My Mutant Brain

I've been somewhat obsessed with this short film by Spike Jonze since the moment I saw it first making its way through social networks. From the music and dance, to the filmmaking behind it, to the fact that it is an ad for perfume in the most non-traditional way possible. Mostly I keep re-watching trying to recapture the moments of surprise I experienced the first few times I saw it. That moment when your brain registers what is actually happening as she runs up those steps and there are reflections everywhere, was, is, so satisfying. 

The film is a creative relative to Jonze's music video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." Both of those films make me wish for a collaboration between Jonze, Qualley and Walken.   

Client: Kenzo
Kenzo CD/EPs: Carol Lim and Humberto Leon
Written & Directed by: Spike Jonze
Actress: Margaret Qualley
VFX: Digital Domain
VFX supervisor: Janelle Croshaw
Costumes: Heidi Bivens
Song: Mutant Brain (feat. Assassin) by Sam Spiegel & Ape Drums
Production Design: KK Barrett
Director of Photography: Hoyte van Hoytema
Choreographer: Ryan Heffington

Marketing in four steps

Seth Godin: 

The last step is so often overlooked: The part where you show up, regularly, consistently and generously, for years and years, to organize and lead and build confidence in the change you seek to make.

Leadership

Friday, August 5, 2016

See this Instagram photo by @_leeclowsbeard * 24 likes

_leeclowsbeard on Instagram by Jason Fox inspired by Lee Clow. 

Style Over Everything

99u:

From the earliest age, we’re taught to strive for perfection. We’re supposed to attend the best schools, get straight A’s, and win Olympic gold medals while we’re at it. To achieve this, we need to have impeccable grades, flawless technique, and unmatchable skills. Once in a while, our society makes a half-hearted attempt to say, “be who you are,” but it’s usually within the context of a winner’s story — someone who wasn’t pitch perfect on paper but still ended up on top anyway.

Talk to career artists and art directors, however, and they’ll tell you that the key to getting commissions and hired full-time isn’t artistic perfection — it’s artistic expression. Those that hire creative talent want, and pay handsomely for one-of-a-kind voices that shock, provoke, scream, joke, and wow — even if they are a little messy at times. Speaking in your own voice is the smartest thing you can do to distinguish yourself from the crowd. And let’s be honest, it’s much more fun. Someone can always come along and be a “better” artist than you, but no one can take away your style. It’s defensible, something you can lean back on regardless of trends and something you can sell that others can’t (one-of-a-kind = more valuable!).

There's nothing more boring than perfect. 

Graphic Design Before Computers

Graphic Means is a documentary film currently in post-production that looks to unveil the fascinating world of graphic design before desktop publishing, and undoubtedly inspire in you feelings of unconditional love for your MacBook for simplifying your life one thousandfold. Take a look at the trailer above, and admire the human ingenuity that was necessary for transforming an idea into a printed page, before heading to the project’s Kickstarter page for more information.