Here is a rather distracting piece of work promoting The Last Exorcism. Hacked together from print poster assets and clips from the movie, this is a perfect example of how not to make Living Art- distracting and recycled. If the motion poster is to be unique art form of its own, it needs a reason to be- How is this not just some vertical teaser trailer? What are you offering that a poster or trailer isn’t? Why would anyone want to look at this thing for any length of time?

Any self respecting medium should have the metaphysical decency to look inwards and ask, “Why am I?”: If the creators of this motion poster had bothered, we might have been spared.

Would you want this poster hanging in your space?

Motion Poster: (Click for full size. Sorry iPads, flash required)

via Blogomatic3000

Print Poster:

After seeing two previous motion posters, it is not surprising to see a that a third SAW 3D motion poster has been released. They have been generating quite the amount of buzz on twitter and the web and its great to see these living one-sheets become a success! Hopefully there will be more to come before the release.

Motion Poster: (Click for full size. Sorry iPads, flash required)

Screenshot:

Multimedia artist Marco Brambilla and Kanye West just released this “living” painting in lieu of  a music video on MTV. Inspired by Roman and Renaissance iconography, Marco and Kanye wanted to create what Brambilla called “an elliptical piece of storytelling” that portrays Kanye as an “authority figure in a moment when everything is about to collapse.”

No stranger to abstract video art, Brambilla is known for his numerous video installations including Civilization- an in-elevator  video installation created for New York’s Standard hotel, which takes passengers on an inferno-like journey from heaven to hell… Intense. And a must see.

Kanye originally approached Brambilla stating that he wanted to create something that wasn’t a music video, to which the artist replied “That’s great, because I don’t make music videos.” Power was shot using twenty-two choreographed layers of video in slow motion using the Phantom camera. Below is Marco’s version, Kanye’s Version, and a behind the scenes.

via Cool Hunting and Vulture

Marco’s Director’s Cut:

Kanye’s Cut:

Behind the Scenes:

The “final” edition to the successful Saw franchise titled Saw 3D, is leading its online movie launch with two “3D” motion posters. The two posters have been released as exclusives to certain websites such as UGO and have started to generate buzz on twitter. On Saw 3D‘s website, one of the motion posters actually has the ability to follow your mouse from side to side. Also worth mentioning is a story found here showing that one of the motion posters is actually just a re-hash of previous artwork already used for a PS3 ad! Although it is unfortunate to find this, the living one-sheets do usher in something interesting to motion posters.

Motion Posters: (Click for full size. Sorry iPads, flash required)

Screenshots:

Australian denim collection Denim & Thread is planning to release a motion poster that ties in directly with their print campaign. “The motion poster picks up the story, where the still ends,” a campaign advantage owner Alex Lambousis is very excited about. Although only a few samples and a quick behind the scenes video has been released, it will be very interesting to see how the motion poster develops and enhances their print campaign.

Credits:
Cinematographer: Sidat de Silva
Producer/Photographer: Alex Weltlinger
Production Company: 18 on 9 Media Arts
Client: Denim & Thread

Gear:
Camera (motion): Arriflex D-21
Camera (stills): Hasselblad
Lens: Zeiss Master Prime

Samples:

Screenshots:

William Hereford has recently released a mock-up for a digital cooking magazine that he hopes to someday see on the iPad. In this concept, a new and creative way to present a cooking recipe is combined with subtle visuals that don’t distract and help aid the cook if needed. William also envisions the ability to swipe through each cooking step on the iPad, which would be a great idea for those using the magazine in their kitchen. Try out this new living art experience by turning up the soothing French music and cook yourself some roasted duck! [Kitsune Noir]

Also definitely worth checking out is William’s Self Magazine interactive iPad mock-up here.

Screenshots:

Lions Gate has launched experienceburied.com that leads with a motion poster for the upcoming film Buried. This is the first time that I have seen a movie site open with a motion poster over a trailer.

Together with co-directors Cory Strassburger and Ming Hsiung, we produced a motion magazine cover and feature spread for Viv Mag – an all digital magazine, which would allow us to create content that will be able to live on the iPad and other tablet devices where digital magazines can live.

Our collaboration with Cory and Ming has been a phonemonal experience and you’ll see a lot more great work coming from this team. Check out this featurette, which goes behind the scenes and shows how we put it all together.

Special thanks to Campion for taking a risk with me. Without the bravery of a good client, we wouldn’t be able to bring you work of this caliber.

Extra special thanks to B2Pro Lighting, Red Camera & Jarred Land.

Extra extra special thanks to Chuck Carey and the good people at Troika Design Group without whom we would still be waiting for renders.

To view the content in it’s entirety, please check out www.alexxhenry.com/ipad.

-Alexx

Photographer Alexx Henry and his team show you how a magazine might look in the not-so-distant future with the October cover and spread for Outside Magazine. In this video, Alexx Henry takes you through the creation of the Living portrait of the triathlete Chris Lieto photographed using the revolutionary Red One cinema camera and the 5d Mark II.

Music is “Gone Gone Days” by Two Years Before the Mast and “I Like Van Halen Because My Sister Says They Are Cool” by El Ten Eleven. Buy El Ten Eleven’s songs here: itunes.com/elteneleven



The Evolution of Print

How dynamic content and developing technologies can revive an industry with an uncertain future.

by Alexx Henry

Picture this

It’s the year 2015 and a commuter is heading to work on the train. After taking a sip of his coffee, he glances down to see a moving picture of his wife blowing kisses to him on the front of the cup. Smiling to himself he turns the cup around to check the coffee level, shown as a horizontal line dancing with the motion of the train. Placing the cup down on the tray, he picks up the local newspaper and glances at the headlines. The paper is alive with moving pictures and type that begs for his attention. He swipes his finger across the top of the paper and when a password box pops up he taps something in. Suddenly the paper transforms itself into a much more pleasing layout reading “Welcome Mr. Smith.” All the articles are custom tailored to him.

For now this reads like a scene from a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster but the truth is we may be just a few short years from realizing this. There are  developing technologies with applications that look like they come right out of the future. We’re talking flexible displays that can bring us Mr. Smith’s “living” newspaper. This will change the way we ingest tangible media. This is exciting stuff. And I’m going to say something pretty unconventional here, given the current condition of the newspaper and magazine industries: this is an exciting time for the print industry, because these technologies might just provide a solution for an industry with an uncertain future. This could be the evolution of print.

I know. The Apple Tablet is coming. The kindle will be improved. Others will follow with their claims to save print and get people reading again. I don’t dispute this. I don’t even dispute that some of these devices will hit new levels of awesomeness, and get people reading digitally in record numbers, but I don’t see these devices as being able to shut down the presses. For one thing, not everyone will be willing to own a device that will cost several hundred dollars, no matter how great. What I do see is this: advances in electronic paper technology that will bring us flexible, portable and recyclable displays- inexpensive to make and distribute, and affordable enough to buy in the morning and leave on the train for the next guy. Now that sounds like print evolution.

The technologies that can get us there

There are two emerging technologies that have the potential of putting content on small, portable and flexible vehicles. OLED (Organic LED) and E Ink. If you’ve ever laid eyes on the Amazon’s Kindle, you’ve seen E Ink technology in action. Using the same technology, Plastic Logic, a company out of England, has plans to release a letter-sized flexible e-reader in early 2010.

OLED is fast emerging as the preferred display for cell phones and soon televisions. OLED is extremely color-rich and can be made light, portable and energy efficient. Flexible futuristic prototypes have been developed by Sony, Samsung and the Universal Display Corporation, who has even developed a flexible wristband that streams video. Most exciting is that as recently as August, scientists from the RIKEN center in Japan announced advances that would allow OLED devices to be manufactured as inexpensively as printing newspapers.

Given these developments, it’s no stretch to imagine how these technologies can be adapted to produce the next generation of “living” newspaper or magazine.

“Living Art” and a warning from DOOH

As a photographer, my interest is in the content creation side of all this, and as a content creator, I’m teeming with excitement, because with new technology comes new opportunities. Dynamic content will need to be conceptualized and developed specifically for this new media if it is to thrive. This is a great time to be in the business of content creation.

But before discussing dedicated “living”content, let’s take a quick look at the Digital Out of Home (Digital OOH) market, which uses existing technology (HD screens etc…) to integrate moving content into people’s daily lives. Digital OOH is just similar enough to “living” print to give us ideas about what might and what might not work. In fact, they’re conceptually twins. Both media rely on grabbing the attention of non-captive audiences. So unlike in television or film, where people have signed up as viewers, with this media, the motion or images need to be engaging rather than noisy. And content using the principles of still photography achieves this.

CBS Alive in the UK has done a good job of making Digital OOH a welcome part of the London commuter’s daily life. Many of their campaigns show still pictures, like the movie poster for Bride Wars, suddenly coming to life. What used to be flat still shots are now springing to life in a way unique from video. And according to research, most commuters are seeing this as a welcome and pleasing distraction. And there’s a lesson for would-be “living art” content creators in this.

London’s digital screens were not always embraced. As a matter of fact, when the screens first came out, the video that was streaming was basically repurposed commercials originally intended for broadcast. They were met with public scorn and some even cited them as harassment.

Mike Hemmings, the Head of Digital Marketing admits that they were intrusive. The lesson was to focus on the idea of attraction vs distraction. He states, ” [Digital OOH] failed to capture the imagination of advertisers, but more interestingly…the consumer.” He explains, “The multitude of blinking ads with an array of colours and sounds were cited as harassment rather than offering inspiration. From this very first incarnation of digital screen, we can learn much.”

So the trick is to create unique and compelling motion content that will attract- not distract, and convey its idea on one level at a glance, while offering more layers should a viewer choose to invest. This is great news for photography and image professionals, because many of the skills and disciplines used to make a powerful still image work are the same skills that will produce the best content for these next generation technologies. So if you understand how to communicate an idea through a single image or spread, you understand how to create compelling content for a future medium like a living magazine.

So let’s evolve

So while it may be another 6-8 years, depending on market demands, until we can hold a living magazine, let’s get people excited for the promise of what may come, before we get stuck repurposing old rules for new mediums- which we already saw did not work for the DOOH market.

Let’s make content that offers a unique experience unlike that of watching TV or surfing the Internet- that will be integrated into the consumer’s daily lives: at the newsstand, on the train, in a cafe. Let’s make content that takes what we love about newspapers and magazines and bring it to a new level, enhancing readers’ experiences. We don’t have to worry about the future of print. We can evolve.

We shot triathlete Chris Lieto for a Living Magazine Cover and Spread for Outside Magazine. Not only did we shoot the print edition of the magazine, but we are also making a living version to give you a glimpse at what a magazine of the future might look like.

Here is a quick teaser to whet your appetite. Stay tuned for the final version which will be released with the October issue of Outside Magazine.

Also, don’t forget to join our Living Art Contest. Make your own Living Art and move us with your image!

Music by Ratatat. The song is “Cherry” off their self-titled album Ratatat.
Check them out here: ratatatmusic.com
Buy their songs here: itunes.com/ratatat

This video was shot using the RED and the Canon 5D Mark II

-Andrew