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Scene 315

02-09-2010

So a couple of months back I wrote about this really neat project created by developer Casey Pugh called Star Wars Uncut.

Here’s the basic gist: Star Wars: A New Hope has been split into 15 second segments and posted on the internet. Fans were to “claim” scenes and re-create them any way you like, as long as it was creative. Once all scenes had been re-done, the highest rated ones as voted on by fans would be put back together and walla! Star Wars.

I really liked the concept- make a collaborative fan film with hundreds of other people. The website was cleverly put together and intuitively organized. In the end, it was just about having fun.

My friend Bryan and I decided we wanted to take part, so we claimed scene 315. Luke, Han, and Chewie have just sprung Leia from her holding cell and they’ve jumped down the garbage shoot to escape. We got my other friend Khendra to play Leia and shot it in my bathtub. I thought rubber duckies would make a good visual so I bought a bunch of them to fill out the tub. (Wish I bought more.)

The project is now over and our scene was selected to be in the final cut of the film. Which is totally exciting. (You can watch the entire movie, clip by clip, here) I’m fully aware that it’s because Khendra looks great in a bikini and had nothing to do with the rubber duckies. I can’t wait to attend the NY screening. It should be quite ridiculous. Every 15 seconds a different group of people will be cheering for their scene. They’re working out a few legal loose ends, but I hear George digs the concept.

Here’s my favorite part though. Casey Pugh, the brains behind this whole operation, just won a Creative Arts Emmy for the entire concept! Kudos to him for a great idea and his tireless work and for allowing me to contribute to an Emmy winning project. Naturally, I’ve been going around claiming to be an Emmy winner myself. Why not? Good times.

Here’s scene 315. And if you’re compelled to, go the SW Uncut site and “like” our scene. Oh and here’s a NY Times article about it.

Put A Ring On It

By: Greg

03-08-2010

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Emotional pornography I produced for WEtv.com. Stay for the money shot.

What’s for dinner?

By: Greg

26-07-2010

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No idea what to make for dinner? Check out this terrific single serving site that’ll help you decide.

http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com

Double Complete Rainbow

By: Greg

08-07-2010

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I’m not sharing this because I think it’s something you need to see. By now you’ve probably already seen or heard about this video. It’s been on internet news sites like Huffington Post and probably in your inbox. A guy named Bear captured a DOUBLE COMPLETE RAINBOW ALL ACROSS THE SKY at Yosemite National Park. I’m sharing this for two reasons. First, you’ve got to love this guy’s enthusiasm. There’s a certain genuineness to it. Even if Bear is on some kind of psychedelia (which is not confirmed), you can tell that we’re witness to a moment of sincere awe. And I suspect we’d get a similar reaction with or without any drugs. I just like Bear.

Secondly, I’m sharing this because I myself am still in awe of the culture we live in. We live in a world where a guy posts a home video to some website and it spreads like a virus to you and me. The concept of the viral video or internet meme still intrigues me and it’s been a part of our culture for almost a decade now. It’s especially exciting when it’s organic like this video. When there are no marketing dollars behind it. When people finesse the concept, remix it, and just have fun with a silly video.

The original

One remix, with autotune!

Newest player in town

By: Greg

06-05-2010

Blog

Google Chrome has been out for a little more than a year now and the web browser has had a slow but steady rate of adoption. Just when Firefox looked like it might finally overtake Internet Explorer for internets superiority, the incorrigible Google comes and throws it’s hat in the ring. And they’re doing it with style. There have been some really beautiful promos made for Chrome in the past, but I absolutely love this new one. Apparently Chrome is faster than a speeding potato.

Geocitiesizer

By: Greg

28-04-2010

Blog

I remember the internet when it looked like ass. When it was a bunch of animated gifs and nasty repeating backgrounds. GeoCities was an interesting concept during the Web’s infancy, where users created their own web sites and connected them in different “neighborhoods”. Each neighborhood had a different theme to it. The problem was that no one knew what the hell they were doing. You got ugly, processor hungry websites with absolutely no grasp of user experience and flow. Design standards were still being ironed out and for some reason, animated gifs made everyone go bananas. The Geocitiesizer is exactly what you think it is. It makes any website look like it was created in 1997. Thank god for decent web design.

Here’s Miabifilms, Geocitiesized.

http://wonder-tonic.com/geocitiesizer/index.php

Busted

By: Greg

15-04-2010

Blog

This morning I threw on the same outfit I wore on Saturday night, because I figured, “No one from work was there, I’m fine.” It was on my floor and it accomplished the dual tasks of both straightening up the room and clothing me. I really appreciate efficiency.

Except I was just tagged in some pics on Facebook from Saturday night. I work in digital the space. So naturally I’m friends with every single one of my coworkers on Facebook. So now everyone knows I don’t wash my clothes. These are real issues we have to deal with now. Might be time to invest in one of these ventless combo washer/dryers.

The Race to Touch

By: Greg

14-04-2010

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I admit it, I’m kind of obsessed with the iPad right now. Forget the fact that it’s a foxy little gadget. I’m obsessed with this paradigm shift to the touch interface. This reach out and touch the internet thing. Yes, Apple is more guilty of wild hyperbole than most, but it’s claims that this product is revolutionary are undeniable. We are now computing with our fingers, folks. They are not the first to do it, but they are the first to do it right. It is time to reevaluate how we use our computers. The Apple vs. Adobe row is bringing a lot of things to light. Some even related to design! Can we live in a world without mouseovers?

Flash design is a rich affair where the user accesses web content through beautiful menus and animated graphics. Among the many techniques employed is the use of mouseovers. A surfer puts their mouse… over buttons on a web site and other actions are triggered. Additional information is usually presented, such as a drop-down menu. Or maybe a new window is popped up. All without clicking. A truly novel way of doing things. And it’s been a ubiquitous part of the browser user experience (UX) for more than a decade.

But mouseover and hover actions don’t work with touch interface. You do not have a mouse pointer to hover over buttons, you have a dirty finger. There have been suggestions to replicate the behavior, like a “finger-aware” screen that can tell if you’re about to touch the screen. But for now, the functionality is simply not possible. Acceptance of touch UI means design principles like these will have to change or risk being left in the dust. Why would design be dictating what devices we buy or how we consume media? Shouldn’t designers be figuring out how to use this new method in beautiful and creative new ways?

The iPad is a really futuristic device. If you’re a professional/power user, a mouse and keyboard still work best. If you’re a media consumer/communicator, which I think most people are, the touch UI is way more fun, intuitive, and powerful. So why not embrace the future? If not with Apple, than with someone else. But embrace it no?