Hey Andy, this potato, did you smash it?

Black it most certainly was

Mark Kermode does a much better job of reviewing this film but I seriously blown away. Never have I have left a cinema feeling the way I did, slightly weak at the knees and mind racing. The story though cliche was beautifully simple, casted to perfection. Barbara Hershey playing the villainous mother brilliantly - terrifyingly evil. Winona Ryder was fantastic and Portman kept me gripped throughout.

The Winter Tales

The Winter Tales (facebook page) were a series of chilling short stories based in The Kings Arms pub in Clerkenwell. After entering the pub I was given a a white sticker which determined my group for the rest of the night. There were 5 stories being performed on rotation.

The white group's first story happened in the basement of the pub; the story suitably named 'Basement.' Two actors then entered the basement and the dialogue unfolded. Not so much a fan of the story itself with a predictable ending, I say predictable, but I mean the kind of ending you hope it didn't follow but it ended up following, I was however excited by the idea of basing the story in the dark. In the same way you would listen to a radio show and would create form the figures from your imagination, this worked in the same way.

After that is was on the ground floor for 'Nervous Wreck,' a script by my friend Cathy Thomas. Next to the window was a member I had not recognised from the group, a round, bearded man, pint in hand (think Brian Blessed. He looked up to acknowledge us and followed that with the tale of a young landlord. The script was great and left a lot for your imagination. The three standout performances for me were the ones performed by a solo actor.

'Foxes' followed, a story about two young lovers. The script was good, as were the actors, but I could not believe them as they looked too nice for the dark character they were portraying.

After the break it was upstairs once more for 'Babby's Lament,' an intense performance from a cracking actress. She spoke the story beautifully and kept me engaged throughout. She would make deep eye to eye contact with members of the audience pulling you deeper into the story.

The final act was 'Ghostly #7,' the tale of a young omnibus driver who's jealousy had resulted in the death of his loved one. His character was engaging and believable, so much so one of the ladies had tears in her eyes. The story being told happened on a street just a few corners from the pub so it's proximity helped intensify the story.

These 20 minutes blocks of drama, even without the 'lights, camera, action' managed to stimulate your imagination in its most simple form with just a few actors and a small audience. I went in without any expectations and left with my mind thriving with ideas.

Serpentine

I went to see a fantastic exhibition at the Serpentine (beautiful little gallery in the middle of the park) with pieces by Philippe Parreno and Tom Hunter. Hunter's work was the documentary style film, 'A Palace for Us.' A fab short film about the residents of Woodberry Lane estate, currently a site of major development. It communicated a real sense of what it was like to be a part of the community within the estate; a great place to live in the post war bomb ravaged city.

Parreno's work included AC/DC Snakes (which was incredibly similar to a piece we handed in for a project to promote the university degree show) with multiple plugs plugged into one another.

The other piece was a film shown in three rooms. After watching the first, the lights went on and the shutters opened, and you moved to the next room. The same again, and the same again. Following the final film, Invisibleboy, laughter was played and the windows opened to show snow falling. It was a beautifully filmed piece of work with a narrative that made sure you did a lot of thinking yourself. The system of moving between rooms was engaging and well timed.

theartschool

There's a substantial write up on theartschool workshop I took part in in December on the Creative Review blog. Have a mosey.

Morning

I spent a couple of days this week free lancing at Morning. Great studio and what a fab way for the guys can answer the telephone.

Hanging at 2 with Kelly & Co.

Off-Piste is sitting at 2nd most viewed on Huck

Trendy planes and brand placement

CO2 kills

Turned out this was a campaign with 300 gas guzzlers tagged along the King's Road.

theartschool

Just had a really great workshop with M&C "Nothing is Impossible" Saatchi superman Graham Fink. Running it through his production company thefinktank it gave a little insight into the advertising industry in a head flipped kind of way. Oh and did I mention it all took place in the Grand Committee Room in the Houses of Parliament?

To begin with we had a guided tour from Damian Morris MP. In the members chamber are statues of four prime ministers. Churchill standing next to the House of Lords had a shiny toe resulting from being touched by anyone who believes it brings good luck.

The workshop began with Graham standing everyone up to hum middle C. Middle C apparently runs through the universe. When done you feel your entire head vibrating. We learnt a little about Parliament from Damian Collins, every word is recorded, and the system carried out in the Houses is an archaic and physical one.

Anyway, following that a showreel was shown of bits of killer advertising:

Cosmopolitan 'Can't remember the line but it was damn good' -

Dunlop 'You'll be surprised how much you miss Dunlop' - This showed the level of humour in tv ads at the time. A good example of really preparing what you need, especially as this was pre-post production.

The Samaritans 'Yes' - The idea for this ad came when listening to Pink Floyd's Wall in the car on the way to work. It was the music that struck a chord and the visual followed. They did not think they would be able to use the music itself but a serious of fortunate events made it all possible.

Intercity - All about being able to relax. This one is also nice.
Youth Opportunities - 'Help them help themselves' Using an emotional metaphor, this shamlessly manipulative ad creates an emotional response to a complex issue. Drowning students with potential employers looking over and watching. Just employ them!

XXXX 'Australians wouldn't give a XXXX for anything else' - the strength of a good campaign is when it can go on and on with the killer endline.

Pilkington - watch it before reading. This is an example of why you should always be the last person in the office. The brief came through on Christmas Eve and Simon picked up the brief. He said whenever he had an idea he would stand up and speak it. If embarrassed to hear it yourself you know when it is a bad idea.

Prince Charles...summarised in two columns - a copy ad. that has the text sitting in between two old columns. Lovely little idea

BA - The ad from 1987 came from the time before post production. Graham suggested using meditation if ideas are not following. "I looked at the carpet and thought of it in 2 seconds." He also recommends being a real pain in the arse if you want your ideas to happen

BT - keep the world talking featuring Stephen Hawking. Stephen agreed to this ad on two conditions. 1. There was a bursey for a stand out student. 2. He got given a really hot curry. Rumour has it astro physicists eat hot curries to get the juices following up in the mind.

Dixons

Curry's - an example of Nothing is Impossible. The Star Wars idea could have been ditched, however it was followed through and it happened.

I will finish this later

Off Piste on Huck

I had a mention on the Huck magazine blog. If you 'like it' and 'tweet it' I'll be very happy. It is on the Creative Review feed here.

Drawing on books

I went along to the Bolingbroke book store to see Grandad sign a couple of his decade books. Jolly nice evening.

Snow more days!

A couple of days ago I was thinking about the snow, as most people are. But it has now been three years that we have seen snow stop everyone in their tracks. Surely the UK is going to have to start some kind of 'get people into work' system that works.. and don't call me Shirley.

This link popped up on bbc yesterday - Why do schools shut when it snows?

Essentially I guess it asks the same question, why do things close when it is snowing? Unfortunately when it snowed once every 8 years and there was a killer Snow Day to be had by all. As it has become an annual 'thing' the whole idea of a Snow Day might eventually be lost.

Plain simple

Make cigarette packaging plain, government urges

After reading this article I was intrigued. The government wishes to make cigarette packaging plain to turn people away from the prettiness that apparently draws people to them.

But what is plain? In a way it is the same question you can ask with any product except in this instance the products are 'the bringers of death.'

But it is often in plainness that you find beauty. The idea that amongst all the glitz and glamour, the plain and simple might stand out. I already think cigarette packets are plain (Marlboro - a simple logo and red chevron half covered with a sticker telling you the dangers of smoking). The danger sticker itself, is that plain? It is plain and that is why it stands out.

I believe the quality of cigarette packages are incredible. The ease in which they open, and the fact they continue to function effortlessly over and over again without breaking. Does the design of the box need to be made 'plainer?' You rip the top off and your cigarettes fall out every time you put them away. That would certainly turn me off, I don't smoke for the record.

Once again it is the packaging and the way that cigarettes are dressed up that the government are focusing on. Are they doing it right? I am not so sure!

11 November - onedotzero Cascade crescendo

... although crescendo it is quite not as I am sure there will be a follow on from this. The four teams made their presentations and it was a lovely evening. The vibe was very positive and I learnt a lot about the way I work and the importance of collaboration.