Understanding the Hero Archetype

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Fallon Brainfood: Return of the Real Hero (pdf)

View more documents from Alyson Heller.

Photography that talks

This is stunning photography by Caitlin Worthington. She has an uncanny ability to capture depth and emotion with her powerful portrait style. The saying that the eyes are the window to the soul is brought to life vigorously with Caitlin's work. You can see more of her work at http://www.caitlinworthington.com/

The 24 hour ad challenge

Very cool project. 20 teams had 24 hours to create and develop a 60 second cinema ad. This was great initiative at discovering new film talent, and it was a great vehicle to drive viral content. http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/november/24-hour-ad-challenge-the-winner

A brilliant and funny talk on the new definition of value

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Animation that amazes

http://vimeo.com/5498470
http://vimeo.com/3579852

Absolutely stunning pieces of animation. Have a look and let us know which you like most.

To some it's music, to others it's mutiny. You decide.

Pulp Fiction mashup. Quite immense and may lead to minor seizures :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzygyXR8eUc&feature=player_embedded#watch-main-area

You want my attention? Depress me

This report is brilliant. According to a London College study, consumers react more astutely to negative messages. This may support the fact that many popular viral videos feature scenarios where people do foolish and harmful things, or scenarios where people are aggressive, etc.

The question is, could this learning apply to communications? Would it serve beer companies better to show negative ads? So instead of the glorious party on a rooftop scenario, you show stories where guys get wasted, lose their money, pick-up really nasty girls, then pass out in the cab on the way home and get robbed by the driver before he throws him to the curb?

http://www.bizreport.com/2009/10/study_consumers_react_more_to_negative_statements.html

PepsiCo amps down its messaging to women

Pepsi has been innovating quite a deal in the digital space which results in a few hiccups.The most recent one is their free iPhone app for their Amp energy drink.

The app was designed to help men seduce women and then keep the records of their conquests. It clusters women into 24 categories and then uses the smartphone capabilities to find information about them and what they like.

While the content is not idea for a Company that really really wants to sell loads of Tropicana juice to mothers across the land, the fact that the Company is really taking risks in the digital space is worth acknowledging.

The danger is clearly how far is far. Common sense should have dictated this one but sometimes the need to surprise and spark debate blinds reason. It will prove increasingly difficult and provide stronger creative muscle to accomplish this objective as what defines surprise and irreverence becomes, well, irreverent.

Read the Adweek article and see the comments.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i92ec830f3865d5c08bbb820c6b1d5665#

The best gig of all time

We all have moments in our lives where we know that history is being experienced. A moment that we know will be etched in our minds forever. A moment that will be talked about well after our passing. The attached video represents one of those. For any music buff, it is a must view.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo-lBnTc3So&feature=player_embedded

If you succeed do you actually fail? Oh yes

We often think about success and failure in very one-sided terms. Our perceptions of people that we deem unsuccessful are low, where the term loser is frequently used. Yet we fail to truly understand of even try to acknowledge the truth of the person or the situation.

Alain de Botton, a Swiss writer and philosopher, discusses this topic and helps us refraim our interpretation of success and failure.

This is a great speech to provide inspiration for character and story development in storytelling.

Enjoy.

http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_a_kinder_gentler_philosophy_of_success.html#

Viral films hit clubland and take center stage

Music remixing is an established form of song-making. It has been evolving and growing creatively as technology opens new opportunities to combine previously unheard sounds or unthinkable combinations.

The music video remix has birthed some unbelievable songs, where the orginal songs sometimes pale in comparison to the new mixed rendition (my favorite example of this is the Snow Patrol/ Police remix "Every car you chase"). The other extreme are some hilarious combinations that attempt to ridicule vs show musical prowess.

What I've yet to see done is actually remixing virals with music in a real-time fashion. The attached video does exactly that. What I love about it is that it brings a whole new dynamic to live performance as well as provide some interesting visual fodder for the viral obsessed (me being one of them). Have a look and feel free to post other examples that you think are cool along this topic.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jhu1f0xrDc&feature=player_embedded

Editors beware. Tom from 6th grade wants your job

What do films like Rambo 4 and Halloween have in common? How about Star Wars and The Departed? Or even The Watchmen and WALL-E?

These are just a tiny sample of the mashup trailers that are all the rage on Youtube. Home editing software coupled with a solid dose of creativity have ignited some of the most original, but"fake", movie trailers I have ever seen.

The link below is a case in point. If you didn't know that it was a mashup, you'd actually think it was authentic. However, the excellence is execution is what makes it so darn funny. Even the dramatic pauses in the visuals match the audio. Have a look and enjoy surfing and discovering more of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV20o1gKQHg&feature=related