Rage Against The Branding Machine

So, a grass-roots Facebook campaign sees "Killing in the Name" beat X-Factor winner to the Christmas number one in the UK.

Earlier this year in June, Starbucks opens an experimental "stealth store" with little visible branding (15th Avenue Coffee and Tea - "inspired by Starbucks", but actually copied en masse from local stores in the area), sending the advertising agency in a spin. Has the worm finally turned?


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8423340.stm
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/923157/Unbranded-Starbucks-stores-attempt-new-brew/

Display Resolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution

The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation

Nobody should be surprised that PowerPoint does not measure up to the great speeches of history, such as Lincoln's Gettysburg address. And it is certainly a shame when a potentially interesting presentation is dumbed down by another formulaic over-application of PowerPoint. But when PowerPoint leads not just to boredom but to bad decisions, it is a tragedy, not just a shame.


http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/

BBC HD quality definition draws criticism from viewers

The BBC has come under fire for the perceived poor picture quality of its high definition television service.

Danielle Nagler, the Head of BBC HD, has so far failed to placate critics with her responses to comments on the BBC web site. On the BBC programme Points of View she said “There’s no evidence that reducing the bitrate has an impact on picture quality or that there is an absolute relationship between bitrate and picture quality.”

From a blog post: "I appreciate that BBC HD offers us the widest range of programming currently in the UK. But even my wife can see a reduction in picture quality and she's got cataracts."
http://informitv.com/news/2009/12/11/bbchdquality/

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

http://www.tenthdimension.com/

Quantum of Solace: User Interface

MK12 // Quantum of Solace: VFX Reel from MK12 on Vimeo.

Elmo meets Robert de Niro

Surreal.

The Daily WTF

The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology
Offers daily posts of user-submitted examples of bad code and software design.


http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/random.ashx

ActionScript 2.0 Best Practices

- Use runtime filters sparingly. If you can turn it into a raster graphic with those filters, it will likely be a smoother animation. This will be a delicate balance between file size and performance.
- Use motion tweens instead of shape tweens whenever possible.
- Don't have transparent things on top of transparent things. When transparencies overlap, the processor usage multiplies.
- Keep your frames per second at or below 30. I've seen many applications trying to run at 60+ fps. I usually set my applications at around 24.
- Use easing only where you need it.
- Learn about cacheAsBitmap. This can speed things up or make them slower, it depends on the context. If you have an animation, keep cacheAsBitmap as false, the cached bitmap will have to be regenerated every time the animation changes, so this isn't worth it. However, on a vector graphic that doesn't change within itself, cacheAsBitmap might be a good choice.
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/as_bestpractices.html

Little People - a tiny street art project

Little handpainted people, left in London to fend for themselves.

http://little-people.blogspot.com
http://slinkachu.com/

"The Age of Stupid" Interface Design

Oscar nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite interacting with the futuristic interface designed specifically for the film by designer Taiyo Nagano.
http://www.jellyhunters.com/

After Effects Expressions

Property attributes and methods (expression reference) - a way to combine programming with motion graphics within After Effects. Opens up a whole new world.
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/9.0/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-79f8a.html

Inside the Iron Man HUD

On set Q&A with Kent Seki, Visualization and HUD Supervisor on the movie Iron Man.

"Think about how graphics 10-20 years were green monographs because of the monochromatic monitors. Today in movies, monitors are all pretty much cyan. What’s it going to be tomorrow? White, clean white with color accents for attention."

http://www.uiresourcecenter.com/user-interface-design/articles/inside-iron-man-part2.html?s=1_1

Mark Coleran, Playback Graphics Designer

Mark Coleran is a visual designer who has worked in a wide range of design disciplines from print graphics to motion design and visual effects. His work in motion graphics has included television show titles and branding through to his specialist area; the design, creation and animation of fantasy user interfaces for film. Over the years this work has seen him create interfaces for such films as The Bourne Ultimatum, Tomb Raider, Mission Impossible 3, The Island and Mr and Mrs Smith.
http://blog.coleran.com/category/portfolio/screendesign

What Barry Says (Neo-Conservative War Corporatism)

Animation by Simon Robson for The Knife Party, which led to "Taking Liberties", an award-winning documentary on the eroding of civil rights, available on DVD.

The Fun Theory (Piano Stairs)

More fun at http://www.thefuntheory.com/

Lecielestbleu

Multimedia conception and interactivity.

http://www.lecielestbleu.com/html/main_lceb01.htm

Everything You Want, Right Now!

Steve Lambert's inaugural solo show at Charlie James Gallery “EVERYTHING YOU WANT, RIGHT NOW!” April 25 to June 6 extended!

Steve Lambert solo show walkthrough from Steve Lambert on Vimeo.

http://visitsteve.com/work/everything-you-want/

Fire Poi at Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival - Albert Park, Auckland, New Zealand for the Chinese New Year celebrations. 27th February.

VJ Woody current rig

Two preview monitors, two laptops (one audio, one video), 100GB external hard drive, MIDI drum machine, Panasonic WJ-AVE 5 Video Mixer, RF wireless pincamera, 4-way video switcher, DVD Player, DVD Recorder, in a twin DJ turntable flightcase (also known as a "coffin case"). It also has power conditioning.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vj_woody/3972921754/