Subaru and DC Shoes - What Infomercial?

Walternaeslund.com reminds me of the fact that bad ass is just… bad ass. But there is more to it. The video below shows how well integrated branded entertainment can be just... entertaining. DC Shoes' website is very much like a media hub for all things cool (I wish Subaru's website was just as good.) I'm sure that this didn't just happen, but it looks so natural when you go there, doesn't it. BTW, the video below is approaching 10 million views on YouTube alone! Spoke to My Damn Channel's Rob Barnett about branded entertainment today as well, he gets it and I think he has built a wonderful platforms for brands to do cool stuff, like the IKEA-sponsored web series Easy To Assemble that my company Viking Digital Media has done the interactive and social stuff for. Stay tuned to see more of this in the future. At DMW's and Variety's Future of Film Summit yesterday, it seems like filmmakers are increasingly open to this as well and I think all this will come together nicely in 2010 and bottom line is -more great content for viewers to enjoy.

Tim Burton at MoMA and Pop Surrealism

We all know Tim Burton for his stylistic movies such as the Corpse Bride pictured above, but for all of you who are as curious as me as to what else he has been up to in his life, there is a great show going on right now at MoMA in NYC. Taking inspiration from popular culture, Burton's work on display include drawings, paintings, photographs, moving image works, concept art, storyboards, puppets, maquettes, costumes, and cinematic ephemera from such films as Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Mars Attacks!, Ed Wood, and Beetlejuice, and from unrealized and little-known personal projects that reveal his talent as an artist, illustrator, photographer, and writer working in the spirit of Pop Surrealism.

Expand Your Mind With Symphony of Science

The Symphony of Science is a musical project by John Boswell designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. “We Are All Connected” was made from sampling Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, The History Channel’s Universe series, Richard Feynman’s 1983 interviews, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s cosmic sermon, and Bill Nye’s Eyes of Nye Series, plus added visuals from The Elegant Universe (NOVA), Stephen Hawking’s Universe, Cosmos, the Powers of 10, and more. Via Laughing Squid.

Check Out Patrick Boivin's Videos on YouTube

Patrick Boivin (born 1975) is a self-taught and fiercely independent filmmaker from Canada, who in addition to directing, is often involved in the lighting, editing, animation, special effects and even music in his films. Check out his YouTube channel, which is full of cool stuff. Boivin started his creative career by drawing comic books, and, in his words, “quickly discovered that it was faster to tell a story with video." He cites Tom Waits, Roy Andersson, Federico Fellini, and Paul Thomas Anderson as influences on his style, according to Wikipedia. Check out one of his coolest videos here, in which he turns a series of YouTube-videos into an interactive dance game.

From the Basement - Fantastic Live Music Site

I have blogged before about the simple beauty of the live performances on U. K. video site The Black Cab Sessions. A huge fan of live music and online video, I was equally happy to see the really cool site that Ted Cohen showed me and Ned today called From the Basement. Recorded at Nigel Godrich’s basement studio (Nigel is a producer who has worked with artists like Radiohead, Beck and Travis), it showcases many similar indie artist, stripped down and in HD. Right now I'm listening/watching PJ Harvey. Girl can sing. White Stripes' performance is also amazing, as well as many of the other ones. Just wish they had an embed button (the video below is pulled from YouTube) so I could pull the videos straight from their site. I always seem to default to YouTubes for my blog when I need to pull something...

Don't miss Stellastarr, Gil Mantera and Grand Buffet

Three of my favorite live bands are dropping by SoCal in the next month and I highly recommend getting tickets. The first one of the videos below is the best known know - Stellastarr - which plays Spaceland on December 5th. The second one is playing Spaceland as well (November 14th). I have blogged about them before, Gil Mantera's Party Dream, the crazy brothers from Ohio whose over-the-top live shows and updated channeling of 1980s synth-pop à la Tears for Fears is highly, eeh, entertaining? The third one if Grand Buffet, is a hip-hop duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (pictured above), which have toured several times with notable artists such as Gil Mantera's Party Dream, Sage Francis, Of Montreal, Cex, Sole, Magnolia Electric Co., Streetlight Manifesto, and the late Wesley Willis. They are playing at the Groove of Anaheim on November 15th.

Hollywood ArtWalk Monday October 26

Hollywood Artwalk seems like a cool event tomorrow, Oct. 26. If you're in town, check it out. Thanks for the heads-up Nicole @ Fabric Interactive.