Flight 404 no.2

Magnetosphere/Nebula from flight404 on Vimeo.

This is a second test, trying to create a feeling of flying through a nebula.

This shows that even a finished piece can be tweaked and revisited to make it better

Flight 404

Older Magnetosphere/Turbulence/Nebula render from flight404 on Vimeo.

This is a piece by flight 404, one of the artists exhibiting as part of the ONEDOTZERO exhibition.

As the piece in the V & A really caught my attention, I thought a small bit of research into other pieces he has done would allow me to see if this was the usual style or not. This piece particularly caught my attention as it reminded me of a simpler version we did with Flash in the 1st year.

Music and Video, actions and reactions.

DECODE- ONEDOTZERO exhibition

During a recent visit to London, i was able to visit the V&A gallery and the ONEDOTZERO exhibition called DECODE.

I was lucky in the timing of the project linking in with the dates in which the exhibition is in London before it heads of to other ends of the world.

The meaning behind the exhibition, the style of the work and the name of the company is based on code. ONEDOTZERO (1.0) is all about the fundamentals of digital work, the binary code that is at the base of everything. This is clear when looking at the exhibition, that all the pieces, interactive or not, are based around the world. This includes a map of flight paths in north america, a digital clock which displays the time through a series of pictures which are uploaded to the sight, allowing audience participation, even a tree which interacts with the audience by detecting foot placement so that the leaves on the floor move when you stand near them.

All the pieces in the exhibition were fascinating and visually exiting however, there is a vast amount i could say about each one so on this basis, i have chosen a few pieces which i felt stood out from the crowd, pieces which were both visually and technically amazing.


Solar by Flight 404. The creator, Robert Hodgin had already created a piece called Solar, much like the one in the exhibition however, ONEDOTZERO approached him and asked if eh could rework the piece so that it was audio responsive.
According to his blog (http://www.flight404.com/blog/) he felt that his usual creative path wouldnt help in this situation, so the music was turned off. He began by making simple noises into a microphone. This soon became tedious and unenjoyable so subsequently scrapped. The answer came about through a call for help on twitter in which many people suggested a podcast called WYNC's Radiolab.

'I took a snippet from the episode entitled “Musical Language” which features a beautiful soundscape created by Jonah Lehrer. In the episode, Jonah and Robert Krulwich are analyzing the notion that sound is “touch, at a distance” '

At the exhibition, i found this piece very personal in an interactive sense as the digital object reacts differently dependent on the volume, tone and pitch. This meant that it was constantly changing between each person interacting with it.

The gentleman infront of me found that Charlie Uniform November Tango was particularly enjoyable to say into the microphone.

Another piece at the exhibition, one which fascinated the masses was a piece called 'Weave Mirror' by Daniel Rozin. i found that this piece was unique as it was the one thing that was visually amazing from the front as well as the back. The participant stands infront of the piece in which a camera is focused on, this image is then relayed through a program which causes hundreds of semi-circles (each shaded dark to light) to react and transpose the image of the person. As the person is being filmed, the image changes if they move.




The reason i loved this piece so much was because you are able to watch the program at work. The back of this piece reveals all the mechanisms working to transpose the image. Each of the semi-circles is controlled separately and this is fascinating to watch.

The exhibition is full of amazing things and i highly suggest that anyone interested in this style or even the company should take some time to have a look.

initial research- city 2

The disappearing city could be represented the demolition or destruction of the world or cities.



These images are from Steven Spielberg's A.I. The representration of the future comes through neon lights, sexual structures and this constant need to sell themselves. The future, although sometimes bleak, comes with a hint of sexual fun, without the consequences. (Prostitutes and Gigolo's are mainly cyborgs in this film)


This final image mixes the styles of old and new. Traditional stone structures and oriental huts are surrounded by water and an arching dome which engulfs the whole scene.

initial research- city

This image is a concept design which explores the idea that structures are built, but carry on growing after they are created. This concept for the Eiffel Tower caught my eye straight away. The structure has expanded and curved, flowing like root and branches from a tree.




One of the first things that i did when thinking about 'the disappearing city' or 'the everchanging city' was research into the idea of constant development (building upwards and outwards). The image of the NY bridge waterfall shows the change to past structures.

By raiding all the images i've found in the past, i found a select few images which really caught my eye.

Ink Ball test

This is a quick test to see if i could create an object which seems to have a constant motion but without being too distracting if other elements were in the frame

lilium urbanus

One of the first things that came to mind when reading this brief was this video which i found last year.

Lilium Urbanus portrays the design view on the building of a city. The city came about from nature and the environment, built upwards and subsequently designed to represent the natural environment which it came from.

The design of the animation is visually exciting and easily enjoyable.

The only problem with identifying this early on in the competition process is that my design could quite easily trail off into something similar. This is something which i will have to deal with during the idea and design process.

ONEDOTZERO dvd snipping

This video suggests that ONEDOTZERO have a surreal outlook on the traditional style of animating. They aren't afraid to shock/ twist the original idea of story telling in order to create something unusual.

I'm hoping that twisting/ creating something different to the original ideas that i too, can create something unusual and original.

onedotxero trailer

ONEDOTZERO have a diverse approach to the idea of 'adventure in motion' which involves live action, animation, music and text.

Each one of these pieces could easily be converted into another format.

By looking at this, its clear why brief suggests a cross pathway/ multiple media approach.

Weekend

Going to London this weekend, going to the Decode exhibition as well.

Good timing

decode: digital design sensations

ONEDOTZERO currently have an exhibition touring the world. Its current location happens to be in London at the V&A gallery.

As its only there till April, here is a quick snippet of the style of work that is produced by ONEDOTZERO.

Decode: Digital Design Sensations from onedotzero on Vimeo.

ONEDOTZERO

The main brief which caught my eye was the ONEDOTZERO brief asking the participants to explore the ever changing city.

As the brief is set by a specific company, i felt that i needed associate the words with a company. The best way to do this is probably to research the company setting the brief.

ONEDOTZERO

PROFILE

adventures in moving image.

onedotzero is a contemporary, digital arts organisation with a remit to promote innovation across all forms of moving image and motion arts.

activities encompass public events, artist + content development, publishing projects, education, production, creative direction, and related consultancy services.

onedotzero is critically acclaimed for producing the world’s most innovative audio-visual festival, onedotzero_adventures in motion. this year’s edition has just commenced an international tour, following sell-out festivals at london’s bfi southbank in november 08. and in buenos aires in september 08.

onedotzero was conceived at the start of the desktop digital revolution in the mid-1990s out of a desire to explore moving image across single screen, interactive and live audio-visual work. today, onedotzero remains committed to providing a home for visionary moving image experimentation and contemporary creative collisions.

onedotzero has become a global phenomenon, its network of events annually reaching over 60 cities worldwide and thousands of people. it has been the largest dedicated digital film festival in the world since 1999. the festival showcases the most exciting new ideas and brightest up-and-coming talents alongside visionary new work by world-leading creative luminaries. over its twelve year history it has developed a burgeoning audience around the world, hungry for visual adventure and alternative entertainment.

in screen international magazine’s 25th anniversary issue onedotzero was named as one of the top ten visionaries of the uk film industry, alongside ridley scott and lynne ramsey.

the onedotzero dvd label, launched in 2001, distributes and sells around the world. onedotzero_select dvd5, the fifth edition in the select dvd series is out now, featuring a compilation of the most progressive moving images from around the world. . since its inception, onedotzero has collated and commissioned hundreds of hours of original programming for its festival, events, dvd and other projects.

the book onedotzero motion blur 2 and accompanying dvd by shane rj walter was released in 2008 to critical acclaim, and is available worldwide.

in 2008 onedotzero was selected as one of 12 independent uk film companies to take part in the nesta / uk film council digital innovations programme.

it has developed a distinctive distribution catalogue of award-short films that markets and sells across a wide range of platforms worldwide. films include who i am and what i want by chris shepherd and david shrigley, my wrongs 8245-8249 and 117 by chris morris, and rabbit by run wrake.

onedotzero regularly produces short films to commission and has recently produced a new bbc film with director richard fenwick, titled ‘albert’s speech’, and earlier in 2008 produced a series of ten short films with fenwick called user guides. also in 2008, onedotzero commissioned and produced 10 one-minute films by international new talent in conjunction with mtv, and working with japanese sports brand asics to celebrate the tokyo marathon, commissioned and produced 3 one-minute films from johnny hardstaff, plus et plus and seed animation.

in addition to short film, onedotzero has produced and directed the standout tv series onedottv and onedottv_global for the uk’s channel 4, and has produced and commissioned interactive media, installations, exhibitions and live av shows.

onedotzero_adventures in motion festival will be touring globally throughout 2009.

BACKGROUND, BIOGRAPHIES

onedotzero's digital moving image project was established in 1996, at the beginning of desktop digital filmmaking. the first onedotzero festival, directed by matt hanson, was an underground hit in 1997 at the ica, london. 1997 also saw the founding of onedotzero limited and the festival grow to encompass new forms and hybrids of moving image under the direction of shane walter and matt hanson. matt hanson stepped down as director at the end of 2001 but will be working on the onedotzero book and future projects with shane walter.

2006 sees onedotzero’s tenth annual digital moving image festival launching at london's ica with anticipated audiences of over 10,000 people. the national tour of the uk tours to over 15 uk cities with plans for more stops. internationally onedotzero is part of over 60 events and has a network of capsule festival in countries from berlin to tokyo, paris to sydney. it has been part of many international film festival programmes including rotterdam, edinburgh, vienna and melbourne. its global reach, progressive programming and huge audience draw is unmatched.

the onedotzero tenth anniversary celebrations recently launched with a onedotzero_transvision event at the esteemed v&a museum on 24 february. for this one-off event, onedotzero asked 19 key digital-media creatives to respond to the museum’s permanent collection, then to install their works alongside the very pieces that inspired them. the results were outstanding, as over 6,000 people turned out to view installations by the likes of jason bruges, the light surgeons, and tank.tv.

CREATIVE APPROACH

onedotzero is recognised internationally as an innovator in the digital film field, responding to briefs in a unique and original way which sets them apart from traditional creative agencies. its cross-media approach allows innovative mixing of media, styles and techniques. with a defined outlook exploring the next generation of filmmakers it is able to draw from an unprecedented range of talent, from non-traditional areas such as graphic design, illustration, new media, and club backgrounds to produced startling original work.

it has worked commercially outside of the festival for a number of leading brands including producing the european launch video for the sony playstation 2 console.

other client projects have been undertaken with nike, sony computer entertainment europe, adobe europe, levi strauss, absolut, motorola, apple sweden as well as consultancy roles for leading advertising agencies.

Latest brief

After all the delays of other projects, the time has finally come to do some work which will be of interest.
The diversity within each brief allows for some difference from the whole year.

The top 4 briefs which caught my eye are:

ONEDOTZERO- The City is constantly in transition and mutation, disappearing behind changing environments and shifting identities. Create your own ‘adventure in motion’ that explores this.

E4 TV PROMO- Create a TV Promo for E4 publicising their Monday Night Movie strand. and out of ad breaks during the film.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO- We want to see original work that tells us what else you do. The judges are looking only for original work created to your own brief that proves that you have a
creative mind par excellence and there is more then one good idea rattling around in there. We want to see that you can push harder or even step outside of the briefs and categories that D&AD and your tutors set and flex your creative muscles in spectacular ways.

CARTOON NETWORK- Encourage kids through an on-air campaign to realise the power of their imagination and do something amazing with it.

Sebastian's Voodoo

Another video which caught my attention a while ago.

The character design and visuals remind me of '9', the trailer of which is included much earlier in my blog

audi ad

Its been a while since my last blog entry. There weren't many things that turned my attention until the latest Audi advert graced our boxes.

Great visuals and an amazing sound track.

Enjoy!