A walk across America in stop-motion

photography, Video, , , , ,

One Canon EOS 5D Mark II.  One tripod.  One tape measure.  One protractor.  A couple of friends.  That’s all you need to produce what you see above.  Conscious Minds Productions and director Sam Griffith hired a model and approached Levis (the jeans and clothing company) to pitch an idea to film a person walking across America in stop-motion.  Levis jumped on board and sponsored the shoot.  With over 1.4 million views to date, Levis made a great decision–it’s viral marketing at its finest!  Anyway.. the final product is quite impressive.  The video consists of 2,770 individual still frames, or photographs, bundled together.  The magic of stop-motion and time-lapse photography provide the awesome illusion of movement.  The 14-day shoot and the editing process that followed were extremely tedious and required much patience.  Due to the lack of expensive professional instruments, the team was forced to “MacGyver” their way through it all.  Producer Peter Cote: “We did not have any really expensive instruments to ensure really smooth orbital camera moves.  ‘I created a protractor in Photoshop printed it out and taped a piece of string to it.”  There was a fantastic behind-the-scenes video that accompanied this video on YouTube, but unfortunately it was taken down for some reason or other.  I will be sure to update this space if it pops up again.  Click here to view their their journey in Google Maps.  (Diggin’ the song?  It’s “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.)

[Via Planet5D; MailOnline]

Jeff Lewis stars in the The Jeff Lewis 5 Minute Comedy Hour

Hilarity, Video, Web Series, , , ,

The name of this new web series gets me every time: The Jeff Lewis 5 Minute Comedy Hour.  “Coming soon” is this new foul-mouthed, crazy hilarious series that brings The Guild‘s Jeff Lewis into the spotlight.  The first season is directed by Sean Becker (The Guild, Awkward Pictures).  I was given a taste of the first few episodes this summer and I must say they truly are freaking laugh-out-loud hilarious.  Lewis is riot; it’s about time he’s starring in his own series.  The video above was shared last week at Comic Con during the “Celebrate the Web” panel.  It was received extremely well by the crowd.  Do yourself a favor today and watch this sneak peek and prepare yourself for the hilarity that will surely ensue when the “5 Minute Comedy Hour” hits the web soon.

Warning: This video contains lots and lots of swearing.

The Guild’s latest music video goes Bollywood! [Update: iTunes DL link]

Hilarity, Video, Web Series, , , ,

I still can’t get “(Do You Wanna Date) My Avatar” out of my head and now there’s this!  At this year’s Comic Con acclaimed web series The Guild unveiled their latest creation, Bollywood-inspired music video.  The lyrics are catchy (again), the production value is top notch, and the art direction is superb (thanks to the enormously talented Greg Aronowitz).  So watcha waiting for?  Jump in and GAME ON!

Update: Great new, Guildies!  “Game On” is now available to purchase for keeps at iTunes.  Since it was placed in the digital store it quickly climbed the charts to become the #1 top-selling pop music video in the US and UK, surpassing the likes of Justin Bieber and Katy Perry.  The video currently stands at the #2 spot behind Kenny Chesney for top-selling overall music video.  Help the cause, purchase a copy, and let’s make “Game On” the top-selling music video today!

Porsche 918 Spyder super-hybrid concept gets the green light for production

Cars, Design, Images, , , , ,

I wasn’t so sure this day would come but here it is.  The gorgeous, green Porsche 918 Spyder is being upgraded from a concept model to production series.  The 918 Spyder made its debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show and made waves in the car industry due to its conventional hybrid nature.  It’s powered by a 500HP V8 engine and a pair of 109HP electric motors.  This hybrid powertrain promises to provide 78-mpg efficiency.  Note that these numbers match up with the Geneva concept model; they may change slightly when the production model makes its way to the dealership.  Release date and price has not been made official yet, but whispers say the green machine will cost around  €500,000 (or $650,000 USD).  If the car makes its way to the States, it will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, if that helps any.  Look in the gallery below (warning: you may drool) and peek after the break for the official PR.

[Via Engadget; Autoblog]

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Microsoft one-ups Google Maps with Street Slide

Technology, Video, , , , , ,

With Google Maps and Bing Maps Streetside you can navigate between immersive 360-degree panoramas to visualize your route.  Although this street-view integration is very helpful in visualizing your route before you drive it, there are problems with it and the brainiacs at Microsoft Reseach think they have the solution.  They describe the problem like this: “The discrete moves from bubble [360-degree panorama] to bubble enabled in these systems do not provide a good visual sense of a larger aggregate such as a whole city block.  Multi-perspective “strip” panoramas can provide a visual summary of a city street but lack the full realism of immersive panoramas.”  In other words they can be quite disorienting.  Their solution, called Street Side, allows you to seamlessly zoom out of the bubble to view a multi-perspective panorama view of a street.  In this zoomed out view you can pan across an entire street to find exactly what you’re looking for or to plan your route in a more effective way.  Once you find a particular destination or a location you’d like to investigate further simply zoom in to view a part of a street on more detail.  The mapping tech is extremely impressive; check it out for yourself in the demonstration above.  The developers are currently making an iPhone (and presumably a Windows Phone 7) version of the maps to bring to mobile devices.  Don’t get too excited, though; only about 2400 panoramas of 4 kilometers of streets has been covered thus far.

[Via Engadget; Microsoft]

YouTube increases upload limit to 15 minutes, lets us play Snake during buffer periods

News, Technology, , , , , , , ,

Since its inception way back in 2005 YouTube limited video upload length to 10 minutes.  After reviewing their most requested features, YouTube has decided to increase that limit by 50 percent to 15 minutes.  Up to this point only revenue-sharing “parterns” have been allowed to upload video longer than 10 minutes, but now good ‘ol regular users can get in on the fun.  I’m not so sure if I need to witness an extra 5 minutes of “double rainbow all the way” (OK, maybe I do), but this increase will definitely help out those users who upload lengthy tutorials; now you might notice a smaller amount of videos being broken up in “parts” thanks to the increase time limit.  Take heed: “If you’re uploading a video that was previously rejected for being too long, you’ll have to go into “My Videos” and delete it before attempting to upload it again.”

In other YouTube news… do you remember the super simple but classic and highly addicting game called Snake?  It was preloaded onto many early Nokia dumbphones back in the day.  It’s the one where you take the form of a snake and your goal is to collect small food pellets the pop up in different areas on the screen; every time you eat a pellet the snake grows longer.  You lose when you tie yourself up and make the snake’s head run into a part of its body or run into the edges of the screen.  Anyway…YouTube has incorporated the game into all of its videos as an easter egg.  While you’re waiting for a video to start streaming (or if it gets stuck buffering) start mashing the left arrow key on your keyboard to turn the video loading circle icon into a snake; play with the directional keys.  If you want to give it a try but have fast Internet speeds, trying loading an intensive HD 1080p or better yet a 4K resolution video.  Happy trails.

[Via YouTubeBlog; Engadget, here & here]

Lost memorabilia up for auction; ultimate Losties inquire within

Images, News, Television, , , , , , , ,

Make your own kind of music, sing your own special song; make your own kind of music, even if nobody else sings along.

Who could forget the season two opener “Man of Science, Man of Faith”…when we first discovered a mysterious man living underground inside a hatch?  This man, who we would later come to know and love as Desmond David Hume, was minding his own business and listening to a catchy tune called “Make Your Own Kind of Music” by “Mama” Cass Elliot when another man named John Locke interupted his life of ever-lasting solitude with a loud blast of dynamite atop the Dharma-constructed hatch door.  The song abruptly stoppped when the needle fell off the record and the rest, as they say, is history.

And now you have a chance to be part of that history by owning the very record player that was used in the show!  On August 21-22, LOST: The Official Show Auction will take place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.  Literally hundreds of Lost props and costumes will be available for fans to bid on.  Everything from Dharma beer cans to Charlie’s DriveShaft ring to Desmond’s photo of himself with Penny to Mr. Eko’s Jesus stick to the blue Dharma van to Jughead to Faraday’s time travel journal (“Desmond Hume will be my constant!”) to Locke’s wheelchair to Carl’s brainwashing googles to Naomi’s Iridium 9500 satellite phone…ugh I’m out of breath…will be up for grabs at the live auction next month.  But don’t expect to get away with any of these items easily.  The Apple-II Plus computer with an Apple III monitor (aka the Swan Station computer Desmond then Locke then Eko used to type in the Numbers every 108 minutes) starts at $1000.  But then again the Swan Station film projector and screen (the medium that first introduced Locke, Jack, and us to Mr. Pierre Change) is given a range of $400-$600, so item pricing will vary.

Interested in bidding?  You have a few options.  You can attend the live action in Santa Monica or you can bid over the phone, with absentee forms, or over the Internet at Live Auctioneers.  Interested in eyeing the goods?  Look in the gallery below for just a handful.  You’re going to want to hit up Profiles in History to view the full catalog (organized by season).  Each item is tagged with a description that’ll job your memory concerning its use in the show.  Minutes will quickly turn into hours when you browse this ultimate collection of Lost shwag.  Have fun, and happy bidding!

[Via Engadget]

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Back to the Future celebrates its 25th anniversary with a Blu-ray release

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On October 26 the unforgettable Back to the Future trilogy will release on Blu-ray (for the very first time) and DVD.  Though pricing details have not been disclosed, Hollywood News has picked up on the loads of bonus material.  They include 16 deleted scenes, a six-part retrospective documentary with interviews by Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, director Robert Zemeckis, and making-of and archival featurettes.  So if you happen to be a long-time BTTF fan, you’re gonna want to get this. Continue reading Back to the Future celebrates its 25th anniversary with a Blu-ray release →

Dr. House wants to sing the blues

Music, News, Television, , , ,

House fans, listen here!  Hugh Laurie, aka Dr. Gregory House, wants to record a blues album and he’s going for it!  It was announced Monday that Laurie signed with Warner Music Entertainment to make a New Orleans-inspired blues album.  “I am drunk with excitement at this opportunity,” Laurie said in a press release. “I know the history of actors making music is a checkered one, but I promise no one will get hurt.”  Joe Henry has signed on to produce.

He’s finally got the chance to share his piano and guitar skills he often flaunts on the show with the rest of the world.  And if you were wondering, Laurie is apparently a self-taught pianist due to “creative differences” with his childhood piano teacher.  Oh, House.

[Via EW-MusicMix; USAToday]

Ellen DeGeneres leaves her post as American Idol judge [Update: JLo takes her place]

News, Television, , , , , , , ,

Ellen DeGeneres has decided to call it quits after only one year as the judge who just couldn’t fit in on American Idol.  Today FOX released two statements, one from DeGeneres and the other from the network itself.

DeGeneres: “A couple months ago, I let Fox and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me. I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next.  It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.   I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on IDOL and I am very grateful for the year I had.  I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

Peter Rice, FOX Chairman of Entertainment: “We love Ellen and understand and support her decision to bow out of Idol. We were fortunate to receive the humor, energy and love for talent that she brought to the show.”

According to the latest reports, American Idol creator Simon Fuller will be back for season 10, and he hopes to bring new judges to the panel.  Judge Simon Cowell left the show to produce the American version of The X Factor, and this leaves a huge gap to fill.  Justin Timberlake and Elton John are currently in talks with the network concerning this matter.  The state of Kara Dioguardi and our main dawg Randy Jackson remains up in the air until a final decision is made.  The Television Critics Tour begins this Monday; it would be wise for FOX to steal the show by announcing an exciting new panel of judges there.

Update:  According to a report from Deadline, Jennifer Lopez will take DeGeneres’ place as a new American Idol judge for season 10.  FOX and JLo’s reps have yet to comment on the breaking news.  Deadline also spills that “unconfirmed reports” target Steven Tyler as a possible Cowell replacement (that’s in addition to Justin Timberlake and Elton John).

[Via EW-HollywoodInsider]