If you are *gasp* a clueless adult trying to figure out what’s going on in the world of teens and technology in the US, and have an hour or so to spare, be sure to check out this video.
Guy Kawasaki, a famous venture capitalist, moderated a session that hosted a few youths from 15-24 years old, where he threw questions in an attempt to discover what makes youths in US click.
As much as it sounds like one of those efforts to connect with the youth *ahem*, the interaction is actually pretty lively and interesting, leaving little nuggets or sneak peeks into a typical US youth’s perspective.
The Stonehenge was estimated to have been built more than four thounsand years ago, and it has thus aroused curiosity and conspiracy theories alike as to how it was built. Some attributed the effort to aliens, considering the physical impossibility of humans in moving, erecting and constructing those stones that weigh more than 20 tonnes each.
One man decided to see if he could build the Stonehenge without employing any modern technology – and to build it by himself. He proved that with some clever method and a lot of perseverance, it is possible to emulate the effort. See how one man lifts and moves tons of stone in the quest for the Stonehenge.
“Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand, and I will move the earth.” – Archimedes
If all my trivia-gathering and Internet-trolling could lead to one good thing, this would be the dream. A contestant on the Who Wants to be a Millionaire show, John Carpenter was in the hot seat, ready to answer the final question. How will he fare? Watch it!
Of course, we intellectually know that models that appears on our magazines and billboards have been enhanced. But quite often we still assume that a celebrity/model looks just like how they appear on these flashy pages too. Dove, in its Campaign for Real Beauty, hit a gem in this commercial spot that illustrates just exactly how the whole mechanism works – the lighting, the make-up, and the digital touch ups.
And yes, no wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.
This performance, “The Sultan’s Elephant” by Royal de Luxe is an amazing puppet show – if you could call a (30feet?) tall puppet that. Maneuvers are done via long ropes, cranks and tall cranes instead of nimble fingers and threads. However, don’t let that set-up fool you. The motions are totally natural, without the slightest hint of a mechanical nature.
This puppet show is the most realistic I’ve seen – the puppet itself is already a mastery of crafts. The eyes, eyelashes, the hair, etc. as she blinks, wonders, ponders; the expressions on the wooden puppet that seem to almost quietly whisper you a question. Eerily real, wonderfully superb.
This video, “Nobody’s Watching Diet Coke & Mentos”, is a funny spoof of that video:
The gem, however, is that the two guys in the video above are not actually just any other two amateur cam-whores. They are, in fact, part of a Warner Brother’s mockumentary show (a produced show pretending to be a reality/documentary in nature).
The show centers around two friends from Ohio named Derrick (Taran Killam) and Will (Paul Campbell), who send in a home video of themselves to every network claiming that they can produce a better sitcom than the ones currently being broadcasted by the networks. In the show, The WB takes them up on this offer, and offers them both an opportunity to create their own sitcom.
So basically, WB hired people to pretend that they’re amateurs who contacted WB and got an agreement to produce a reality show. In other words, it’s a staged show pretending to be a reality-ish show in which the two participant produces a sitcom (called Nobody’s Watching). Wikipedia explains it here. Haha, if you’re confused, you’re not alone. Test audiences were simliarly confused, and that’s why Warner Brothers didn’t air it.
The clips, however, found their way into Youtube, and were met with positive responses, and so now they’re considering putting it onto TV. If you’re all confused, well, just sit tight and watch these videos (3-parts of the test Pilot Episode). They’re really good and funny!
After seeing the Hanging Cars post, a friend reminded me of a Honda advertisement (indeed, one of the greatest ever produced!). The components that made up a Honda lined up in an interesting array of domino effects – and apparently there were no visual tricks (like CG). The director was adamant that the whole thing be real, and they actually did the thing over and over again so that every part is perfect.
Another great, but perhaps a little less well-known Honda Ad, is the Choral Honda Ad for the launch of Honda Civic in the UK. The idea was to find out how driving a Honda sounds like – from the moment the engine is ignited, to how the windshield viper rubs against the glass; drops of rain hitting the car roof; autumn leaves crumpling as the wheel rolls over…etc. And then, to emulate this with the human voice through choir. Simply fascinating if you ask me.
