Na, na, naaaa… Hey, hey, heeey… Gooodbye…

The beautiful video playing above was made with no keyframes at all. The animators used complex physics-driven equations and codes to create this trippy world with glowing spheres and bio-robotic plants.

Although it’s exciting to see technology advance before our eyes, one must ask the question, “What does this mean for animators?”

Are we entering a time where animation will be done solely through writing equations and defining physics parameters? Will animators go the way of the elevator-operator and soda jerk?

Will I be telling my grandkids stories about the good ol’ days when animators used to have to tell balls when to bounce? Or will we be granting Emmy nods for excellence in animation to Skynet and Agent Smith from the Matrix?

Let’s take back animation one keyframe at a time!

It’s amazing how color can evoke emotions. This simple, yet stunning, animation uses only After Effects and Particular to create the whispy color trails.

More more information on Particular, or to download the trial software, click here.

Above: (l-r) Maria Pacheco, Stephanie Huynh and Tameka Kee

On Thursday April 30, 2009 the IPG Emerging Media Lab hosted the latest SheSays LA event, Ms. Gamer, on women and gaming. Attendees were able to test their skills on the Wii and then settled in to hear our expert panel share their various experiences on the state of the industry and and how they first got into the game.

Maria Pacheco, of MoboGift and formerly of Vivendi Games Mobile, shared how she successfully marketed the mobile gamer, Surviving High School, and engaged users by utilizing viral tactics, including contests, quizes and Facebook widgets.

Stephanie Huynh from Denuo talked about the changing market of gaming–with tweens and teens now generally playing the same games, the lines between hardcore (typically male) and casual (female) gamers will begin to blur as audiences mature into future.

Finally, Tameka Kee from ContentNext Media presented perspectives on life and careers in the gaming industry. She shared advice from four female industry leaders on how women can enter and advance in fields related to gaming in the marketing, media and development arenas.

During the Q&A session, our panelists discussed trends in gaming and shared their personal stories on how they got into the industry and provided their own tips for the women who’d like do the same.

The fun-filled evening, sponsored by Weber Shandwick, ended with a raffle with great prizes provided by Namco Bandai. Stay tuned for details on the the next SheSays LA event, on Cause Marketing. If you’re a woman in digital marketing and advertising and would like to get more involved in SheSays LA, please contact Kim Hoang.

The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) Marketplace Conference held in NYC today focused on Digital Video had provided a wealth of information related to best practices and insight from people shaping the platform’s future. Presenters included executives from Pepsi, Mindshare, R/GA and Starcom.

Take a peak at one of the panel discussions related to “Broadcast vs. Online”:

Also from our friends at IAB, this compelling video on how small publishers leverage interactive advertising is helping them achieve the American Dream:

On my way home I saw a sign that said “Watch for Children.”
I said, “That sounds like a fair trade.”

- Demetri Martin

Seeing how this is my second entry to feature a “butt hole” of some sort, I’ll keep this short. 

You’ve probably spent a good portion of your life looking for them, deciphering them, and even cursing at them. No, I’m not talking about your roomate, I’m talking about road signs.

Road signs do one crucial thing: relay information. And all though that seems like a simple task, as designers we often get caught up in sparkling doo-dads because they provide instant visual gratification.

Communication is fundamental to graphic design. Don’t be a butt hole, make your graphics communicate.

And thank your lucky stars you don’t live in this city.

Above: Kim Hoang, Melinda Moore, Raquel Krouse and Melissa Robinson.

SheSays finally landed in Los Angeles this past Wednesday, with its launch event at the Weber Shandwick offices.

With existing chapters in London and New York, SheSays offers resources (such as roundtable discussions, networking events and a mentoring program) for professional women worldwide to supplement their creative digital career development.

During the chapter launch, the panel discussion centered around the apropos topic of social media, and featured three of the industry’s thought leaders.

The presentations kicked off with Melinda Moore, VP of Trailer Park, who has worked on cross-platform campaigns for companies including imeem.com, msnbc.com and Vivendi Universal Televsion. Melinda shared case studies from her work with YouTube as a tool for social change, with a spotlight on will.i.am.’s use of the video sharing site to gather support in the effort to end world poverty.

Raquel Krouse, VP and Social Media Lead at the IPG Emerging Media Lab, provided insight on the importance of listening as customers are talking more with their peers online about products and brands. Raquel presented examples of how active listening has helped social media-savvy brands uncover opportunities, stay competitive, manage their reputation and avert crisis.

Bringing it all together was Weber Shandwick’s own Melissa Robinson, SVP, Digital Communications, who drove home the point that with new outlets and tools, companies still need to create content that is relevant and compelling. Melissa shared her work with Stand Up To Cancer and how they engaged organizations, bloggers and social media sites to help mobilize a legion of supporters. They joined a “Virtual Standup,”  which increased online conversations and helped drive consumer participation in the telecast which ultimately helped raise $100 million for the cause.

The Q&A session which followed allowed for an in-depth discussion with the audience on the future of Twitter, ROI measurement and the importance of human analysis of data collected from listening tools.

The SheSays launch had a terrific turnout and leveraging the momentum and success of the launch, the next event, featuring mobile gaming, is already in the works and is slated to take place early April.

With chapters in London and New York, SheSays (the social network for professional women in digital marketing and advertising) finally lands in Los Angeles this month with its launch event. A panel of industry experts will navigate us on an informative trip through the ever-changing world of social media. The presentations will be followed by an opportunity to meet & mingle with your LA digital sisters.

SheSays LA Launch Event
Social Media: Add as Friend
February 11, 2009 / 7-9:30 PM
Weber Shandwick (located at the Pacific Design Center)
Green Building, 7th fl.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
www.SheSaysUS.org

To RSVP for this FREE event, click here.

Note: Space is limited. Reservations are recommended.

You ever drive by an accident on the freeway and found yourself unable to keep from staring? It’s a phenomenon we LA natives are quite familiar with. The traffic reporters call it “spectator traffic,” others call it “rubber-necking” while all call it “incredibly annoying.”

Why do I bring that up? Because the woman pictured above seems to be experiencing a case of rubber-arming, and just like a multi-car pile up, I can’t stop looking. Take a moment to reexamine the photo.

Either this woman has a very unusual arm condition or this is a photoshop disaster.  With all the attention that this bending of time and space commands, you can’t help but wonder, “What were they thinking?”

Everytime you need a healthy dose of “WTF?” please visit Photoshop Disasters, a blog dedicated to the abuse of Photoshop. One thing for sure I’ll be double checking my compositing to make sure they obey the laws of physics.

Here are a few tips to keep you safe from photoshop disasters.

1. Never abuse the clone stamp tool. Cloning in a body part should only be attempted by seasoned photoshop veterans who understand things like how light behaves and basic anatomy.
2. Be mindful of your lightsource, nothing is more distracting than shadows pointing in every direction. On a similar note, make sure your shadows don’t give your composite a floating effect.
3. Learn the value of the burn and dodge tools.
4. Use a reference point when skewing and warping 3D objects
5. And for goodness sake! Clean up that clipping mask!

This has been a ViscomLA public service announcement

I think they must have named oranges before they named carrots.

“What should we call these things?”
“They’re orange, we’ll call ‘em oranges.”
“What about those?”
“Aww sh*t… long pointies?”

–Demetri Martin

Every sixth grader in biology class knows that carotene is the chemical that gives carrots they’re oompa loompa glow and melanin gives skin its pigment. But how do things outside mother nature’s domain obtain their color?

What makes Coca-Cola red? What makes Starbuck’s green? Close your eyes for a moment and try to imagine a ice-cold can of Coke in orange. Or try to imagine your local Target store in blue?

Weird huh?

Color has a huge impact on how we see the world. It is emotional and elemental. It is both primitive and endlessly complex. This is why a healthy knowledge of color communication is beneficial to all designers in every field. 

For help with your hues and clues for your chroma visit adobe’s kuler website. Kuler offers new color combinations for every occasion. If you need even more inspiration stop by colourlovers.com.

Until the digital age, typography was a specialized occupation. Digitization opened up typography to new generations of visual designers and lay users. Granted, this universal accessability to type options has led to irresponsible usage of the whimsical Comic Sans or the eye-numbing Times Roman. But in a free society, we must embrace typography - just as we do art - as a form of self expression capable of provoking human emotion.

Either consciously or unconsciously, typography has been known to inject friendliness, fear, trust and urgency to just about any visual communication - from office memos to outdoor billboards.  

While most type art goes unnoticed or unappreciated by the masses, those of us who are type-lovers can now show it to the world - or at least sport it on your iPhone or desktop - with these free, user-generated TypeNuts wallpapers.