interesting 6.28.09
- John Hodgman at Radio & TV Correspondents’ Dinner [video]
- Doctors Baffled, Intrigued by Girl Who Doesn’t Age – 16 year old Brooke Greenberg remains a toddler
- Another Perfect World: virtual worlds documentary – Second Life, Lineage, Eve Online, etc
- RIP Michael Jackson
- The New York Times: New York City Homicides Map (2003-2009)
- Ideas worth taking credit for. The TED augmented reality hoax.
- The Big Picture: A troubled week in Iran
United Visual Artists: Deus – the seductive quality of artificial light in the natural world
From United Visual Artists:
Deus is a photographic exploration of the seductive quality of artificial light in the natural world. This body of work grew from an extended study of form and experiments on how a powerfully illuminated presence affects the surrounding environment. As urban dwellers we are attuned to illuminated space; so with Deus we decided that all of the post-industrial natural locations we explored would be devoid of this artifice. The work can be read as a deadpan comment on the sleight of hand inherent in all ‘worship’.
Exhibition runs from the June 3rd – 27th 2009
The Smithfield Gallery, London
interesting 6.21.09
WE ARE AUTOBOTS: Transformers Augmented Reality
Announcing WE ARE AUTOBOTS -- Transformers Augmented Reality.
From the official press release:
To promote the international release of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, Paramount Pictures International (PPI) is making ground-breaking use of augmented reality (AR) and face tracking technology to give Transformers fans the opportunity to picture themselves with the original 3D CGI head of legendary Autobot leader Optimus Prime.
Visitors to ‘We Are Autobots’ (http://www.weareautobots.com) can also find a hidden message from Bumblebee featuring an exclusive montage of Decepticon footage from the new movie. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is released in the UK and Ireland on June 19th and internationally on June 24th 2009.
‘We Are Autobots’ has been developed using the original 3D models of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee that appear in the film. It was developed for PPI by creative marketing agency Picture Production Company (PPC), working in conjunction with augmented reality specialists Total Immersion.
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Related:
- /Film: “Paramount Launches Augmented Reality Website To Promote Transformers 2″
- Gizmodo: “You Too Can Wear the Head of Optimus Prime (in Augmented Reality, Of Course)”
- TheTransformers.net: “We Are Autobots.com launched to promote Transformers 2″
- FirstShowing.net: “Check This Out: Transformers 2 Augmented Reality Promo”
- Creativity Online: “Augmented Reality in Mobile and Gaming”
- Creativity Online: “Transformers: We Are Autobots”
- New Media Age: “Paramount runs major marketing campaign across digital platforms for Transformers”
- CNET Asia: “Augment your reality and be a Transformer”
- Idea IS the format: “Autobots? We are, for now at least”
- I Watch Stuff: “Finally, You Can Have Optimus Prime’s Head on Your Body”
- JasonTheodor.com : “Get Primed: Transform Yourself Into Optimus”
- Digital Buzz Blog: “Transformers Launches Augmented Reality App”
- Games Alfresco: “Transform to Optimus Prime”
- Toxel.com: “Transformers Augmented Reality”
interesting 6.14.09
- Miranda July: The Hallway – art installation
- Banksy Versus Bristol Museum
- Come Out & Play Festival 2009 – innovative public street games transform NYC into a playground, June 12-14
- 3 Snow Leopards Focus of First New Central Park Zoo Exhibition Since 1988
- ZulaWorld: kids virtual world for science, math and astronomy
interesting 6.7.09
- David Lynch: INTERVIEW PROJECT – 70 day road trip across the US interviewing 121 people about their lives
- RIP David Carradine
- Ridley Scott & Ag8: Purefold – web series inspired by Blade Runner, with UGC story input from viewers via FriendFeed
- Thomas Traum: 5AM – net art
- World Science Festival, June 10-14 NYC
- Atomic: Augmented Reality & Mind Mapping Authoring Tool – Create your own AR Applications
HOME a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand: environmental documentary with spectacular aerial views of 54 countries
HOME (Trailer)
HOME a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Produced by Luc Besson
Narrated by Glenn Close
From National Geographic:
This visually dramatic special illustrates the planet’s fragile state entirely from a birds-eye view in stunning high definition. With spectacular aerial views from more than 50 countries, viewers will see the extent of human impact on our landscapes. And not a moment too soon: In the past 50 years --a single lifetime — the Earth has been more radically changed than by all previous generations of humanity.
From HOME:
A hymn for the planet
HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth -- our Earth -- as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth’s treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. “From the sky, there’s less need for explanations”. Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world. (HOME embraces the major ecological issues that confront us and shows how everything on our planet is interconnected.)
Synopsis
In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.
Watch the full movie online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU
TRANSFORMERS in PlayStation Home
Announcing TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN in Sony PlayStation Home.
From the official press release:
To promote the release of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, Paramount Pictures International (PPI) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the release of a selection of Transformers merchandise, available exclusively through a virtual treasure hunt in Home.
A variety of T-Shirts and a unique ‘Autobot Trophy’ will be rewarded to residents who embark on the ‘Transformers Quest’. This activity continues PPI’s commitment to take innovative film marketing within online virtual communities to the next level. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, directed by Michael Bay, is due to release internationally on June 24th this year.
Starting today, Home residents can begin the quest by finding the Transformers theatrical poster, placed at a few points throughout the public spaces in Home. Another will succeed this poster and targeting it will launch the first in a series of games that will be released over the coming days and weeks. The completion of each game will deliver a unique voucher code, which can be redeemed for an exclusive piece of Transformers merchandise. More information about the game can be found on the PlayStation EU Forum.
Home residents can already watch the TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN trailer in the Home Cinema and this treasure hunt will take Transformers to all corners of PlayStation Home.
Both companies are again working with marketing agency, The Picture Production Company (PPC), heavily experienced in film promotion and marketing within virtual worlds and across the wider social web, on strategic direction, original content production and promotion.
Home is a 3D social gaming community that allows PLAYSTATION®3 users to meet, chat, plan, and launch into games together. They can create their own custom avatar, decorate their personal apartment, play mini-games, shop, watch videos and attend special events.
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Related:
- TheSixthAxis: “Transformers in Home”
- PlayStation Lifestyle: “Transform PlayStation Home”
- N4G: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Treasure Hunt”
- TheTransformers.net: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Enterting Playstation Home”
- TFormers: “Attention UK Fans – Play Revenge Treasure Hunt On Playstation Home, Win Prizes”
Xbox unveils Project Natal: controller-free gaming with full body motion tracking, voice commands, & facial recognition
From Microsoft Xbox:
Unveiled for the first time to the public was “Project Natal,” pronounced “nuh-tall” and a code name for a revolutionary new way to play, no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak, you and your friends can jump into the fun. The only experience needed is life experience.
Compatible with any Xbox 360 system, the “Project Natal” sensor is the world’s first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone, and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device. Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, “Project Natal” tracks your full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in your voice.
“The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear,” said Steven Spielberg, visionary director and producer. “With ‘Project Natal,’ we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us.”
2009 Project Natal Announcement:
Steven Spielberg and Xbox Project Natal:
Xbox Project Natal Ricochet Stage Demo:
Xbox Project Natal Painting Demo:
Xbox Project Natal Milo Demo by Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios: