This is a brilliant concept from Brooklyn-based designer Roland Tiangco. Not only is this piece highly interactive, but the interactive element itself compliments the message beautifully. According to Roland, this is the first in an upcoming series of posters so we`ll be sure to monitor his progress and keep you updated!
When visuals and audio compliment each other, good tings happen. Here we experience another fan-made video that has been so well received, the artist has actually made it their official music video!
Toolbox
Software: Adobe After Effects
Plugin: Trapcode Particular v2. and Trapcode SoundKeys
Additional:
1. Imported the audio and set up two Soundkey layers, one for the piano and one for the strings
2. Then worked the particles and the particle subsystem and linked things like: the emission, turbulence, velocity, spin amplitude and the strength of the fields to the Soundkey outputs
3. Set up the colors with 2 different palettes and a lot of trial and error. There’s a lot of randomness involved so there was also a lot of luck
After scouring the hundreds of comments, I also stumbled across an equally impressive video with similar effects using different programs and plugins. I don’t enjoy the music selection as much but the animation is beyond impressive.
Created with 3DSmax (FumeFX, Krakatoa, VRay) and Digital Fusion by DeKo
In his latest project, Singapore-based street artist TR853-1 aka Trase-1 uses stenciled skateboarders with great success. In this series it’s all about location, location, location. By incorporating the stencil skaters into their environment/surroundings the little guys take on a gravity-defying life of their own.
One of Singapore’s prominent activists in the local street art movement, Trase has been actively involved in grooming Singapore’s young street art scene since he started graffiti writing in ’99. From his initial beginnings as a young graffiti artist scrawling the streets, he has embraced both street art and fine arts into his practice resulting in his own unique style in juxtaposition of text and imagery.
A full-time street artist, Trase is regarded as one of the leading young artists responsible for pushing boundaries and overseeing the progression of the local graffiti art movement. Awarded the inaugural Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award in 2005, Trase was given the opportunity the extend his education in Art, eventually graduating with an Honors degree in 2007.
Trase’s specialty in handling the spray paint has won him several awards and competitions, at both local and international levels. He has also exhibited numerous works in several world traveling exhibitions, mainly in Asia, USA and Germany.
Student, fan, and super-talented Joerg Barton has created a beautiful music video for French singer Soko’s hit song, I’ll Kill Her.
Completed as a university project with $0 budget, this puts countless big-budget mainstream music videos to shame.
Dare I say it’s even better than *gasp* Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy video? Judge for yourself after watching both.
They aren’t identical but certainly have a similar feel:
Song aside, which video did you like more?
According to Joerg, the video was made using: Cinema 4D for 3D modeling and 3D Animation, Xfrog (a Cinema 4D plugin) for modeling and animating the plants and ornamental shapes, and After Effects for 2D Animation and compositing.
So who is Soko? Her real name is Stéphanie Sokolinski, and she is a French singer and actress born in Bordeaux, France, to a Polish family. I’ll Kill Her made it big in Denmark, Austrailia, Belgium and the Netherlands. She was catapulted into the spotlight despite the fact she has yet to put out an album. (source)
Soko – I’ll Kill Her lyrics
So, of course, you were supposed to call me tonight
you were supposed to call me tonight
we would have gone to the cinema
and, after, to the restaurant, the one you like in your street
we would have slept together, have a nice breakfast together
and then a walk in a park together, how beautiful, and then
you would have said “i love you” in the cutest place on earth
where some butterflies are dancing with the fairies
i would have waited like a week or two
but you never tried to reach me
no, you never called me back
you were dating that bleach-blonde girl
if i find her, i swear, i swear…
i’ll kill her, i’ll kill her
she stole my future, she broke my dream
i’ll kill her, i’ll kill her
she stole my future when she took you away
i would have met your friends, we would have had a drink or two
they would have liked me, ’cause sometimes i’m funny
i would have met your dad, i would have met your mum
she would have said “please, can you make some beautiful babies?”
so we would have had a boy called tom and a girl called susan, born in japan
i thought it was a love story, but you don’t want to get involved
i thought it was a love story, but you’re not ready for that …
me neither. i’ll kill her
she stole my future, she broke my dream
i’ll kill her, i’ll kill her
she stole my future when she took you away
she’s a bitch you know, all she’s got is blondeness
not even tenderness, yeah, she’s cleverless
she’ll dump your arse for a model called brendan
he will pay for beautiful surgery ’cause he’s full of money
i would have waited like a week or two
but you never tried to reach me
no, you never called me back
you were dating that bleach-blonde girl
if i find her, you know, i swear, i swear, i swear …
Strawberry Swing is an audio-visual delight. An uplifting song by Coldplay, complimented beautifully with a stunning concept by visual artists Shynola. Lyrics and details on the making of after the vid, enjoy!
Had you had this idea up your sleeves for a while, or was it a direct response to the Strawberry Swing song?
No, we always pitch specifically for the song. That has meant on previous occasions that we have stared at a blank wall for a week and found no inspiration at all. We’ve then had to pass on those projects. But we’d still rather work that way. The work is pointless agony if you’re not inspired. Our hope is that when the video is finished and you’ve watched it, that afterwards when you hear the song you can’t help but think of the video.
What’s the inspiration behind the story in the video?
First and foremost we really wanted it to be nonsensical and almost dream-like. We also knew that the technique itself would also be a lot for the eye to take in. So when we had the idea of a day with a superhero on some weird adventure we chose to frame the journey with a very simple, easy-to-understand narrative: superhero saves girl from baddy. So it’s pretty weird, but makes some sort of sense. I saw the video referred to as “ten-steps-left-of-centre” which we take as a great compliment. I might even get that as a tattoo.
How much did you try to tie the plot in with the Strawberry Swing lyrics and the music?
We never see the point in following lyrics literally. We would be adding nothing. We do however try and capture the feel of the song – what the music suggests to us.
So how did you do it?
Again we had pretty much all of the animation roughly blocked-out beforehand using computers. It was just a matter of taking one frame at a time with our grid for reference. Luckily, you only need to draw or rub out the bits that have moved since the last frame. We also had this cool portable monitor while filming, which showed you a live feed from the camera, blended with the previous take and our pre-vis.
Was that the most time consuming part of the process?
It was all pretty gruelling. The thing that sticks in my mind was when Chris is falling with the umbrella. If you look closely he is lying on a tiny square skateboard we had made. For each frame we had to drag him an inch this way or that to make him swing. There was a lot of sore backs after the shoot. Always bend at the knee. And back up your hard-drive.
They were sitting
They were sitting in the strawberry swing
Every moment was so precious
They were sitting
They were talking in the strawberry swing
Everybody was for fighting
Wouldn’t wanna waste a thing
Cold, cold water
Bring me round
Now my feet won’t touch the ground
Cold, cold water
What ya say?
It’s such
It’s such a perfect day
It’s such a perfect day
I remember
We were walking up to strawberry swing
I can’t wait ’til the morning
Wouldn’t wanna change a thing
People moving all the time
Inside a perfectly straight line
Don’t you wanna just curve away
When it’s such
When it’s such a perfect day
It’s such a perfect day
ahh…
Now the sky could be blue
I don’t mind
Without you it’s a waste of time
Now the sky could be blue
I don’t mind
Without you it’s a waste of time
Now the sky could be blue
Could be grey
Without you I’m just miles away
Now the sky could be blue
I don’t mind
Without you it’s a waste of time
One of the great marketing campaigns of this millennium, BMW’s The Hire was lauded for its embrace of online marketing and branded content. Bolstered by tangible results and heaps of awards, it also helped launch the career of Clive Owen into the mainstream.
The Setup
Like most car companies, BMW traditionally executes advertising campaigns (i.e., television, print and radio) to support new vehicle launches. However in 2000, there was no new vehicle launch for BMW, so the opportunity to spend advertising budget on pure branding arose (a marketer’s dream).
The Key Insight
Through extensive consumer research, BMW found their typical customer was 46 years old, with a median income of about $150,000 (USD). Two-thirds were male, married, and had no children. Delving deeper, they discovered this nugget:
Roughly 85% of BMW purchasers used the Internet before purchasing
On April 26, 2001, the now defunct bmwfilms.com launches with a series of short films available for viewing. Clive Owen plays the driver, a man who goes from place to place (in sexy BMW’s of course), getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.
The series launches with Ambush directed by John Frankenheimer and featuring the BMW 7 series.
Along with Ambush, four other short films were released in 2001, including:
– Chosen directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) featuring the BMW 5 series >>> scroll to the bottom of this article
– The Follow directed by Wong Kar-wai with Forest Whitaker, Mickey Rourke, and Adriana Lima and featuring the BMW 3 series and Z3 roadster >>> scroll to the bottom of this article
– Powder Keg directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 grams, Babel) featuring the BMW X5 >>> scroll to the bottom of this article (love the song selection in this one)
– Star directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch) with Madonna and featuring the BMW M5
With the first series a roaring success, BMW builds on the momentum releasing three more films in 2002. Ridley Scott takes over as producer, and the focus shifts to the then-new BMW Z4 Roadster.
The second series opens with Ticker, directed by Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces) and featuring Don Cheadle and Ray Liotta
This film was follwed up with Hostage, directed by John Woo (Face/Off, MI:2) >>> scroll to the bottom of this article
The campaign’s final spot, Beat the Devil airs November 21, 2002. It’s directed by Tony Scott and includes an all-star cast of James Brown, Gary Oldman, Danny Trejo and Marilyn Manson.
Success and Accolades
Tangible Love
– In 2001, BMW sales increased by 12.5% compared to 2000, surpassing the 200,000 mark for the first time in history
– The following year, BMW’s sales rose 17.2 percent between 2001 and 2002, helping the automaker to outsell Mercedes and placing it second only to Lexus in the luxury-car market
– During the four month core of the promotion (series 1), the films were viewed more than 11 million times, with more than 100+ million views to date
Industry Love
– Awarded the Cyber Lion Grand Prix at Cannes in 2002 (Cannes is the ‘Academy Awards’ of advertising)
– Awarded “Best Excuse for Broadband” at WIRED Magazine’s third annual Rave Awards in 2001
– Recipient of two Grand Clio Awards and Best of Show at the One Show Interactive competition
– In 2002, the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival’s “Best Action Short” award was given to director John Woo for Hostage
– Won the first-ever Titanium Lion, the highest honor at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. The award recognizes campaigns that caused ‘‘the industry to stop in its tracks and reconsider the way forward.’’
– In 2003, The Hire series was inducted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
COST: The five initial films cost an estimated $15 million, and the three made in 2002 cost about $10 million.
Hailing from Argentina and currently residing in London, England, designer/illustrator Gianluca Fallone has an impressive portfolio, having done work for the likes of MTV and Nike. Unfortunately there’s no information about the artist available on his website but there were some tidbits available from a Cool Hunter segment:
– Fallone’s stance is simple – ‘I love type and design, and I particularly like when both are present’
– He is inspired by Japanese animation and comic books
At only 23 years of age, sky’s the limit for this talented artist. We’ll be sure to check in on him again shortly.
This is an absolutely breathtaking performance by Kseniya Simonova on the popular show Ukraine’s Got Talent. The 24-year old artist specializes in sand animation, a style of live performance art. Using a simple light table, Kseniya uses sand to tell her story. The canvas is in a constant state of change as she moves seamlessly from scene to scene. Paced beautifully to haunting music; it is easy to see why she was declared the inaugural winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent.
The scene below is from the show’s finale and tells a story of World War II
This scene is from another episode of the show
For winning Ukraine’s Got Talent, Simonova took home a well-deserved $1,000,000 Ukranina Hryvnia or approximately $125,000 USD. Step aside Susan Boyle, a challenger has risen!
The video below is the result of an awesome time-lapse photography project by Eirik Solheim. Snapped in Oslo, Norway, the images were all taken from the same spot over the period of a year. Solheim also recorded simple background sounds through 2008. The sounds do not have an exact connection to each image, as the focus was simply obtaining audio from each season. Enjoy!
For a complete explanation regarding the technique and equipment used, please visit Eirik’s personal blog entry HERE
Asbestos is a street artist hailing from Dublin, Ireland. He specializes in mixed media artwork, combining mediums like photography and painting onto found objects (often wood). He then installs these pieces either back onto the streets, or consigns them to gallery wall spaces.
I’m not clear what his exact process is but the end-results are truly incredible. The photographs he incorporates really add a sense of realism, while the wood he uses (found in the streets) really gives the artwork that worn look and provides great texture and contrast.
Overflow – Mixed media on found wood with old book pages pasted on. The background has random written overflows of thought.
Street art is a little bit like Asbestos. Asbestos is all around us (in the walls and in the fabric of many buildings), but it often goes unnoticed. When we realize that it’s there it really gets our attention, it gets under our skin and we question it, it gets discussed. When I started putting work on the streets that what I wanted my work to do, to become part of the fabric of the city and to cause a reaction that makes people aware of their environment. So hence the name Asbestos.
– from Artasty interview
Portrait of Conor Harrington, on floor boards found in a skip on Camden St, Dublin, painted onto pages from Vasari’s ‘Lives of the Artists’. There are rusty old nails hammered into his foreheard, found in the same skip. The piece is 1.5m x 1m (59 inches x 39 inches)
Retreat of Reason – 140x190cm (55 inches x 75 inches), mixed media painted onto 5 separate pieces that are built from nearly 40 smaller triangles of wood found on streets and beaches in Dublin, Belfast, Kerry and London.
My background was in art history, studying in Dublin and Rome, but all the time working on my own ideas and skills. I never went to art school, so I’ve had to learn everything off friends or worked it out myself. But I do find it essential to know what came before me and to draw on the these influences. Caravaggio was a great influence as was Velasquez because his skin tones are mesmerizing. But I’ve also been influenced and inspired by the Pop art of Warhol, Raushenberg and Rosenquist
– from Artasty interview
From left to right – Amsterdam, East London, Venice
“Tagging is the life blood of a city. A clean city feels as if no one has any freedom, it feels as if a population has given up on expressing themselves.”
– from Alarm Press interview
The pieces (above and below) are available for sale at the Zero Cool Gallery. It will cost you though!
