The Tao of E

I Have Seen The Future Of Hollywood And It's From Poland.

Interactive fims have been around for a while now.  But lately, with production values on the upswing, participatory storytelling is suddenly threatening to break into the mainstream.  Sufferrosa is a great example.  This experimental film from Poland has a lot going for it.  See if you don't agree. 

Before I die, I want to ___________.

Candy Chang is a public installation artist, designer, urban planner, and co-founder of Civic Center who likes to make cities more comfortable for people.  She's also someone who reminds us that social media can be analog as much as it can digital.  Her installation in New Orleans is, in my opinion, a work of inspired genius as are so many of Candy's projects.  What I love about Before I Die is its power to remind people what's really important to them.  And to do that amidst the kind of devastation and despair that grips so many people in cities like New Orleans and Detroit is more noble a cause than almost anything I can imagine.

Beck. Soros. Can A Photographer Brings Us Back To Our Senses?

"In America, the chasm between rich and poor is growing, the clash between conservatives and liberals is strengthening, and even good and evil seem more polarized than ever before. At the heart of this collection of portraits is my desire to remind us that we were all equal, until our environment, circumstances or fate molded and weathered us into whom we have become."  Eight years in the making, Created Equal, an exquisite series of portraits from photographer, Mark Laita, gets beneath the cultural, societal and political epidermis of what we've become and shows us who we really are. 

Are We Telling Stories Or Are We Just Playing Games?

Clow and Bogusky from 2008.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS0F8ThF2Lk&feature=player_embedded

 

Two commercials. Same concepts. Can you guess which one was crowdsourced?

If you guessed the new Harley Davidson spot from crowdsourcing shop, Victors and Spoils, congratulations.  Inarguably, crowdsoucing is a seductive idea.  The typical client, after all, has a great deal of trouble discerning the difference between great work and mediocre work.  And if that's true, then it's hard for some CMO's to justify the expense of working with top flight creatives.  Do you in fact get what you pay for?  You tell me.

Should we disconnect before it's too late?

Profound essay in the New York Times Book Review from a few weeks ago:  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/books/review/Shteyngart-t.html?_r=1&scp...

Some scientists are estimating that we are losing between 5% and 7% of our humanity with every day that passes.  I suspect there's more than a grain of truth in this.  As more and more of us are becoming inexorably wired in to technology, there's reason to believe that we are also losing touch with what makes us human.  I remember trying an experiment. I wanted to see if it was really true that a great idea could come from anywhere.  There was a very big and important creative assignment.  Looking for something fresh, we set up teams that normally weren't used to working with each other.  A writer with a UX guy.  An AD with an emerging media strategist.  Two weeks later, we all gathered in the conference room and shared where we were.  Interestingly, the tech people, brilliant minds all, had some really cool thoughts.  Technologically speaking.  But when I asked them, yeah love that, so what's the bigger idea, they looked at me all glassy eyed.  Well, to them, the idea was the simple fact that there was this cool technology.  That WAS the idea.   It never occurred to them that a genuine conceptual thought was something deeper and more human than a really cool digital parlor trick.  If the author here is right, then we are on a very slippery slope and it's getting steeper all the time.

The Wisdom Of Crowds? Bukowski Thinks Not.

This will get you to think twice about crowdsourcing, focus groups, anything whatsoever that depends on the hive for anything that is good.  Bukowski saw it all.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gifEn61dZBc

What BBH And Chiat Day Can Teach Us About Long Form.

The word at Cannes going into this weekend's Film, Film Craft and Titanium & Integrated Lions seems to be focused largely on what I personally feel are two equally deserving long form films. "Replay" for Gatorade from TBWA/Chiat Day Los Angeles and "The Man Who Walked Around the World" for Johnnie Walker from Bartle Bogle Hegarty London.   Whichever way it goes, I'll be tickled pink because it tells me that story still matters, that despite all the talk about our collective attention deficit disorder as a culture, we are still capable of being captivated by a well conceived and beautifully executed story. 

Possibly The Best Motorcycle Insurance Spots Ever.

Just saw this thanks to Luke Sullivan.  Ghost Bikes.  Awesome idea.  So powerful.

The Cyber Grand Prix That Should Have Been.

Love the fact that Fun Theory and Chalkbot both picked up Cyber Grand Prix's, but I could not be more disappointed that We Choose The Moon didn't quite make it.  I don't think I could be more bummed if I had done it myself, which I wish I had.  Just an awesome experience.