BRANDON LEE SMITH

Movies I Want to See Now (Not Later)

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:52:54 -0500

1. Inception - Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and directed by Christopher Nolan. It was like someone asked, “What does Brandon Smith want to see in a movie?” And then they made it.

2. Robin Hood - Starring Russell Crowe, and directed by Ridley Scott. This has a lot of live up to, as Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood is an all time classic to me.

3. The Green Zone - It’s been confirmed that there will be no more Bourne movies made by Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass. That’s fine, because we have The Green Zone, which is pretty much the same thing, and I’m ok with that.

4. Ironman 2 - Robert Downy Jr is the shit. Enough said.

5. Alice in Wonderland - Here’s one that I will be able to see now, because it comes out today. To my surprise, it’s also getting decent reviews, not that I judge a movie by reviews (ok, sometimes I do, unless it’s Land of the Lost, which I think got shit on by everyone and deserves a second look.)

Social Media/Digital Meltdown

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:13:56 -0500

So, I’m stepping away for awhile.

"Fear stimulates my imagination"

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:19:46 -0500

“Fear stimulates my imagination”

- Don Draper - Sterling Cooper Advertising

Doing Things the R/GA Way - BusinessWeek

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:41:45 -0500

Doing Things the R/GA Way - BusinessWeek:

“You have to embrace that randomness and realize that people do things in a swirl. You can’t expect them to be funneled down a nice neat path.” “You have to design your experiences to be flexible—and that’s one of the biggest impediments to the traditional advertising world—that’s the way they think.”

EPIC BEARD MAN - THE DOCUMENTARY Some of you might have seen...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:59:24 -0500

EPIC BEARD MAN - THE DOCUMENTARY

Some of you might have seen the video of, what I think is this old guy (though this old guy seems 10x crazier), fighting a younger man on a bus.

Well folks, here is a documentary of this man. Let me be the first to say that this guy is EPIC. Unbelievable. Seriously, you will not regret watching this. Possibly the greatest thing I’ve ever watched. You can view part 2 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRkeSjn5Dv8

OK GO - This Too Shall Pass = WTF amazing. Behind the scenes...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:46:49 -0500

OK GO - This Too Shall Pass = WTF amazing. Behind the scenes video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsxcVpmwCo8

"In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever “in and of..."

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:52:30 -0500

“In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever “in and of itself.””

- Chuck Klosterman - Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Advertising Agency: BBDO Canada, Toronto Creative Director: Ian...

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:11:18 -0500

Advertising Agency: BBDO Canada, Toronto
Creative Director: Ian MacKellar
Copywriter: Adam Bailey
Art Director: John Terry
Agency Producer: Dena Thompson
Production House: Film Group, Vancouver / Radke Film Group, Toronto
Executive Producer: Michael Haldane
Director: Samir Mallal
Director of Photography: Chris Mably
Editor: Ross Birchall
Planner: Dino Demopoulos
Account Management: Tim Welsh, Sheng Sinn, Adam Jardine

gautamramdurai: Super interesting talk about gaming, facebook...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:52:40 -0500

gautamramdurai:

Super interesting talk about gaming, facebook and people - a little long, but worth it. I love how he see ‘beyond the technology’ - sees the inherent human need for gameplay and the psychological undertones for the way we consume technology today.

I’m not sure about the “authenticity” thing though.

I do like the picture of the future he paints towards the end - not for the fact that he says our lives will turn into a series of games - but for the possibilities that lie ahead of us. Also, the concept of metadata as an inspiration to be a better person - fascinating.

tigs:

Points For Toothbrushing: The Gaming Speech Everyone Is Talking About - Dice 2010 - Kotaku

This is pretty awesome. I’m not sure how real, or how...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:07:50 -0500

This is pretty awesome. I’m not sure how real, or how possible it is. But none the less, it could totally change movie theater interaction.

Augmented reality app called, “Recognizr” for iPhone...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:41:29 -0500

Augmented reality app called, “Recognizr” for iPhone and Android that allows you to connect to social media sites through facial recognition.

An interesting introduction into Chatroulette.

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:35:39 -0500

An interesting introduction into Chatroulette.

Blog of the Day

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:53:40 -0500

If you’re curious in catching up with the latest tech being developed for entertainment, cultural, and branding purposes, I recommend heading over to this blog:

http://gspdigital.com/

Created and run by the ladies and gentleman of Goodby, Sliverstein & Partners

Sway Something Else.

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:35:00 -0500

Being in advertising, it’s important to stay on top of trends and issues surrounding you and your clients. Because, after all, your clients are paying you to sell their products, so it’s good to know how your audience thinks, right? Ok, I’ll buy that. Walk into any bookstore, and you’ll be sure to find fantastic writings from the Gladwells, the Godins, or the Heaths. Writings that proudly claim to know the secret of changing culture and gaining awesome success. I’ll use the infamous book, for example, “The TIpping Point,” by Malcolm Gladwell, that dives deep into what makes something a cultural phenomenon. Or lets take “Made to Stick,” by Chip Heath, which describes what makes something “stick” with consumers.

While I have nothing against these books, in the end, I felt very disappointed with each reading. Somehow I came out with more questions than answers, and while some scholars would claim, “Ah, but that is learning my dear friend!,” I call bullshit.

The fact is, none of these authors have answers to cultural phenomenon anymore than a 12 year kid in a small town in Kansas. To say, one knows the secrets to changing culture is blowing smoke up your ass. Why? Because no one, unless they are time travelers, can predict the future.

You want the big secret? CREATE AWESOME CONTENT. Actaully better yet, CREATE AN AWESOME PRODUCT. And I’m talking quality OVER quantity. Too many brands are getting caught up in social media, because the “experts” say they should.

Don’t make that mistake.

An original approach to road safety advertising from the Sussex...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:09:03 -0500

An original approach to road safety advertising from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership

FWA

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:30:43 -0500

I like websites. I like good websites. I like websites that push the boundaries of interaction. but more importantly, I like websites that tell a story. You can feed me all the content in the world, but if it doesn’t hold any type of message that is relevant to anything but itself, then I don’t care.

That’s why today, for those of you who haven’t already discovered it (because it’s not new or anything), I’m pointing out FWA (Favorite Website Awards). The concept is simple -showcase the best of the best websites being launched. Ok, I’ll admit, some of the websites don’t tell a story (which I claimed to be the end all be all), but where they might lack story, they excel in interaction and design. And who can fault a well designed website. I cannot. Please take notes.

"Be fearless right away. Don’t hesitate to make yourself completely vulnerable, it..."

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:28:51 -0500

“Be fearless right away. Don’t hesitate to make yourself completely vulnerable, it doesn’t matter who follows.”

lukeiscrazyman: Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles really...

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:26:09 -0500

lukeiscrazyman:

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles

really cool type motion! enjoy

I Quit Twitter This Weekend

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:39:16 -0500

Due to several unfortunate events including my account being hacked, I’ve decided to leave twitter to the bird gods.

I Want It Now! The Fierce Urgency of Videogaming's Future

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:17:23 -0500

I Want It Now! The Fierce Urgency of Videogaming's Future:

LAS VEGAS — Videogame execs say impatient gamers increasingly act like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory — they want their games now, Daddy, and if you don’t give them what they want, they’ll find somebody who will.

“People have no patience,” said Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, a company that is currently beta-testing a service that streams high-def games directly into homes without the need for consoles. “What they want is all media, and they want it instantly delivered.”

OnLive isn’t the only one trumpeting gamers’ need for speed at the DICE Summit here this week.

“We lose players on the loading bar,” said Brian Reynolds, chief game designer at Zynga, maker of the hit Facebook game FarmVille. Virtual vegetable farmers are so anxious to get playing that if the game takes too long to get going, they’ll close the browser window, he said.

The 20th-century notion of waiting around to watch shows when they air on television, or saving up to buy CDs, is quickly becoming antiquated as technology makes it easy to consume movies, TV and music on demand. As game development and distribution methods evolve, the same trends are changing the way the videogame industry works.