WAA Trailer 2 – 16×9 from NSC Creative on Vimeo.

We are astronomers

On a recent visit with my kids to the Leicester Space Museum, we all watched, and were very impressed by an animated film they made and show there called “We are Astronomers“. I can heartily recommend seeing it because it is a truly remarkable film, dealing with us, space, the vastness of the universe and the people who work all this stuff out and explain it to us. It’s shown in a 360° domed theatre, so your seat tilts back like a dentists chair. Not surprisingly  the trailer doesn’t do justice to the experience of seeing it live.

The state of the internet

Another film of a different kind, but still pretty remarkable for the size of the data that generated it is, The state of the Internet by Jesse Thomas. I had the same kind of feeling watching this because we are all, through the use of the internet, generating astronomical numbers of pages, sites, emails and tweets.

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.

Links:

• Kiel Johnson
• www.theojemison.com
• Pinhole photos taken with the camera

Quick and Easy ident

The video in this post is an example of a quick ident created for a plasma screen in a refurbished reception area. The idea is to use the ident as a break between items or videos; it’s a signal to the viewer that change is happening. Most of this is subconscious of course our brains see lots of these during the day, especially in the days of multi-channel TV, a more than likely block them out. Things have moved on since the first days of Channel 4 and the fuss that the iconic “4″ ident created at the time.

Channel 4 classic ident from 198os

[Show as slideshow]

The name Jackson has constantly been in the news this week, so I thought I’d add to the Jackson related frenzy by presenting this quick and simple logo and ident for Jackson Media. Based in Oakham Northants, Jackson Media specialises in film to DVD transfer and offers many other video services including recording of events and shows. The company is run by a Mr Peter Jackson, who is not related to the Mr Peter Jackson who directed “Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong“; although he tells me that on a recent trip to New Zealand he was constantly asked if he was.