A Behind-the-scenes documentary on how the “HBO Starship” intro from the 1980’s was created.

Our near—classic, beginning—of—decade Archinect shirts get another print run, this time in almost CMYK colorways. (more…)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Schooly D’s packaging from the 80s really captures his stripped down tracks. I suspect being from Philly allowed for a bit of creative freedom in that expectations where somewhat different had he been living in Brooklyn or The Bronx. Classic releases regardless.

Last night I had the opportunity to listen to David Levine of IBM Research (Zha Ewry in SL) and Adam Frisby of DeepThink Labs (Adam Zaius in SL) discuss OpenSim and virtual worlds interoperability at the NY Metaverse Meetup. One of the more interesting and complex points of discussion dealt with issues surrounding the security and enforcement of digital assets when the walled gardens open up to a larger universe of connected virtual spaces.  While being able to fight a battle in WOW chopping off the head of an opponent and carrying it into Second Life, HOME, etc. sounds appealing, the complexities of protecting developers creations, UGC, etc. become a larger hurdle to be dealt with.

All of this spawned a good bit of discussion around the studio this A.M. about the value of digitally created works. Coincidentally a somewhat similar discussion has been taking place on the NY Tech Meetup Mailing List about wether or not it is illegal to reproduce another website design which lead me to read about the Orphan Works Act of 2008

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) have introduced two similar bills in the House and Senate that threaten to dismantle 100 years of copyright protection, rights guaranteed to authors the U.S. Constitution. The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 (S. 2913) and the Orphan Works Act of 2008 (H.R. 5889) allows anyone to use a copyrighted work without first obtaining permission.

“The Orphan Works bill has the potential to erode the protection that copyright owners have fought for over many years,” says past President of the California Copyright Conference (CCC) and the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP), attorney Steve Winogradsky. “It puts the burden on the copyright owner to find the offending parties and either negotiate with them without the remedies currently available to bring about reasonable compensation or bring costly litigation. In short, for copyright owners, the Orphan Works bill is a disaster.”

via: http://www.prweb.com/releases/copyright/orphanworks/prweb1119934.htm

Currently under US Copyright law “Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device”. The work does not need to be registered with the US Copyright office to be protected, however, it would need to be if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. All this is fine and dandy until you start to consider international intellectual property rights enforcement.

All of this is such a grey area for me but definitely interesting food for thought as things exponentially grow into a hyper-digital future where ideas of value and compensation mutate and evolve.

UT GRAND PRIX 2009
UNIQLO’s annual T-shirt design competition since 2004, the 5th “UT Grand Prix” will call for entries from July 15th.

UNIQLO has actively developed its global expansion as a casual wear brand from Japan, opening flagship stores in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Korea and China, and also shown the global promotion campaigns that world people can participate such as UNIQLOCK and UT LOOP!

Based on the concept of “T-shirt Design Olympics”, UT Grand Prix calls for T-shirt designs from young & upcoming creators from all over the world. Works will be chosen from more than 10,000 submissions in the first and second phases of judgment, & these will be shown on the web. In the final stage, 20 designs will be selected by presiding guest judges, & these designs will then be sold as UT (UNIQLO T-shirt) at UNIQLO stores. Cash & other prizes will be also presented to the winner(s). The Grand Prix (top) prize is 3 million JPY (or equivalent in local currency at current rates).

Submission Period: July 15th - September 21st, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/en/blog/?p=216

AMUSE ARTJAM 2008

AMUSE ARTJAM, a new art competition by a Japanese agency for all-round entertainment “AMUSE”, will open calling for entries from August 1st.

This is a competition that has counted more than 5000 submissions and total 70000 visitors in the past 6 events, gathering attentions as a gateway for young artists to success. This year as a new project, they will open a new gallery for contemporary art called “ArtJamContemporary” in the art complex building “NADiff A/P/A/R/T” in Ebisu, Tokyo. The participants of ARTJAM will be mainly featured in the gallery and sent to the world.

Anyone can participate in this competition regardless of genders, nations, ages, educations, professionals or amateurs, and genres. However, the competition winners need to participate in the award ceremony, which will be held in The Museum Of Kyoto on October 5th, 2008.

Submission period: August 1st - 31st, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/en/blog/?p=215

12TH JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL

CG-ARTS Society with Agency for Cultural Affairs and The National Art Center, Tokyo will start calling for entries for 12th Japan Media Arts Festival. They seek vibrantly creative works that are opening up a new era in each division of Art, Entertainment, Animation and Manga.

Submission Period: July 17th - September 26th, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/en/blog/?p=212

DOTMOV FESTIVAL 2008

Online magazine SHIFT presents DOTMOV Festival 2008, a digital film festival aiming to discover talented creators and provide them with an opportunity to show their works. Works submitted from all over the world will be screened throughout the world venues from November 2008 (Date will be different depending on the venue). Last year’s total submission was 297 works from 34 countries. This year’s tour will be Sapporo, Sendai, Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sao Paulo.

Submission Period: September 20th, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/mov/

SHIFT 2009 CALENDAR COMPETITION

Shift has been trying to offer artists many platforms to showcase their works online. The Shift calendar competition held from 2003 successively, pushes the boundaries between online and off line using a “calendar” as its medium. Entries are invited from all over the world and selected works will be distributed throughout the world in the format of a physical calendar.

This year, selected works will be exhibited and sold at PRINT’EM web site for a year with support by PRINT’EM, a graphic print center operated by Mitsubishi Paper MIlls Limited.

Submission Period: September 10th, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/2009/

colman rasic carrasco and a tune from Radiohead’s In Rainbows raise human trafficking awareness.

Radiohead, one of the world’s top bands, has joined the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign, a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and MTV to raise awareness about human trafficking. The collaboration takes the Asia MTV EXIT campaign to a global audience, reaching as many as 560 million households worldwide.

“Radiohead is taking MTV EXIT to a new level and expanding the Asia campaign, which is on air, online and on the ground,” said Olivier Carduner, USAID’s Regional Mission Director for Asia.

As part of this effort, Radiohead is releasing a music video on MTV tomorrow (May 1) to the track All I Need, from its album In Rainbows. Filmed by Oscar-winning cinematographer John Seale (”The English Patient”) and award-winning director Steve Rogers, the video depicts a day in the life of both an affluent youngster and a child making shoes in a sweatshop, sending a message that everyone plays a role in trafficking and exploitation.

Radiohead is also inviting anti-trafficking organizations to distribute information about human trafficking at their upcoming concert tour through North America, Europe and Asia. “It is cool that MTV is taking on this issue. The video is a powerful piece, and I hope that the emotion of the song will jump out at people in the context of these images of exploitation,” said Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.

MTV is looking for innovative ways to present important issues such as human trafficking to its audience, said Bill Roedy, Vice Chairman MTV Networks. “Trafficking is a crime that violates the basic rights of its victims: the rights to freedom, equality, and dignity.”

The USAID Regional Development Mission in Asia is working with MTV to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of human trafficking in the region. USAID-funded documentaries Traffic and Sold have been broadcast throughout Asia, are posted on the MTV EXIT website (www.mtvexit.org), and are distributed rights-free in DVD format. Plans to take the campaign to rural and urban areas in Asia are underway.

USAID is funding the production of the MTV EXIT films for Asia. Top Asian pop and film stars, including Lucy Liu (”Charlie’s Angels,” “Ally McBeal”), Rain of South Korea, Tata Young of Thailand, Lara Dutta of India, Christian Bautista of the Philippines and Kris Dayanti of Indonesia have volunteered to narrate the films in their native languages and in English.

The campaign capitalizes on their images and MTV’s brand appeal, transforming people’s views about trafficking and exploitation and provides a platform for NGOs, governments and law enforcement agencies to prevent trafficking and assist victims.

MTV EXIT television programming is produced rights-free and is free of charge for all broadcasters and organizations. The programming is also available to be streamed and downloaded from http://www.mtvexit.org.

For more information on USAID and its programs to combat human trafficking around the world, visit http://www.usaid.gov.

Client: MTV Exit Foundation, 
Radiohead 
Agency: colman rasic carrasco?????? 
Creative: Rebecca Carrasco, 
Dejan Rasic 
Agency Producer: Rene Shalala 
Production Company: Revolver?????? 
Director: Steve Rogers 
Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie 
Producer: Georgina Wilson 
Editor: Alexandre Di Francheschi 
Cinematographer: John Seale 

“IRON MAN in Second Life ®”

Machinima directed, edited and produced by Annie Ok

Iron Man brought to Second Life ® by Picture Production Company in collaboration with V3 Group

Iron Man avatar in Second Life ® by Jonny Dusk

Iron Man movie footage courtesy of Marvel Entertainment, Inc

Iron Man, the Movie © 2008 MVL Film Finance LLC. Marvel, Iron Man, all character names and their distinctive likenesses: TM & © 2008 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved.

Second Life ® is a trademark of Linden Research, Inc ®. Iron Man is not affiliated with or sponsored by Linden Research ®.

http://theppc.com/silverscreen
http://ironmanmovie.com
http://annieok.com

Very nicely executed Louis Vuitton commercial by…

Production Company: Quad Productions, Paris
Director: Bruno Aveillan
Producer: Martin Coulais
DP: Philippe Lesourd
Cameraman: Bruno Aveillan

Agency: Ogilvy, Paris
Creative: Christian Reuilly
Agency Producer: Laure Bayle

Post-Production: WIZZ Paris
Post-Producer: Manuel Beard
Editor: Fred Olszak
Flame Artist: Bruno Maillard
Special Effects/Processes: WIZZ, Paris

This morning a few of us were admiring the Obama logo and identity system and were wondering who the masterminds behind this well conceived identity were. While tracking down the author of the official Obama logo we were joking around in the studio and kicked out the above mark for the fun of it. Below is a bit of what we found about the mark and a nice interview with Michael Bierut of Pentagram. 

Sender LLC, a Chicago based brand consultancy and design studio developed the logomark and brand system for Barack Obama’s historic bid for the White House. Sender were awarded the project through mo/de, a motion design studio working with AKP Message & Media of Chicago. Political consultant David Axelrod, who is working on Obama’s campaign and worked on his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, is a partner with AKP Message & Media.

“We were looking at the “o” of his name and had the idea of a rising sun and a new day,” Mr. Sender said. “The sun rising over the horizon evoked a new sense of hope.” via http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=23974

[...]Obama’s success owes a lot, of course, to his message–the promise to pass Democratic policies by rallying a “coalition for change.” But watching Obamamania over the past few weeks, I’ve become convinced that there’s something more subtle at work, too. It’s not just the message and the man and the speeches that are swaying Democratic voters–though they are. It’s the way the campaign has folded the man and the message and the speeches into a systemic branding effort. Reinforced with a coherent, comprehensive program of fonts, logos, slogans and web design, Obama is the first presidential candidate to be marketed like a high-end consumer brand.* [...] via Expertinent: Why the Obama “Brand” Is Working by Andrew Romano of Newsweek