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July 26, 2011

Nike Hyperfuse Product Preview @ The Tramshade London

(* Source: World Sport News *)

Nike Sportswear Hyperfuse Products Preview | The Tramshade London

After a mid-day pause following the presentation by Nike Innovation Leads Shane Kohatsu and Ben Shaffer at Greenwich’s Royal Observatory , the assembled media trekked over to Shoreditch neighborhood of London for an up-close look of the new Hyperfuse product line. Though its no longer the lightest performance footwear out on the market, Nike Sportswear emphasized the 3 tenets that truly made Hyperfuse unique in its category, a perfectly symmetrical application in achieving stability, breathability and durability, with 3 separate curtain walls projecting the new Joey Duck: Unstoppable film by director Remi Paringaux. The “trifecta theme” continued on throughout the exhibition at The Tramshade event space, from the triangular layout of display forms to the evening’s “insightful dinner”, where the chef on site created an one-of-the-kind menu highlighting Hyperfuse’s 3 elements. Well aware of post-dinner doldrums, Nike asked 2 of London’s known street ballers for a few quick pick-up game with members of the media. No wagers were on the line with the exception of a few bruised egos, but in all, the event was one of concise execution.

90008 nike sportswear hyperfuse product preview london 05 Nike Sportswear – Hyperfuse Products Preview | Tramshade London

Nike Sportswear Hyperfuse Products Preview | The Tramshade London

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July 25, 2011

NikeSportswear Presents Futebol Arte: Brasil – Recap at The Montalban

(* Source: The Original Winger *)



Home to the legendary Pele and holder of five World Cup championship titles, and also the only team to have played in every single World Cup, Brasil is pretty much a uncontested soccer superpower, and almost a Lakers equivalent for the game. As the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be officially kicking off with fanfare, celebration, team loyalty, cheering, yelling and more, labels and stores all over the world have been turning their soccer fervor up a few notches with exhibitions, displays, parties and goodies. The City of Angels and Nike Sportswear are not ones to fall off the bandwagon, and had held a Brazilian themed night to celebrate the history, art, culture and soccer fever of Brazil at The Montalban.

The night featured a rooftop reception with drummers, capoeiristas and a live Bossanova band, before the guests moved into the theater for the screening of Cadencia directed by Daren Bartlette, which explores the cadence and rhythm of Rio through arts, soccer, dance, and everything else Brazilian. The night also marks the launch fo the Brasil Black Pack, and closed with a cocktail reception where guests mingled and sipped Brazilian concoctions. Since Brazil is one of the most watched and up-and-coming countries (it will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics) in terms of culture, arts, design and economy, it would be a good country to get acquainted with.

Futebol Arte: Brasil at The Montalban | Event Recap

 Futebol Arte: Brasil at The Montalban | Event Recap

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July 18, 2011

Nike Launches a New Action Sports Campaign "The Chosen"

(* Source: PopSop.com *)



With young, dynamic and active target audience Nike keeps on inventing smart and interactive marketing campaigns. Yesterday the brand announced the launch of ‘The Chosen,’ a new global ‘Just Do It’ campaign starring a number of action sports stars. The main point of the campaign is a film featuring skate god Paul Rodriguez (P-Rod), Olympic snowboarder Danny Kass, surf genies Julian Wilson and Laura Enever. The film was shot in many countries of the world at night with lighting and pyrotechnics effects reminding of a live rock concert with a main theme ‘I got a thing’ performed by Hanni El Khatib.

As ‘The Chosen’ will go on, Nike will be providing an opportunity for athletes to participate in the sports featured in the film, arranging sport events globally. A video contest inviting skaters, surfers, BMX riders, snowboarders and skiers to submit a video of their crew in order to be chosen for an unforgettable travel with the Nike team while getting access to premium Nike products is another part of the campaign.

“‘The Chosen’ represents a new voice for ‘Just Do It’, a passing of the torch to the next generation of sports heroes,” said Davide Grasso, Nike’s Vice President of Global Brand Marketing. “This is a defining moment for Nike Action Sports as we evolve this iconic campaign to bring it to new audiences, in new ways around the world.”

The campaign will take place in 23 markets including the USA, China, Brazil, Western Europe and Australia. In US the film will air on TV on Sunday, June 5 during Game 3 of the NBA Finals at 8 PM EDT. The 3-D version is to be watched at cinemas over the 4th of July Weekend.
All the events are to be followed on the Nike Facebook page, on Twitter and at the official Nike web-site.

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Adidas’ ‘All-In’ Projection Mapping Elevates Music And Sport To The Same Level

 
Adidas’ ‘All-In’ campaign received significant attention when it launched last week (including the sometimes surprising selection of celebrity ‘athletes’). Supporting the campaign’s launch was a 3D projection mapping event in Paris, in which the brand showcased athletes across multiple sports; including football/soccer, skating, and even…music. 3D projections were a significant trend last year, with brands like Ralph Lauren, Target and others employing the visual technology to bring ideas to life. It clearly shows no sign of ceasing this year.

In investigating the campaign further, we also found it interesting how Adidas is engaging fans in the campaign in both the US and the UK, with the apparent strategy of empowering fans to demonstrate their talent, passion for sports, and their “game face,” by submitting their stories describing why they’re “all in.” As Piers noted last week, the objective of the campaign is to
promote the idea that when you love your game, whatever that game may be, you put your all into it.
To that end, select respondents will be showcased differently in each country — either in an MTV commercial in the US, or as a reporter at a music event in the UK (for example).
We can’t help but notice the slight resemblance between Adidas’ new campaign and Pumas’ ‘After Hours Athlete’ campaign. While Adidas’ ‘All In Campaign’ is a more direct celebration of athletes — as well as music makers and lovers, the combination of music directly alongside sports threw us off just a bit.

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June 27, 2011

A New Era of Multiplatform Marketing

(* Source: Mark Terry *)

new_era

Fashion brand New Era and London creative agency The Tailor of Shoreditch are launching a consumer-led global marketing campaign comprising digital, user generated content and social media platforms, plus consumer-curated events.

The communications initiative boasts elements around the world, including London, Berlin, Madrid, Dubai, South Africa, Paris, Stockholm, Milan, New York, LA, Rio, Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City, China, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

New Era is rolling a crowdsourcing competition for which creatives get two weeks to customise one of the brand’s caps, documenting the process, their influences and inspirations as they work. A touring international gallery show will showcase the 80 winning pieces of headgear, along with an installation featuring interactive screens with New Era and consumer generated film, as well as DJs.

“The campaign has been created to further establish the diversity of the New Era brand to our core consumers and to target tastemakers & key influencers,” says Astri Thomas Saunders, creative director, New Era.

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June 23, 2011

Stella Artois' The Black Diamond

(* Source: Dazed Digital *)



This summer sees a new immersive theatre experience as a collaboration with Felix Barratt via a dramatic mix of film and online ventures

"2 lovers. 1 diamond. A thief. A curse. A classic film noir movie coming straight from late night Paris in the 1960s. And you. You are the spectator, but also the actor. Only you will discover the secrets of The Black Diamond", says the blurb for the new immersive film-theatre experience to come from Stella Artois Black.

Set to be this summer’s most exciting filmic event, their latest venture into a theatre experience builds on the success of last year’s The Night Chauffeur, where alluring characters and one-to-one interactions mingle with the audience. Commissioned by Stella Artois Black and working with acclaimed immersive theatre producer Felix Barrett, The Black Diamond will be a dramatic mix of online experiences and real-life cinema in locations across Shoreditch, London.

The Black Diamond will run from 3rd – 21st July, offering just a few thousand lucky invitees the chance to be part of this unique immersive theatre experience; whilst the story will develop simultaneously online, giving a new depth to the production and offering an additional interactive perspective for the audience, whether they’ve attended the experience or not.

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June 21, 2011

ABSOLUT to Launch the ‘Cee Lo Distilled’ Film on Facebook

(* Source: PopSop.com *)
 


 

ABSOLUT Vodka, the iconic alcohol brand deeply involved into creative movement (focusing on visual art—its numerous themed projects prove it), also collaborates with music talents on short documentaries, celebrating the performers and their achievements. The brand is announcing a two-part film starring rapper and record producer Cee Lo Green—the first chapter of their work titled ‘Cee Lo Distilled’ will appear on the brand’s Facebook page on June 27.

As for now, ABSOLUT launched a 1’45’’ teaser, which previews the upcoming film produced by the brand in cooperation with The Fader. The new creation is taking viewers into the world of the celebrated rapper as he tells about his family and childhood, shares on what ‘being truly exceptional’ in today’s world of music means to him and what inspires and influences his work. In general, the movie seems to be just a new piece revolving around another performer—but since this musician has a unique charisma and talent, the film is really worth seeing. The second and the final chapter of the documentary will go online on July 6.

ABSOLUT creates an app on its Facebook page for almost every new thing the vodka brand launches. As part of the promotion of the recently presented SF edition, it introduced the ‘Make My Video’ digital extension on the social media hub, and for the release of the film starring Cee Lo, the brand created “a Facebook app along the lines of ‘Forget You,’ the ultimate break-up song—the app will send a custom video message direct from Cee Lo, commenting on friends’ Relationship Status updates (if you’ve currently updated as ‘In A Relationship,’ you may prove an easy target!),” psfk.com reports. So far, it’s quite hard to get the point of this application, but the whole thing will get clear shortly before the release. The protagonist of the film will become Guest Editor for 10 days surrounding the launch of ‘Cee Lo Distilled,’ and will be deeply engaged in communication with the brand’s fans on the page.

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June 19, 2011

Brands Need Permission to Play

(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)



Brands have a long historical association with the arts and there is much to be gained from forming strategic allegiances with both high art and street culture when it comes to artistic expression.

Art is a form of personal expression at its most raw and the majority of brands have products that can be manipulated by both designers and consumers in a wide range of interactive campaigns. Not to mention the vast sponsorship and curation opportunities that this well mined, yet still evolving, sphere of branded entertainment can offer.

However, as with all creative endeavours by brands – be they musical, artistic, cinematic or fashion based – it pays to understand, empathise and, most importantly, be accepted by the creators themselves.

The fact that consumers are more open than ever to brand involvement in the arts and culture puts brands in a unique position, however this must be tempered with an understanding that this doesn’t create an entirely open market. These are still areas that need to be handled with care.

Take for example Adidas’ latest foray into the world of street art. The brand recently started work on placing a series of ads on a prominent wall central to the Warsaw graffiti scene. However, instead of seamlessly becoming part of the wider cultural space artists reacted angrily to what they saw as the brand’s mishandling of the global monument to Polish hip-hop culture. So much so that the campaign has been countered by an adisucks Facebook page to the tune of over 25,000.

Adidas has created some sterling campaigns over the years working alongside Graffiti artists, such as its subway carriage makeover project in association with Footlocker way back in 2007, its iPhone Graffiti guide app in Germany and Berlin and the work it undertook with graffiti artists in China just last year. So, hopefully its illustrious heritage in this area may offset this recent backlash.

The old adage of not being able to please all of the people all of the time applies here, but it is also worth remembering that getting ‘permission to play’ is a vital and continual part of the cultural experience for brands – no matter how long you’ve been at it and how deep your commitments run.

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Infiniti Launches the First International Digital Art Competition

(* Source: Jenny Fillipetti *)




Infiniti has launched the Infiniti Digital Art Competition in partnership with designboom, the world’s first online art, architecture and design magazine, to find the rising stars of digital art, and discover new talent from across the globe.

The first ever international and free-to-enter year-long competition, composed of three distinct themes, will invite individuals of any age, country of origin, or artistic competency, to create innovative, creative, and spectacular designs, reflecting Infiniti products, but in the form of digital art. Participants may submit their work in two distinct categories: interior display (computer-generated videos, images and sculptures), and external projection.

Artists are invited to express their creativity using a combination of techniques, namely 2D or 3D projections holograms and can use elements of the Infiniti Centre retail outlet, such as the bespoke and luxury furnishings, to bring their creation to life. Any art submitted will need to meet key requirements which include a clear demonstration of the automaker’s Japanese DNA, whilst an Infiniti car must equally be present at the heart of the masterpiece.

Behind a closed door, members of the judging panel will combine their expertise to select three exterior and three interior winning artworks. Every artist who reaches this stage of the Infiniti Digital Art Competition will be rewarded with the opportunity to exhibit their art all over Europe during the opening ceremonies of dozens of new Infiniti Centres and in front of more than 1500 guests, either as a stunning internal centerpiece or external projection on the front of the unique buildings.

Commenting on the unveiling of the Infiniti Digital Art Competition, Jean-Pierre Diernaz, Marketing Director of Infiniti Europe, explains, “We recognise the pool of untapped artistic talent which remains hidden across the globe, and our aim is for individuals to be inspired by the core pillars of the Infiniti brand, and bring their work and skills to the forefront of the public eye, which for many, will be the very first time.”

The first of the three distinct themes entitled ‘Inspired Performance’, will ask each of the entrants to draw their ideas from the beautiful and flowing design profile of the Infiniti model range, and the vehicle manufacturer’s partnership with the Red Bull Racing team.

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Heineken Launching ‘The Spot’ to Experience Latino Culture

(* Source: PopSop.com *)

 

Heineken, the brand famous for supporting musical events and festivals will inspire New Yorkers with Latin music and culture this summer. Trendsetting Latino artists, musicians, DJs, filmmakers and fashionistas will hang out under one roof at The Spot by Heineken. Located in the heart of Soho’s Nolita neighborhood, The Spot by Heineken will be arranged in partnership with Remezcla, a leading creative house and content authority on emerging Latin culture. The three-week festival includes all elements of a performance space, art gallery and music concerts.

The Spot by Heineken launches on July 13 with over 12 events bringing together the targeted young audience for live concerts, art exhibits and film screenings, thoughtfully curated by Remezcla. Kinky, Tego Calderon, La Mala Rodriguez, Vico C and Carla Morrison, and the New York International Latino Film Festival are just some of the over 30 artists and organizations who will be part of the event’s line-up.

A digital access to The Spot’s content will also be available on the Remezcla web site, providing access to events, as well as original videos, music and interviews of performing artists.

“Latin music and culture have revolutionized urban trends, so we’re thrilled to be partnering with Remezcla to offer our audience an enhanced cultural experience this summer,” saidCarolyn Concepcion, Brand Manager of Heineken. “The Spot by Heineken offers the community access to some of today’s hottest and more unique Latinos in the music and art world through an engaging platform, all while strengthening Heineken’s support of creative and innovative minds in the Latino community.”

 

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June 15, 2011

Volvo: Art Session

(* Source: FruktComms *) 

Volvo is the latest brand to position its new vehicle, the Volvo s60, side-by-side with the world of art, following in the footsteps of BMW and Aston Martin (both of which let artist Jeff Koons loose with the paint brushes on their vehicles). Citroen also recently opted for an exterior and interior designmakeover from designer Orla Kiely for its DS3 model.

The Volvo ‘Art Session‘ campaign echoes a recentoutdoor effort from Mini in Japan, which saw artists spray-painting a Mini in the brand’s showroom within the Ginza district.  Volvo has recruited a swathe of artists – including Blackyard, Nevercrew, Suki Bamboo and Daim – to develop a constantly evolving work of public art at the centre of Zurich station.
‘10 artists, 1 car, 1 canvas’ runs the campaigns tag line, which will see the artists in question using the new model as a 3D canvas to develop limited edition live art. What is particularly notable here is the transient nature of the promotion which will see each artist painting directly over the work of their predecessor.

An accompanying website is offered up two webcams from different viewpoints so online viewers could follow the creative action as it unfolded. The overall campaign will then be turned into a short film which will be available to view online, ensuring that the creators work is captured in a tangible form once its has been effectively destroyed.

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June 13, 2011

Saab GB Sponsors a Roaming Pop-Up Cinema Experience

(* Source: PopSop.com *) 


Saab GB is pleased to announce their sponsorship of a brand new cinema experience: The Nomad—Driven by Saab. The Nomad is an exciting, roaming pop-up cinema that is set to tour 150 locations across the UK. Having perfected the art of ‘cinema al fresco’, the Nomad will showcasing an eclectic selection of films, ranging from classics to cult, noir and silent to mainstream guilty pleasure films, screenings will be held in beautiful and unexpected locations both in-door and out, from castles and abbeys to theatres, ballrooms and country house estates.

As part of the package, developed and negotiated by Carat Sponsorship via Pearl&Dean, Saab will also be showcasing a series of themed film events, bringing to life and celebrating its ethos of Independent Thinking. The Nomad’s first cinema viewing will take place in Stevenage on March 13 (The Wizard of Oz at Zippos Circus). The Nomad cinema experience immerses audiences not only in the film but adds elements of theater, music dressing and performance and this year’s nationwide tour is expected to attract more than 130,000 film lovers. Carat Sponsorship and Saab GB will be working closely with The Nomad to jointly market these events using a variety of traditional and more unconventional promotion.

Andy Biernacki, National Communications Manager at Saab GB said, “Saab is delighted to support The Nomad pop-up cinema adventure in 2011. The Nomad is an exciting and engaging new way to experience cinema and sits well with Saabs own culture of challenging convention, so we’re pleased to be involved in this innovative new venture. We’re currently in the middle of the biggest product offensive in our history with more new products set to launch over the next twelve months, as we continue to build brand momentum. The Nomad provides a great platform to reach a targeted audience.”

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June 12, 2011

Vice Style / Blackberry - Visionaries

(* Source: Vice.com *)

 

Vice Style and Blackberry bring you Visionaries, a three part series which takes a look at established and up-and-coming individuals who make fashion happen. Each installment will be dedicated to a different artist, designer, stylist, photographer or editor.

Together, BlackBerry and Vice Style bring you Visionaries, a look at the established and up-and-coming individuals who make fashion happen. Each film stars a seminal fashion visionary and a rising star of their choosing. The visionaries are the art directors, designers, stylists, photographers and editors who broke ground with their work and helped define the look of a generation. Their chosen luminaries have the potential to alter the landscape of fashion in years to come, embodying the fashion world’s predilection for innovation and subversion of the accepted blueprint.

These edifying films reveal the inimitable qualities that got these people where they are today - the skill, passion, luck, and unique personal vision. The fashion world is evolving faster than ever and influencing our culture in ways we never imagined, due in part to the democratisation of the internet. With the advent of fashion film well underway as the medium de jour, the lines between fashion and art are becoming increasingly blurred. Through a close up on these two individuals we ultimately observe how far the industry has come and where it is headed next.

The first in the series takes a look at designer Gareth Pugh - best known for this elaborate and eccentric designs. He invites us in to his studio to talk about his ongoing collaborations with fashion filmmaker Ruth Hogben and he explains why he believes film is so instrumental in the fashion industry. 

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Here Comes Brand Love: Edward Burns / Tiffany & Co

(*  Source: Voytech.com *)

 

Tiffany & Co has launched the WhatMakesLoveTrue.com website featuring filmic and photographic tales of real-life couples recalling their romantic experiences. The digital destination also explores New York, ‘the ultimate city for falling ecstatically in love’.

WhatMakesLoveTrue.com has bowed with a short film, Will You Marry Me?, from Edward Burns, created exclusively for the campaign. The actor/director shot the couples in iconic Manhattan settings, including the city’s skyline as a majestic backdrop, a cobbled street in Greenwich Village, and the Hudson River at dusk.

There’s also a Tiffany Tips: When Love Gets Serious channel, a compendium of guidelines for couples gleaned from the prestige brand’s 175 years’ experience of the subject. “Tips touch on mutual respect and the art of compromise; how important it is to be oneself, to listen carefully and keep excitement alive,” says Tiffany. “There are also clever caveats regarding money and family matters that help make true love run smooth.”

In addition, the brand has compiled a playlist of classic love songs as well as songs aimed at inspiring a new generation of romantics. One of them, singer-songwriter Josh Radin’s arrangement of the classic hit, You’re the First, the Last, My Everything, will be introduced exclusively on the website. Tiffany will release other exclusive new songs by various artists throughout the year.

Consumers can also enter the world of branded romance though a companion iPhone app, while lovers can post digital hearts on an online map of New York to suggest a favourite rendezvous or tell a location-based story, and share on Facebook.

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Oakley has eyes for Facebook

(* Source: BrandE.biz *)

 

Oakley will launch a six-month campaign, You Vs, on 13 June aimed at growing the European community on its new Facebook page. A teaser film, produced and seeded by Bigballs Films, will feature archive Oakley footage and voiceovers, plus a CTA to join and ‘like’ the brand’s Europe Facebook page.

Once they’re fans, users will then be directed to a microsite on Oakley.com/eu to view a series of interactive brand films featuring Oakley athletes like Mark Cavendish, Kevin Pieterson, Ian Poulter, Janko Tipsarevic and Sebastien Loeb.

In the films, the athlete invites the user to take part in a You-Vs-them sporting challenge where POV action sequences based on their decisions put the user at the centre of the action. And their experience will be personalised through graphics, text and photographs of them and their Facebook friends.

“With You Vs we’ve blurred the lines between the real and online worlds,” says Chris Kelly, director at Bigballs Films. “The personalised, interactive film format seamlessly blends social functionality with a competition mechanic to reward existing Oakley fans, as well as reaching out to new ones, making them feel part of something exclusive and exciting.”

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Duran and Lynch via Amex

(* Source: Mark Tery *)

 

The American Express Unstaged music programme paired up Duran Duran with David Lynch. The film director directed a webcast of the band’s show from LA on 23 March which will stream on Vevo and YouTube. The video event came one day after the release of Duran Duran’s 13th studio album, All You Need Is Now.

“The idea is to try and create on the fly, layers of images permeating Duran Duran on the stage,” says Lynch. “A world of experimentation and hopefully some happy accidents.”

“It’s a dream come true quite frankly,” says the band’s lead singer Simon Le Bon. “We are all such fans of his work and think he has a creative vision like no other.  In talking to him about what he is planning, we all believe this live-streamed performance is going to look nothing like anyone has ever seen before.”

The Unstaged: An Original Series From American Express platform showcases artists playing at landmark venues across the country, while tapping into influential filmmakers to direct the live-streams while using digital and social media to connect the online audience to the live shows. Additional artists are set to be unveiled in the coming months.

“There is no doubt that our Unstaged platform is quickly emerging as one of the music industry’s most innovative distribution and marketing models for musicians to share their music with their fans around the world,” said Jessica Igoe, vp of global sponsorship marketing, American Express.

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June 10, 2011

Levi’s, Swoon & Cat Solen Collaborate On Short Film

(* Source: Paloma Vazquez *) 

 

Following in the success of Levi’s Photo Workshop, the brand has expanded its focus and launched a Film Workshop to make professional filmmaking training accessible and available to all, at no cost. We discussed the launch in LA alongside MOCA’s Art in the Streets (a graffiti and street art retrospective) last week. Among the artists that Levi’s will collaborate with as part of the Workshop are graffiti artist Swoon and director Cat Solen, whom have released a short film they shot at MOCA.

Levi’s has made significant strides to elevate the brand directly into the contemporary ‘cultural fabric’. From photography to art, and from Pennsylvania to the broader US and internationally, Levi’s is doing some smart, compelling work to cultivate its perception as an interesting brand that quite simply ‘gets it’. We don’t know if this will necessarily sell more of Levi’s denim (at least not in the short term) – but it will create curiosity and relevance for the brand as it supports creativity and art, among both the professionals it partners with and the average folks that can practice their own art (with Levi’s as both patron and curator).

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June 06, 2011

‘Absolut Dalston’ Featured At Land Of Kings Festival

(* Source: Kyana Gordon *)

 

Intended as a celebration of Dalston’s rich and diverse cultural tapestry, Land of Kings encompasses music, theatre, art and food, spread over multiple venues between April 28th & 29th. Now in its third year, it is a glowing testament to one of London’s thriving creative communities with the homegrown festival serving as an alternative royal knees-up to Prince William and Kate’s nuptials. Showcasing a wide-ranging program of events that span pulsating basement dens where revelers are treated to DJ sets from the likes of Romy XX, Hannah Holland and local talent Shut Up & Dance and rising MC Ghostpoet.

This year’s festival features an exclusive collaboration with Absolut Vodka and multi-media director, Saam Farahmand aptly called ’Absolut Dalston’. Launching on Thursday, the 28th with a ‘shooting party’ where festival goers will be filmed dancing, with the footage being used as live, remixed visuals for the following night’s party. On Friday 29th, Saam curates a one-off, audio-visual DJ event with mash-up pioneers 2manyDJs for an almighty Land Of Kings rave.

Keeping in line with the royal theme, the Dalston Darlings will be celebrating the Wedding their way by hosting a daytime Royal Cafe atop the Dalston Roof Garden, for the space’s season premiere.  Looking out over the E8 skyline, the ladies will be serving guests high tea, gin cocktails and a BBQ.  Lovestruck couples have the opportunity  to wed on the day in a (not quite legally binding) ceremony. Elsewhere, Havana Club Paladar will debut a two-day London vs. Havana extravaganza, curated by Blacktronica’s Charlie Dark at MC Motors, a unique warehouse space set in the heart of Dalston, featuring rare films, secret story telling and fresh sounds from both cultures. And for the foodies, a brand new addition will be Yianni Papoutsis and his Meatwagon army. The award-winning burger maestros will be making their first public appearance since the runaway success of #Meateasy, by bringing their own special something to the celebration.

 

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June 03, 2011

"Being Henry" An Interactive Film By Range Rover

(* Source: Paloma Vazquez *)

‘Being Henry’: An Interactive Film By Range Rover

Land Rover, The Brooklyn Brothers London, Somesuch & Co with director Nick Gordon and Less Rain have collaborated to produce Being Henry, a fully interactive ‘Action –Love – Fantasy – Comedy – Adventure’ film about choices. The online film affords viewers the opportunity to make Henry’s choices, via a choose-your-own-adventure style interaction. Leo Fitzpatrick of The Wire plays Henry throughout the film’s nine different story lines and 32 potential endings. Starting out as a an apparently normal, mundane day, that story may escalate from deciding on breakfast cereal to shooting rats to being kidnapping and tortured by instrument of choice, among others. The outcome depends on the viewer’s choices on Henry’s behalf.

The theme and idea behind the interactive film – choices, is meant to embody the wide variety of options available the Range Rover Evoque. Ultimately, the choices made by the viewer on Henry’s behalf translate into their perfect car. Very subtle color, situational and emotional references in each choice are used to compile a personalized auto recommendation to each viewer.

The film, which is part of the Pulse of the City campaign we’ve covered previously, is due to be launched to all English speaking markets on May 5th; this 24 hr advance screening is exclusive to PSFK readers, before the campaign’s global roll-out. The film, along with the overall Pulse of the City campaign, represent a major shift by Range Rover in terms of brand tonality and target, allowing it to engage a  younger audience than what it traditionally has appealed to.

The Land Rover – Brooklyn Brothers London collaboration has resulted in a highly customizable, unique piece of branded content and interactive storytelling. We findBeing Henry interesting because of its interactivity and for its subtle and final integration of the auto’s features and benefits at the film’s conclusion. Proof that branded content can be both entertaining and relevant to and informative of the brand that sponsors it.

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July 28, 2009

The Pirate Bay: Distributing the World’s Entertainment for $3,000 a Month

(* Source: ThreeBillion *)

 

Janko Roettgers says...

Much has been written in recent weeks about the future of The Pirate Bay, as well as about BitTorrent piracy in general. The sale of the site spooked some, while others are hoping to transform the new Pirate Bay into a legitimate, multimillion-dollar business. One aspect that has been largely overlooked is that the current Pirate Bay, due to the nature of P2P, is actually a relatively small and cost-efficient operation. The site’s trackers facilitate countless downloads of Hollywood blockbusters and music albums, but according to an insider, running these trackers could cost as little as $3,000 per month.

The implications of a number like that are huge. Not only does it mean that anyone with a medium-sized checkbook could replicate The Pirate Bay’s infrastructure in a heartbeat, but it also casts shadows over the hopes of anyone thinking about selling digital content online. Music fans were not longer willing to pay $20 for audio CDs once they noticed that blank CDs only cost a dime. How are they going to feel about download stores knowing that running the world’s biggest download service is that dirt cheap?

Earlier this week, when I was researching my story about federated tracker networks I had the chance to talk to some insiders close to The Pirate Bay as well as some folks working on newer projects aimed at picking up where it is leaving off. During one of these conversations, a person with inside knowledge of The Pirate Bay’s infrastructure estimated the total monthly costs of running the site’s trackers to be around $3,000. Compare that with recent reports that put YouTube’s bandwidth costs anywhere between $130,000 and a million dollar per day, and you’ll understand why I haven’t been able to get that number out of my head. : $3,000. What a steal. Literally.

Of course, that number doesn’t actually reflect all the costs associated with running The Pirate Bay in its current form. The site itself clocks more than a billion page views per month, according to statements from the prospective new owners, which should amount to a whole lot of additional bandwidth. The complete Pirate Bay set-up consists of a little more than 30 servers, of which less than a third are dedicated to tracking torrents.

Still, the impact of The Pirate Bay’s trackers are enormous. It tracks up to 2 million torrents and connects around 20 millions peers at any given time. Researchers estimate that 50 percent of the world’s publicly available torrents are tracked through The Pirate Bay. So how can just a massive system be so cheap?

The answer lies in the way the BitTorrent protocol work. Tracker servers never actually touch the files that are exchanged between users, and don’t compile huge lists of file names to query, either. Instead, these machines just collect the hash value of each torrent tracked. Users’ clients then query a tracker with these hash values, asking them for the IP addresses of others sharing the file associated with a particular hash value. So the whole message flow between client and server consists of just a few bytes, even if the files exchanged are massive Blu-ray videos.

I finished Chris Anderson’s new book “Free” this week, and I couldn’t help but think about The Pirate Bay’s $3,000 tracker while I was reading his theory of how the ever-decreasing costs of processing power, bandwidth and storage inevitably bring down the prices of digital goods as well. In the book, Anderson writes:

“In a competitive market, price falls to the marginal cost. The Internet is the most competitive market the world has ever seen, and the marginal costs of the technologies on which it runs – processing, bandwidth and storage – get closer and closer to zero every year. Free becomes not just an option but an inevitability.”

Of course, content owners would rightfully argue that the cost of producing a Hollywood movie or a TV show is not zero. But that’s beside the point. If all it takes to distribute Hollywood’s entire creative output online is $3,000 a month, then there’s always gonna be someone who will offer this stuff for free — and you’d better find a really good way to compete with that.

 

Posted by brian tiong at 10:50 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

October 22, 2007

Warner Bros. launches ‘I Am Legend: Survival’ game playable in Second Life


(* Source : Dennis Bouchand *)

iamlegend.png

Warner Bros. Pictures unveiled an original, online, multiplayer first-person shooter/RPG game playable in Second Life. The largest and most expansive Second Life game ever launched in support of a film release, I Am Legend: Survival transports players into an eerie replica of over 60 acres of New York City set in the chaotic year preceding the movie. The future of mankind hangs in the balance as players choose to play in either of two rival factions, uninfected and infected. Uninfected characters must fight to survive as they desperately seek the cure for the terrible virus that is destroying mankind. Infected characters have only one objective: to stop uninfected characters at all costs.

The game features player-customizable avatars loosely based on characters in the film and New York City-based environments that change and expand over time, and supports both voice and text chat for in-game multiplayer communication. The game is available as a free download.

I Am Legend: Survival is inspired by the upcoming feature film “I Am Legend,” starring Will Smith as Robert Neville.

 

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October 18, 2007

Disney Launches 10-Week Online Treasure Hunt


(* Source : Karl Greensberg *)

DISNEY IS LAUNCHING AN ONLINE program called "The World's Biggest Treasure Hunt" at Disney.com/NationalTreasure that serves as both a multi-week treasure hunt game as well as the official film Web site for Walt Disney Pictures' and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," starring Nicolas Cage, which opens Dec. 21.

The 10-week site allows users to play a variety of online games and view film content. The site dangles a chance to win prizes, including a new Mercedes-Benz filled with treasure, with winners to be announced on "Entertainment Tonight" before the film opens.

Mercedes' C-Class sedan is also featured in a chase scene in the film.

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September 17, 2007

MySpace Goes Hollywood


(* Source : Ronald Groover *)

The social networking Web site will distribute videos from big-time producers in an effort to counter rival Facebook .

http://images.businessweek.com/story/07/370/0912_quarterlife.jpg

Herskovitz directs a scene from quarterlife, a show that will debut on MySpace

Tired of watching skateboarding dogs and exploding diet cola bottles? MySpace.com, in a race to keep users from sampling such consumer-generated videos on YouTube (GOOG) and other sites, is going Hollywood. The online social network owned by News Corp. (NWS) has been taking meetings, holding power lunches, and returning calls from well-placed agents to lengthen a growing lineup of professionally produced videos for its large (and increasingly over-30) audience.

The most recent case in point comes Sept. 13, when MySpace will announce it has signed with Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, producers of the Leonardo DiCaprio film Blood Diamond and the 1980s TV show thirtysomething, to distribute via MySpace a series of 8-minute videos called quarterlife.

The series, which tells the story of twentysomething writers, actresses, and dancers trying to break into show business, is being trumpeted as the first "network quality" show to be produced specifically for the Web. By that, the producers mean it won't be cheap to make—far more than the estimated $5,000 a pop it cost to produce Michael Eisner's Prom Queen, itself considered higher in quality than much online fare (BusinessWeek, 4/9/07).

High Production Values

How much more? The production tab will probably run higher than $80,000 an installment, based on Herskovitz' estimate that each 48-minute episode will cost somewhere north of $500,000. Each episode will then be divided into six installments to be distributed online.

The quarterlife deal comes two days after MySpace's agreement to team up with newly launched independent Web producer My Damn Channel, which has signed on well-known talent like sitcom writer and comedian Harry Shearer and Rolling Stones music producer Don Was to create their own videos.

MySpace has also inked other high-end content deals lately, including getting short "minisode" versions of classic TV shows such as The Jeffersons from Sony (SNE) and programming from sports leagues like the National Basketball Association. In July, the social network also signed Dark Horse Comics to create its own channel of online comic books.

More here 

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September 07, 2007

Habbo Holding Film Awards in Virtual World


(* Source: Mashable *)

Kristen Nicole says:

Habbo, the online virtual world, is holding its first worldwide Habbowood Digital Movie Awards. Using the MovieMaker tool, filmmakers are encouraged to create animated movies. The top film in Habbo.com will be entered into the “worldwide” competition where it will go up against the top films from 18 other Habbo communities. The winner gets a trip for two to Hollywood.

With the MovieMaker tool, you can edit your film and use a provided set of sets, props, special effects, music, etc. to create sets for virtual avatars to act out your movie. This editing tool supports up to ten different scenes to create a film that’s 5 minutes in length. The Habbo community will choose the ten finalists, based on page views and ratings. Editors will choose a winner from the top ten, and there will be awards handed out for Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actor and Best Actress as well. These awards will be presented live at a virtual gala in Habbowood.

Clearly the virtual “movie” world is heating up. Origin Digital now offers on-demand streaming media to be used in virtual worlds, while the rights for a documentary filmed in Second Life have been acquired by HBO.

    habbo-s.png

 Check Youtubevideo

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September 03, 2007

Babelgum Launches Film Festival


(* Source: Sean P. Aune *)

Babelgum

Spike Lee, noted filmmaker of such films as Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X, is lending his name and talents to Babelgum’s online film festival. Starting today, and running through February 15th, 2008, filmmaker’s can submit their works to Babelgum. After the 15th, the films will be viewable by the public, who will do the first round of voting. After the top 10 films have been picked in each category, the films will move on to a panel of industry judges to determine the final winners.

The rules are fairly simple: the films must have screened at an international film festival between Jan. 2007 and Feb. 2008 and run for 45 minutes or less. The six categories you can submit for include Babelgum Looking for Genius Award, Babelgum Short Film Award, Babelgum Documentary Award, Babelgum Animation Award, Babelgum Social/Environment Award, and Babelgum Spot/Advertising Award.

Babelgum uses a form of peer-to-peer technology to assist in it’s sharing of high resolution videos, much the same as Joost. Users can create their own channels consisting of professional video material that ranges from mainstream to niche content.

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January 26, 2007

Cinema 2.0

(* Source: Jeff Squires *)

 


Swarmofangels2 A Swarm of Angels is an ambitious new project that's taking aim at the traditional Hollywood approach to making blockbusters and giving it a web 2.0 makeover.

The project is attempting to create a film in an entirely new way.

We are gathering 50,000 people in a giant new media experiment to be part of an exclusive community which funds and helps make this film. We want people to freely download, share and remix the feature film and all original media made for this project and have embraced the flexible digital-age copyright of Creative Commons toward this end.

After paying £25 to join, participants are allowed to vote on major decisions in the film, contribute to the actual development and production of the film through open source technologies, and are encouraged to share and sample portions of the film for their own outside work.

A Swarm of Angels

 

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