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Want to be inside the TV?

by Jo at 2:38 pm
Filed under Big Ideas, Clients, Film, Technology

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I remember, when I was little, thinking that the people on telly could see me, ‘cos they were basically inside the TV looking back out at me. This was also the assumption drawn by the outdated vampire Barnabas (Johnny Depp) in the film Dark Shadows when confronted with a Carpenters music special on the 70s ‘goggle box’, exclaiming “Reveal yourself, tiny songstress!”

My imagination also ran wild while reading the bit in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Mike Teavee ends up inside a television set.

Now, in my late 20s, all grown up and silliness aside, I’m pretty much… 92% sure that there’s noone in my TV and no way that I can get in there either. But we’re working very hard at the moment on the next best thing…

Above is an image showing what happened when we tested out projecting some animation onto a 30m wide (11m high) ‘screen’ on the floor, extending up the wall onto a side screen. Results were conclusive: It looked pretty cool. The idea with this is that there will be a screen wherever you look, like the Architect has in the Matrix. There’ll be one on the floor, one either side of you and finally, if you look up, there will be something there communicating to you too. We’re building a box of screens and we’re going to put our presenter inside it…

Watch this space for more BIG ideas and to see how we got on.

Belated Happy Easter – here’s what we did…

by Jo at 9:21 am
Filed under Big Ideas, Clients, Marketing, News

Easter egg

Morning all. We’re super sorry that this is late, but we’ve been having some work done. No, Derrick hasn’t been under the knife, getting a nip and tuck, but the Big Ideas blog has, which is why it’s been a bit out of action lately.

So, here’s our little Happy Easter to you, a tad behind schedule. This year, we decided that yes, Christmas is awesome and anything involving family, presents under trees, surprises, singing, food and frolicking is alright by us (more than alright), but we realised that we’d been neglecting a more obvious occasion: Easter! What’s not to love? Everyone gets chocolate at Easter, and everyone loves chocolate right?

As a result of this epiphany (yes, perhaps we had been a bit slow in realising it), we put our thinking caps on to come up with a little Easter treat for our friends (and soon to be friends) that was even more special than a Cadbury’s egg.

In the picture you see above, there is a chocolate egg covered in silver foil. That much is clear. But what you can’t see is what’s inside. Probably by now, you’re getting the message that we like making things. Well, we also try to encourage others to get creative and muck in. Therefore, inside each milk chocolate egg, we hid miniature bottles of Stolichnaya vodka and Tia Maria. Assuming that recipients would be able to get hold of their own orange juice, thus we had provided all the ingredients to make a Chocolate Orange Swizzle (even up to providing the swizzle sticks)!

“Have a drink on us!”, we said. And so they did. So, they did. What will the next surprise be? Noone knows. But you can bet your life it’ll be a pretty good idea.

Viral idea: The Harlem Shake

by Jo at 9:41 am
Filed under Big Ideas, Digital, Film, Social Media

We’re sure you’ve all heard of The Harlem Shake, because you’re all super social savvy legends, like us. But just in case your grandma’s reading this, The Harlem Shake is an internet meme (a concept that spreads from person to person via the internet), or viral video idea, that has taken YouTube by storm.

A quick YouTube search will reveal not only reams and reams of comedy clips set to a 30 second excerpt of the music track by Baauer, but ‘top 10′ and ‘best of’ edits too. A Harlem Shake viral typically begins with one person in a group of otherwise still or non-participating people dancing to the start of the song. After around 15 seconds, when the song’s bass drops, the video will cut to the same scene but this time everyone’s dancing. Fancy dress invariably plays a role in the humorous tone of the footage.

A simple, accessible idea, that’s very easy to replicate, taking next to no time or money to put together, which everyone can feel part of – the hallmarks of all the very best ideas.

Conceived in February of this year by a bunch of teenagers in Queensland, Australia, it has already been suggested to me that The Harlem Shake is passé. The lightning speed at which the digital world now turns means, alas, that this could be the case. So, here’s one that we particularly like for you to enjoy/share as you see fit. We’re loving the Barack Obama mask.

Fancy being a film extra?

by Jo at 10:19 am
Filed under Art, Film, Local, Uncategorized

We know creative types – we are some. So we know that many of you secretly (and some not so secretly) fancy yourselves as the next Kevin Spacey and Charlize Theron. Well, an opportunity has come to our attention, which could help you on your way to Hollywood… This is a time limited offer so get in quick!

On Monday 25th, filming is taking place in Forbidden Planet, London, with Chase Masterson (Star Trek DS9) and you could be an extra in one of her scenes!

The film: The Search for Simon is a sci-fi comedy about a man who is convinced his brother Simon was abducted by aliens, and has spent his life searching for him. Directed and co-written by award-winning filmmaker Martin Gooch, whose last feature, DEATH, had its world premiere at SCI-FI-LONDON last year, before going on to festival successes around the world. Martin describes this latest project, “Think Shaun of the Dead rubbing up against The X-Files, with a little Blair Witch Project, and UFOs thrown in for good measure.” The film has a great cast including Tom Price(Torchwood), Carol Cleveland (Monty Python), Sophie Aldred (Dr Who) and Simon Jones (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy).

Please note that accommodation and travel are not provided. Shooting is currently scheduled from 08:00 to 09:00 at Forbidden Planet (as it has to be done before the shop opens!) so if you would like to be an extra, you could get it in the bag before starting work on Monday! What a cool way to start the week! There may also be some shooting later in the day too, to be confirmed.

More details here. Click here for details on Chase.

The woman behind the idea

by Jo at 9:52 am
Filed under Big Ideas, Business, Inventions

Back in January, we announced the winners to Idea Awards 12, the last Idea Awards that would be held on the blog site (it’s now moved to Facebook – click to like us). One of our winners was Bryony Ridge from London, for her idea of a Charity Shop Gift Voucher.

All about the Idea caught up with her to find out a little bit more about the woman behind the big idea…

What made you enter the Idea Awards?

I initially saw it advertised on the IdeasTap website. It appealed to me because I hoped someone would see my idea and make it a reality.

What’s your current situation?

I am currently studying for an MA in Music in Development at SOAS, University of London.

Do you aspire to be an entrepreneur?

I would love to be able to carry ideas forward, but those such as the one I entered in this competition feel out of my capabilities.

Do you think you’d be keen to pursue your idea and make it a reality?

I would like to see my idea being made a reality by someone else. I have plenty of other ideas to keep me occupied!
I think the competition could benefit from promising entrants support to realise their ideas if they were to win.

Ok Bryony, we’ll bear it in mind! In fact, we have mentored aspiring young creative minds in the past. Remember the Smile High Club? Refresh your memory here.

Like us on Facebook to tell us your idea and the person whose idea is most shared could win themselves a seat in the Boardroom with All about the Idea Director Tom Tuke-Hastings for tips and tricks on how to get their idea off the ground.

Become a film director for French Connection

by Jo at 4:32 pm
Filed under Digital, Film, Marketing, Opinion, Reviews

Big fan of the Nouvelle Vague in Cinema? Fancy yourself as a bit of a film director? Or just want to win a trip to Sydney and a shopping spree?

French Connection’s latest multi-channel marketing campaign (from agency 101) might just bring your dreams to life.

Visitors to the retailer’s site are invited to ‘make a scene’ by creating a short film by selecting a combination of six pre-shot scenes of actors wearing French Connection clothes.

Participants can then change the running order of the scenes, select a soundtrack from different music categories, add a special effects theme from genres including noir and comedy and name their finished film.

The idea is that the more creative the film, the more shareable it is and the most popular ones then get a placing on the Make a Scene leader board. I had a go at this, keen to see how shareable I could make my final product. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed!

I hope it wasn’t my lack of creativity that resulted in such a vanilla result. Nay, twas not, I say! In fact, now I think about it, the scenes that appeared in my final film appeared considerably different to what I selected in the early stages. I suspect that this is down to the application of special effects without actually being able to preview the impact the effects will have on the scenes themselves. For instance, a lot of close cropping seemed to appear, which I don’t remember from the small thumbnail scene selection at the start. That’s another thing, had I been able to see the selections at the beginning a bit bigger, my story might have stood a chance at being much more coherent.

Still, quite a fun exercise and no doubt I’ll give it another go using a different email address, if only to attempt to claw back my reputation for being vaguely creative! Have a watch of the leader board vids – see if you can do any better.

HTC launches the brand new HTC One!

by Jo at 1:50 pm
Filed under Clients, Communication, Technology

So, Tuesday was a big day for HTC. The smartphone manufacturer officially launched to press and public its latest device, the HTC One.

The Taiwanese mobile phone brand counted down to the launch on a buzzing Oxford Street with a countdown clock against blacked out windows of the Phones 4u opposite Selfridges, a big screen & speakers linked in to the press conference taking place in HTC’s Slough HQ, plus cakes and chocolates for those already waiting patiently in the queue.

When the time came, HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou, was greeted with a cheer from the crowd on London’s busiest shopping street and the slick, new handset was introduced.

With a full aluminium body, front facing speakers, a personalised content feed called BlinkFeed and HTC Zoe, capturing high definition footage for you to splice, cut up, move around and stick together stills to create your own montage, the phone looks, feels and sounds awesome.

You can pre-order yours now! Click here for more information.

Plug your broadband into your electricity!

by Jo at 1:35 pm
Filed under Big Ideas, Digital, Inventions, Technology

This is an idea that’s set to revolutionise the way broadband works in the home, making connecting to the internet a more seamless, consistent and safer experience all round.

So, we’ve all had those moments of broadband frustration, when you’re looking up a recipe for beef bourguignon but you have to leave the iPad in the sitting room, rather than bring it into the kitchen, as the connection speed by the hob just isn’t good enough, or you’ve got to bring your duvet into the hall by the router to nurse your lurgi with Downton Abbey on the iPlayer, because the laptop just won’t buffer quickly enough upstairs.

Well, no longer with HomePlugs. HomePlugs reach the parts of your house that your wireless cannot. Each unit enables you to expand your network using the existing electrical wiring within your home; the data travels from one HomePlug to another. All you do is plug any Ethernet device into the HomePlug and away you go – high speed reliable networking, from utility room to nursery.

So, if you’re sick of looking at the ‘spinning rainbow’ (buffering wheel), then think about investing in these bad boys. Don’t be a dinosaur.

Want to join All about the Idea? We’re hiring!

by Jo at 2:04 pm
Filed under Big Ideas, Local, News

WANTED: Creative artworker/ designer

Circa £25,000 P/A (dependent on experience)

Fantastic opportunity to join an exciting, dynamic city based creative marketing consultancy. We use our design and creative skills for a wide variety of projects, from designing Coke bottles to massive posters, creating the look and feel for mega live events, websites, and even corporate ID for big bands and much much more.

Does this sound like something you would like to do?

We are looking for a creative person to bolster our team. The core need is for someone with excellent artworking skills, who can create mock ups, print and online work. Knowledge and skill in creating HTML emails and web based design is preferable, knowledge of the full print process is essential.

We are a very collaborative team and the role of creative also includes helping throughout the creative process and idea generation. If suitable to the applicant, it can be client facing.

Time management is key, as is the ability to work in an often fast paced environment. We need someone with an eye for detail, who enjoys working in an environment where they are given the freedom to create. This job has the potential to develop into a role with overseeing other creatives, both print and animation.

It is a great role with prospects, in a creative and fun team. We have enjoyed working with product designers and artists before, so it is not just a graphic designer’s role.

If you fit the bill, please email your CV and examples of work to: hello@allabouttheidea.co.uk we will do our best to get back to all applicants, but we get a lot, so it might take a little while.

Feast your eyes on that prize hoard!

by Jo at 3:04 pm
Filed under Big Ideas, News

No, it isn’t the festive season again – Christmas comes but once a year. Nay, this is the prize hoard for Idea Awards 12. And what a bounty it is!

We have a bottle of the finest Marquis vodka, showing here in a rather fetching display case and accompanied by an author signed copy of The Art of the Vodka Jelly, the recipe book for all cocktail loving foodies.

Also on the table is an idea wrapped iHelicopter set by experts in toy making, ExtremeFliers. Remember when we interviewed the CEO and founder, Vernon? Click here for a reminder and you can see him in action on Dragon’s Den too.

And we’re pretty sure our runner up won’t be disappointed with her prize of some lovingly handmade by the Tuke of Hastings himself, All about the Idea’s Director, Tom, chocolate orange marshmallow fudge, complete with recipe for when her ready made stash is depleted.

Jealous? All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning your own delicious foodstuffs, toys, or alcoholic beverages, is enter Idea Awards 13, by posting an idea to our Facebook wall and then sharing with your friends. It ain’t difficult. So, get creative, Idea-ites!