trailer for Paranoia 1.0 (2004)
dir. Jeff Renfroe, Marteinn Thorsson
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Digital Audrey Hepburn -- Galaxy Chocolate, "Chauffer" -- Framestore
There's a video which has gone viral recently; it's a commercial starring the late Audrey Hepburn as she enjoys a Galaxy Chocolate bar.
The video's popularity is due to the lifelike quality of the Hepburn character within: a sort of marvel and mystique surrounds her returned image, sensationalized as though it were a new Audrey film, while simultaneously enjoying our knowledge that it is not Audrey we see, but a creation.
Galaxy Chocolate's "Chauffeur"
with Audrey Hepburn (?)*
Framestore, the CG effects company behind the simulated Audrey, culled together a library of Hepburn imagery: film clips; media bits; photographs; news reels; etc. Anything which had Audrey in it, they utilized to piece together the animation.
They pinned the pieces onto the best Audrey Hepburn look-alike they could find, although, if what I understand is correct, none of the look-alike was in the final video. She figured as a sort of skeleton to give the digital Audrey an anchorage in the film.
The video's popularity is due to the lifelike quality of the Hepburn character within: a sort of marvel and mystique surrounds her returned image, sensationalized as though it were a new Audrey film, while simultaneously enjoying our knowledge that it is not Audrey we see, but a creation.
with Audrey Hepburn (?)*
Framestore, the CG effects company behind the simulated Audrey, culled together a library of Hepburn imagery: film clips; media bits; photographs; news reels; etc. Anything which had Audrey in it, they utilized to piece together the animation.
They pinned the pieces onto the best Audrey Hepburn look-alike they could find, although, if what I understand is correct, none of the look-alike was in the final video. She figured as a sort of skeleton to give the digital Audrey an anchorage in the film.
(read about the process from Framestore)
Duplication, simulation, celebrity, commodity...
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~EDIT / UPDATE * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"The biggest challenges in recreating an authentic and unmistakable Audrey Hepburn TM
proved to be the eyes and smile [...] originally the team had hoped to use the real eyes and build the CG face around them, as post-production progressed it became clear that recognition was key to the success of this ad and, close though the actress was, full CG was the only way to get it right."
proved to be the eyes and smile [...] originally the team had hoped to use the real eyes and build the CG face around them, as post-production progressed it became clear that recognition was key to the success of this ad and, close though the actress was, full CG was the only way to get it right."
Duplication, simulation, celebrity, commodity...
Post-modern much?
The Digesting Duck of Vaucanson
( via wikipedia )
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~EDIT / UPDATE * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* June 8th, 2013 UPDATE: Originally, I had embedded the full Galaxy advertisement, however the video I linked to has since been taken down from YouTube. I've taken down the link and replaced it with a still from the advertisement.
screen grab of the broken link
as it appeared my blog
Hepburn's estate/children had signed a deal for the use of Audrey's image in the advertisement; part of the deal stated that viewership was to be limited to audiences in the UK....
...An odd agreement to make, considering the ubiquity of the internet.
And, of course, Hepburn is a Hollywood symbol, so this is naturally going to be popular in the USA (i.e. home of Hollywood).
Suffice to say the video went viral, and viral viewership heeds to no 'physical' Geography...
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
"We live in a world of superlatives" -- Karel Capek
Superlatives (XXXVI)
One of the most popular form of words in both criticism and life is the superlative. You're forever coming across 'the greatest Czech poet;' 'the most outstanding work of our time,' 'the best humorist' and suchlike, almost as you do in advertisements-- 'the best alcohol-free drink,' 'the best factory of its kinds,' 'the most this,' 'the best that,' again and again without end. We live in a world of superlatives. However, Alpha fizz or Omega pop may be the best alcohol-free drink, and still not be good. The greatest poet of the Trebizond tsardom doesn't in effect have to be great, and the greatest humorist of our time doesn't have to be good at all-- quite simply, good is better than best, great is greater than greatest, and the positive is more serious, more absolute and weightier than the superlative.
If a woman wants to be the most beautiful in society, she's a vain coquette; if she wants to be simply beautiful, she accomplishes a classic, God-pleasing work. If someone wants to write the greatest Czech novel, he commits a grubby piece of competitiveness against no fewer than 150 best Czech novels. If, however, he wants to write a good novel, his ambition is great and honest. When Leibniz tried to prove that our world is the best of all possible worlds, he justified God very unreliably; he'd have done better if he had provided (of course an impossible) proof that our world is good. Nothing more than good. Yes, of course, we have invented superlatives mainly in order to wriggle out of the difficult examination of whether things are good, great and beautiful. We speak in superlatives not because we like to exaggerate, but because we don't have the courage to speak in positives.
-- Karel Capek, Believe in People
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