How News Is Really Made Courtesy of Charlie Brooker

Take three and enjoy.

Apple’s iPad, Apollo 13 and The Media Industry

During the past 18 months I’ve been having lots of conversations about rethinking media. A month ago while speaking with several Conde Nast employees I used an example from Apollo 13 as my thesis for what media has to do today. In honor of Apple’s Tablet iPad, I thought I would share my entire thought processes in one, one minute clip.

Is Your Brand Ready For The Apple iSlate?

The Apple iSlate, otherwise known as the-only-possible-thing-on-the-planet-that-can-save-media, is supposed to be released next week by Apple and the media is scrambling to be ready. But what are you doing to get your own brand in place to take on this new technology?

Not sure? Consider the following:

• If Apple does in fact release the iSlate, magazines and media companies will be turning to advertisers in droves to fill their new digital properties. This means ads will need to be placed next to interactive content and possibly be interactive themselves. Is your brand ready to be interactive and have multiple campaigns?
• If you’re brands video is placed next to a Sports Illustrated video recap of last night’s NBA game, how will your video quality compare to the high definition video SI is using? Flip camera’s worked great last year, but now as mobile displays are able to distribute video in full hd will your ad take advantage of that?
• Advertising, or rather good advertising today, is all about storytelling and providing viewers with a story. With interactive ads, brands can now highlight personalities, product demonstrations, real-world situations and story lines that support their message and engage the viewer. Outdoor brands and travel brands have a strong advantage here. Who wouldn’t want to see yesterday’s snow conditions, check out interactive trail maps, and view 360-degree photos of hotel rooms when deciding if they were going to book a trip that weekend to their favorite resort?
• Are you still thinking one-way? Or are you using your ads to encourage conversation and participation? Advertising is no longer about putting out a message and expecting it to stick. We all know this, but for some reason advertisers are still approaching ads as if they were ads and not their own branded content. Most magazines have little to no online budget, so ads can take advantage of this and use various mediums to create their own content targeted specifically at iSlate users. For instance, if your brand was a rafting company, approaching your advertisement as a narrative travel story following a select number of guests, engages the viewer more than just a bunch of b-roll video with crappy copyright-free music. If you are thinking like a journalist, your brands advertisements will stick out. Big time.

There are many more ways brands can set themselves up for the iSlate and mobile advertising, but by far the largest step needs to be action. Like podcasting and iPhone Apps, the early adopters were able to grab market share quickly and stay ahead of the game by innovating along the way. So instead of wringing your hands, start small and build from there. Brands that do will succeed and I believe will stand out sometimes even more than the editorial content they are next to.

When Images and Music Perfectly Mix

Where The Wild Things Are

Possibly the best trailer of the last ten years.

Everything is Amazing – Four Minutes to a Better Life and Lots of Laughs

Every once in a while I run across something so inspiring I can’t help but share it with everyone I know. I first saw Louis C.K.’s now famous “Everything’s Amazing,” clip last year when a friend emailed it to me. I was going through a rough time — a dream job didn’t work out, my bank account was at zero, my motivation was non-existent — and he thought this would put some things into perspective. Boy was he right.

It’s hard to remember the small things in this world sometimes. Like the fact that we take for granted things once deemed impossible. Just think about how idiotic you would’ve sounded if 200-years-ago you told the world population their great great great grandchildren would be able to speak to anyone within seconds, regardless of their geographic location. Or that traveling around the world could be done in less than a day and without breaking a sweat. You’d be tarred and feathered and labeled a lunatic.

So take a few minutes and check out this clip. YouTube took down the original video, but this site here has it. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Enjoy.

Forget Tradition It’s All About Creativity

Traditional advertisements are a thing of the past. Okay not really — watching NBC Nightly News I can’t help but wonder just how sick I’ll be in ten years — but there is a new breed of highly creative marketing videos hitting the web, and some of the best are choosing Vimeo.com to host.

Last night while clicking around I stumbled across three in particular that caught my eye. Each had a different angle, but the same concept: With this product you can be creative in ways you didn’t think possible. I’d be curious to know what the budgets were, but for now I’ll just enjoy the videos and ponder how much time it took to actually create them.

Enjoy

Another day in the office…

Took yesterday to shoot b-roll in Rocky Mountain National Park for Backpacker magazine. Minus the rain it was one hell of a day.

Proof Creativity Can Be Found Anywhere

Ran across this video and couldn’t help but think about the fact no matter what your task is, there is always a way to improve your message while surprising and engaging your audience.

1981 News Report: “News By Computer Still A Few Years Off”

You have to wonder something: why is everyone interested in reading a newspaper online in 1981 old? 

 

Thanks to A Photo Editor

Christmas Song Awesomeness

Hit up Pearl Street this morning to get my sister’s christmas present and met this guy along the way. Just some Saturday morning zen.