Moonwalk memory

For all of you who used to watch MTV in the 80's to learn and practice dance
moves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PAJqgeeJf4

Such amazing talent...

Max

Holocaust denying Bishop

"Disgraceful". That is the first word that came to mind when learning of the UK's decision to accept the holocaust-denying bishop back into the country. For me it is blatant disrespect to the families, to the memories of all those who died in concentration camps, and to the survivors of the holocaust. It is as bad taste and a major faux pas as HRH Prince Harris wearing a Nazi uniform at a themed party.

It also hard to believe this person is still allowed to be a bishop. The Vatican should have stripped him of the clergy.

CANNES: Ched bien!

21 May 2008

Two nights ago I went to see LET'S GET LOST in the Cannes Classics section. This amazing documentary on Ched Baker by Bruce Weber is an astouding example of what documentaries should be: captivating, beautifully shot, mesmerizingly edited, and extremely well crafted storyline.

Attending the screening were the filmaker, the cinematographer, the executive producer. Also present were Wim Wenders and Agnes B.

CANNES: On CLOUD 9

20 May 2008

Two days ago I sat in a dark room not knowing much about a film that was about to unspool. The brief synopsis I read teased of a 40 something woman falling for a 70 something man and finally choosing her lover over her husband.

To my great displeasure what I was visual hit with was a horribly shot, uncinematic, jeriatric fuck fest of 3 people who looked more like they were all in their 60s and some of the ugliest people around. Not one had a trace of charm or beauty, whether youthful or old.

15 minutes of this filmographic carnage was enough for me to retire back to the sun drenched Croisette.

Highly unrecommended.

NEW AD-AGE

In this ever changing world where trends, fashions and technology change every day, every hour, every minute advertisers need to keep abreast and ahead of the multiple ways of reaching their targeted audience. They must think laterally, across multiple platforms and always search for new avenues to communicate their message: the old linear type of advertising is no longer as effective in a society where choice of content and expression is so readily available.

Advertising today must do much more than communicate and create brand awareness - it must captivate!

Audience interactivity is the key. Motion messaging must be used to enhance delivery of the advertising and be judicially used in any advertiser's mix. On the other hand services need to compete by offering complete, rich, multiplatform products especially when their business model is advertiser dependent.

THE FUTURE OF CINEMA

Digital technology will continue to revolutionize the world and cinema just as much. The camcorder and digital video made it possible for anyone to make films, even to a quality standard that is acceptable for broadcast. The digital age has shooed in the ability to do every post-production task right from one's bedroom.

It is therefore no surprise that on the business side of film things are advancing rapidly too as consumers more rapidly embrace changes on society created by the digitization of our world. Having attended Cinema Expo a couple of weeks ago it is clear that the future is digital... 3D... And sooner than most skeptics believe. Yes we have been speaking about digital cinema for almost 20 year now, but it is definitely there and slowly creeping up, like a bird of prey looming over its victim, it will seem to appear all of a sudden.

There are numerous players today in the digital cinema world and the number seems to be growing day by day. Many offering different and fascinating business models, but all ultimately with the goal of streamlining, cutting costs, and delivering more. More for everyone: the distributor, the exhibitor, the filmmaker and the audience member. The great issue on the d-cinema landscape, but seemingly quickly fading, is compliance with an industry standard that is restraining progress, hindering propagation, and creating much unnecessary competition... This, for the time being, is a far better choice than the industry standard: the infamous 2K. A particularly interesting model is the approach UFO Europe is adopting.

But digital technology doesn't stop there. Cinema-wise the next big big thing is 3D... And it's coming to a cinema near you soon... Very soon... At least that's the case if REAL D have their way. Imagine reliving 'Jaws' in 3D... Scary! I would definitely never go swimming in the sea again.

The Internet, although a seemingly natural distribution platform is still proving difficult as a place to find films, at least in terms of your traditional website search for content... And please don't tell 'YouTube'. Seen anything anywhere near the quality (let's not even talk about length) of Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" on YouTube? No. And this is the current problem with the internet in the form of YouTube-like sites and the blessing of its future. Initially the issue is bandwidth and storage. The bandwidth is there but it's still too expensive for the telecoms to light up additional fiber and with the advent in the last few year of the cheaper multiplexing fiber method, it might still be a couple of years before we reach the true bandwidth needed to view feature films streaming in HD. This is combined with the storage problem a 2 hour films pose. Joost, the new venture from the Skype Guys, might just solve these problems much sooner than expected.

MOBILE

The future of content is anytime, anyhow, anywhere! The means mobile and on demand!

Major players including front end service providers such as Vodafone, T-Mobile and the like, as well as back end infrastructure builders such as Nokia Siemens (NSN), are actively pushing the envelop to provide broadband access to the masses.

Although broadband rates available on landlines are not likely to appear this year on a mobile device near you in the middle of Hide Park (unless provided by Wifi), the technology is already (being put) in place and will be made available when front end service providers decide to commercially exploit it.

WiMax has already deployed in cities like Monaco for year. However consumers have not been able to enjoy it because the local telecom service provider has not commercially deployed it... Yet.

The future is definitely cross city deployment of wireless broadband accessible anytime anywhere from enabled devices, which currently is an issue as laptops let alone mobile phones are not equipped to receive wi-max signal. Eventually one day we will be able to connect anywhere in most countries around the world and perhaps even reach the point of getting user friendly wireless broadband internet access anywhere anytime at any spot on the face of this planet.

People crave freedom and this also means being able to do what they want when they want including undertaking their favorite activities. Current trends show that more and more people are spending more time online, now equaling and soon overtaking watching TV as a primary source of entertainment. But mobility and on demand access is also highly important in improving living standards by enabling people to be more productive, leaving more time for people to pursue activities that enhance their lives.

An example of this was me this morning going into Central London - I had 30 minutes on the tube so I took out the laptop and started working. By the time I got to my destination I had covered a few important items that put me ahead before I got to the office. If I had had internet access on the tube I could have saved another 10 minutes.

Companies, service providers, brands should all be actively pushing and deploying mobile structures, applications and services. I would gladly pay to have total mobility and access. An interesting model would also be to offer an inexpensive solution offset by advertising. I would gladly sit through one 30 sec commercial every time I need to connect. Just a thought.

Stay tuned... And look out.