Live Fashion
Posted in Branding on September 25th, 2009 by Admin[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFoxfNNY84]
There is a generation of young people whose fashion inspiration is coming entirely from the internet. They see fashion shows and shoots streamed live, read collection reports uploaded moments after the shows have finished, discuss them in web forums, and buy clothes online before they even get to the shops. Their experience of fashion is instant access and live. This is what SHOWstudio has set out to explore with the new Fashion Revolution exhibition, the highlight of the show being a live fashion shoot by Nick Knight. “We are in the midst of a revolution in fashion imagery,” he says. “Moving away from illustration and stills photography, we are now entering the restless world of interactive, self-created, digital-imaging: accessible, downloadable and constantly changing.”
Oprahpalooza
Posted in Miscellaneous on September 18th, 2009 by Admin[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIh7vxdVhE4]
We’re a bit over flash mobs but Oprah’s warrants a mention as our viral of the week tied with Denmark’s weird accidental sex tourism ad. To promote the 24th season of her talk show (the longest-running daytime TV show in the US), fans were brought together to surprise her in the world’s largest synchronised live mob dance. The dance began with one woman in the centre of the audience randomly jigging and gradually grew to a record 21,000 people, with live music from The Black Eyed Peas. The event was produced by Michael Gracey, who was also responsible for the T-Mobile flash mob dance in our local Liverpool Street station earlier this year.
Brixton Pound
Posted in Culture on September 18th, 2009 by Admin[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRVCNYOMEeM]
Thursday saw the launch of the Brixton Pound, a local currency for the London suburb. The B£ is being promoted as “money that sticks to Brixton”, aiming to support and sustain local business and production. The B£1 B£5, B£10, B£20 notes have the faces of home-grown celebs on the front, including civil rights activist Olive Morris and Vincent Van Gogh, as voted for by locals. Shoppers will benefit from special offers amongst the participating independent businesses. The project was established by Transition Town Brixton, an organisation campaigning for sustainable, community living. Totnes in Devon, Lewes in Sussex and Stroud in Gloucester have also introduced local currencies and there are 166 worldwide. The Brixton Pound is part of the anti-capitalist shift towards ‘common-cause economics’, in which individuals take into account the community interest as well as their own.
Logorama
Posted in Branding on September 18th, 2009 by Admin[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6962z69_P20]
Phil and Holly umming and aahhing over cups of Café Direct coffee on This Morning? Topshop sending home deliveries of its latest ranges to the Big Brother house? This week, the government announced plans to lift the ban on TV product placement, meaning new revenue streams for the broadcasting industry and we hope, more entertainment-driven, culturally-sensitive advertising. In the US, product placement is a mature market worth $7bn, and it has already been introduced in most EU countries. Experts believe deals could raise £125m annually for UK broadcasters in the next three years, arriving right at crunch time for a medium in transition. Publicly funded organisations such as the BBC will be excluded, as will kids’ TV. Have a watch of Logorama, the short film created entirely out of logos and brand mascots which premiered this week.
Cross-platform Storytelling
Posted in Digital on September 18th, 2009 by Admin[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6mIQOem-CI]
Level 26, the new crime novel from CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker is a really great example of cross-platform storytelling, merging the book with TV. The reader can leap from paper to cyberspace as they reach each of the 20 ‘cyber bridges’ developed by Zuiker to be consumed alongside each novel. These give the reader the option to go online for exclusive cinematic content, such as FBI personnel files, audio clips of phone conversations, and other back-story material. As the series progresses, storylines and characters will be come to life in the digital world, spinning in and out of the novels. “Level 26 takes the best features of books, film, and interactive digital technologies and rolls them all into a unique storytelling experience we’re calling the world’s first ‘Digi-Novel’”, says Zuiker. The authors of the future will probably not be writing paperbacks, but instead creating narratives that work across TV, film and video games, inviting the user to channel-hop to experience the full story.
