Imagine a prestigious,
expensive Masters course. On paper, the new
managerial class. Upon asking, I find out
that only 3 out of 34 students confess to
having read a daily paper the day before.
Only 5 watched TV (but can we really blame
them). 30 of them, however, read an online
newspaper, while 34 out of 34 are planning
on buying an iPad or similar in the next six
months.
I know that one of the laws
of communication means that the opinions of
those who make a living from it shouldn’t be
taken seriously. But as I sip my mid-morning
coffee, I wonder how many newspaper editors
and TV network heads are fully aware of the
problem. Or how many advertising agencies
are currently ready to abandon a mark-up
oriented routine that no longer makes the
grade, in order to explore new, as yet
un-encoded worlds. Worlds in which the
thrill of the pioneers can be felt once
again.
So I think we’re at an
impasse. We’re no longer able to deal with
the media of the past and with generalist
TV. The fact is we’re unable to reach
strategic targets, which no longer fit in to
lifestyles and stereotypes. But we’re not
yet ready for true digital sharing, whereby
anyone can become a social, interactive
editor, and build his or her own schedule of
information and entertainment.
How long will it last?
Frankly, I have no idea. I’d like to ask the
Government, which instead of broadband and
investments in technological culture, has
fobbed us off with a couple of remote
controls and digital terrestrial TV. Oh,
saved by the bell – just as well really…
Imagine a sunny Labor Day in New York: a
bright, clear, incredibly blue sky. As you’re
wandering the streets, you notice passers-by
looking upwards, attracted by something up
there above their heads. You look up too and
are surprised to see an advertising message
where you least expect it: bang in the
middle of the blue sky. A visually
astounding giant advertising hovering in the
sky was created a few days ago above the Big
Apple. A technique called sky-typing made it possible
to write a promotional message from American
insurance company Geico in the sky. You’ll
be wondering how they managed it. Well, the
sky-typing was done courtesy of the Geico
Skytypers Airshow Team, a squadron of
professional pilots who fly vintage 1960s
aeroplanes only, and do so with impressive
skill. They perform in spectacular shows
that are famous all over the US. The planes
are specially equipped to leave both the
typical trails we’ve all seen, as well as
being able to write letters that make up
messages as in this case, which drew
onlookers’ attention to the new, reasonably
priced insurance premiums from Geico. The
fact that the squadron and the insurance
company share the same name played some part
in the initial idea for the project, but
nevertheless this is a spectacular example
of promotion. Don’t you think?
It’s well known that in the past couple of
years chefs have become veritable style
gurus. In just a short time they’ve
conquered territories that seemed to have
little to do with cooking – art, music,
fashion, sport – creating original mixes
that have proved a hit with many. But no
longer content with being superstars, now
they want to be superheroes. The Italian
edition of Lord of Burger is set to come out
in October. A French comic book by
Alessandro Barbucci and Christophe Arleston,
it’s the first graphic novel set in the
kitchens of a restaurant; and it was created
under the supervision of Carlo Cracco, one
of the first of the new generation of
“progressive” Italian chefs and a superstar
on the Milan food scene (with his
restaurants Cracco and Cracco Peck). Not
much of a plot, lots of humour and a lot of
food.
These are the ingredients of this new “gastro-manga”,
which retains the graphics and style of the
classic Japanese Manga genre. An appetising
and, above all, modern concept: what happens
if a tyrannical 3 Michelin-starred chef is
murdered in the kitchen of his own
restaurant?
The video’s been viewed thousands of times
on YouTube in the past few days, and we at
Not couldn’t let this escape your notice.
The union between music and Apple’s
user-friendly technology has given rise to
an impressive performance from the so-called
iPad Orchestra.
4 iPads for 4 people, each with a specific
role: there’s Cello, Flute, Clarinet and
last but not least, Violin! These are the 4
musicians representing 4 instruments which
make up the formidable quartet that’s been
such a hit on the web.
There’s trick, albeit an invisible one –
it’s called Seline HD. It’s a software
created by the programmer Ilya Plavunov, and
it contributed to the performance
technically and artistically by creating the
notes of Sweet Dreams – that’s the tune
played by the iPad Orchestra, to the delight
of thousands of web surfers.
The genius lies in the fact that the
orchestra is totally instrument-free, except
for a “flat tablet” which, despite its shape,
allows the user to show off his or her
musical talent – even when there’s not that
much real talent to boast of.
Have you always dreamed of being a musician,
but not been gifted by Mother Nature? Now
you can make your dream come true for just
4.99 euros – on Apple Store, naturally!
Seven Dials is an open-air shopping mall in
London, sandwiched between Covent Garden and
Soho. The innovative formula offers a kind
of shopping that is anything but mainstream
– it’s in the city centre but intentionally
far away from the hum drum of the high
street. It groups together boutiques that
differ in terms of products and price range,
but are all equally high-quality. Seven
Dials has something for everyone – and every
pocket – with luxury brands, vintage stores,
home accessories, the latest street style
trends (Orla Kiely, Miss La La’s Boudoir,
Superdry, Fifi Wilson, to name but a few).
Not to mention restaurants, cinemas and some
of London’s best pubs (Kitchen Italia, Souk,
Mon Plaisir, Max’s Brasserie). What you won’t
find is H&M or Zara; this crossroads plays
host to niche shops only, to real
trendsetters. One of the latest services
that’s developed at Seven Dials is called
“Bag Boy or Girl”. It’s a free service
whereby customers can have their own
personal assistant on hand, male or female,
especially to carry their bags of shopping.
Book a short time ahead and you can have
your own “bag boy” who will be happy to give
you advice on purchases, carry bags, open
shop doors, call a taxi and guide you around
Seven Dials: an innovative service for a
latest-generation mall.
Sociologists are sure of it: next season
will be marked by evenings spent at home
with friends. Traditional events in urban
social life are increasingly shifting within
the walls of the home: designer dinners,
theme parties, private sales, home
exhibition openings, indoors picnics. More
and more people are choosing to spend the
evening in rather than go to the cinema or
out to dinner. The entertainment brands are
adapting to this new format: from Martini’s
glamorous parties at home, to the more
“local” Cesarine, skilled Italian cooks who
host dinners in their own homes. The latest
trend is Moritz Waldemeyer’s “Home Disco”.
The German designer was commissioned by
Wallpaper* magazine to come up with an
object that could recreate, at home, the
lights and music experienced in a disco.
Bolstered by his experience alongside top
architects and fashion designers such as Ron
Arad, Zaha Hadid and Hussein Chalayan, and
thanks to his work on the tours of Bono,
Rhianna and Mika, Moritz managed to create a
table that’s a retro coffee table by day,
while at night it becomes a dance hall that
can be linked up to your iPod, lit by strips
of LED lighting. For dancing queens
everywhere ….but only in the comfort of
their own homes.
A few days ago, group chairman Giorgio
Marino announced that the big Filmmaster
family would be expanding with the arrival
of Lorenzo Cefis, one of the key players on
the Italian and international production
scene.
Cefis, Milanese born and bred, began working
in advertising after winning a study bursary
at Young&Rubicam in 1988. He then moved to
executive production, working with Mercurio,
BBE and later with the BRW production
company, which later led to The Family.
Lorenzo Cefis’ arrival at Filmmaster is a
major step for the company, once again
confirming its leadership on the market. But
that’s not all. This new entry also
distinguishes Filmmaster as a company which
values innovation and creativity, and which
responds to the changing market’s needs by
discovering and attracting new talents.
A year ago, he officially became part of
Filmmaster’s team of young directors,
following a training career which took him
to Italian state broadcaster RAI, and to
Hollywood. His name is Emanuele di Bacco, a
thirty-year old from Rome who demonstrated
directorial tendencies even at high school,
to the detriment of his classmates. He
graduated in stage design from the Accademia
di Belle Arti in Rome; his thesis took the
form of a short film entitled “The Place”.
With just a few hundred euros he managed to
make the film and enter the international
festival of Mar del Plata. After a diploma
in directing from the Centro Sperimentale di
Cinematografia in Milan, he began his long
rise up through the ranks which led him to
have his first real contact with Filmmaster
in 2006. He started producing his own work –
including Ancient Legion, a videogame
commercial – and went on to attend a
training course for young directors at MGM
in Hollywood. It was there that his
directorial vision matured. Almost as though
to close the circle, Emanuele is back at
Filmmaster again, where his career began,
ready for new challenges and new successes.
NEW CHANNELS
Filmmaster Television more and more present
on digital
Since November
2006, Sky channel 231 has been host to
Juventus Channel, the Juventus club’s themed
channel, edited directly by the football
club through a joint venture contract with
RAI TRADE. As of August of this year, the
channel’s content is being managed by
Filmmaster Television, the company in the
group responsible for producing TV formats
covering entertainment, TV dramas and
documentaries. It develops more than 1000
hours of original productions each year,
with its own editorial team and technical
equipment. The production team will be spilt
between the Olympic stadium in Turin and the
Juventus Center in Vinova, where the studios
and post-production facilities are housed.
Filmmaster Television brings its expertise
to the channel, combining high technological
standards with a comprehensive service for
TV editors. This new challenge reinforces
Filmmaster’s role in producing sports
contents for digital TV, and is further
proof of the high level of quality achieved
in recent years. Indeed, since 2008
Filmmaster Television has been managing the
themed channel of AS Roma, Roma Channel, and
the playout of all channels on the Dahlia TV
platform, as well as directly managing the
development and production of Dahlia Xtreme
and Dahlia Sport.
The ceremony
for the Bicentenary celebrations is “Made in
Italy”
The spectacular celebration for the
bicentenary of Mexico, held on September
15th, bore the hallmark of Italian
excellence in the world of events, with
K-events Filmmaster Group.
When it came to celebrating 200 years of
independence from Spanish rule, the Mexican
government chose to entrust the production
and creative direction of the celebrations
to the internationally renowned professional
Marco Balich. With Ric Birch as executive
producer, Balich worked for 10 months in
Mexico City, heading up an international
team of professionals made up of 75%
Italians, who worked with a team of Mexican
and international creatives. There were a
total of 1766 production crew and 7000
volunteers: a vast team for an unprecedented
event which resembled nothing less than an
Olympic ceremony, underlining the nation’s
strong connection with its roots with 4
incredible parts to the show: the Tree of
Life, the Colossus, Vola Mexico and El Grito.
Here are a few of the staggering figures
that went into making the ceremony so
impressive:
27 allegorical floats, of up to 85 metres
high; 6000 stage props, 3500 costumes and
600 performers. The parade crossed 2.7 km of
the city, reaching the large Zocalo square,
where the ceremony culminated in its most
exciting moments, leaving 3.5 million
spectators open mouthed – not to mention the
100 million viewers around the world!
Dodo Arslan, an italian designer with
armenian origins, lives and works in Milan.
His creativity gave life to furniture,
lights, electronic goods, tableware but
graphic, advertising and show too.His
projects range from CampariSoda’s display to
a Carrara marble vase for UpGroup, from
Pirelli PZero’s logo to a whole advertising
campaign for Dutch Embassy in Rome, from
limited editions for Bruxelles’ auction
house Pierre Bergé & Associés to micro
sculptures Party Animals, “released” from
champagne cork cages (shown on our cover).
He’s now working with Visual Display
(Grafite performance was dedicated to them)
and on several other projects: seats, lights
and furniture accessories, a wooden toy, a
coffee machine and an innovative baby
stroller.
But the most unexpected and exciting offer
was to invent a dance show in collaboration
with two coreographers…
Dodo Arslan has been published by Taschen in
Design Now! collecting 90 world's leading
designers and manufacturing companies, and
in Design/Art Limited Editions, showing 70
international designers/artists. Arslan
received Young&Design, Mini Design, Pirelli
Pzero and Art Directors Club’s awards. His
creations have been displayed at Museo della
Scienza e della Tecnica in Milan, at
Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro and Italian
Design on Tour. The Triennale Design Museum
of Milano dedicated him a Personale
exhibition and an Electa catalog. Arslan
gave courses, workshops and lectures in
design’s universities in Italy, Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Egypt, England,
Spain and Sweden.
Before founding his studio Dodo Arslan
worked at Studio&Partners for Deutsche Post,
British American Tobacco, Zumtobel Staff and
won the Design Plus Prize. Dodo then joined
Continuum where he worked for Motorola,
Hewlett Packard, Elan, Voelkl, Samsung and
won the Good Design Award and the KIDA Grand
Prize.
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