Skribe Productions » media http://www.skribeproductions.com Digital Media Consultant Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:46:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Machinima – Second Childhood Network http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/04/06/machinima-second-childhood-network/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=machinima-second-childhood-network http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/04/06/machinima-second-childhood-network/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:37:27 +0000 skribe http://www.skribeproductions.com/?p=1139

Choosing to use a child avatar in Second Life can be risky. Many people believe that you’re automatically involved in illegal (virtual) sexual activities. You don’t even need to be a child avatar per se either. A friend of mine’s avatar is the same height as her RL self (1.7metres) but because everyone in SL are giant supermodels she looks like a kid. I don’t know if the Second Childhood Network is just a front for illegal activities or not – I hope not – but I love the concept and they’ve made a very cool machinima commercial.

]]> http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/04/06/machinima-second-childhood-network/feed/ 2 Get Your Degree in Second Life http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/31/get-your-degree-in-second-life/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=get-your-degree-in-second-life http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/31/get-your-degree-in-second-life/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:08:07 +0000 skribe http://www.skribeproductions.com/?p=1120

Manchester Metropolitan University have announced that they are planning to deliver an entire module of their Film and Media course through Second Life. I wonder if they need a machinima lecturer =).

]]> http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/31/get-your-degree-in-second-life/feed/ 0 Extreme Sheep LED Art http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/25/extreme-sheep-led-art/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extreme-sheep-led-art http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/25/extreme-sheep-led-art/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:45:53 +0000 skribe http://www.skribeproductions.com/?p=1094

This is a great viral video. Nearly 3million hits in 10 days on YouTube. What a way to make sheep herding popular.

]]> http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/25/extreme-sheep-led-art/feed/ 1 SL Painter Pierrot Beck http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/24/sl-painter-pierrot-beck/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sl-painter-pierrot-beck http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/24/sl-painter-pierrot-beck/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:39:47 +0000 skribe http://www.skribeproductions.com/?p=1090

Back when we had some free time my wife, Nocifer Janus, and I used to wander around Second Life visiting all the art galleries we could find simply because there are some amazing artists in Second Life. Well here’s one that does house calls – kinda. Great stuff.

]]> http://www.skribeproductions.com/2009/03/24/sl-painter-pierrot-beck/feed/ 1 The Marcel Marceau Method for Viral Videos http://www.skribeproductions.com/2008/05/02/the-marcel-marceau-method-for-viral-videos-music-for-one-apartment-and-six-drummers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-marcel-marceau-method-for-viral-videos-music-for-one-apartment-and-six-drummers http://www.skribeproductions.com/2008/05/02/the-marcel-marceau-method-for-viral-videos-music-for-one-apartment-and-six-drummers/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 06:01:08 +0000 skribe http://www.skribeproductions.com/?p=84
This video is quite old (from 2001) but it demonstrates wonderfully how to produce something viral by being offbeat and arty. It also has great marketing potential.

It would have been easy for the creators to play it straight – making an abstruse art piece – but by adding that touch of drama to the video it takes it to another level. This is important because while the joke loses its freshness after the kitchen scene despite the music being catchy, it is what happens next that drives the viewer to watch to the end. Life is short. Art is long. Bad art is longer.

Due to the esoteric nature of this piece some might think that it is hard to make it marketable, but it is that same weirdness that produces the strange attractor needed to make it viral. Imagine if we were to cut the entire video to only the dramatic elements plus the kitchen scene. So the story becomes:

  1. Musicians wait
  2. Homeowners leave
  3. Musicians break-in
  4. They play on kitchen appliances
  5. Home owners come home unexpectedly catching the musicians

This makes the story compact and punchy. In a world full of advertisers screaming for attention shorter is better. Even so, how is this new piece a marketable property?

What if all the appliances in the video were made by the one company, say Braun? We don’t even have to mention them, the brand name is just there on each appliance – subtle close-ups can be used to make them more prominent. Or what if the kitchen is from Ikea? Now we have a very powerful viral video.

Traditional advertising is often all about who screams the loudest. That’s why television advertising volumes are usually higher than the programs that support them. Viral advertising is less about how loud and more about the silences in between. So when you’re making your next viral video remember to ask yourself, how do I reproduce the sound of no hands clapping?

]]> http://www.skribeproductions.com/2008/05/02/the-marcel-marceau-method-for-viral-videos-music-for-one-apartment-and-six-drummers/feed/ 0