Silent But Deadly

I was watching the news last night and saw this campaign by the Vegetarian Society to try and warn people about the dangerous emissions from cattle, and is apparently more deadly than the transport systems effects on climate change.

"There were approximately 6.5 billion people living on earth in 2005 and as the world’s population continues to grow, our requirement for food will also increase. Worldwide food production requires 30% of the total soil available, 20% of fossil fuel energy and a major part of the fresh water flow. Raising cattle is one of the most damaging components of agriculture. They cause the most environmental damage of any non-human species through over-grazing, soil erosion, desertification and tropical deforestation for ranches, in addition to their gaseous emissions and manure products. Studies on world food security estimate that an affluent diet containing meat requires up to 3 times as many resources as a vegetarian diet.

Global production of meat has risen dramatically from 130 million tonnes in the late 1970s to 230 million tonnes in the year 2000. Meat is now the single largest source of animal protein in all affluent nations and demand for animal flesh is expected to more than double by the year 2050. In order to meet this growing appetite, animals will no doubt be reared more intensively and cheaply with factory farming and aquaculture (fish farming) causing further pollution, water and land usage. If nothing is done, the environmental impact of meat production can only increase."
http://www.vegsoc.org/

I think the idea is quite clever, and the way the ad has been executed is good as well. The ad is nearly almost all in gray scale, and the typeface used on the ad suits the tone of voice the vegetarian society is trying to create. Along with the cow as the main image, with a white background that adds a high contrast between the layers.

New iPod Nano

I just wrote about the new iPod Touch, and just realised today that they also launched the new iPod Nano which is smaller than the original, and has a video function as well.

The new design shows a smaller design that is slightly wider and shorter is length. The main additional function is the video player and this is the reason for the wider iPod, to accommodate for the two inch screen to display the video.

Again I do not think this product meets the high standards of Apple. The pad looks cheap and looks too small, to that size of an iPod shuffle and does not have the sleek edge of the first generation iPod nano. I have not seen it yet so can't comment much on the feel and the materials yet but at the first glance it does not look as appealing as other Apple products.

Cadbury Dairy Milk TV Advertisement

I saw this brilliant advert on TV to promote Dairy Milk, and it is very different to other chocolate adverts. Just the idea of a gorilla playing the drums, listening to music in that way, and the fact that it has nothing to do with chocolate does not mean it is rubbish. The film begins with close up shots of a gorilla, and then the camera zooms out to reveal a gorilla playing the drums to the beat of a Phil Collins song-In The Air Tonight. The advert then closes with an image of the chocolate bar, reading the slogan "A glass and a half full of joy."

The advert seems to have nothing to do with the manufacturer or the chocolate bar itself, other than the lyrics in the song which give a deeper meaning and urge that people feel for the chocolate, and the colour purple in the background that is associated with it. The advert for me was very shocking, and the gorilla playing the drums was very unexpected that will stick in my mind for a long time, and I will always remember the Dairy Milk chocolate bar. The clip will have been very cheap to make, because it simply looks as if it has been made in a TV studio and they have the ability to hire a gorilla outfit, which is fine because the idea is so effective that a massive budget is unnecessary.

The camera work is very minimal, with only a few shots used throughout the one minute and thirty second ad, because it is focused on just one object, the gorilla.I think the advert is excellent, with an effective idea and no camera tricks that will stick in my mind for a long time, and I will remember the Dairy Milk bar.

DAIRY MILK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbLr2NEV_7o

Faithless

I heard the song "Music Matters" by Faithless some time ago, along with the video but I am still very impressed with the innovative new video that is used to express the feelings in the song. The film uses a variety of vivid coloured images overlayed on a black background to make them stand out more. These line drawing style images are used to show the feelings towards this song, and how music matters. It is quite clever how the video stays in sync with the beat of the song, and again uses the colours to express the feelings of the beats in the song.

The song is quite upbeat, which maybe played in nightclubs because of the party style rhythm, and faithless is well known for these type of beats. The music video seems to try and express this feeling of being in a nightclub, dark with bright lights, and lots of movement that is in sync with the music, and may also give the feeling of being on a high from alcohol or drugs. The style used could express the genre of the music, and tell people how they are supposed to feel from this type of music. With all this mind we should not excuse the technical work that has gone into the production of the video, with flashing intricate lines, and lots of images that must have took a great deal of time and money to make. The images look hand drawn, like they are done on a drawing tablet, so the images are not precise, but quite blurry at times.

This particular video is quite powerful, and is quite an imaginative way to show feelings and what the song is about.

FAITHLESS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBlwU0MlUSk

Anti Smoking Images

I saw this image in the newspaper that was unveiled for the new anti smoking campaign. This image quite honestly made me sick, it is using scare tactics to try and make people quit smoking, using the line "Smoking can cause a slow and painful death". There are a variety of images for this ad campaign, and they are very hard hitting, that are based on medical facts to get the point across. The images use a great deal of association with babies and children, because these will make people think more and think twice about smoking with children present, or about smoking at all.

The campaign is aimed at youngsters to stop them smoking before thy have even started, and show the harsh realities. The shocking images all come with some text that are very blatant and do not need images there to back them up really, however its the images that get your attention. The text is in two colours, white and red, and the highlighted words in red maybe the most effective, however I am not quite sure.

You have to see these images for yourself to see how shocking they are, and work out yourself how effective they will be.

ANTI SMOKING: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowContentFrameFrag.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/22/smoke/upixsmoke.xml

Clearly Smirnoff

I saw the new TV advertisement to promote Smirnoff Vodka, and I think the way have approached the idea is brilliant. The main concept is a bit out there but works well, and the point of sale is to emphasise the purity of the drink, having less impurities because of how many times it is distilled and filtered.

The film begins with a man working on a ship at sea who throws an empty can in the water, and the can is then thrown back at him out of the water. The film then shows various scenes where old objects are coming back out of the water, statues, aircraft's and coins and going back on land. The film then ends with the camera running under the clear, bright white water to then display a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka. This is trying to represent the purity of the drink, which I think comes across very well, and coincide with the slogan, clearly Smirnoff.

The idea is so simple to represent the idea of purity, and the drink having no impurities, and the way it is captures looks very good. The advert would look good on the big screen at a cinema, with destructive scenes looking like that out of Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow that must have been very expensive. The agency who produced the ad was JTW in London and the director was Daniel Kleinman, so their budget must have been massive. The soundtrack uses a classical orchestra sound, and I am unsure who it is by but again adds to this image of purity, keeping in sync with the scenes used on the screen.

The video must have taken some time to make, even though it only lasts about fifty three seconds, and along with the classical music, it gets the message across extremely well.

SMIRNOFF VODKA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1OwQHIbskQ

FoneJacker

This is a comedy series that has recently began on E4, and the way the show is delivered is quite clever. The show is simply about one man who can perform a variety of different voices, and then makes prank calls to confuse anyone who answers the phone.

Fonejacker has been described as having "the rare alchemy of a brilliantly versatile character comedian at heart, a staggering amount of superb concepts and stylish execution to make it a brash and daring brand new comedy."

The comedy is not just about one man making prank calls. The show revolves around a variety of regular characters terrorising an unsuspecting public including people like Terry Tibbs, The Mouse, Mr Doovde and a bank scammer, George Agdgdgwngo. The way these characters are displayed is with cut out faces and bodies, and simply rearranging them to move the mouths and to create different scenes that suit that particular prank call. I know it sounds quite tacky and cheap, but if you watch the actual programme, you will see that these images and characters fit in well with pranks and to create an overall tone of voice.















The concepts used are interesting showing what the people do, and how they get a buzz, and will show the public to be careful with fraud being a major crime going on at the moment. The show is completely innovative, which has been done in such a way that it has got a face, even though the actual FoneJacker is hidden behind a balaclava. The show has created characters using collages of images, which looks cheap but works well. When you compare this show to some others that are aired on TV, it is performing well, even with no fancy CGI and expensive effects that cost lots of money.

The FoneJacker is shown on E4 so check it out if you can.

Steelworker

I went to Sheffield yesterday, and saw this interesting brick wall at the corner of Castle Street. This four-storey portrait was commissioned by the City Council in 1986 and is one of the first public art works in the city. It is based on an image done by an artist called Paul Waplington and uses 30,000 bricks of 18 different colours/types, and is an iconic image in Sheffield that is dominated by the mans eyes and his helmet.

The mural pays respect to the achievements of Sheffield's steel industries because the history of the steel industry is important to Sheffield and its area. Recently the steel industry has been in decline and this image is there to represent, and is a constant reminder of the past industrial boom and the people who took part in it. This portrait of the steelworker is based on an individual and then adjusted to fit the wall. The original artist Paul Waplington said "The eyes had to be enlarged, for example, or the pupils and the whites would have been smaller than a brick."

The strong landmark has appeared in many publications to promote the use of brick as an art form because the piece after all uses 30,000 bricks of 18 different colours/types. 'Steelworker' is considered by some people to be one of the first modern, public art works in the city which has now in effect caused expansion, capturing the arts in its changing cultural context.

The image itself caught my eye straight away, and looks more detailed and intricate when seen in Sheffield. It is quite a clever idea to construct a mural on an exterior wall, because the bricks are not coloured, they are different types so as they wear and tear, the colours will still remain the same and can be seen by the public.

BMW CS

This is a BMW concept car that may go into production, and is aiming to return the old, classic and aggressive look of the BMW.


This car is officially made a as design study, to concentrate on an expression of design, use the highest quality materials and finish. However, a toned-down car will give BMW a model to rival the Porsche saloon, which is due to hit showrooms in 2009. Adrian Hooy­donk, the product design manager of the car said that, although this was a difficult look to achieve while still meeting European crash test regulations, engineers had worked hard to return to some BMW design roots.

This is a futuristic shape and the fact this CS is a show car, the grille, slanted headlamps and short overhangs could all appear on the next 7 and 5-Series. With its sleek, curving roof line, the car holds a conventional sal­oon body and keeps the distinctive kink at the rear of the car. Other clever touches are the intricately patterned and massive 21 inch alloys, large bonnet vents, and the nose even has clever LED headlamps that are there to reduce glare for oncoming drivers.

"Through its supreme presence, stylish elegance, and challenging dynamism, the BMW Concept CS, in a nutshell, offers truly unique design language with highly individual aesthetic features never seen before. Precisely this explains why all the elementary values of the BMW brand are concentrated in the BMW Concept CS, superior dynamics and sophisticated elegance all being borne out together through the authentic style and design of the car."
20/04/2007 Team Infomotori.co.uk

Bottom Line on Global Warming

I was reading the newspaper yesterday and saw this article and image in it, photographed by an artist from New York called Spencer Tunick.

Spencer Tunick is a photographer that captures photographs of nudes, and in numbers and he has taken this one in Switzerland for his latest project to highlight the effects of global warming. Tunick had the backing of many environment campaigners, including Greenpeace who said "Melting glaciers are an indisputable sign of climate change."

This is not the full photograph that was in the newspaper, I could not find it, but the full one has a man in the foreground wearing clothes and a green high visibility jacket with the message, "Save the climate. Act Now!" This person stands out the most, and gives the message that the whole image is trying to capture.

I honestly think this is a very clever way of dealing with a current world issue, and showing that the worlds glaciers are shrinking by showing that people can pose nude in those sort of conditions. I have not heard of this photographer before, but this particular campaign has caught my eye, and hopefully nobody will take offence, and will make a change to peoples habits. The size of this project is massive, taking hundreds of models to Switzerland and capturing them in such a way to show the people, and show the effects of global warming.

Fiat Bravo TV Advertisement

I saw a short TV advert to promote this new car, and seems to me like it bears some similarity to the BMW, Lexus, Audi and Mercedes adverts I have seen. However it uses more shapes and varied backgrounds to promote the car, and also includes a message written on the car number plate, " Haven't we all seen enough of ordinary?" The film seems more like it has a concept, which is to show the car as being very different to other cars.

FIAT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlkF5Tl0Vf0&mode=related&search=

Old Boy [2003]

A few of my friends have told me how brilliant this film was, and I got the chance to watch it and my opinion is that it is amazing, and like something I have never seen before.

The film is about a man, Oh Dae Su, who is kidnapped then imprisoned, and released after 15 years and seeks revenge for this. To his surprise he finds out that he must find his captor within 5 days, and the number of events that occur leading to the finish are unbelievable.

The film is directed by Chan Wook Park, and is highly innovative in the film industry, however has got mixed reviews from its viewers. The movie is very dark and bleak, focusing on revenge and time, being imprisoned for a long time, and only having a short time to get his revenge. This is seen in the opening credit sequence where clocks are shown in the background, and time passing. It captures the emotion and aggression of what a real person would feel for being locked away for so long, and how curiosity would come into the mind.

The plot and style of the film seems to mix American and Asian cinema, with a storyline more from something like an American film, and the execution in an Asian style.The cinematography is good and the action sequences are pulled off with lots of energy and realism compared to other Asian movies. A classic scene is where where Oh Dae Su fights his way through a group of enemies down a corridor and is one of the best fight scenes I've seen, with its awkward and realistic choreography, and the fact that it is done in one camera shot.

Everything about this film seems perfect, the acting is extraordinary, the direction is spot on and in the process is brutally and beautifully delivered. But it's the story that makes this film stand out, it delivers an unthinkable example of what a revenge film should be.

Hariri & Hariri

The second is this design company entitled Hariri & Hariri, with the designers being two Iranian born sisters called Gisue Hariri and Mojgan Hariri. Their exploration of our currently dynamic and speed oriented culture has generated projects and prototypes for futuristic and visionary architecture.

The design that caught my eye was for the High Line Community. This is a proposal to reinvent and modernise the entire line that was originally created in the 1930's, and has been unused since then, and to create a community.

Hariri & Hariri are proposing to build mixed use structures along this line, and the concept is to allow pedestrians to walk through, and feel what the movement of trains through buildings. The idea seems quite cool and again would make a landmark for New York, however if the project is given the go ahead, the community will have to be perfect so the history of this line is not lost.

Swarovski Crystal Palace

Whilst I was on the Selfridges website I came across this collection showing in the London store on Oxford Street, which is displaying chandeliers that leading name designers have been commissioned by Swarovski to create.


You may or may not have heard of this company, who also design watches and jewellery, use crystals as a main raw material in their designs. The company was named after Daniel Swarovski who made a machine in the late 19th century that could automatically cut crystals.

The Crystal Palace is a new concept that is meant to reinvent and change the image of the chandelier, one of the most underrated and emotive art forms of cut crystal. Reviews have said that Swarovski Crystal Palace has broken barriers, changed the rules and pushed the boundaries to open a new chapter in the design of lighting.

Swarovski Crystal Palace commissioned 18 designers and artists from around the world to create their own contemporary interpretation of the chandelier, to show a new expression and personal meaning to its story and message. The inspirations for their ideas came from many different things, some of them being the natural world, the visual arts and new technology. The results seem to be something very special.

All the pieces will be displayed in a dark, jet black setting so the chandeliers crystal detail and own lighting will look brilliant. If you live in London or planning to visit, I would check this exhibition out because it seems as if viewing it would be worthwhile.

A Scanner Darkly [2006]

This film starring Keanu Reeves is a complex film, that is filmed in a different style which is called 'rotoscoping'. The cartoon effect is created by layering animation over normal filming to generate a distinctive look that has been around for quite some time.

The films plot put simply, is set in the future and is about the world and how drugs have taken over society, specifically a drug called Substance-D. The main character, Reeves is the character Bob Arcter who is in a gang addicted to this drug, and is also an undercover police officer Fred who is trying to find out who the main dealers and distributors are of the drug. The officers wear a suit making them unknown to anyone, and Fred has to take footage from his dingy home to catch users.

The movie itself is very different to anything I've ever seen before, and could be classed as a sci-fi and the fact that the film is done using rotoscoping adds to the film tone of voice which is drugs, and seems to give the image of actually being on drugs. One of the films main concepts is the suit that officer Fred wears, and is a suit that is able to shift around faces and clothing at a second a clip, and could not be captured without animation. The images fit perfectly for the storyline of the film, creating an overall tone of voice that is completely new and would not have worked with other films.

When I watched this film, I got the look of Sin City which experiments with camera style and uses different techniques to emphasise the storyline. I also noticed that in the movie A Scanner Darkly, there are no real action sequences, no gun fights, car chases or explosions which not be every ones ideal film. The film got me thinking about society and the drug generation, and how the world make actually become something similar to that of this movie, where the majority of people are addicted to drugs.

Overall, I think this movie is worth watching to see the rotoscoping technique in use, and the quirky storyline with some interesting dialogue, but may not be every ones ideal film.

A Clockwork Orange [1971]

I decided to watch the well known movie by director Stanley Kubrick, who also did The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, when a friend bought it on DVD.

The film is about is group of youths who simply go around terrorising innocent people,and get their thrills from hurting people. The gang leader, Alex DeLarge is then caught by the police and is put in prison, but is chosen to take part in an experimental procedure to cure violent people, and can then be released back into society. The procedure is a success but changes Alex's life completely and results in unexpected events.

I honestly think that the film is brilliant, which explores morals and society, and what the world is coming to. The film in my view is something that I have never seen before, and there is not much more with this sort of surreal cinematography and imagination out there. The props used within the film are odd, with bright colours and are extremely unusual to see in a film. These, along with the costumes, and the sarcastic soundtrack that is used in the film, makes you wonder what kind of person would dream of making a film like this.

Whilst watching the film you are put in the shoes of a wild teenager who gets their kicks out of sexual violence, and how they are transformed from the evil side to the good side but at a cost. Alex loses the power of choice within his own life, which brings morals into the film. You are then put in the shoes of a reformed Alex who is disowned by his parents and is left with nothing, and how he is unable to live a life.

The film uses great camera work to emphasise shadows and tones that create a style and tone of voice for the film, but the most interesting production aspect for the film is the music soundtrack. The main part of the music used in the film is classical, and Kubrick used this odd choice to make the film great and again fits in perfectly with the tone of voice of the film.

This film is a must see for everyone, but make sure you are open minded and are prepared to see a great deal of disturbing scenes that make this twisted film a masterpiece.

Wall Street [1988]

This movie starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, directed by Oliver Stone is about a young stockbroker who is hungry and impatient, and will do anything to make it to the top and is taken under the wing of a rich and greedy corporate raider that is dealing illegally with inside information. The young stockbroker becomes involved with the illegal dealings, and gets tricked into running his hard working father out of business buy Michael Douglas, and then has to find a way to get his own back.

The film in my view is brilliant, continually showing how the stock market works. I know this has not much to with design, but if you're interested in how money and stocks work, its a must see. The film shows how greed can take over a person, and how it is like a drug, and shows what money with this greed can cost you. The film questions whether money is the root of all evil, and are you willing to sell your sell to the devil.

The movie has some brilliant quotes like 'every dream has a price' and 'greed is good'. The film depicts the 80's American lifestyle, drugs, greed, the importance of assets and seems to be captured well in my view within the characters and the classic images of business men wearing suits that add to an opening montage for the film. I noticed when watching the film it does not have have much of a soundtrack, and I feel that this adds to the tension and atmosphere, creating an overall tone of voice for the film. There is a great deal of techno talk within the film that gets confusing in the film at times, but the story is simple to understand in spite of this.

I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a business movie, and be prepared for devious thinking.

i-TeDDy

The new i-TeDDy was launched last month, and is for sale in retail stores such as Argos, and the inventor, Imran Hakim, recently won the 'Technology, Innovation and Design' award from the business awards.Hakim, who designed the product won Young Entrepreneur of the Year award last year so is an experienced businessman, and also appeared on the TV show Dragons Den, where Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis agreed to invest £70,000 each. This gave Hakim the opportunity to turn this product into a business.

The product itself is made for young children that aims to educate and entertain, is an interactive bear which incorporates a personal media player and a mini computer screen on its tummy.

I am not too concerned with the actual aesthetics of the product, but the idea which I think is excellent. The overall idea is so simple, but nobody else has had this idea and only came on to the market not long ago, and is a profitable idea as it has got the investment of two well known business men. The product is predicted to be as profitable as the iPod, as Hakim has found a segment in the market that has not been touched.

This is the logo for the product and is pretty self explanatory. The name itself is similar to that of the iPOD, and it's functions are also similar. The main things that need to be taken into are health and safety as young children will be using the teddy.

Apple iPhone

The new iPhone was just launched last week in America, and the reviews for the phone are excellent.

I'll be honest, I didn't realise Apple were going to release a mobile phone, yet when I think about it, it sort of seemed inevitable that Apple would design a phone. I've not had a chance to look at the phone because it is not out in the UK yet, but on first looks it doesn't seem like much. The design just looks to be similar to that of an iPOD, but a phone! The new technology within the phone seems quite good, with the phone having a touch screen function meaning that buttons are one less thing to worry about on the phone design, but Apple have kept their trademark center round button. This product does not seem like a phone, but a multimedia system, because it has everything: sat nav, music/video player, phone, Internet, camera, wi-fi, bluetooth. However, these are things that other phones seem to be able to do now. I'm guessing that Apple are relying on the same thing that help sell the iPOD, simplicity and a sleek stylish design, and the fact that it is cool to have and everybody has one. The only problem with this is that it is not an innovative design, so consumers may not feel the same way about the iPhone. Consumers have already got an iPOD so may think why buy an iPhone. Critics will be comparing the iPhone with the iPod, and not with other phones on the the market so will make it difficult for Apple to be successful in this category. Only time will tell if the iPhone will be a successful mobile phone, and as successful as its inspiration, the iPOD.

Prison Break

This is my first post over the summer, and I've just been relaxing and working. Had a few days to myself so decided to watch as much Prison Break as I could since my brother is continually going on about how brilliant it is, and he was actually right! Watched the whole of the first two series in three days and am now hooked on it. I think the concept of the programme is excellent, convicts breaking out of prison, it sounds simple enough but its the detail within the programme that gets me. The main character is a genius, who goes into prison to break his brother out, and prepares for months and months to do this, thinking of "every contingency" and every strategy possible for what could go wrong. The character is an architect, and has the blueprints tattooed to his body.

The programme itself must have had some quite innovative and creative writers because the ideas used within the show are unthinkable, and must have taken years of thought. The tattoo itself is a work of art, and with the blueprints embedded in the overlayed images, the character can see which route can lead him out of prison. The main things that I find most interesting about this programme are the concepts used within the show which have to be seen, and shows how much preparation is needed to complete a task, and how execution is a key to completing that task.