Projects I like: Prison Dancer

Published at January 17, 2012 in Digital Media, Projects and Toronto. 0 Comments

Inspired by the viral video of Filipino prisoners dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Prison Dancer is a new web series due out this May. Dubbed an ‘The Interactive Web Musical’ it is a 12-part series with plans to land on the stage. According to the Huffington Post article, the team which includes Toronto-based director and writer Romeo Candido, Carmen Dejesus, and Ana Serrano, has hopes for the series to be fully participatory with fans learning the songs and dances and posting their own videos.

We are going to see more and more projects like this that move between the web and live events, encourage active participation from fans, and in general exist outside of the traditional broadcast channels.

geneva.b ‘Bus Fare’ Single Release and Birthday Bash at Trane Studio

Published at January 3, 2012 in Music, Social Media and Toronto. 0 Comments

The lovely Ms. geneva.b and myself are hosting a Single Release and Birthday Bash at Trane Studio this Thurs. Jan. 5th. If you are in Toronto don’t miss this night of music, friends, special guests and maybe even a few social media surprises.

To get a little taste of geneva.b check out the Behind the Scenes Video from the ‘Bus Fare’ Photoshoot.

 

Behind the Scenes of Photoshoot for Bus Fare from Geneva B on Vimeo.

Bus Fare is now available on iTunes.

Projects I like: The Ballhawk

Published at October 5, 2011 in Digital Media, NYC-Events and Projects. 1 Comment

So I wanted to share this excellent project by Avinash Dabir aka ‘Ballhawk Dabir’. He had the privilege of being selected as a U.S. Open ball boy this year and decided to blog and tweet for his fans.

US Open Ballhawk

He even raffled off his ballhawk polo via twitter this past weekend. Can’t wait to see what he plans for next year. Unless of course he goes into retirement.

NYC: The U.S. Open goes Interactive

Published at September 19, 2011 in Digital Media and NYC-Events. 0 Comments

Made my (usually) yearly trek to the U.S. Open, which I can say is probably one of my favorite sporting events. This year, I attended on the second afternoon of the grand slam.

Inside Arthur Ashe for Ana Ivanovic’s first round match.

I had my iPad in tow and was definitely able to make use of U.S. Open iPad app.  Actually, my dad probably made more use of it then I did. He really appreciated being able to check the scores and see who was playing next. I think he just wanted to play with my iPad. I was a little worried I wasn’t going to get it back!

However, one friend and U.S. Open ballhawk (more on that in the next post) noted that it would be nice if the app told you which in-progress matches were close. Then fans at the tournament could know which courts to make a made dash for!

There were also some great interactive elements at the tournament. American Express had a whole interactive experience that allowed you to follow your favorite players and keep track of how they were doing. Each day you could update your player cards at the American Express area.

My Interactive Player card.

Its nice to see more and more interactive and experiential advertising. I’m in favor of how it brings interactive technology and ideas to mainstream audiences. Although, I would say that they could be even more innovative and take more risks, again more on that in my next post.

Projects I love: Arcade Fire, Chris Milk and some light up beach balls

Published at September 5, 2011 in Digital Media and Projects. 0 Comments

I’ve been meaning to post this link for awhile now. Arcade Fire collaborated with Chris Milk to created a truly amazing project.

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The meshing of interactivity and live shows is in its infancy. The opportunities for creativity are limitless. The experimental theater realm  has been working with large scale interactive performances for awhile now. Theaters like 3LD and Here in NYC consistently push the boundaries and provide spaces where interactivity and live performance can come together. However, seeing this become more mainstream will open doors we have yet to see.  Artists, video designers, etc. will be able to get the budgets that will make large scale interactive and innovative projects possible.

Amon Tobin’s set for his newest live show is another example of an innovative and truly beautiful. approach to live performance. Check it out on Verbal 007′s  blog . With each of these projects, not only do I hope to see a continuation but a building on these ideas. Can 3d projections not only react to the music but can the interact with the crowd.  Can the beach ball’s take on a life of their own after the concert being played or controlled via websites. The expanding of innovation the space of interactive for live performance is only limited by our imagination. Yes, I’m gushing and I’ve decided I don’t care. This is our opportunity to create art that engages people on a truly emotional level. It is beyond looking at a painting or hearing a song.  It is about engaging the audience in an experience.