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.
"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!
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.
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. : )
For those of you who really thought I was kidnapped by Aliens when I was out of blogging for while, here is the story. As a matter of fact, I was the one trying to make contact with them. And guess what... I found them. This is quite a long story. So I made a little pdf file to summarize and share this extra-ordinary encounter with you. All I can tell you is that although they may seem scary, Aliens are very nice beings. Hopefully they were open minded, and so really appreciated the Age of Conversation. Actually, with their help now, we may even reach Gavin Heaton's secret dream... and make the incredible come true (right Drew?).
Well, I'm afraid the sky is NOT the limit anymore... so if you have not bought a copy yet, here is another reason for you to do it : it'll help you engage conversation with Aliens (how about that?) and help a good cause. Talking about Aliens, did you know that they eat tangerine (I mean, just like "us"), dream about Big Macs (they do, they do), and use Twitter (yeah, without any device, actually) to communicate? But please... know that they are not waiting for planes anymore... they use flying saucers, I mean... tractors (woops! Call me "lunatic").
PS : This picture is not a Photoshop job... my Alien friend holds a printed copy of the AoC, because at that time I had not yet received a hardback book. : )
PPS : Huge thanks to Gareth the Alien, without his passion and trust telling you this story would have never been possible. If you ever are looking for an Alien... I do recommend calling him -and unfortunately I can't show you the film we made out of this as it is not "on air" yet-
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".
Yesterday return ticket to Paris. Post-production facility : Mikros image. At least 10 people working on our project. Action and speed all day to reach conference call with client and integrate all the elements post-produced separately. I'm pleased to see how the limits of CGI and compositing can be pushed. Great professionals around me. Wizzards of Oz making our dreams come true.
Morning: agency (us) feedback to post-producers. Midday: Mikros team in action: corrections. Afternoon: continuous agency feedback. Email dispatching and FTP site of work in progress. End of the day: conference call with client in Brussels. Agency introduction to work in progress and client feedback. End of the day: launch more corrections. Jump in taxi to catch Thalys. Evening: return to Brussels, past 10 PM, home. Tomorrow music briefing at sound studio.
Paradox of the day... feeling the "speed of the day" slow down, while travelling at 300 km/h (+/- 190 mph).
After a long and bumpy flight we arrived in Cape Town with the rising sun of the early morning. Getting off the airplane was like a double relief : walking (again) and discovering the warm and dry climate of South Africa.
I’ll make this post short. Because I’m completely exhausted. Air conditioning of the airplane (=cold), lack of sleep, and now a day being driven around town to check pre-production elements (stylism, life SFX, etc.) burnt all the energy I had left. No, no... no feet into the water or even on the beach. But I must admit that it feels good just to see landscapes, palm trees and blue (surfable) waves of the Atlantic sea.
Melting pot of thoughts of the day : people send you energizing smiles here and it feels good – waiting to get (simple) things make us wonder if we do things fast(er) or if they are done really slow here – coffee, fish and food are delicious – agency life doesn’t care about people being on a shooting (office mail box is already filled with cc. mails and “urgent – we know you’re out, probably can’t read your mails, but still please read and answer immediately” kind of messages) – just can’t read RSS and comment your posts tonight, sorry guys – I still think I could walk on these marshmallow clouds I saw from the window of the plane (thought coming back on every flight I’ve taken so far) ; ) - oh boy... it’s really time to sleep now!
Tomorrow, I’m flying to Cape Town. I’m going there for a week on a TV production mission together with a creative team and Creative Director of the agency I work for. We’ll be shooting a commercial for one client of the agency. The heavy preparation process of this film is one of the reasons I’ve been a little slow on posts lately.
Although this project is still quite confidential (unfortunately I can’t reveal either name of client or product now), I can tell you this one is going to be a real technical challenge, full of live SFX, post-produced 3D SFX, extras, props... yep, the full package. A real producer’s challenge. Quite exciting indeed. On the other hand, I’m leaving my family and little (13 months old) daughter-princess Ness for the first time. Yes... must confess I’ll miss them a lot!
I’m not sure about free time once I’ll get there, but I will definitely try to share a few South African pictures and thoughts with you. In the meantime, the starters: I found this link on Flickr with lots of pictures of Cape Town. So, enjoy... and stay tuned.
Did you know there were penguins in South Africa? ; )
Quick relay note after David Armano's very nice post : "The Producers". First of all, thinking about this is quite rare and full of empathy (thank you David). Producers are indeed the very last step of the chain between ideas and reality. Their role is very important and definitely deserves consideration. Commenting on David's post, made me think about the "production trinity".
So here is a little vision of a producer's brain. If you think carefully about these 3 elements, you'll understand why a producer is often pulling his/her hair out. Decent timing and appropriate budgets are the 2 electrons of quality. Ever heard about timing pressure and budget cuts? (haha!). As simple and obvious as it is, here is a little reminder.
TIME: is the first precious pearl. Without time you have to rush things. Rushing things costs money or quality.
MONEY: is the second precious pearl. Now money is not all, but it does help. Without money, you need time to find solutions.
QUALITY: is the producer's ultimate goal. ...to make the original idea look/be sublime (be a hit).
It is fine to talk about ROI... but let's not forget this : in communications, quality (form) of the message counts as much as the message itself (content). Quality matters! From this perspective, it is important to consider production. Don't always think about what it costs (...whether time or money), think about what it will bring back to you... IF it's a hit!
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!
Back to the end of December, Russell Davies the UK based super-planner we’ve all read and heard about, had a post on trends for 2007.
Russell and his associates of the OIA (Open Intelligence Agency) were asked by Piers (Psfk.com - ideas, trends and inspiration) to tell them their trend predictions for 2007. Members of the OIA (Emily Reed from Sidney, Jeffre Jackson from Amsterdam, David Nottoli from New York and Russel himself) made a small video to share with us their vision. Basically, they say video on the internet is going to spread and be used on a wider scale (inc. video conferencing, video tutorials, product demos, etc.). Check it out on the video here under.
Viewing this lead me to 2 different thoughts. My first reaction was to secretly think : “Yes... it’s about time!”. I’ve always been thinking that video was going to be a big hit on the net as soon as technology and bandwidth would allow it. As you may know, for the last 7 years I’ve been running the TV production department of an international advertising agency. When many of my fellow TV producers were worried about the decrease of local productions and at the same time reduction of the average budget to shoot a commercial, I always thought internet would bring new production challenges and demands.
There is a key to be considered by producers, though. We’re not talking about the same kind of productions. When for an advertising film, we refer to shooting in 35mm or 16mm with complete film crew (technically comparable to a cinema shoot), the new film demand is going to be a lot lighter in terms of production: light crew, video, HDV, etc. Making quality films for the internet (...and I’m not talking about the YouTube “Hey dudes, my camcorder and I rule!” kind of films – which can be quite funny, BTW) is as important as investing time and money in the design of the sites. I think there is room there for film producers and professionals. Now, for filmmakers, trading a 35mm film camera for an HD video cam is a bit like what photographers had to consider when going digital. There is a respectable emotional issue underneath, but well... new creative tools and ideas to explore at the same time, not to mention a new market to develop.
(35mm film roll - originally uploaded on Flickr
by _Silverstar_)
Then my second thought went to the OIA itself. I’ve been reading many posts and comments lately on what bloggers could define as :
“The perception that the way we work and communicate is going to change, because of the new opportunities linked to the evolution of the internet”.
Or in other words (in a very business oriented thought): Internet leads to a new communication era where companies will have to consider the consumers differently and offer them more than up front (push) communication and after sales (block) helpdesk (hey masiguy, I'm with you on this one!). Companies will have to open the tank and let their previously called “target” reach them with feedback (pull) and “insights” on their existing and future products. Creating Passionate Users recently published an interesting post entitled “Reverse-engineering user reviews”, which describes how to read and analyze user reviews and consider them from a psycho-social and marketing point of view - (part of the visual hereunder comes from Creating Passionate Users).
If TIME magazine and their controversial front page: “Time's Person of the year: YOU” was subject to many criticism, at least it did attract attention of the sceptical masses on the new role of consumers. That’s now a fact. Rapid access to information, community building, freedom of speech (ok, ok, we’re on our way!) lead to an EVOLUTION of HUMAN behavior. At the same time, I think that business wise this is (or at least will be) a REVOLUTION within the companies, because they will have to review their structures and modus operandi taking into account the new dialogue engaged with their customers. (I link back to David Armano’s description of the “Flat vs. Round worlds” as I think it helps visualize sharing ideas from the 2 different perspectives – so extremely brilliant DA!).
If I’m sure many of us (YOU, right here, right now!) have a clear perception of this phenomenon, change is, nevertheless, going to take (some) time. Time to spread the Round World, time to touch a majority vs (still) a minority, time before reaching CEOs and leaders of the big corporations, and... last but not least, time before they actually take adequate action to “adapt” and eventually restructure their big monster companies. In the meantime, communication professionals whether marketers, advertisers, web designers, have (some) time to prepare and shape their surfboard for the next wave.
The OIA is a proposition : light, flexible, international, multi-cultural professionals ready to take action anytime.
I think there is more to do out of this example. There is a time for thinking, and a time for action. In moments of changes, it is good to pause and look around (many of us know it... LewisGreen, Roger von Oech, David Armano). Because it is difficult (say impossible) to run in a direction, if you know this direction is just not the right one. Take time, focus, gain conviction, then go back to... action.
Hint hint hint ! Food for thoughts, guys! How do you consider the way you work today?
Recent Comments