Online Video

Meet the Human Drum Machine

December 22, 2010 by noemi

What happens when you have a talented guy with a lot of time on his hands? A lot of things can happen, actually; and if you are Daito Manabe, you just might come up with a first – a human drum machine.

Manabe has been making waves with his work as a DJ cum artist cum programmer. Music + technology + art = some pretty weird/awesome stuff?

Here’s a short video of how his ~~unfortunate~~ friend got to be the subject of an experiment involving a drum machine and myoelectric sensors. How does the setup work? Manabe wires both of them up and starts tapping on his friend’s face and body – wherever. These actions trigger sensors, which in turn sends electrical signals to – well, you guessed it – the “friend’s” face. The result is quite hilarious as you can see his face twitching all over the place. Don’t worry, though – it is not supposed to be painful at all. (READ: No humans have been harmed in the making of this video.)

Don’t you just love how they maintained straight faces for as long as they could?

The Web TV Battle

December 21, 2010 by Sinjin Sterling

Recently the battle between Apple, Google and other companies such as Roku has been heating up, with other big hitters like Amazon also looking to take on established Web TV providers such as Hulu and Google’s YouTube. This battle will be heating up even more in 2011 with Microsoft looking to re-enter the fray with a subscription service for their Xbox 360 game console with an estimated Xbox Live user base of over 20 million.

Below is an Infographic from the guys at Infographiclabs looking at how this current battle is panning out.

Enjoy this great Infographic from our friends at Infographiclabs

This Is How Commercials Should Be Like

November 25, 2010 by noemi

TV commercials are a pound a penny, but every now and then, you will find a rare gem. That’s exactly the case with this Batelco commercial, which will not fail to capture your attention for its entirety.

This commercial was created by Spy Films directors Alex & Steffen for Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunications Company), and while it may not place the focus on the telecommunications industry, the imagery is definitely bada**. Watch this video for yourself, and do look out for the awesome dragon (which, in my opinion, should have been shown for a tad longer).

Now tell me, what are you thinking? They couldn’t have ended that in a better way, could they?

Funny-Serious Video: Hug a Developer

November 12, 2010 by noemi

Let’s have a little fun on a Friday and watch a video, shall we?

I don’t know what you do for a living, but I am pretty sure that while a good number of just might be software developers, there are also a lot of readers like me – people who usually deal with the finished products. As consumers, we do have to admit that sometimes, we may overlook the hard work that goes into a piece of software. We might not even be aware of it in certain cases.

Now I came across a YouTube video, courtesy of a developer friend naturally, and it does give you a different perspective on the life of a developer. Whether you are working as one or you only have an inkling of what a developer does, you ought to take a minute to watch this. Now don’t blame me if you feel your eyes tearing up or if your chest starts getting a little tight along the way… 😉

As far as I know, there is no official Hug a Developer Day yet (or maybe I missed it?). What do you say to starting a movement?

For the developers out there: what can you say about the video?

The Johnny Cash Project

November 1, 2010 by noemi

Here’s something for those who appreciate good music. While not everyone is into Johnny Cash – I can actually count the people I know personally who listen to him with one hand – you can’t really deny his genius. This man has been called the one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, and rightly so! He’s probably known by most as a country singer, but his fans know very well that his music spans a whole lot of other genres.

So what is The Johnny Cash Project all about? Does the name Chris Milk ring a bell? He’s the music video director behind some of the greatest videos of our time. He has worked with artists such as U2, Kanye West, Green Day, and Audioslave, among others.

This year, he embarked on this project, which one can very well call “music video crowdsourcing.” What he did was to take the last song that the “Man in Black” recorded in the studio: Ain’t No Grave. Anyone who has heard this song will probably agree with me in saying that it is one of most haunting songs you’ll ever hear. The song, by the way, is part of the posthumous album, American VI: Ain’t No Grave, which was released in February 23 of this year.

More than merely creating a music video, though, Chris Milk decided to call upon the resources of the countless Johnny Cash fans out there. He created the web site and encouraged (encourages) people to share their own rendition of a Johnny Cash portrait. These portraits are then put together to create the video. As the project is a continuous one, you can imagine that the video is an ever changing work of art.

I have to tell you – this is one moving piece of work! I won’t even dare to describe it – you can watch it for yourself below. Trust me, it is the perfect video to watch on All Saints’/All Souls’ Day.

As I finished watching that video, I couldn’t help but remember some lines from the movie The Book of Eli:

Eli: It doesn’t have to make sense. It’s faith, it’s faith. It’s the flower of light in the field of darkness that’s giving me the strength to carry on. You understand?
Solara: Is that from your book?
Eli: No, it’s, uh, Johnny Cash, Live at Folsom Prison.

Yeah, Johnny Cash can inspire you like that, and Chris Milk did a pretty good job with this project as well!

For more information on the project, or if you want to join in, visit the official web site of The Johnny Cash Project.