating your own visual poetry and create your own design by using your built in webcam, microphone, mouse and keyboard all to control the avatar who kindly throws your visual poetry onto the bottle. The site also allows you to download your own copy of the animation, has a link to the track on iTunes and even has a slick screensaver for you to wow your friends with. VERY impressive stuff indeed. Check it out here

someecards

2007-06-09T10:24:00.000+01:00

someecards seems to have been doing the rounds recently by the folks in the know and yes they are cute. They follow that trend of being fairly abnoxious using ideas that you wouldn't usually see on a card. Definitely made me laugh.

"You've been distant since the sexual harassment"

"Thanks for lowering your expectations of me"

"Dad, you've always been like a father to me"

:)

webby speeches

2007-06-08T08:02:00.000+01:00

So the Webbys have just happened which is quite a big thing in the digital industry. Well to win one is quite prestigious but those in the know really don't care about winning one. Anyway it is “The Oscars of the Internet” and the really nice thing about the award ceremony is that you are only allowed to give five word speeches. And some are classic. Here are the highlights....

Artist of the Year - Beastie Boys: Can anyone fix my computer?

Lifetime Achievement - David Bowie: I only get five words? Sh*t, that was five. Four more there. That's three. Two.

Social Networking - Facebook: I'm just here for Bowie.

Blog - Cultural/Personal - TreeHugger.com: Don't shit where you eat.

The Reggie Bush Project: Finally a Bush everyone loves.

DIYNetwork.com: Now, let's get hammered.

What Is Enlightenment?: Get enlightened, or die trying.

Nick.com: Have sex, make more kids.

Philips Norelco Bodygroom: Hairy balls got me promoted.

Mindflood Seduction: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

The Guardian: Please free Alan Johnston now.

eHealthInsurance: Don't go naked, get covered.

Yahoo! Real Estate: There's no place like home.

Wikitravel: No longer a lonely planet.

OpenSecrets: Fat cats need watch dogs.

CLEARIFICATION: Thanks mom: whoever you are.

Animator vs. Animation II: Get into our shorts.

Terra: The Nature of our world: Video Podcast: Green is the new black.

The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment: 18,000,000 views. Still no dates.

Here is the full list of winners

london olympic logo

2007-06-07T07:52:00.000+01:00

Well much comment and criticism has been spewed over the recent London Olympics 2012 logo design. It seems us Londoner's are a bunch of design conscious people. Having been shown our garish and boxey design, made by Wolff Olins, we are all in arms. I totally agree that this design is a disaster. The colour is horrid. The shapes are unrecognizable (I only clicked yesterday that it is supposed to spell 2012). The text looks like Comic Sans. And in general it looks like a 12 year old has designed it. Actually, that wouldn't be a bad thing. They wanted this design to appeal to the youth market so why not get their input and design ideas. Clearly this logo has suffered a design by committee with several groups vetoing other ideas. Some have said this logo looks like the Nazi swastika. Others have said it looks like Lisa Simpson performing a sex act. What is clear is that Joe Public hates this logo. A recent showing of the animated version had to be removed as it caused epilepsy in 18 people. People are so incensed that they are even sending in their own ideas and some of them are actually really good. Do you feel strongly about this logo? Have your say at the online petition.

gondry for hp

2007-06-05T08:25:00.000+01:00

Oh I love Michel Gondry and he loves experimenting with film as is shown in this nice ad for HP photosmart printers. It reminds me of that great HP ad "out of the picture" of which I can only find the dutch version (below). It's that one with the picture frames going over the guys head. A simple effect to do in After Effects but effective none-the-less. It is kinda cool for HP to align themselves with all these trendy people as they have done for this campaign with famous singers and snow boarders also in the line up. They want to show a variety of ways their product can be used to invent. The Gondry ad just shows again how this eccentric French man thinks and dreams and how this is all realised into something tangible. Nice....

iPhone home

2007-06-04T20:28:00.000+01:00

uuuuuggggggg mmmmmmmmmm can't make words too busy droooooling

The iPhone gets its release date today. June 29th for all those lucky enough to live in the States and can use AT&T. Presumably we will have to wait a bit here in the UK which will hopefully mean a bigger hard drive and 3G (please put in a better camera Steve). I can't wait. Ha ha

Check out the new US ads for the iPhone below...

d5 jobs & gates history

2007-06-03T11:58:00.000+01:00

Ok uber geek alert!!! This interview is one of the rare appearances that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have made together over the years and occurred at this years D5 conference (think G8 but digital). These two, surprisingly charismatic, figures chat comfortably together. But what is really special is to discover some genuine history and how it all began in the computing world. Hi I'm a Mac and I'm a PC :)

montana meth project

2007-06-02T11:25:00.000+01:00

This series of anti-crystal meth ads from Montana really hit home. The dichotomy between what is being said and what is being watched is really effective. Crystal meth is one of the most harmful drugs out there and is seriously ruining the lives of some young people out there. This campaign is hopefully going toward stopping some of that harm. My only real worry is that this ad is preaching to the converted. It seems that possibly this set of ads is talking to parents and kids to show them how badly drugs can mess up their lives, it is not actually talking to the kids who are currently using. However, if the message reaches just a few of those kids who may be tempted then it is a success.

surface

2007-05-31T22:07:00.000+01:00

So it has arrived. This is a landmark in the way we engineer our computing environments and this will set the bench mark for things to come. And it comes from Microsoft. Yes they beat Apple to it. It is SURFACE. It's a multi-touch enabled coffee table that allows you to drop your digital camera onto the surface and it automatically downloads your images for viewing on the table. You can then resize, zoom and crop your images. Even upload them to another device. It is amazing. The drawbacks to this are that it is quite impractical relying on mirrors, cameras and projectors to work. Unlike the multi-touch device, iPhone, which will be accessible to the masses and will probably do really well. Madonna has been given a surface. B**ch. Helsinki has a tourist info wall. I want one. It would look great in my flat. But you can be sure you'll have to use a coaster for your drink.

i believe in harvey dent too

2007-05-30T07:52:00.000+01:00

Check out this cool viral site for the upcoming Batman: Dark Knight movie which is still in production. Ok so it looks like an error page. Wrong! See if you can highlight the text. Ha ha! But that's not it either. Check this out. Copy and paste the whole lot into a text editor and then use the find and replace function (usually under the edit function) to replace all the "Ha"s with just a blank space. To make the secret code even more obvious. Find all the "spaces" and replace them with simply nothing and the coded message should be really easy to read.

Catch up lady has lots of news around other campaigns that have been witnessed in and around the LA area for the new Batman movie. How excited am I. I absolutely love this kind of marketing as it gives an edge over traditional advertising and it appeals to it's target audience. Can anyone say Annie's secret decoder ring? (watch Woody Allen's Radio Days if you have no idea what I'm going on about).

rhythm of lines

2007-05-28T13:41:00.000+01:00

So this is the latest Audi A5 car ad from BBH. This is a really nice idea but sadly the execution is a little lacking I feel. What I like about this ad is the movement of the lines to the music. It feels like ribbon floating through space. The lines that make up various sides of the car form freely, if a little obviously, to the flow of the music. I am not sure of the use of colours here though. A rough, early cut I saw of this ad had the ribbons purely in red, a deep red, which seemed to work a bit better. Also the end resolve of the ribbons into text just doesn't work for me. It looks lazy and childlike. And if you see the full version of the ad (at least the full UK version) over at the Audi site you will see that the ad ends on the car. Yes an actual photograph of the car, thus nullifying all the previous work of the ad. A car company like Audi should be confident enough in their brand by now that they need not show the car at all (see BMW) in their ads. The decision to have the car at the end is poor in my mind. This ad should serve to generate curiosity and interest in their product.

Watch this space for the imminent release of the gt microsite for the A5. From what I have seen and heard it is going to be awesome.

veneno

2007-05-27T12:40:00.000+01:00

Veneno are the LA based team that created the incredible visuals for the last Madonna tour 'Confessions'. The song that really stood out for me visually was Forbidden Love, featured below, where blood cells float about on screen as Madonna sings. Two men stand to do an interpretive dance one bearing the symbol of Islam and the other the star of David. Their hands and wrists writhe together as they try to hold each other yet barely for a second manage it as the other slides away continually. Momentarilly they hug before resuming their twisted slippery hand tussle. Centre stage is Madonna with a huge Christian cross adourned in mirrors and the blood cell visuals starting to take shapes as symbols of religion behind. The message in forbidden love is that we are all one, made up of the same material, yet we fight for some perceived deity. Crossing each other we fight our brothers and sisters whom we should be loving. Mads really hit the nail on the head for me with this one. And although I don't necessarily agree with all her beliefs this one holds true with me. And I love the visuals. Check out more from Veneno on their homepage.

Take a second to vote on your favourite city break (right)

try drugs

2007-05-26T14:43:00.000+01:00

This educational site about the dangers of drug use is very clever. Titled 'try drugs' the site is split into three areas exploring marijuana, cocaine and heroin effects. But the way the site works is to present you with a seemingly static page featuring an animation, some copy and a piece of music but turn things on their head by hijacking the controls. So for the marijuana section your cursor is sluggish and the copy blurred (until you rollover it) and at the end a pop-up warning window appears from the Norwegian crime unit saying that illegal activity has occurred with your IP address and country. For the cocaine section the cursor is hyper and over responsive and keeps taking lines of coke making the screen flash brightly with an email pop-up window saying that illegal activity has been spotted on this machine and the email getting sent to the authorities (although not for real obviously). And finally the heroin section is surreal with the copy exploding inwards and being generally illegible and lots of pop-up internet pages dealing with death and bankrupcy appearing. It is a clever way to highlight the effects of drugs on the user as for those who have never tried the drug you can get a feeling of what it is like to be on them.

Don't forget to vote for your favourite city break (right column)...

stop go tokyo

2007-05-25T18:29:00.000+01:00

So am now back in London after an excellent time in NYC. But I'm still in that big city state of mind so I thought I'd share this dramatic piece of time-lapse video exploring the Tokyo cityscape. Set to a piece of music each scene matches perfectly to the pace of the sounds. A great reflection of an incredible city, this video really illustrates the hustle and bustle of the urban expanse.

I am tired and jet-lagged I think it's back to bed for me (yawn)....

nyc

2007-05-24T20:09:00.000+01:00

You've gotta love New York. Here's our evening from last night.

1. Grabbed a slice of pizza from one of those great New York pizzerias just round the corner from the hotel

2. Met Jonathan and his friends at the Hudson Hotel. OMG the place is amazing. Intricately designed to incredible detail. From the stark exterior which we walked past. To the beautiful 'chartreuse' staircase. They have a beautiful library with thousands of books on the high walls overlooking pool tables with huge semi-sphere lights hanging over. The chandelier by reception had tens of holograms of light bulbs. The bathrooms were immaculate in white with gothic mirrors adourning the walls. We sat outside on their terrace being dwarfed by huge skyscrapers either side of us.

3. Then off to some random margarita place for nachos etc.

4. Then to a bar called Vlada where the uber cool New York urbanites hang out. We were entertained by the lovely Edie who sang and told us tales. Then bought us an Edietini at the bar afterwards.

5. Followed by an unnecessary nightcap at BARacuda.

Only in New York!!!

Vote for your favourite city break (right) and I'll see you back in London tomorrow ;)

the big apple

2007-05-23T12:20:00.000+01:00

You gotta love the portions that New Yorkers serve for breakfast and lunch. We found this awesome diner on 33rd and 9th which is totally authentic. In the UK this would be a themed restaurant but this was the real deal. Complete with counter with cake, moody waitresses and chintzy Americana on the walls. Brilliant. I wandered by myself yesterday as Michael had work to finish up and so got to finally see the Apple store cube on 5th avenue and the Abercrombie and Fitch store. The glass cube that is the Apple store is just incredible. It is a feat of engineering and is perfectly designed. Glass and steel cube sides welcome you to the store below as you wind down a glass staircase or take the glass tube elevator. A&F was lots of fun too set on four floors and very lush inside. It is really dark there and the music is pumping. The boys and girls who work there are unfeasably stunning and the clothes are...well they are abercrombie of course.

At night Jonathan took us to Bombay Talkie. We have been before but I don't know the food just seemed even better this time. It is Indian classics done in a contemporary way. The style of the restaurant is far from your usual Indian spot. Their martinis are divine and the food is so incredibly tasty. Definitely worth a look if you are in the city.

Check out my latest photoset here

In a New York state of mind

2007-05-22T14:27:00.000+01:00

It's amazing the things that you see at night. This bit of graffiti art was drawn on the metal shields that get pulled down in front of a shop window. It was right by our hotel but you could only see it at night. I really liked it. The kid is licking his PSP like it is a lollypop. And the eyes are spaced out like he is high. Kewl.

Had a blast yesterday. Shopping all afternoon after the stationary show, then we were off to musical monday's at Splash. I know, it sounds like a nightmare but was actually loads of fun. This song by Jennifer Holiday from the original Dreamgirls played us out :)

New York city

2007-05-21T12:52:00.000+01:00

So I'm up at the crack of dawn here being still on UK time. Checked into our hotel yesterday afternoon after a lovely time at Jonathan and Nick's apartment in Brooklyn. We are at the Chelsea Star hotel in their Wizard of Oz themed room! How gay. The rooms are tiny but then again this is New York. Spent the morning and first part of the afternoon at the National Stationery show which is the reason we are here. Michael needs to meet some people and potentially buy and sell Cath Tate cards there. It's great because I am put to work trawling the stands posing as a buyer and have found some really lovely designs that could be used. And some of the artists I have met there are brilliant. The place is huge though so it's a bit daunting. The afternoon was spent browsing a few shops and seeing what we may or may not buy. God the exchange is so good at the moment for us Brits. It's like one big two for one sale :)

Anyway here's my photoset from the first day.

new york, new york

2007-05-20T12:11:00.000+01:00

So this is coming at you from New York, New York. Arrived yesterday after a hellish day of travelling. The UK part was ok despite overestimating how long it would take to get there and arriving a fair bit early. So we were travelling Air India which was unto itself an experience. It seemed that the ground control were used to certain behaviours and so as they announced that boarding was to be done 'strictly' by seat number and then EVERYONE getting up to board, totally ignoring what had just been said, the staff took charge. Once we got on the plane, which incidently was a huge double decker of a plane, we got settled into our seat. Our movie selection looked set to be a kid's movie starring Abigail Breslin and some Bollywood movies. Fun. But the only problem was that our projector only showed the first line of the three lines of subtitles. So some educated guessing was in order! Food was actually quite yummy and we both had an Indian chicken curry (although it was obviously just a chicken curry when ordering). And the service was great. Our middle-aged gent of a steward was the pinnacle of polite as he handed out drinks with a white glove worn. The problems occurred when our lovely co-companions started getting sick. One woman lost bowel control and another lost her lunch. And feeding everyone a curry for lunch produces some funky smells about half an hour later. Nice. The people also totally ignored all requests by the cabin crew so we saw several people going to the loo while just about to land and everyone undoing their belts immediately after touch down and seeing to their bags.

But the worst part of the journey had to be our treatment by staff at JFK airport. We arrived into the new wing at the airport already an hour late having taken off late to face a queue of around five hundred people going through customs. The only problem was that they had 3 staff on to deal with visitors and 3 for citizens: no queue on one side and hundreds on the other. Oh and the queue took forever as each person is checked in VERY thoroughly. Eventually, after an hour and a half, we reached the front of the queue and noticed about 2000 people now behind us. And so we reached the lovely customs official WANG. I approached him with Michael.

WANG "Are you related?"

ME "No we're travelling together"

WANG "Go and stand over there" (nasty tone)

The US Visit scheme pledges for their staff to greet people and welcome them to the country, to deal with people in a friendly and courteous manner and to hear the requests and questions of all. Well WANG didn't even look at me. He was rude and unfriendly. Oh I didn't mention but we were first in line for his queue as he started work. I'm not joking when I say he spent 10 minutes cleaning his screen, obviously knowing it was pissing off the line of people who were all watching him. Talk about power trip. So I had my biometrics taken (both index fingers scanned and a photo taken) and finally got through to collect my bags. All in all I was tired, grumpy and dishevelled. Both of us vowed this was our last trip to the USofA after the harsh reception we received.

Left our flat at 9.40 UK time. Arrived at Jonathan and Nick's apartment at 8.00 pm US time. 15 hours travel time.

wwf

2007-05-19T07:17:00.000+01:00

This is truely a remarkable and inspired billboard ad from the World Wildlife Fund. Using the sun and a specially designed screen, the shadow cast on the ad creates the illusion of the seas rising over the course of the day. This stop-motion video shows how the ad looks over time. This is genius and just shows how if you think a little laterally you can produce stuff of meaning for the real world. The link takes you to a Save Our Climate microsite.

beats shadow puppets

2007-05-16T21:43:00.000+01:00

I was emailed these very cool pictures today at work and as you know I love shadow puppets. But this was an email of 5 pictures so how am I supposed to share these gems with you. Yes I could publish a small thumbnail to my blog but I really wanted to share the files with you. Oh I have no idea who made them and if I am infringing on anyones copyright I apologise and will take them down. If I knew who did them I would just link to their site. But here's an idea. Box.net make a widget from which you can share files with each other. So you get a great preview of what I am going on about in the form of an image viewer. How cool is that. Check out my other half's way of sharing music over at his blog My Stuff and Cr*p

christian aid week

2007-05-16T17:57:00.000+01:00

So it's Christian Aid Week this week and as they are one of our clients at GT we have produced a really nice microsite for them. A really cool idea taking the metaphor of the envelope and showing exactly what your small donation can mean. Visually realized with a cool 3D model and some nice animation all lead to a very effective little campaign. Nice work guys! Oh and please give generously if you can. It's a GREAT cause ;) Check out the microsite

ray (should be) ban(ned)

2007-05-15T20:27:00.000+01:00

The 80's are back and so it would seem is Ray Ban here with this viral video. Watch it first and we'll discuss in a minute.

Ok so this went round the agency today and although it did get fairly widely slated it is clearly quite clever. I suppose there are people out there who won't realize that it is all done in After Effects or some such tool and to those it works as a good viral video, one you really do want to send round to all your mates. To the more savvy viewer they will realize that this is just a shameless promo piece for Ray Ban featuring two obnoxious guys. But it is still a good video with a good concept and one that everyone wants to look at even if just to see how it was done. And if you notice on the car window the words "Never Hide"... type this into google and the top hit is the Ray Ban website. Clever!

poll daddy

2007-05-13T10:30:00.000+01:00

Who's your daddy? Just found this cool little widget for all you bloggers call Poll Daddy. Create your own poll and host it on your site. This is a great and simple way to find out what your readers are thinking as it is incredibly difficult to get people to comment on your blog (for me at least). So I figure this is a simple way for people to cast their thoughts. So first up: what is your favourite messenger client. For me it is Adium which is a multi-client app for the mac allowing me to include people from all the major messenger programs. That way I only have one window open to keep in touch with all my friends. Oh and it also features tabbed chat windows which is lovely. Check out the poll here

normann

2007-05-12T19:19:00.000+01:00

Oh I just love the pretty things in life, this being one of them. From the Danish design house that is Normann comes this gorgeous washing up bowl and wooden brush which I happened to find in a very cool kitchen shop in Eastbourne today. Looking through their site you can see that they make some really lovely and inventive products with that typical Scandinavian simplicity. Oh but it's yellow too and makes the sink look so much prettier.

fedex slingshot

2007-05-10T08:20:00.000+01:00

I saw this banner ad for fedex titled slingshot and I had to share. The reason I like it is because it surprises you a little by being able to pull the package outside of the ad. The way this is done is for the advertiser to buy a space bigger than the area that the ad looks like. Within flash you then create an invisible background so that the page beneath will show through. It then appears that the fedex package pulls beyond the confines of the ad. It is an effect done many times before but where this ad works is in its simplicity. For best results view WITH sound. Oh and if you are in the industry or working in flash you should add banner blog to your list of bookmarks because at some point you will probably have to make a banner and this is an invaluable resource.

latte art

2007-05-07T12:26:00.000+01:00

There is nothing better than a good cup of coffee to wake you up in the morning. And the art of making good coffee is one that coffee drinkers take seriously. I'm sorry but blasting some milk with steam and pouring it on top of espresso and serving it in cardboard does nothing for me. When I lived in Bermuda they had a great coffee house called Rock Island where they roasted their own beans and brought in speciality coffee from around the world. This is true java. Filtered coffee at its best. I so don't get the new found, British affection for milky frothy drinks. Ok so good espresso is great and a proper latte is also very good. But rarely is it the case that coffee houses here make good ones of either. If you are a true coffee fan check out this site where they show you not only how to create awesome designs in your coffee but more importantly how to make good java.

the big 5 oh oh oh

2007-05-06T21:08:00.000+01:00

A big thank you to everyone who has viewed my blog as I approach the big 5000. Just a couple more clicks.... It's been a great 6 months and I am loving doing my blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. Would love to see a few more comments though but hey ho ;)

chris jordan

2007-05-06T18:27:00.000+01:00

Chris Jordan is a US based photographer who is doing some really interesting portraits of America. His fascination with patterns in consumerism have driven him to take pictures of the effects of our ceaseless consumption upon our environment. Often his work is only revealed upon closer inspection as you look closely at the work and see that what looks like a beautiful and colourful pattern is in fact a mass of plastic bags. His work is often significant in the numbers he uses: the quantity of cell phones thrown away each week, for example. Some of his work is photoshopped and some isn't. His reflection on the devastation of Hurrican Katrina shows his interest in the way mother nature can wreck havoc back on her unworthy inhabitants. Powerful stuff. And some genuinely unique photography and artworks.

running the numbers

intolerable beauty

in katrina's wake

Today's mood

2007-05-05T10:31:00.000+01:00

Yesterday at work was one of those 'nothing works' days. It is sad but true that even with the best mac/pc set-up sometimes things do go wrong. Ok so this was one day where the app I am creating had lots of bugs that seemed unfixable which was incredibly frustrating. But sometimes the best thing you can do is just walk away from it all and come to it fresh another day. I saw this video and it made me laugh. There is so much mac/pc rivalry these days but I do feel pretty much beyond all that now. I don't really care if people decide to buy a cheap pc and struggle with all the malware and viruses. I don't buy into the form over function thing that mac spouts. I just want a machine that is reliable and fast. And I do have that in my G5 set up at work. But really it is time for an upgrade (I've put my request in for a top of the line Mac Pro so here's hoping).

crystal maze

2007-05-04T21:22:00.000+01:00

Ah the heady days of 90's British TV. Doctor Who had died a death with the advent of the terrible Sylvester McCoy. The Tripods were but a distant memory (brilliant cliff hanger but no resolve as the next season got the axe). And so young and impressionable boys like me had to make do with TV like the Crystal Maze. In my mind it was the best thing since sliced bread. In case you are unaware what I am going on about let me enlighten you. The premise. Camp as tits Richard O'Brien, who was last seen in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and whose career had all but been washed ashore some distant island, takes a host of contestants around a set of four 'zones' as they pit their wits against various physical and mental challenges. There was the ocean zone, the pyramid zone, the industrial zone and the future zone (or something like that). You can see why I loved it. Having been brought up on the dodgy effects of the Peter Davison era of Who and with gameshows like The Adventure Game this was a breath of fresh air because it was all real. It reminded me of a game I used to play at the Trocadero in London aged 15 which had the set of Aliens recreated in a basement there. You were guided round the set and aliens chased you. The thrills were real. Ok so the crystal maze was undoubtedly shite as you can see from the following videos...

First off is a clip of just how bad it got in the crystal maze as those god awful contestants tried and usually failed to win crystals (thinking back I don't think I ever saw anyone win the major prize)...

So now you have the jist of the thing here is the spoof that I saw today that made me cry with laughter....

And if you're feeling particularly brave here are links to the first ever episode

E01 pt 01
E01 pt 02
E01 pt 03
E01 pt 04
E01 pt 05
E01 pt 06

And as a little secret. I once applied to be on a Christmas special of the crystal maze kids version. The official line as to why I didn't make it was "a bit too old and a bit too clever". Ha. Story of my life :)

reasons campaign

2007-05-02T19:44:00.000+01:00

So the safe sex campaign for the GMFA, I have been involved with, is now live. The ads focus around six guys and their reasons for 'choosing' safe sex. GMFA doesn't preach or lecture so the campaign had to focus around positive ideas based around why gay guys have safe sex. The print ads are running in the gay press right now and are being drip fed in. The full print campaign can be seen here. The banner campaign (which I built) is now live at puffta and will be going live very soon at gaydar and gay.com. Check it out here but be warned that like all banners you may need to refresh the page a few times in order to see the ad. It should look something like the screenshot below.

saab aero

2007-04-30T22:11:00.000+01:00

Here we have Saab beefing it up with their Aero X concept car. The photography for this ad and for the microsite itself is incredibly gloss giving it that glassed icy look. And they make that parallel in the video as the screen freezes over. Also in comparison is a jet fighter and as the roof slides open the idea of bubbles rising. Ok so a little pretentious for a pretty unremarkable car. Some angles do look quite good (the back has a kind of edgyness to it) but really you can tell this is Saab trying to be Audi or BMW. Oh and it is already starting to look dated. When was this car released? I figured about 2005 and now those blue lights at the front do nothing for me. Still this is a slick ad and it does what it is supposed to do for its target audience of no doubt male aspirational 25 to 40 year olds. Nothing remarkable with the microsite either which is a shame as there was a lot they could have done. This is a far better microsite for Saab. Much more interactive and a great way to use flash video.

javier ferrer vidal

2007-04-28T11:25:00.000+01:00

I am totally blown away by this site for photographer Javier Ferrer Vidal who is in himself a fantastic photographer who concentrates on portrait work. This flash site is slick to the enth degree. The opening view of the kid in glasses has been broken up in Photoshop and put on layers within flash to create this really slick parallax effect. Little details like the plane flying through the sky really add to the drama of this shot. This kind of parallax thing is VERY in vogue at the moment and I can think of quite a few examples of this being implemented really well (check out this months winner over at the IAB for a good example). I am actually deeply involved in a project now for a client who wants this effect to showcase their product.

As you delve deeper into this site you get to the photography which is all laid out in a 3D space in a haphazard manner. Rolling over one image turns it to greyscale and blurred (god bless flash 8) and clicking on an image gives you an enlarged version. The navigation throughout is simple. One click to zoom in and another to zoom out. This style of navigation is quite intuitive these days and it is pretty much a given that by clicking on the background it will take you back out. I think this kind of work will lead nicely into any multi-touch work that may come in the future as we figure out what kind of gestures will work for this new interface (check out my other blog posts on multi-touch).

And then to finish off there is the contact section with an underlying bit of video as a background of some people on a merry-go-round. As you move your mouse right they playhead goes forward and as you move left it goes back. Yes this is really simple to implement but the effect is perfect especially given the subject of the video. Oh and underpinning all this work is a sound track of considerable talent. It is perfectly fitting and really quite catchy. All round a great site, perfectly exectued in my mind.

big yellow

2007-04-27T00:12:00.000+01:00

Ah the simple things in life. A great stop-motion animation here from the folks over at Big Yellow. A simple and effective ad. Highlighting all the junk we accumulate in life as waves of an ocean crashing about a house. Really nicely animated to the sounds of the ocean. I had an idea to do something similar in my back garden as we have a pool of gravel for a garden and I could envisage waves of gravel moving about. Hmmm I sense a project coming on.

night tennis

2007-04-26T08:07:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Scott for this one. Night tennis. Two pro tennis players. A pitch black court. UV clothing. Music by Paul Oakenfold. 3 minutes. Awesome. This was a great way to meld sport with music and align a phone brand to both. It looks really cool and must've been great for the audience to watch. Kind of like clubbing but in a more passive way. Anyway I thought this was a great idea. The website itself is also worth a look as it's a slick flash site. I guess it must've been quite hard for the players to actually hit the ball what with all the lights and sounds but the way it all came together surely was a sight. Check out the article over at Adverblog.

self titled

2007-04-25T07:49:00.000+01:00

If, like me, you are constantly on the look out for new and interesting ways to navigate through a site you will love this one from John Iacoviello. Given a simple circle as the main navigation tool you click and drag to move the bar around the circle. Each segment of the nav is a section of his site and the colour coding helps you to move to different sections. This is something unique I think and really quite intuitive. Oh and also there are a bunch of flash actions available for you to download so check out the yellow section if you are a fellow Flashter.

don't try this at home

2007-04-23T20:37:00.000+01:00

Check out these sculptures made from books. Scottish born Georgia Russell uses a scalpel to create these gorgeous creations. Taking the mundane in shape and turning it into a work of art. Stunning.

shotcode

2007-04-22T10:48:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the world of the shotcode. This is the revolution of the barcode as we find a new way to grab information from our static world. So the concept is this: a shotcode can be placed on any printed ad or screen and the user can take a picture of this code with their camera phone and through a piece of software can identify the hidden URL and take the user to exclusive online content. So each shotcode represents a unique URL and could in fact be the location of your homepage, which was the case for this girl who had her shotcode tattooed on her neck. Extreme? Well yes considering the URL didn't work properly. Oops. But this technology could end up being quite useful commercially although I doubt people will be quick to download the correct software for their phone (better if it comes pre-installed). The existing technology used in these kind of content delivering print ads relies on bluetooth technology but this does involve extra, and often expensive, tech. Shotcode does not. And this will be appealing to the business world. We'll see what the uptake of this is like.

flowers feed the soul

2007-04-21T13:27:00.000+01:00

Flowers feed the soul is a great site that definitely needs rediscovering. I was doing a little research yesterday on The FWA site (Flash Web Awards) for a project we are working on. And I stumbled across this FFTS site which I had seen before but really would just like to share it. I absolutely love the meld of stop-motion animation with flash to create this gorgeous little environment. It is really ornate and layered and rich with detail. The guy is a flower designer who wants to create flower arrangements for you based around your mood. This is a cool concept and I hope he did well with this site. I think it works. It is quirky and different and quite brave.

got milk?

2007-04-19T20:06:00.000+01:00

This has got to be the most gorgeous looking desk out there and having a nice sleek Mac sitting on top all the better. It seems to be perfectly designed to fit a pro mac upon its shiny surface and almost follows the form of the Apple Studio display and iMac design to the T. iWant people iWant.... Check out the site here.

the future's bright....the future's Intel

2007-04-17T20:52:00.000+01:00

With the swap over to the Intel chip over at Apple just a fading memory now, it seems clear that Intel's future is very bright indeed. They are commited to providing more power for their chips any way possible. And now they are looking to power a whole gammut of mobile devices shown here in a demo of possible future apps. I must say this ad has me drooling (thanks to whoever sent this round the agency today). The only problem is that I am impatient. I want this technology now. I do, however, understand that there is a big gap between dreaming of a technological future as perceived in science fiction and actually living, breathing and using the tech in day to day life. As I sit outside working on my laptop I think nothing of the incredible technology that is in place to power my surf on the net. Yet here it is. The future is, in fact, now. But the dream of a perfect future where technology is so advanced that it blends seamlessly into one's life is really appealing. Oh and I do love the minimalist look that so many of these films sport (has there ever been a cluttered vision of the future sporting hi-tech gadgets? I suppose Children of Men came close). Any thoughts?

photographing kids

2007-04-16T09:30:00.000+01:00

It was an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday and quite a surprise for April. It was like a hot summer's day without a cloud in the sky. I took the opportunity to do some photography as we were visiting my Aunt in Sussex, it being my neice's 5th birthday and my cousin's 16th. Naturally the focus of the day was on the kids and I got chance to use my trusty Canon 350D SLR. I set the camera to black and white mode. Now I know I could do this in Photoshop but there is some satisfaction gained from shooting in B&W from the outset as you are really looking for movement and pattern over colour. It is also great when previewing as I am often inspired to take different shots to when I shoot in colour. It's not an obvious work flow for having a digital camera but one I find satisfying. You do have to be careful when doing this as no colour information is recorded and no way of turning a b&w image into a colour one. So taking photographs of kids....my advice: stick the camera on continuous shutter mode and fire away. You will need a big memory card but the results are worth it. Yes you are going to discard 95% of your images but you will capture that glint in the eye or that look of total amazement which you will never capture any other way. Get the kids busy as well. Have an activity. There is nothing worse than posed kids pictures. They are much more alive when playing and immersed in something. I also set my camera to manual focus for most of the day so that I could really keep the attention on what I wanted to whilst blurring background elements out. It is also really interesting to have the focus on something else and have the kids blurry as often they are bouncing about anyway. Check out my flickr photoset here.

gondry the ads

2007-04-15T09:03:00.000+01:00

I thought for this rather glorious Sunday I would indulge into a little more Michel Gondry this time with his TV adverts. His love of repetition and loops is evident again here in a stunning ad for Smirnoff where narrative and time are irrelevant as our hero dives from one unrelated scene to the next. Each fall into a new land is made possible by peering through the Smirnoff bottle and seeing the new world unveil. What is great here are the transitions between scenes. I especially like the way the bald guy's head becomes the spaceship. Next up is Gondry's ad for the Gap. Here his perfect sense of rhythm has his dancers perfectly orchestrate a routine that has them blending with each other and exploding into others in a full range of colour. A very memorable winter season ad. Oh and I have left you also with his Levis ad which is shot in delicious black and white with a totally edgy feel. Again a powerful sense of drama here as a scratchy sound track delivers it's punch in a wry narrative. A bit of a diversion for Gondry but a classic none-the-less.

Smirnoff

Gap

Levis

graffiti research lab

2007-04-14T12:14:00.000+01:00

Ever wanted to try your hand at graffiti but were afraid of getting mown down by a passing train? Got delusions of grandeur? Well this combines the two and might just be what you were looking for. Drawing graffiti on skyscrapers with no consequences. Awesome. Check out the video here. The artist gets a light pen and a device behind tracks your movements thus translating them into a projection of light onto your chosen building. Sounds like fun to me :)

denis darzacq

2007-04-12T08:13:00.000+01:00

I am really liking Denis Darzacq's photography. He manages to capture a snippet of time and reveal it to look like something else. Here he captures his subjects as they seem to float in the air. The effect is stunning. Obviously what he is doing is capturing gymnasts mid flight with a fast shutter. But there is something about these floating bodies juxtaposed against the urban backdrop that make this photo set really interesting....

aphex twins

2007-04-10T19:51:00.000+01:00

Good golly gosh and grief. I stumbled across this list of the weirdest music videos ever made and this was number one. I've got to say I was bricking it whilst watching it at work. This honestly shocked and scared me to death. It is totally chilling and bizarre and gets more so as it goes on. Watch this with EXTREME CAUTION as it is liable to scar you for life. You have been warned.

swim

2007-04-10T07:32:00.000+01:00

Here's a treat. This short film by movie makers Floris Kaayk and Sil van der Woerd from the Netherlands. It is a stark realisation of a fertility clinic and the consequences of playing God for a moment. The two seem fascinated by the world of the minutae and endeavour to explore such tiny worlds. Check out their portfolio site over at Microbia.

exoforce

2007-04-09T12:22:00.000+01:00

So with the new agency locale at Clerkenwell I am in need of some new office toys. Luckily being the geek I am I have some lego exo force given to me for Christmas. I hadn't actually opened it until today and truth be told it is awesome :) Based on a manga cartoon style, this range of lego breathes new life into the lego range. It looks really great in a cool transformer way. Might have to get a few more ;)

one over

2007-04-07T09:02:00.000+01:00

Mmmmm this portfolio site from Jon Ruppel, a designer/developer from Los Angeles, is just gorgeous. He has focused on a really clean layout that you can fully customize by changing background, layout and content. Interestingly this made me view a lot more of his work. I am loving the motion he has achieved in his tweens and I suspect he has discarded such crutches as the tween class in favour of hard coding it himself. The technique, if I am right, is this: nail your tween on the timeline and tweak it until it is perfect adding all those little extra bounces that make it look great (you'll need a high frame rate to get this looking good, I'd say 31 fps is best); then get flash to trace the x, y pos for you and push those to an array; use that array as the guide for each future tween and discard your timeline work. If anyone is really interested post a message and I'll send you some sample code as to how I would go about doing that. Check out the work here.

jarratt moody

2007-04-06T12:17:00.000+01:00

Oh this is just lovely. Jarratt Moody has devised this awesome animation using only typography to deliver 'that' speech from Pulp Fiction. Ok *warning* do not click on this link if you are a bit sensitive to harsh language.

got milk

2007-04-06T11:57:00.000+01:00

Some serious production values have gone into this excellent flash site built for the 'Got Milk?' campaign. What is lovely here is the attention to detail with a 3D modelled environment built to look like a miniature island. Tapping into our childhood love of board games you even get to toss a realistic looking die about your screen. Ok so the gameplay is a bit tough and if you are on a laptop with a trackpad you can forget it. But definitely worth a look and a bit of a play.

Play it here

ford womb

2007-04-05T17:24:00.000+01:00

Oh this is just lovely. I'm pretty sure this is actual video taken with those new ultrasound techniques as opposed to CG. Amazing to see these creatures in the womb. And that polar bear (wow). Not sure about the message of the ad though. Ford being green conscious and appealing to a new generation of users. What about dealing with their existing gas guzzling market and trying to change a few attitudes? Just a thought :)

milk meets coffee

2007-04-04T09:50:00.000+01:00

Check out this superb set of macro photographs. Taken as a drop of milk hits the hot surface of a cup of coffee. The results are spectacular and is a great way to view a normally mundane event. Enjoy ;)

LAB

2007-04-03T08:15:00.000+01:00

Mathieu Badimon is doing some truely extraordinary work over at his LAB site. Working with some complex actionscript he is really pushing some boundaries in terms of creative coding. Some really beautiful stuff. I especially like the dynamic clock featured in the picture. Check it out.

dare tagged

2007-04-01T20:13:00.000+01:00

In the best nature of GT and all who worked there we decided to send off our old building in a small way. Dave who has been there the longest ceremoniously ripped our old GT sign off the wall of the fourth floor to the cheers of all who were toasting our last day at the old building. Our rival company Dare who moved in next door to us at Great Titchfield St. to swanky offices, much to our chagrin at the time, got a friendly tag by one unnamed employee as the sign got taped to their office railings. He he. Much to our amusement whilst down the pub that afternoon the Dare people started blogging about it. Here is the link with all the comments. Thankfully it was taken in the spirit it was meant as we are now moving to even swankier offices in the city. Farewell Dare and farewell Great Titchfield St.

What is really odd is that someone else has set up a website called weweregoodtechnology with all the people's names who have left or are leaving..... not quite sure what is meant by that????

More to come on this and pictures too I hope....

seb przd

2007-04-01T13:00:00.000+01:00

Check out Seb Przd's flickr set here. This guy is a master of using some extraordinary camera techniques to create some startling images. He has some great panoramic equipment coupled with some powerful photoshop plug-ins to create these gems. He has Escherized some pictures to create awesome spiral comped images like this one. His Stereographic Projections like the example pictures I have included can be seen here. And some great cloning work is found in this flickr set of his.

battlestar galactica themes

2007-03-31T11:17:00.000+01:00

Battlestar Galactica season 3 has just ended and before I start THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS HERE. If you haven't seen ANY episodes it is probably best to not read any further and just go out and buy yourself the mini-series.

What a show. It actually is the best thing on television right now IMO. And I'm not a tub-thumping sci-fi geek either (well maybe a little ;) but what this show has is guts and intelligence. It is superbly written and brilliantly acted. And it has everything you could want in a show: love, action and drama.

Set in a distant galaxy there is a popluation of humans living on twelve planets named after our star signs, for example Caprica or Saggitaron. Each world has it's own set of beliefs and culture yet all are human and all speak English it would seem. As this species of human progress in their technological abilities they are able to create an artificially intelligent robot called the cylon who is supposed to work as a slave race to this people of man. But the cylons evolve and soon break off and a war erupts. The human race is ultimately successful and the cylons remove themselves to a far off world and no one hears of them for forty years. And this is where the new series of Battlestar Galactica starts off. Human memory of the cylons is fading. Their guard is down. What they have failed to realize is that the cylons have infiltrated earth at its very core having developed the ability to build new cylons in the form of humans. This infiltration leads to the biggest shut-down in these twelve planet's defences and ultimately to the surprise attack by the cylons on all twelve worlds. These attacks are deadly and all planets are nuked with only Caprica having a few survivors left. It is aboard the aging ship the Battlestar Galactica that a commander who is just about to retire had the mean task of leading a group of ships away from the devastating blows the cylons have generated. His ship was not networked to the fleet (him being a little 'old' fashioned) so the computer virus that spread through the rest of the fleet did not strike his. And so his crew flee along with a band of refugee ships to regroup and rethink their strategy. 50,000 people are all that remains of the human population. And things look bleak. Their water supplies are low and their fuel cells dwindling. Emerging from the ruins of this people is a new leader who is 52nd in line to the presidency before the attacks but is now raised to the position of leader and must rise to the challenge this brings. But what they do not have is hope, that is until Commander Adama tells them of a tale whereby human ancestors left many years ago and discovered a place called Earth. All at once there is a purpose. A glimmer in the distance. Something to aim for. And with that the fleet set off. This series is about the people involved. Their trials and struggles. It is a show that constantly challenges us. The characters are far from perfect and it is gritty and bleak. And yet it hooks you.

What fascinates me is the themes that it addresses. For one there is RELIGION. Humans are polytheists. Cylons are monotheists. The humans worship many gods with names such as the Romans worshipped, like Aggatheon and Apollo. The cylons worship one. There are underlying themes of faith. Both sides believe blindly without any proof of their God's existence and yet most if not all seem fixed in their beliefs. There are few athiests in the show. It would seem in many ways that the events have been predestined. There are people and events in place that seem to be there by chance but the human cylon Caprica 6 is often quoted as saying that God has a plan and a purpose in all that happens.

Then there is the idea of ETHICS. The cylons have just destroyed billions of people in their attacks on the twelve home worlds. And yet in many ways they are sympathetic. They come across as kind and caring. Almost as a parent looks over it's child which is ironic as the humans created them. The children have grown up and are facing their parents as we all do at some point and realise them for the people they actually are. The humans are generally flawed and not one is ever all good. In the case of President Roslin she has made some very dubious decisions, threatening to throw people out of airlocks and keeping a human/cylon child to raise away from it's parents. Commander Adama has also made some questionable decisions and is responsible for many lives. They come from a place of good yet their actions are often grey morally. We have even seen the side of cylon occupied 'new' Caprica where humans have banded together to form factions of suicide bombers. This puts us on the side of current issues in today's world. Making the American people the cylons. Now that IS controversial. You are never really sure which side you should be on. And this makes great television.

lcd soundsystem

2007-03-28T22:31:00.000+01:00

So I'm really enjoying LCD Soundsystem at the moment. Their sound is fresh and if you have yet to hear them check out Someone Great over at iTunes as a great taster to their electro beats. I saw this in the Metro and thought it was an interesting way to promo an album. The marketing people over at Motomedia have had the foresight to take over an empty shop window filling it with their album art and a way via bluetooth to download LCD Soundsystem songs to your phone. There is also some cool video. So as people pass the Liverpool St. venue they are enticed to view what is going on and to sample a new sound. Genius :)

torchwood

2007-03-27T08:15:00.000+01:00

Torchwood is the BBC's latest sci-fi offering aimed squarely at adults. A Doctor Who spin-off from the pen of Russell T Davies who also brought the new series of Doctor Who back to life. This sees Captain Jack Harkness, a character from an earlier DW episode, as hero. Set in Cardiff, Wales, this is Torchwood 3.... the other Torchwoods being in London and Scotland.

Ok so my first impressions of this show (have only seen the first two so far) are that it is great! It is smartly written, tongue firmly in cheek. Yet very adult. The second episode dealt with an alien who literally screws her victims to death and breathes in the sexual energy. Some parts are cheesy.... "This is Toshiko she's a computer genius" pointing to the Asian girl (can anyone say stereotype). But sweeping shots (making full use of the new set) and shots of the Torchwood staff hard at work (cheesy) are then matched by everyone laughing at pretending to be so serious having put on a show for the new girl. The characters are great: all seem totally flawed in some way or another and there seems to be a definite character arc as we are slowly learning a bit more about each of them. Oh and a series story arc too reminiscant of Buffy. The similarities to Buffy do not end there as Cardiff, it seems, sits on a riff of time and space where the universe's flotsam and jetsum seem to end up (Hellmouth?).

This is new and inventive and great for adults who found the new Doctor Who a bit lame. But I'm sorry no amount of flybys over Cardiff central (as best seen in CSI!) can make this city look 'cool'. Good stuff none-the-less.

museum of lost interactions

2007-03-25T10:15:00.000+01:00

The museum of lost interactions is a collection of forgotten communication and entertainment media. What is interesting is that gadgets we consider modern technology were actually born a long time ago. For instance, iTunes may be dominating now with their music download service but it was with the acoustograph back in 1925 where familes could request musical compositions via morse code down a telegraph wire, that the idea was born. Or the text message: actually first invented as the social communicator back in 1932 using wireless morse code technology people could commuincate throughout the bustle of a city. And when do you think portable video was began: try 1979, with the release of the video case, VHS on the move complete with an ashtray. Check out the complete collection as it makes for a fascinating read!

purple and brown

2007-03-24T11:22:00.000Z

The guys over at Aardman are back with their classic claymation creations here with Purple and Brown. And they are back doing what they do best after a not so great success delving into CG animation with Flushed Away. What is great about Purple and Brown is that there are no voices used, only sounds and grunts. The communication is done through gestures and expressions. It is genius. Enjoy the short and if you love it there are loads more on youtube for you to enjoy.

TED

2007-03-21T22:33:00.000Z

When I was kid I used to wonder how it would be possible to live in heaven without getting really bored. This is the opening preamble to TED which is a conference where the best minds in Technology Entertainment and Design converge and share ideas. Now I wanted to share this guy because he is just SO inspiringly pretentious (go on click on the link above). So bad it's good. I have to disagree with him though that most of the interesting people will be in hell and we'll all be having a whale of a time. But that is hardly inspirational now is it. And how could he sit on his pedestal and look down on the rest of us from hell :) Anyway TED looks like a blast and I would love to go one day. Some of the best minds in the world are there and all talking about the future. Super cool ;)

michel gondry

2007-03-18T10:49:00.000Z

So we went to see the Science of Sleep last night, Michel Gondry's follow up to the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And what a treat it was. Gondry is the master of creating twisted realities with his artful blend of experimental film techniques. In this he melds stop-motion with blue screen effects to create a world where dreams meet reality. Gondry is famed for his work on music videos which is a medium where his creativity can be explored. The Science of Sleep is his third foray into feature film and with it the challenge of creating a narritive flow over the course of 90 or so minutes. Hating CG effects he often goes to great lengths to achieve the shot he wants. I remember watching the making of Eternal Sunshine where Gondry wants his two stars to be laying on a sheet of ice on a frozen pond and a car with headlights on passes beneath. From a budget and technical point of view it just wasn't possible although probably achievable with some heavy After Effects work. His style is extremely distinctive and I really wanted to share this in my choices and highlights of his music video work. I am hoping that this little taster will encourage you to watch his movies which are undoubtedly challenging but ultimately rewarding.....

The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be (look out for a narrative style very similar to the Science of Sleep and obviously a great jumping point)

Gary Jules - Mad World (from an organisational point of view this must have been really challenging)

Kylie Minogue - Come Into My World (the narrative flow picks up on itself as past catches up with future)

Bjork - Joga (just visually stunning)

Daft Punk - Around The World (a classic)

The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl (anything involving stop-motion and lego is great in my book)

The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar (incredible mix of film to match the music.... watch this to the end)

faithfull

2007-03-15T22:57:00.000Z

I love love love Faithless anyway but this video is just a gorgeous realisation of their vision. Inspired by light painting (check out my light painting blog post tags), this video is edgy and sublime. Exactly how dance music videos should be. Inspiring. Love it.

today's sound

2007-03-13T20:11:00.000Z

pssst did you know about this band....... what a great sound!!!! And what a voice....bless her and her knitting

adidas us

2007-03-12T18:40:00.000Z

So Adidas have got themselves a 3D foot scanner in their brand new store along the Champs Elysses. This is a good idea but is quite limited and fairly gimmicky in it's execution. Presumably you have to wait your turn before using the scanner and once you leave the store what good is it going to do you? I propose something a lot more radical. Why don't your high street stores invest in a full body scanner. You could start it out at your flag ship stores as a gimmick but could roll it out to other places once the idea catches on. What this would do is scan your entire body and calculate your exact measurements (shoe included). It would then create an avatar for you that you could access online. That way whenever you wanted to do some online shopping it would know what would fit you and make recommendations for you. Online shopping would actually become practical when buying clothes. The online avatar you create would look like you and would show exactly how these clothes would look on you. You could see what colours work for your skin tones etc. You could also see what your clothes would look like in different environments and surroundings. As your body shape changes you could alter the dimensions or simply get rescanned. You could store all your exact measurements on your phone and then use RFID technology to let the shops you go in know what size you are and let you know what will fit you for each garment.

big brother state

2007-03-11T15:40:00.000Z

This short film goes towards securing my fears about the direction this and many countries are heading. With the UK having one of the largest CCTV networks in the world you have to wonder who is watching who and for what purpose. As our freedoms and liberties are eroded in the name of national security and the war on terror who exactly are the real victims?

This leads on from my other post about Google domination.

foreign office

2007-03-10T13:19:00.000Z

If you haven't yet seen Children of Men then go out and see it NOW. It is by far one of the best movies of 2006. The movie portrays a chilling and fearfully accurate vision of a not-too-distant future. Part of this is some advertisments that appear on bill-boards and the sides of buses. The folks over at foreign office are responsible for these little gems and a showreel can be seen lo-res below or if you have time the hi-res version is here. Advertising of the future? Thanks Kit for this link :)

the future is nigh

2007-03-10T11:30:00.000Z

So with all the media attention being firmly on Apple and the imminent release of the iPhone we should really look at why this technology is important. It is not because the product looks pretty (which inevitably it does) and certainly there is nothing ground-breaking about what this device is capable of. What is revolutionary is the interface that has been developed and with it an era of 'multi-touch' technology. What Apple is doing here is actually taking existing ideas and creating a viable product with an intuitive user-interface (the iPod and Newton are past examples of this). This MT system has been around for a quite a while though, with the likes of Jeff Han working on some incredible interfaces (check out his work in the video below). The product was created after the inventor studied the effect of his finger pads on the outside of a glass of water noticing where his fingers actually made contact. You have to wonder as to the influence of science-fiction in many of these new technologies with Minority Report being an obvious example. Or is this just an evolution of the way in which we interact with our devices? Are we tired of using a mouse and keyboard and is this the next step? Of course there are new things to learn. Gone are terms like 'point and click': enter terms like 'pinch-zoom'. Are we bringing in a new energetic way to interact? Certainly it is much easier to interact with the physical world and actually being able to move objects around a screen using our fingers seems like a great (if a little tiring) way to interact.

So what is the future going to hold for us in this field? Will there ever come a time when we can simply look at an object and will it to move around a screen? Sounds far fetched? Well believe it or not scientists have developed a system whereby a person's actions can be represented as brain activity in a computer. This computer can then be trained to respond to that same activity even if it is only a thought and not the actual action: hence the ability to move objects with the power of your mind. Check out this crazy monkey brain control video here (thanks to blunt for this one). But this is not the stuff of small research labs, this technology was showcased this week at a gaming conference in San Fransisco. A device that scans the brain can interpret brain activity as intended action and move objects about onscreen. This is cutting edge stuff and we are a long way off having home computers with the computing power to read our minds in an effective way. But the work has begun and the technology is there. Science fiction becomes science fact.

Everything you can imagine is real.
Picasso

auditricity

2007-03-08T06:51:00.000Z

I quite like this ad in terms how it has been made. It is dynamic which I love (basically animations of this sort fall into two camps.... timelined and dynamic, where a timeline animation will always look the same). It seems to have been made by having three movie clips that react to where the mouse cursor is and stretch to meet that point from original points on the car. Nicely done. From an actual ad point of view does it actually get across its message? Well its not bad. A pretty good idea. And with all ads of this size simplicity is key. Check the ad out here

iWant

2007-03-08T06:34:00.000Z

Quite simply "i want". I know it would look good in my kitchen and I promise to do all the laundry from now on ;) Well errrrr at least it would look pretty....

sky view

2007-03-08T06:19:00.000Z

With an emphasis on colour and pattern this photo set really is absolutely gorgeous. I seem to remember a book called Earth from Above and I hope that this site isn't just a blatent copy of images from there. I absolutely love the photographer's (of which I'm sure there are many) eye for capturing the beauty that surrounds us, be it a focus on colour, texture or shape. Some absolutely jaw-dropping sites to be seen here.

lapses in light

2007-03-07T19:58:00.000Z

This is worth watching if only for the Ferris wheel at the start and the night's sky at the end. I'm assuming that this is done by piecing together time-lapsed photographs. Very nicely done and a great effect. As you can tell if you follow my blog I am a bit obsessed with time-lapse and stop-motion at the moment. I feel a project coming on :)

virginia slims circa 1969

2007-03-07T19:49:00.000Z

Aaaaaah simpler times. When the trend in selling your product was to nod towards women's lib with a "Look how far you've come". How fab does this woman look though? With a flavour she likes and now in a slim feminine size. Genius. I now know why my granny smoked these. Because you looked SUPER COOL. I'm sold :)

etsy

2007-03-07T08:11:00.000Z

I really like this novel way to navigate through a site. It is basically a time machine of sorts allowing you to go back and see what you have been looking at in the past. Say you are browsing for items in Amazon this feature would be a visual way of navigating through your past choices. I think the execution of this is really nice and the spiral of images works well. I also like the way you can toss images to one side (this could be used in a different way: I'd like to see it implemented as a selection method whereby you could toss things onto an area and that would set up say a wish list for want of a better example). Check the site out here

renaissance

2007-03-04T12:01:00.000Z

Just finished watching this devastating movie: Renaissance. Shot in an intriguing way the movie makers used motion-capture to gain the actor's performance then transferred this information into a 3D modelled environment, before using a computer generated rotoscope effect leaving only a black and white 2D image. The effect is startling. A hi-tech futruristic world is created in and around Paris. Set in 2054, significant advances in the world have transformed this iconic city into a crazy world where architecture meets technology. The story is that of a more traditional detective tale and film-noir is heavily referenced and highly accentuated by this delicious style.

It is great to see new and experimental mediums being generated in this way and also wonderful that this movie came out of France instead of the more powerhouse animation studios. The movie is not for everyone and it definitely requires a second viewing. Check out the really good flash website used to promote the movie here where a good use of the movie's style is incorporated.

lo-res trailer below | hi-res version here

eatPES

2007-03-03T14:44:00.000Z

I found this rather lovely stop-motion advert for Bacardi from the guys over at PES films. I particularly like the first lemon advert. The thing with great stop-motion (as the guys over at Aardman will tell you) is you have to start with a great story. The genius comes with how the cheeky script is realized through stop-motion. This really is such a painstackingly labourious medium to work in that I have such great respect for anyone doing this kind of work. I'm not sure if I have the patience.

This one by PES will also make you titter :) roof sex

and this one is just wrong!!!! beasty boy

gt work

2007-03-02T17:23:00.000Z

I thought you'd like to see some of the brilliant work that is coming out of the digital agency where I'm working right now. Ok so I haven't actually worked on either of these projects but that's no reason not to blog about them. To be honest it is inspiring for me to see work of this quality being produced and the hope of doing a microsite soon is really cool (life beyond banners yay). So here is the work that has been done for Adobe..... be sure to follow the link at the end of this video for a TREAT!!!!!!

...and this is the work just out for Christian Aid.... a nice little twist on an idea and definitely makes you think

climate change