Technology

WEF: Top Ten Emerging Technologies.

It’s Friday, watch something cool and learn while you are at it. I have to admit I had watch this a few times to get all the information because I kept looking at Felipe Vargas animation and illustrations and not paying attention to all of the text on screen. The video below was commissioned by The World Economic Forum to highlight the top 10 emerging technologies. Vargas, and Pablo Gonzalez directed the short which features illustration work by Vargas who was also the primary animator, along with small but very talented animation support team. It’s a great little short with a look that really reminds me of Charlie Harper ( not the character from Two and a Half Men ).

“A diverse range of breakthrough technologies, including batteries capable of providing power to whole villages, “socially aware” artificial intelligence and new generation solar panels, could soon be playing a role in tackling the world’s most pressing challenges.
The World Economic Forum requested a short Animation conveying this important message. A short deadline demanded simple, but attractive animations and graphics that could tell the story without a voiceover.”
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Directed by Pablo Gonzalez and Felipe Vargas at SMOG
Creative Direction by Pablo Gonzalez at SMOG
Design and Illustrations by Felipe Vargas.
Animation direction by Felipe Vargas.
Animations by: Felipe Vargas, Patricio Molina, Berni Bruner, Spiro Bunster and Francisco Castro.

AnyPixel from Google.

For sometime now, if you wanted to create an interactive wall, you had to have some pretty solid coding skills or know someone who did. There are a ton of open source frameworks to get the job done, but none of them are very easy to use. Thanks to Google that is changing. AnyPixel.js an an open source code and hardware library created so you can make interactive displays out of pretty much anything. The library contains a solid base of code, and schematics that can be modified for things like lights, screens and sensors. The video below shows it in action at the Google New York offices. Google used 5880 off-the-shelf arcade buttons as our pixels.

Get the code library here.

Lets all call Sweden and ask them something.

I’ve always wanted to go to Sweden, and since my passport just got renewed I might have to start planning a trip. So, what to do in Sweden? Where to go? What to see? What should I pack? Are they on the Euro? So many questions, and now I can get answers. How? By calling Sweden and talking to a Swede.

This has got to be one of the better tourism ad campaigns to surface in quite some time. No cheesy landscape shots with beautiful people doing all sorts of touristy things. With this campaign you can really call Sweden, and speak to a real Swede and ask them anything you want about their country. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend. I’m going to call Sweden and ask them anything and everything I can think of. Wanna ask Sweden something yourself? You can do it right here at Sweden’s dedicated Swedish Number website.

A Royal Rumble Carved from Stone. Well Sort Of.

The video below took a year to complete. Hyperrealistic statuettes of wrestling talent were hand sculpted in Maya and later shaded to look like marble. if you count the number of figures and then combine it with the environment they are placed in you’ll understand why. This is an enormous project for any team to tackle, but the end result is one solid promotion for Royal Rumble.

The Royal Rumble spot is a reimagined and rebranded rethink, conceptualized from the ground up to showcase one of the big four events that WWE produces throughout the year. It is a retelling of the storied past and grand moments from events past and those yet to be written. Perfectly paced, with a solid script and voice over the visuals hook you and pull you into the spot.

“Labored on over the course of a year, hyperrealistic statuettes of wrestling talent were hand sculpted and then later shaded to look like marble in Maya. An enormous and detailed tableau provides the backdrop for the reimagining, referencing structures from ancient kings on the left and progressing to more modern structures that nod towards the robber barons of the industrial revolution. A leitmotif of ornamental detailing weaves itself throughout the piece creating a cohesion that culminates with the apex, a ring that all the competitors aspire to conquer.”

VP Production & Graphics | Chris Siciliano
Senior Managing Director | Kevin Callahan

Art Director | Jacques Broquard

Set Supervisor & Designer | Gib Patterson
Modeler | Jeff Lee

Lead Character Sculptor | Hossein Diba
Character Sculptor | Ebrahim Diba
Character Sculptor | Daniel Peteuil
Character Supervisor | Sean Thorpe

Animation TD | Matthew Thurber
Character Animator | Cilian Tung
Motion Graphics Animator | David Durand
Rigger | Hayden McGowan

Lighting TD | Matthew Gleason
Lighter & Compositor | Paul Wei
Lighter & Compositor | Jason Garrison