This summer I spent some time consulting (pro bono) to a fabulous group called Elephant Voices. Elephant Voices is the nonprofit home of the world-famous elephant researcher Joyce Poole, who made breakthrough discoveries in elephant communication during her decades of research studying elephants in Ambroseli, a game preserve in Africa.
Joyce and her husband and partner in her work Petter Granli took the consulting advice to heart and I'm happy to see they've been publishing new Animoto videos about their work now in trying to stop the ivory trade, which is decimating elephant populations in Africa. The rising affluence among Chinese people seems to be at the heart of the increasing demand for ivory. Here's a video the two of them made and posted this week:
They have a YouTube channel and have 25,000 views.
Another friend, and a great support of Elephant Voices, Coco Hall (who introduced me to Joyce and Petter) also made her own video using Animoto. It uses video as well as photos to tell a rather more harrowing video. I will post a link to the second video example here.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Making of THE COVE
You'll see the trailer of the film for the first two and a half minutes of this video but then comes a Making of video that shows you how the hidden cameras (underwater and a nest) were created and placed:
Stop Motion Animation
This year was the year Stop Motion Animation had its Hollywood closeup with not one but two movies - Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline. Stop motion is gaining ground in web video as well, from us non studio types.
Here's one fine example of a video made entirely in stop motion - using only post it notes! Granted this is pretty grand but you could also do something much smaller and have it be impactful.
Think about how you could use stickies and basic graphic concepts to get your point across.
Here's a bit about the making of Fantastic Mr. Fox. You'll get an idea of how hard a feature film is - but then don't forget you can, like the video above, get your message across just with stickies, too!
Here is a making of video about Coraline as well:
What ideas does stop motion inspire for you?
Here's one fine example of a video made entirely in stop motion - using only post it notes! Granted this is pretty grand but you could also do something much smaller and have it be impactful.
Think about how you could use stickies and basic graphic concepts to get your point across.
Here's a bit about the making of Fantastic Mr. Fox. You'll get an idea of how hard a feature film is - but then don't forget you can, like the video above, get your message across just with stickies, too!
Here is a making of video about Coraline as well:
What ideas does stop motion inspire for you?
Visualizing Climate Change (and Solutions): Our History
For 50 years, the Santa-Cruz-based artists the Harrisons have been making art about ecosystems and climate change. They spoke Saturday at the KALA Institute in Berkeley to a gathering of artists and art lovers about their current exhibit at KALA.
In 2010, we look at it and think of Google maps and how we are now able to visualize environmental changes, but in their day, there was hardly anyone doing it. And even today, it's great to see how the Tibetan plateau looks - in a giant photo - and try to understand what it will mean when all those glaciers melt down, depriving Asia of most of its water supply. Seeing it in the spaciousness (both physical and emotional and mental space) of a gallery lets us focus and see more clearly.
It's time to learn all we can about their work and carry it forward.
In 2010, we look at it and think of Google maps and how we are now able to visualize environmental changes, but in their day, there was hardly anyone doing it. And even today, it's great to see how the Tibetan plateau looks - in a giant photo - and try to understand what it will mean when all those glaciers melt down, depriving Asia of most of its water supply. Seeing it in the spaciousness (both physical and emotional and mental space) of a gallery lets us focus and see more clearly.
It's time to learn all we can about their work and carry it forward.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Take a Wild Guess
How many people do you think watched the State of the Union address on TV?
Online?
Here's the answer from the White House:
48 million on TV
1.3 million online
1.3, eh?
http://mashable.com/2010/01/29/state-of-the-union-numbers/
You could also have watched it on the government's iPhone ap...or added yours to the 9,000 questions posed on CitizenTube.com (a U.S. government channel). There were also 50,000 people on Facebook.
Online?
Here's the answer from the White House:
48 million on TV
1.3 million online
1.3, eh?
http://mashable.com/2010/01/29/state-of-the-union-numbers/
You could also have watched it on the government's iPhone ap...or added yours to the 9,000 questions posed on CitizenTube.com (a U.S. government channel). There were also 50,000 people on Facebook.
What do you do after The Story of Stuff? The Cap and Trade Video
Replicating success isn't as easy as it you might think. Will The Cap and Trade video be able to catch up to its popular predecessor - The Story of Stuff - which has been seen by over 7 million people?
So far the count for the Cap and Trade animated short (made by Berkeley's own Free Range Studio, an animation house) stands at 268,000 views to date - highly respectable - and we'll stay tuned to its trajectory and wish it well.
The Stuff group now has 2 more COMING SOON videos. One will focus on The Story of Electronics. Another on The Story of Bottled Water. Learn more here.
So far the count for the Cap and Trade animated short (made by Berkeley's own Free Range Studio, an animation house) stands at 268,000 views to date - highly respectable - and we'll stay tuned to its trajectory and wish it well.
The Stuff group now has 2 more COMING SOON videos. One will focus on The Story of Electronics. Another on The Story of Bottled Water. Learn more here.
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