mindblob

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.  : )

 

Imagination booster

 
As some of you might know, I am now in Cape town again, preparing another shooting (shoot day tomorrow).

Today on our pre-production program: location recce, wardrobe fitting, belly casting (now... come on guys, can't show pictures here - we just need it to shoot a gentle demo, really - yes, I'll post the film when on air) and set building check. While at the set builder studio, I made a strange encounter... the huge head of a dragon (picture above)... just, laying there in the middle of the room. Wow! Absolutely unexpected.

In a fraction of a second,  imagination flew me away. I was ridding on the "Neverending story" dragon, on a trip "Finding Neverland", where "Big fish" can be found. Some films lift you up when you see them. They make you "believe" in dragons, Tinkerbell and giant fishes. They boost your mood and bring you good... vibrations. They make a smile "pop" on your face.

Do you believe in the magic of imagination? I do. Now if you would excuse me, my "Happy feet" are moving too much. Fellow penguins calling... obviously.  : )

 

PS: Yes, I do recommend the above films... and eventually some imagination in your everyday life, to be different and most of all to "believe".

 

Minuscule

 

A link to share with your little ones. I might post more of these if you like them. This particular one I just love. Even if produced by a French production company, Futurikon - (link in french, sorry) the message of the film is, I think, universal.

“Minuscule revolves around the day-to-day existence of insects. Although the series calls to mind a wildlife documentary, it’s a documentary in which the insects are presented in burlesque situations, with a fair amount of philosophical contemplation thrown in. You might call it a cross between Tex Avery and Microcosmos, or grassroots slapstick. Or a docu-cartoon series.”
 

Simple, sharp, fun and extremely well executed. It flies us right into the imaginary world children see every day. I like to keep contact with that kind of imagination, a bit like focusing to see shapes in the clouds, as it acts like a breeze of freshness into my thoughts. Bzzzzzzzzzz!

(Thanks for the link, Yann!)

   

The Science of Sleep

Talented french director Michel Gondry, strikes again with his last movie "The Science of Sleep". I invite you to visit the dedicated micro-site of the film... it should give you an overview of what it is all about : a creative and innovative mind, lost between dreams and reality. Plus it is fun, fresh, crazy, poetic, and features the film soundtrack. In other words... worth the click.

The synopsis given by Warner Independent pictures is :

"The Science of Sleep, a playful romantic fantasy set inside the topsy-turvy brain of Stephane Miroux (Gael Garcia Bernal) an eccentric young man whose dreams constantly invade his waking life.

While slumbering, he is the charismatic host of "Stephane TV," expounding on "The Science of Sleep" in front of cardboard cameras. In "real life," he has a boring job at a Parisian calendar publisher and pines for Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the girl in the apartment across the hall. While Stephanie is initially charmed by Stephane, she is confused by his childishness and shaky connection to reality. Stephanes co-worker, Guy (Alain Chabat) a vulgar but practical man, offers advice on the opposite sex, but Stephane is too far in the clouds to listen. Unable to find the secret to Stephanies heart while awake, Stephane searches for the answer in his dreams."

Now this said, here is a little tribute to Michel Gondry. This is definitely not intended to be a complete biography (you can find a tons of information on Kevin Holy's very documented site or on Michel Gondry's official site, in french...). This is more like a little reminder, for those who think they don't know Gondry (come on, I'm sure you do!).

Gondry made his reputation as a video clip director. He met Björk in 1993 and this was the beginning of a long business relationship based on mutual understanding and respect for each other's work. He directed  quite a few of her videos. "Human Behaviour" won all the possible video awards the year it was out. Then "Army of me" (this one I loved for the crazy universe he created, and  "Isobel" (black & white poetic voyage), etc.

Besides Björk, Gondry directed many videos, for the most famous artists in the world... always coming with an unexpected point of view : Massive Attack "Protection" incredible sequence and camera movement, Rolling Stones "Like a rolling stone" using a unique photographic technique, Daft Punk "Around the world" stunning studio choreography with a funny dark pop style, Beck's "Deadweight" where he explored the dream vs reality cocktail (Mmmmh!). In 2003 he used Lego blocks for The White Stripes "Fell in Love with a Girl", etc. His last video (until now) is Cody ChesnuTT's "King of the Game", graphic fantasy he directed it in 2006.

Ok, ok, let's imagine you never saw any of these videos, then... you must know him as an advertising film director. His innovative, ultra-creative, surprising style must have been at least once screened by your eyes. Smirnoff "Smarienberg" in 1995,  Levi's "Drugstore" (Cannes Advertising Film Festival Gold Lion in 1996), Levi's "mermaids" in 1996, Air France "Le Passage" in 1999 and "Le nuage" in 2002 (seems he's been a cloud lover for quite a while), etc. His last ad is Nespresso "The Boutique" (which is not my favourite, after reviewing the above list).

Last but not least Gondry has directed feature films like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minds" (2004), or "Dave Chapelle's Block Party"... the most known (although this is indeed quite subjective).

I do have a lot of respect for Michel Gondry and his work... He definitely "Thinks Different" and has one of those "crazy" minds always pushing the limits of creativity forward. Now, I have not seen "The Science of Sleep", but given all these elements... you bet I will. I wish I could fly to see it ! Time to go to sleep, or... am I already sleeping?

Introducing ... "mindblob"

Dear Darwin, here we are. We've been challenging our brains for ages of existance to figure out who we are, where we're from and where we are going to. We created an infinity of tools to facilitate the exchange of information from man to man. Time and distance became less and less problematic.

But now, we reached a point where, for the first time, brains can instantly connect to other brains, regroup, and grow... through time and space. So... great! What's the next step? What will internet and access to global knowledge and communication bring us? Anything new? Yep! It is a revolution, an evolution, a real new perspective.

Big brands and labels don't have the ultimate power of mass communication anymore. Simple customers, PC users, have the opportunity to talk back to the entire world with the strongest of all the communication tools ever : the internet. The inter-connections between people like you and me, making groups within a click of a mouse are changing the shape of our society. It is unstoppable, and is shaking (...positively imo) our world.

Creativity is now different and so is innovation. Brands have to rethink the way they talk to people and most of all the way they listen to their customers. Marketing has to adapt as well (marketing 2.0) to the new tools available on the WEB 2.0. Last but not least, advertisers, the super-hero-trend-setters of the old days, have to catch-up with this new reality.

What are the new perspective? The trends to expect? How are the marketing and communication professionnals going to react? Yes... this is another blog talking about the (same) subject. Let's feed the mindblob!