Pecha Kucha Matthew G

Matthew Goris Pechu Kechu from Mediastorm New Design on Vimeo.

Check out Matthew Goris Pecha Kucha presentation on his "Song." Matthew decided to mask his "Song." into the project his is doing.

Here is from his proposal:

Title of Project: Success Reacher
Description of the Project: Success Reacher is a book about a young man trying to be successful in life.

Artist Statement: The author of Success Reacher is going to keep what’s going to happen in the story a secret, but he’ll say a couple things about the book. It’s about a kid that tries to reach success, but there are so many things that he goes through that angers him, and depresses him, that can prevent him from ever succeeding in life. When he finally has reached success he’s made a big decision that involves his parents. He also has a family of his own. At the end of the book he’s going to share out what’s his biggest fear.

One of the Milestones for 1st Quarter is the Pecha Kucha presentation. It includes a finaly slide show, recorded over and uploaded to our class Vimeo site.  Matthew used Screen Cast O Matic to record his presentation.  He can help you if you need it.  Presentations are due by November 8th.

Here is the Vimeo Mediastorm Site
Log In:  scottconti@newdesignhigh.com
Password: mediastorm

Born Sweet - Entire FIlm from Cynthia Wade on Vimeo.

BORN SWEET, winner of 15 awards, is about a 15 year old Vinh who lives in a remote Cambodian village and has accepted his destiny – to be sick for the rest of his life with incurable arsenic poisoning. He dreams of becoming a karaoke star, winning the affections of adoring fans. But his body is scarred by illness and there is a good chance the arsenic will soon take his life, like the girl who once lived across the road. A chance to star in a karaoke video about the dangers of arsenic allows Vinh to wonder if he truly knows his destiny.

5 Transmedia Projects from Simon

8,336,615 (New York) from Paul Riccio on Vimeo.
Five transmedia projects from Simon Staffans

In February I did an overview of five transmedia projects I would be keeping an eye on. Of the projects I wrote about back then, Defiance opened to mixed (and some derisive) reviews. I thought it was a brave step, a good story and something I’d be happy to have on my CV. Beat Girl, another of the projects, has since February gone on to movies, bestselling music, deals in the US and so on. Great stuff from Nuno! And Authentic In All Caps ran a successful crowdfunding campaign… all in all, moving forward on all fronts!

At the time, I wrote:  These are exciting times. New transmedia projects are cropping up left and right and the debate over ”what the definition of transmedia is?” seems to have taken a bit of a step back. All in all it feels like we’re slowly – or perhaps rapidly; these are things that can better be assessed in hindsight – moving towards a media and content world where there is no need to talk about transmedia, as every project is as transmedia as it needs to be to fulfil any potential that project might have.

I feel everything is continuing to move in the same direction – towards the media and content world I describe above. With that in mind, here are five transmedia projects, in different fields, that I’ll be keeping tabs on over the following months:

Quantum Break
As I’ve pointed out in posts from different gaming conferences and conventions, I believe the TV (and other ”traditional” media) industry could learn quite a lot from the gaming industry and vice versa. Quantum Break is a slightly different animal. Produced by Finnish (yay!) game developer Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios, the Xbox One game will be accompanied by a TV series, now in production. Apparently ”how you play the game impacts the show, and the show informs how you play the game”. With ”Defiance” fresh in everyone’s mind, it’ll be very interesting to follow how Remedy and Microsoft pull this one off.

Aurelia: Edge of Darkness

The Theatrics platform is an interesting one. It’s designed to enable creators to create a story, invite participants and manage the show, through a video storytelling platform and its suite of social video tools. Aurelia, a ”steampunk fantasy web drama starring you” is distributed via Theatrics and is included in this list as an interesting project to keep an eye on. You could also immerse yourself by creating an account and join the participants already signed up and try the platform out yourself.

Hollow Documentary
Every now and then these beautifully crafted online documentary projects pop up on my radar, dazzling me with their artfulness, the skill and thoroughness on display and the way they invite you to immerse yourself. There have been Pine Point and Bear 71 from NFB or the gripping ”Alma: A Tale of Violence” from LightBox. The Hollow Documentary is another one in the same vein, a collaborative effort focusing on the diminishing and possibly soon to be extinct rural areas of West Virginia. It’s on this list as a great resource for inspiration, whatever it might be you yourself is working on right now.

Feuten (Freshers)

This project, “Feuten“, comes from the Netherlands and is running for its third season on BNN’s channel 3. It’s a story about ”the troubles of a fictional fraternity group called H.S.C. Mercurius”. What companies Spektor and Elastique have done for season three is create an app where people can apply to be accepted into this fraternity. The culling process involves popping 30 beers in a minute (hopefully not having to drink them all!) and answering questions about the fraternity. When you’re finally accepted, you can – via the app – do all the things you would be able to do in a real fraternity; arrange parties, chat to other members, raise their own chapters together with friends etc.

The reason I find this project interesting is because it touches on one of the things I always keep in mind – plan for success. You never know which project might be the one to take off, and if it does, you have to be prepared. This is what has happened now, with 15.000 members signing up immediately, keeping community managers working 24/7 to keep up. If there is a proper strategy in place, this could become a case study on how to harness success.

The Marvel Experience Tour
A list like this wouldn’t be complete without something blockbuster-y, right? This is something that we’ll see in 2014, but to TL;DR it, it’s a real-life traveling experience bringing the Marvel Universe to everyone.

Producers Hero Ventures promise that the Marvel Experience Tour will be everything from 4D motion rides to VR and holographic simulations, from 3D animation features to ”dynamic interactive activities”, all in the setting of a first-person Super Hero adventure.

Middle School Child Trafficking

Walking Merchandise: child trafficking and the snakehead trade from Walking Merchandise on Vimeo.
Walking Merchandise exposes the tragic story of middle-school-aged, Chinese children trafficked to the United States by smugglers known as “snakeheads.” Sent by their parents to work as low-wage laborers as a source of income, the children embark on a perilous journey that can include physical harm, sexual assault, and even death.

 Check out the films website: walkingmerchandise.com

How would we make this a transmedia project?

Check out How Road Trip Nation went about it.  Check out their Artist Statement:

Roadtrip Nation empowers you to define your own road in life instead of traveling down someone else's.  We encourage you to engage in self-construction, rather than mass production. We encourage you to be proactive and actively participate in defining your future by hitting the road and learning from Leaders who have resisted The Noise of conformity and stayed true to themselves.  Our philosophy is that when we listen to ourselves and are honest about whom we are, and what we love, we are able to seek our own path and contribute to the world with our unique talents.  We believe that by helping others discover their own paths, there will be a significant positive change in the world—the world needs people in tune with who they are and what they care about.  Living a life fueled by authenticity and passion allows people the ability to offer their creativity, ingenuity, and enthusiasm toward their goals. We hope that this, in turn, will build a better local, national, and global community.  The Roadtrip Nation Movement exists to support, empower, and encourage individuals who want to define their own roads in life.

True Giving

The Thai telecommunications conglomerate True is getting rave reviews worldwide for its latest spot, "Giving," which tells the story of a man unexpectedly rewarded for a lifetime of good deeds he performed without expecting anything in return.  TrueMove too says it "believes in the power of giving without expecting a return."  Which would probably be more meaningful if they were to, say, give away their services and devices for free. Which they are not.  But what the company lacks in commitment to its own philosophy, it more than makes up for in inspirational advertising.

Anothere example of using great storytelling.

Today, we will working on our bio's for our project proposals.

You can start class today with a New Design Mediastorm original film from the Class of 2010.  The film, Adapt and Overcome, is a portrait of graffiti writer SKUF. I wanted to show it to you today to get you in the mood to be able to talk about yourself as an artist and designers.   Today, we will be writing your professional biographies for your blog site.  Designers, artists, filmmakers and photographers often keep their professional work on-line.  We will be documenting all of your work this year in your blog and your blogs will be very important to your grade.  

You can see some examples of professional sites below:
Here is the website from the design firm Crush Lovely:  Crush Lovely Web Site
Professional Portfolio of some dude named Jason:  Jason Aderholt Portfolio

You can also check out Scott's bio as an example on the top of this blog. 

Professional portfolio's always include a professional biography. You will be writing your own today to be included as part of your class blog. We will revise these several times before we put them on-line. You are writing about yourself as a professional so make it high quality.

Your bio can include the following:

Date and Place of Birth
City or area or street your grew up.
Information about schools you attend
Information about New Design High School such as what grade you are currently in
Description of acitvities you like to do or programs you are in (Remember you are impressing the reader)
Future goals including career and college plans.
Any other life goals or desires.

Juggle, Cut and Tweet

Juggle & Cut from Caleb Slain on Vimeo.

Our Tweet of the Week is from the people at Short of the Week.  This week they shouted out Juggle and Cut from filmmaker Caleb Slain.  Slain became known at age 19 when he directed Lost and Found Shop which received world wide attention.  He recently won the "Best Young Filmmaker Award" at Corona;s Fastnet Festival in Ireland.  Not bad for a 20 year old from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  His last film It Ain't Over won multiple film festival awards.  You can see the trailer here.  Juggle and Cut is his second documentary feature.  Short of the Week writes:

I just want to come right out and say it: I’m jealous of Caleb Slain. Yup. I am flat out jealous of him. I mean, seriously, how does a 22-year-old have so much damn talent? I first noticed Mr. Slain’s work with 2010’s the Lost and Found Shop—a delightfully sweet film that I admittedly borrowed quite a bit from for my own short, Baggage. More recently, I was dazzled by his use of language and direction withFree Pie. Now, I’m in awe of his work as a documentarian with Juggle & Cut, which is both a moving portrayal of human resilience and a love letter to the creative spirit. At this point, if you told me Caleb Slain also happened to be Batman, I wouldn’t blink an eye.  Juggle & Cut tells the story of Andy Phelps, a gifted young kid with a colorful resume: he’s a juggler, unicycler, carpenter, hockey player, and firebreather. But, on a tragic autumn day in 1998, Andy broke his neck in a massive car accident, leaving him without the use of his hands and legs. This film is about Andy’s journey after his accident, and he how he kept his creative fire alive despite some steep emotional and physical obstacles.  In general, it’s quite easy for the “inspirational doc” to be overwrought. But, Juggle & Cut is just too well crafted to venture into hackneyed territory. Slain is stylish with his presentation, but never so showy that he calls attention to himself as a filmmaker. The whole production feels polished without being too controlled—beautiful cinematography compliments old archival footage and photographs.  Much like the visuals, the music is also strong, emotional without being too saccharine.  If you’re interested, the soundtrack can be purchased for the low price of $2.00 (quite a steal if I do say so myself).  Juggle & Cut works because it’s more than just a story about human resilience. Granted, there’s definitely enough in that sentiment to make a compelling documentary. Yet, as the story develops, as Andy’s current occupation is revealed, it essentially becomes a manifesto for creativity. To put it succinctly, we creatives need to make stuff regardless of our supposed limitations. For Andy Phelps, once he lost the ability to physically construct things, he found a different way to express himself. And, so Juggle & Cut is a beautiful take on that impulsive desire to get out there and add to this world—not to consume, but to create—to  build things both tangible and intangible. There’s magic in that notion, and Andy Phelps’s determination is an embodiment of it.  Phelps’s story certainly isn’t over. He has a book coming out soon fittingly entitled, It Never Ends. As for director Caleb Slain, well, I’ll just have to enviously wait for his next project. When it comes to viewing his work, jealousy never felt so good.

October 7th

FIVE/FIVE from chris jurchak on Vimeo.

To understand a good motivational story watch Five/Five:

Brandon Todd is 5’5’’ and he can dunk. He has never believed his height to be a limitation but an opportunity to change how people view small athletes. Brandon transformed his body over the course of a few years, gaining over 80 lbs of muscle, increasing his vertical to over 45 inches. Todd hopes to teach others that through hard work and perseverance physical limitations can be overcome.

-Short of the Week

All of you that have been counted out, been laughed at, been picked last.  Your biggest hurdle isn't your opponent, it's yourself.

-Brandon Todd

Follow on Twitter at @BTFlyt

To see a great transmedia project:

Check out Defiance:

• Definance the show
• Definance the game

Youth

Last Minutes with ODEN from Eliot Rausch on Vimeo.

Eliot Rausch is a filmmaker from Los Angeles, California. His short documentary Last Minutes With Oden won the Documentary Award and Grand Prize at the 2010 Vimeo Festival + Awards. He has since created films for organizations and brands including The Red Cross, Vans, Under Armour, Duracell, and Ford. His documentary series Ed’s Story, chronicling pastor Ed Dobson’s battle with ALS, was featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” In 2013, his short film Find Your Understanding, created for Expedia was awarded “Most Tear-Jerking Viral Ad of the Year” by Ad Age and one of TED's 10 Best Ads of the Year. Rausch’s film ambitions took root in college when his Ogilvy & Mather internship ended and he refused to leave.

Teenage photographer Tommy Petroni distills 4 months of video he took of his friends in all sorts of settings down to 4 graceful and moving minutes in a wonderful ode to friends, fun and being young.  Tommy is 17 and from Los Angeles.  He made the film with the encouragement and support of Eliot Rausch (director of Vimeo’s Video of Year, Last Minutes with Oden).  Short of the Week wrote of the film, "Petroni captures the nostalgic, wistful feeling for things not yet past that is dynamite to the heart when done well. Youth is a wonderful keepsake for him and his friends, but its actually more resonant for those of us who’ve recently outgrown that stage of life, and for whom seeing it imaged so well is bittersweet."

If you have time today,


 
YOUTH from Tommy Petroni on Vimeo.

Chiplote and the Transmedia Scarecrow

The Chiplote Scarecrow

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a growing chain of restaurants in the United States specializing in burritos and tacos.  The was founded in 1993 by Steve Ells.  Ells has attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.  He got a job in working in a very nice restaurant called STARS in San Francisco.  The chef was Jeremiah Tower who use to work at Chez Panisse.  Chez Panisse was one of the first famous farm to table restaurants.  Farm to table literally means that the food comes right off the farm and into the restaurant. Menus change seasonally with whatver is fresh.  Ells was walking around the Mission District of San Francisco and observed the popularity of taquerias and San Francisco style burritos.  He moved to Denver, Colorado, borrowed $85,000, found a location near a college campus and calculated he would need to sell 107 burritos a day to be profitable.  After a month, he was selling 1,000 a day.  He know owns over 1500 Chipoltes.  Ells made close to $20,000 in 2011.  Check out the video how it all started.

Ells combined what he learned at STARS with the farm to table philosophy as well as what he saw in the Mission District.  Chiplote has always been based on a Food with Integrity mission.  It highlights its using organic ingredients and serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant chain.

Chiplote launched a transmedia campaign called the Scarecrow including a game on iTunes for iPhones.  

Read Behind the Birrito from Mother Jones and/or New York What Does The Scarecrow Tell Us About Chipolte

Check out Fuuny and Die Honest Scarecrow Parody

Today, write your artist statement.