Honda Cog Ad: Isn’t It Nice When Things Just Work?

Simple ad by Honda…. or is it?

Updharmadown’s New Video – Taya

One of the best bands to come out in the local scene, Updharmadown. They have developed a unique sound which I would say is distinctively Updharmadown. I thought the first album, Fragmented, was one of the best I’ve heard in a while. I’ve only heard bits of their 2nd album, Bipolar but from what I’ve heard so far, it seems like another topper. 

I like this new video from them, it’s a great use of what I think is, stop motion and light graffiti. The video for a song from the 2nd album called Taya. I’m not sure who directed it, but a quick google search gives me the following info, some insights from the director himself, Nicolo Reyes:

I have always been inspired by the play of light. In my past videos for Up Dharma, the use of light has strongly influenced my concepts. From the band’s first single, “Maybe”, I played with the idea of silhouettes against colored dancing lights. With their next single “Hiwaga”, I tried to convey the emotion of loneliness and isolation in deep space though the use of strong primary colors: red, blue, green, and yellow. Now for their new single “Taya” from their new album Bipolar, I wanted to push the concept of using lights a bit further. Given that their new album has a totally new sound and feel to it, I wanted to give their video a new look and feel as well.

Their new single “Taya” is a lot more edgy and analog in their sound. Visually, I wanted to translate these elements. The song, first and foremost, became my inspiration. In this day and age of CGI and visual effects, I wanted to take a step back from all of this. To push my concept of light play, which I have traditionally used, the idea that came to me was to make the band literally “play” with the lights. The idea for this concept came in a sort of eureka moment while I was in Japan and saw a group painting with light. So by then using an old film technique known as stop motion photography, I could bring the lights to life and let the band have fun with them. All the effects were done live and on camera. This gave the video a very raw and choppy feel that blended perfectly with the song.

To bring this idea to life, was ambitious to say the least. I have to give full credit to the team (ISK PRODUCTIONS) for going though this journey with me. It took months of planning, 3 test shoots, 5 long nights of production, and over 5,000 photographs. In the end, I hope the video and the song will give an old sense of awe and amusement to a new generation of viewers.

Here’s the video:

Directed by: Nicolo Reyes

Producer: Toti Dalmacion
Director of Photography: Pong Ignacio
Production Manager: Zig Marasigan
Editor: Jogs Garcia
Head light painter: Marco Ortiga
Light Painters: Gino Nacianceno, Vicky Velasco, & Mei Tayengco
ISK Productions 2008 

Thanks to Pelicola.tv for some of the info and video.

New York School Of Visual Arts: THINK Campaign

Cool, cool stuff. Always on your feet, thinking. While eating, thinking, While drinking, thinking. Even while taking a dump, thinking. Think harder! 

Created by KNARF, a US-based advertising agency, for the New York School of Visual Arts. Strategically placed in areas where people are most contemplative. It’s an interactive campaign that encourages whoever sees it to use and write on it. Awesome.

Advertising Agency: KNARF New York, USA 

Creative Director: Frank Anselmo 

Art Directors: Jeseok Yi, Frank Anselmo

Copywriters: Frank Anselmo, Jeseok Yi

Photographer: Billy Siegrist

*EDIT: I noticed that I’ve been using cool & great so much, I can’t help it. So much neat stuff out there. I’m trying to do some neat stuff in my own way, so hopefully I will have something worthy to post.