"Digital Skin"

We've seen loads of projection mapping on buildings and even cars. Faces are no less fascinating a canvas as this ad for Samsung Portugal shows.  

I wonder if it's just a matter of time before we see Viktor & Rolf adopting this for one of their spectacular shows if the 2002/03 Bluescreen Fall/Winter collection was anything to go by. 

Look. Look again.

A couple of years back when I first came across Jens Wunderling's At Second Glance, I was fascinated by the idea of being able to 'hide' visual messages within a light source. 

at second glance from sport4minus on Vimeo

So it really was just a matter of time before something like The Rainbow Machine emerged. Et voila, a new form of light-painting! Only instead of having to shake your head at the lights ala Jens, you simply remained still and let long exposure photography capture the magic.

The Rainbow Machine from Amanda Hass on Vimeo

What remote? Use the wand.

In case you haven't quite got Brendan Dawe's nifty skills in 'programming' Play-Doh, here's another excuse to replace your remote control with a universal one. By universal, I do mean a wand. Fans of Harry Potter would love this – personally, I'd just like to wave one in someone's face while the nearby TV/DVD/(insert preferred infra-red electronic device here) heeds my beckoning. 


The clever Kymera wand can learn 13 different codes and there's even a practice mode which, let's be frank here, is terribly crucial before you actually try to impress your guests. Or try to hide the remote control from your housemates.


Love it when tech is invisible. 

No remote, no problem

I started taking note of Brendan Dawe's work after seeing him give a talk once upon a few years ago. The man should have his own stand-up routine, never mind the delightful interactive projects he keeps churning out.

If you ever wanted to control a video with Play-Doh, well, now you know you can.

Got to be a classic

So after a (less than planned) hiatus, I thought I might start blogging again about digital projects that inspire me. While I've compiled several of these before in a previous post within a Prezi, it has occurred to me that this doesn't make for easy reading. Promise I'll get new stuff in once I do justice to the recap I'm about to get started with.

In honour of winter's grasp, R/GA's Tattoo Santa has got to be featured first. Produced back in 2007, it's now a permanent classic in my books. Watch Santa get inked as you type. Go on, you know you wanna!

Animation Junkie

With Pixar held up as quasi deities in the world of animation, surely The Sancho Plan must be contented with Wired magazine's review of The Black Page – "Something Pixar would do if it gave up family films for avant-garde performance art, and started hanging around with Thievery Corporation and the developers of Rock Band. If only they would."

The Sancho Plan: The Black Page from The Sancho Plan on Vimeo.


And if there ever was a reason to visit Linz, Austria, The Sancho Plan's Jungle Imperator would be it. Exploiting ultra-HD imagery on the wall and floor coupled with surround audio and stereoscopic 3D, the installation immerses its audience in an audio-visual adventure which allows them to control a cast of animated musical characters.


Jungle Imperator from The Sancho Plan on Vimeo.


So while it appears that animation/digital design is hurtling towards all things 3D, HD and hyper-reality, its 2D and stopmotion cousins are still very much in favour too. Especially with 'craft' back in trend, it's no wonder music videos like The White Stripes' Fell in Love with a Girl by Michel Gondry (Partizan) and Ramona Falls' I Say Fever by Tourist Pictures' Stefan Nadelman continue to have such strong fanfare.




Ramona Falls "I Say Fever" from Barsuk Records on Vimeo.