mindblob

Artificial Dummies - From ideas to reality

ARTIFICIAL DUMMIES from todo.to.it on Vimeo.

As promised in my previous post... here is more about TODO interaction & media design, the Italian innovative company we talked about. Again coming with a very nice example of crowd fascination in front of a unique live experience. Talking about ways to give people out-of-the-ordinary experiences... here you go.

Now, maybe some of you have already seen visual things like that before and so might not find it new or innovative. But according to the "creatures" actually reacting to their environment, I see more than a simple light show behind this. That "little extra" is IMHO exactly what makes the difference and drives the live experience into an innovative and unique area. This is why I wanted to find out "how the system works?"... and guess what... TODO brings an answer to people wondering like me (check the video here under).

When the magic brought to the eyes of the public out there is obvious, the technology behind this is not. TODO did mix different theories, programs and technologies to make this happen in an unexpected context. This is what I find "innovative". That achievement (I bounced twice on them!) lead me to check their webpage out. Happy I did, it is full of brilliant ideas. I also found there a few words on the philosophy behind their way to... drive ideas into reality, that I'd like to share with you as well. Just LOVE it! Way to go guys ! And please... please, launch a blog... I'll subscribe!

 

• we ask questions

• we listen

• we research

• we take risk

• we make mistakes

• we like busted knees

• we solve problems

• we are happy

• we'll never retire

 

ARTIFICIAL DUMMIES, the process from todo.to.it on Vimeo.
   

Zygote - the interactive ball

NUday-ZYGOTE from todo.to.it on Vimeo.

 
Another focus on simple things that keep touching people. Well, this one is actually being "touched" by people. Or... how to energize and entertain a crowd, for example on a live concert, when waiting between two artists. Simply fabulous! This product is developed by Tangible Interaction Design.

Concept via TODO interaction & media design an Italian innovative company to follow. More on them coming soon in a next post. Okay... this thing is really too mindblobbing, I just can't resist sharing with you another Zygote film. People really seem to have punch a lot of fun out of it! Don't you feel like being in the crow, just under that ball now? : )

 

Zygote - interactive ball from todo.to.it on Vimeo.

 
   

PS : For those of you who remember the early seventies series (yup!), this is a FRIENDLY bubble, repeat... this is a FRIENDLY bubble. It won't try to stop you escape or swallow you!  ; )
  

Simple post...

Image via - Apollo Ideas blog

Just a thought of the day... on a Sunday evening, after being out of the agency for a week of holidays. "Simply" wondering what kind of new briefings and stories I'll get tomorrow.

 

Big Ideas (don't get any)

Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

 
  

Here is a little gem I just discovered via threeminds and that illustrates how creativity and talent can transform a challenge into a master piece. This short film is the work of James Houston, a student of the Glasgow School of Art who decided, for his final project, to respond to the online challenge launched by the Radiohead. The band proposed on a dedicated site a contest to remix their latest single "Nude". Here is what James did out of it. Although he was too late to enter his work within the deadline, I think he deserves a big huge online wave of applause from all of us.

Here is how James describes his quest on Vimeo :

"I've just graduated from the Glasgow School of Art's graphic design course. This was my final project.

Radiohead held an online contest to remix "Nude" from their album - "In Rainbows" This was quite a difficult task for everybody that entered, as Nude is in 6/8 timing, and 63bpm. Most music that's played in clubs is around 120bpm and usually 4/4 timing. It's pretty difficult to seamlessly mix a waltz beat into a DJ set.

This resulted in lots of generic entries consisting of a typical 4/4 beat, but with arbitrary clips from "Nude" thrown in so that they qualified for the contest.

Thom Yorke joked at the ridiculousness of it in an interview for NPR radio, hinting that they set the competition to find out how people would approach such a challenging task. I decided to take the piss a bit, as the contest seemed to be in that spirit. Based on the lyric (and alternate title) "Big Ideas: Don't get any" I grouped together a collection of old redundant hardware, and placed them in a situation where they're trying their best to do something that they're not exactly designed to do, and not quite getting there.

It doesn't sound great, as it's not supposed to.

I missed the contest deadline, so I'm offering it here for you to enjoy.

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Guitars (rhythm & lead)
Epson LX-81 Dot Matrix Printer - Drums
HP Scanjet 3c - Bass GuitarHard
Drive array - Act as a collection of bad speakers - Vocals & FX"

PS : And I'm really wondering what my friend Tom (DirectorTom Thomas Clifford) will think about this film. ; )

  

UPDATE :

Check this film James did as he mentioned it to be his "...first ever project working with live action video". Wow! Definitely worth being pointed here as well. Read the comments on Vimeo and find out how he did it!

MTV from James Houston on Vimeo.

 

The Key to Reserva

   

If you like Martin Scorsese... it's a must see.
If you like Alfred Hitchcock... it's a must see.
If you like wine and champagne... it's a must see.
If you like out-of-the-ordinary-stories... it's a must see.

A movie definitely worth spending time with here.

   

JWT Barcelona, lead by Alex Martinez and his team, had a clever and innovative idea to promote FreiXenet, the Spanish sparkling wine (Cava is the Spanish sparkling wine "equivalent" to France's champagne). - More about the context story here.

As mentioned by Craig Davis (JWT's Worldwide's chief creative officer) on his blog, The Good Stuff :

"...the film features not the star in front of the camera but the stars behind - a striking shift from image to product, from how we look to what we make"

 

 

Now, what I like about this is that it drives your imagination out of the conventional story-telling patterns. Of course it is advertising... and of course, there is a link to a brand. But on a very personal point of view, I didn't feel betrayed by the apparition of the product (like it often happens in branded film content). I loved that they dared to distract our attention away from the product itself and push us back into the film. Smart and talented way to communicate. Last but not least, notice the "insightful link" that says : "GIVE US YOUR OPINION".

 

So... "if next year you had to do a short film, which director would YOU choose?"

    

UPDATE : Check "The Good Stuff" original post's comments... seems this story pushed Bob Jeffrey himself (JWT's Worldwide Chairman and CEO) to comment. I think it is a first time, but maybe I'm wrong.  : )

 

Brands and Artist Ambassadors

As you might already know I am a fan of Michel Gondry's work. When I found out about the last ad he directed for the Motorola Razr2, I really liked the Experience site they set to tell about the film and its making of. Quite interesting to listen to Michel Gondry's interview on the briefing and his creative process to make it happen.

What I like about it is :  the idea of giving a free ride to an artist to express his/her vision of a brand through his/her art.

 

It reminds me the surprising buzz of the late 90ies lead by the BMW Film series "The Hire". Remember? BMW gave an opportunity -and budget- to 8 famous directors (John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Won Kar-Way, etc) to create a short film -average of 8 minutes- to highlight the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles (you can find here : season one and season two). My favorite being Star (try it here if you don't have the DIVX plugin) directed by Guy Ritchie, with Madonna, a BMW M5 and fascinating driver Clive Owen -BTW wouldn't he make a fantastic James Bond?-. Don't forget to turn the volume of your computer up while watching this film... the scene over the bridge is simply... exquisite!.

Branded content indeed... but, when compared to traditional advertising, this project had (at the time) an innovative approach regarding format, story, and media.

I believe that there is a LOT more to do outside the traditional ad formats. Also there are obviously many ideas to develop by giving willing artists (and I mean young talents as well, naturally!), new ways to share their visions of brands through their art.

Thoughts or comments?

 

The graduate call

   

Here is a fun and very well edited video shot in the JWT London offices.  No wonder why it is the post of the day on Craig Davis' blog, The Good Stuff. Once again, apparently -like on the previous OMB mentioned on mindblob-, no money or big production, just a bunch of motivated grads led by Musa Tariq. His description of the video on Vimeo says it all :

"We (the graduates who joined last year straight out of uni) had an idea one day after work... and thought why not!"

Also, check this other film from Musa Tariq on his Vimeo page, entitled: "A Day In The Life Of Me". Here is what he says about it :

"I was asked recently what the highs and lows of my job were at JWT... Well one of the highs was the fact that if you ever had an opinion or a suggestion, people would ask you to go do it! The following video was part of an idea we had, it was to show a client how someone my age interacts with technology on a day to day basis! ..."

Basically, I like to see positive energy leading a simple idea into reality. It spreads that same positive energy outside the office walls and is insightful for whoever is "listening". Well, of course, the goal here is obviously to recruit new grads. The last first dot to connect to is JWT London's website frontpage (*) where  the intention appears loud and clear.

Maybe our good friend Sacrum should try to apply there.
; )

   

PS :  (*) this link will probably not be relevant to this post after november 7th - end of the call for grads.

Idea saves planet

 

Our planet is in danger, we all know it. Even if we all agree about that "fact", what can we do as individuals to help or influence a positive change? The PICNIC Green Challenge is launching a contest to help fight climate change. They challenge creative thinkers and innovators, to come up with an original idea for a product or service that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

 

   

They also require from the participants that they present a concrete plan of action to launch their idea within 2 years. The price/help to market the idea is 500.000 Euros, coaching from business leaders and a list of potential clients. The president of the jury is fantastic-Richard Branson, entrepreneur incroyable, chairman of the Virgin Group and the Galactic space project. "This contest is going to help people to realize how much they are capable of,” he says. “Great things really do come out of simple ideas.”.

   

 

Richard Branson together with former vice President Al Gore are also behind a wider project -launched in February 2007- linked to the reduction of the greenhouse effect, the Virgin Earth Challenge. Contest will award $25 million to the individual or group who are able to demonstrate a commercially viable design which will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases each year for at least ten years without countervailing harmful effects. This removal must have long term effects and contribute materially to the stability of the Earth’s climate. See them on the CBS "Eye-to-eye" TV show here, talking about the reason why of the project.

 

I take a moment here to point the axis we discussed in the previous post. It seems that more and more companies develop green policies to link their businesses to positive intentions for the planet. Well, if the intentions are shared, supported, and driven into reality, then some positive actions could (really) follow. But, at this stage thinking about this process, it appears to me to be more like a talent search/call, than a real collaborative work using the brain/linking power of the internet. Food for thoughts (yeah, again!) - (to be continued...)

 

   SHARED IDEA(S) - DRIVER-  POSITIVE ACTION

 

Do you have an idea that could help?

 

The AOC's impact on REALITY

   

One of the reasons that lead me to blogging, is my will to study the journey of ideas from brains to reality. I think the making of the Age of Conversation ebook is indeed a first in its own genre and so is worth a post documenting what happens to be a quite interesting and unique process. I tried to make a visual to illustrate the passage(s) between the world of ideas (imagination, virtual) and reality.

Let’s use the metaphor of a simple drop of water to symbolize the original idea Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton raised together. Now, the first transformation (the proposition) is important and grew through a limited network of connections. Thinking about it rationally we may say the initial situation is : “2 bloggers, each one of them with a small network  -small, as compared to the wider net- of blog readers, who see them as authentic and respectful bloggers.

   

   

The idea is embraced, followed and lifted up by that small network, making them all instantly what one could call a community. That community shares something in common around the original idea and its projection into reality. Why? Because it is impossible not to (did you ever think about that?). Rationally again : it is a WIN-WIN-WIN situation (...and we could eventually find even more Wins). Who wins? Everyone does!

- W1 : a good cause gets the benefits
- W2 : authors helping W1 and being part of the project
- W3 : readers contributing to W1 and getting great content.

Book is then “published” and gets a first opportunity to reach reality. Two keys are not dissociable and make the book’s positionning special :

- A good intention with VALUABLE CONTENT.
- Immediate, REAL BENEFITS to charity.

After writing their chapter, the 100 authors use their own small networks of blog readers to spread the news about the book. Networks of networks embrace the idea and it spreads the internet, lifting the impact on reality up at the same time. Book spreads the net, spreads its content, and the benefits to Variety the Children’s Charity grow at the same time. The original small drop of idea-water is now a huge wave of positive emulation.

Now... I don’t think this is a one-shot example. Even if Gavin and Drew (once again: thank you for launching this guys) confessed that they never imagined the size this “drop of water” would take, I believe this process is now serious FOOD FOR THOUGHTS. I think more projects could help bring more good values into reality, giving people the opportunity to do good for other people who need it. If the first step of the Age of Conversation is "linking us all around good values"... the second step might be finding paths for positive ideas to reach reality and generate good "REAL" POSITIVE ACTIONS.

Dream? Utopia? ... or reality?
What's your take on this?

   

PS: And by the way, if you read this and have not bought a copy of the book yet... just do it! You won’t regret it.  : )

   

Fancy a "Dinner in the sky" ?

“Ho no... not that same restaurant again!”

Looking for something "different" ?
Thinking that the sky is the limit?

   

Well... reach it then...
Introducing “Dinner in the Sky”, a Belgian based concept (...well in the Belgian sky actually). 22 people can have dinner, a corporate meeting, a seminar or else, 50 meters (168 feet) above the ground. Some experienced it over the race circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, others experienced it... in Japanese.  

I think the idea is definitely creative, but must admit odd at the same time. I’d love to know what people who are going for that kind of dinner are looking for? -  “A top view table?”  -  “Eat in fear?”  - “Wherever they serve it... this food is so exquisite that I’d go for it just anywhere?”  -  “Out of the ordinary story to tell?”  -  "A kids dream to come true?"

   

Would you go for it? Or would you rather not?
What would be your motivation in either case?