Get On With It

72andSunny + SSSR = Zune

So minutes after my last post, I became rather curious about the SSSR animators and decided to explore. Just like that I found out that the wise folks at 72andSunny in Los Angeles had felt so engaged with SSSR's talent that they had them do a bit of a brand film for Zune. Great stuff.

not so Subtle mixed media

    Here's a great creative project that I saw the other day. It's a trilogy of music videos from the group Subtle. It was animated by a Norwegian-Japanese collective called "SSSR." What I love so much about this style is that it combines computer animation with raw, hand-drawn materials.

    Right now I think so much creative work we see relies too heavily on the computer. It's too polished. While this video challenges my imagination, it's still real. It's raw. I think there's a sort of digital revolution coming where now everyone is beginning to know the tools, but they're beginning to experiment. The technology is also much more accessible and enticing now. Soon we're going to see more things like this. Not with this same look, but we'll see more instances where technology is used to enrich projects rather than manufacture them.

    I can't wait to see more curious combinations. This one gets its unique look from largely black and white images taken from combining drawings, animated models, cut-up film, and 3D computer graphics. With this kind of creative innovation Subtle's "Swan Meat" won best music video at the British Animation Awards 2006

incoming: iPhone: OMG

    I have yet to be disappointed with an Apple product, and now comes the Apple iPhone (not till June though). Is it too good to be true? Will my wireless company even let me buy it? Aside from one trooper of an LG phone, every cell I've had has been hyped and then sucked. The Motorola Razr fell short. The Chocolate...a bust. I'm hope this new gem has all the kinks worked out before it goes public, and that it lives up to the buzz.

    I'm not surprised that this product is coming out, although I am a bit surprised it took quite this long. Companies are learning that consumers really want a more integrated product. They want phones, internet, music, photos, GPS, basically a small computer. This may not be something for everyone right now, but the technology is going this way. I won't be surprised if Apple's the first to do it (completely) and the one to do it best. So far no one's been able to match the iPod (errr...Zune.)

    Needless to say I'll be waiting patiently (while I save some dough) & I better not be disappointed. I'll probably be able to cough up the $495 asking price by the time my current cellphone contract expires and Apple's undoubtedly unveiled their generation four iPhone. Ugh.

an incomplete manifesto for growth

    I stumbled across Canadian designer Bruce Mau's "An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth" in my basic design class. It's definitely worth a read. More than a few points resonated with me as things to keep in mind in my own creative growth process. I love the thread running through it that addresses jumping into creative projects without fear of failure and with the possibility of failure. The truth is that failures (or misses) can become great ideas. You may find the right answer to the wrong question rather than view an incomplete idea as a failure to your current creative problem. It's great to experiment with imitation and repetition and to get off your computer and be more hand's on. Also, there is a spontaneity of ideas that can't be manufactured just because you have set aside a time and place for them to happen even if you're prepared, rested and organized. More often than not growth and ideas sprout from the cracks in the sidewalk, during coffee chats, lazing around, showers, walking home, doing laundry, in what Dr. Seuss calls 'the waiting spaces.' Sometimes you're exhausted and you're into the wee a.m.s. Just a few things to reflect on.