QR Codes are Cool!
QR Codes are like Rock’n Roll; not new, but still cool.
I for one am fascinated with the ever expanding potential of these speckled, oddball little darlings (and highly aware of creepier aspects of QR Code use, as well). Despite my inherent bent for conspiracy theories, I have to say phenomenal opportunities abound for those brave and imaginative souls looking to try their hand with QR Codes to augment their content in an interactive, audience building way. Interested in learning more? Right this way, pilgrim…
Ok, so what the hell-o is QR Code, and what can I do with it to expand my viewing audience, grow a list of fans and spread my stuff all over with as little hassle as possible?
You may have seen the vids of rabid fans with QR codes on their backs, necks or heads (leading to a band website, Greenpeace campaign, etc). It’s a little weird grabbing these off somebody, but it worked for me — I was keen to see what they were passionate about pushing.
Let me edify; QR codes are simply 2 D codes that you can drop anywhere, wether printed, online, on a tv screen or even projected at a film festival. Create a Vector or Raster QR code and slap it on business cards, stickers, product packaging (DVD covers, movie posters, T-shirts), print ads, billboards, and coffee mugs (like post production facilities, or brunches at film festival events), to direct viewers to your online video, check for your screening times & locations, or point them to a mobile-friendly landing page to ogle your online promotional efforts. You could try giving your little brother a haircut, too.
The possibilities are limited only to your imagination, literally. Check this guy’s idea to use QR codes via a tattoo; this’ll take some commitment, fer sure. Check the informative, yet fun video below. Oh, those crazy creatives at Leo Burnett. Crazy!
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About pushing your own project(s), there’s a few great case studies utilizing QR codes and Prezi to promote a personal/ professional resume vis digital Soc Media. Hang in there a minute, this actually has some cool stuff going on–
Prezi is an interactive, non-linear slide show-esque approach to getting your images, content, info and whatnot into one place for all to see. One way to get folks to access your Prezi content is via QR codes; lined to your Prezi page, they get there, and with mobile device in hand, are able to access your cool stuff in an interactive, engaging format of your choosing. Neat thing is, like a myriad of QR Code generators available online, Prezi is free.
The Prezi-tized, animated interactive fun begins. Tell a story, show off images, screen movie clips, share script notes, add blog snippets, invite the viewer behind the scenes with clips, images, etc. Prezi is just one more place to utilize QR code and get folks acquainted with your work/ project/ campaign and spread the word.
Seems to me that might work for your film/ game/ platform/ transmedia project…
I got myself into the QR Code user universe thru the assembly of a comic book version of my short film, The Pit and the Pendulum. The film is an stop motion animated short; the comic is a digital, online comic that’s available as a download, or online, as an interactive property. There are currently two ways to use the book; using QR Codes and online links to hidden web pages found on the site.
Printing the comic as a .pdf allows the option to use mobile devices with QR code reader software to access movie clips, additional pages of info relevant to the story, and educational resources both online and off. Viewing the Pit and the Pendulum Interactive Comic Book online allows the use of both active links. Moving your cursor over the pages online reveals hidden images which, upon appearing, signal locations of more hidden links. Using QR Codes found on the pages reveals additional links to resources, film clips, etc. Of course, there are more hidden bits with the hidden links, so I suggest using both the cursor and the QR codes to maximize the experience. The book is like an onion, without the tears.
Grab the book at Poe In The Pit.com - download for free, share with your friends.
This was my first shot with providing a multi-platfrom, QR code active experience– it’s a work in progress, as I continue to tweak as I have time. The cost of all that madness? Nothing monetary, but it was like attending Tech Boot camp; from concept to delivery, a bear. A helluva lot of fun when it was over.
I think there’s slots of room to utilize this simple, effective QR codes to engage and interact with your audience; only thing holding any of us back is our imagination and a handful of time to get it up and running.
What do you think? Cheers, M.
Photo: Jordan Hollender
Get Rich in Television!
We’re on TV! … sort of…
OK, so we’re not REALLY on TV– unless you’re watching tube-like shows and whatnot on line.
THEN, we’re on TV. Ok.
Back to business: Canada’s BravoFACT.com has just premiered their official, online portal to host a plethora of fun, exciting, and exceptionally cool short films produced under the Bravo! banner over the last few years. We made the cut, so we’re online again, eh? Once more, we humbly present our animated offering to the judicious Gods of Animated Hilarity.
Get Rich In Television without Really Trying! is indeed on the roster. So have a break, do yourself a favour and have fun courtesy of the wonderfully generous (and utterly tasteful) folks at Bravofact.com– they’d love to have you all come by, watch some films and share in the sheer enormity of the human experience, via their collection of short films. Laugh or cry, there’s something for everyone.
Moved to words? Drop a note below– and thanks for hanging in there.
Excelsior!
-M
Timber Timbre & Je Regarde Do the VooDoo
Caught betwixt seasonal candy-fueled celebrations, I offer up a creepy case of animated existential confrontation, thru a child’s eyes…
Being a big fan of all things of AMC’s Breaking Bad, I got worked up (in a good way) when Canadian band Timber Timbre got some air time -musically speaking- during one of last season’s episodes. That in itself was neat to see/ hear, and of course when this video dropped, I once again launched myself into Timber Timbre- land to check out the view. I’m really happy I did, and hence, I share my find with you.
Do I Have Power?
I’m not talking about me here, but of the band’s release last summer; a musical stroll thru swampy blues strung with slim folksy homeliness. Perfect for an early evening float through a fav foggy bog. Pushing the song visually thru the moor is illustration and graphics guru/ video director Carlos de Carvhallo, a key player in French production company Je Regarde (seen their stuff)?
Doing the VooDo They Do So Well
Carlos and company managed to pull this creepy little gem out of their collective hats in a mere three months– which may get some of us inspired to launch a project and pronto! Neat to see this come together quickly and with such poetic eloquence. Good things can happen for those who can’t wait. Can’t wait to see the vid? Here you are, Timber Timbre’s ‘Do I Have Power’, ala Je Regarde:
Credits: Do I Have Power
Direction : Carlos de Carvhallo
Production manager : Aude Danset De Carvalho
Animation : Pierric Danjou, Thomas Lecourt and Charles Lemor
Technical direction : Guillaume Baratte
Production Company: Je Regarde
Animation Desk brings the Easy to Animation!
Photo: macattck @ flickr
Another Animation app for the iPad. This one is Way Cool.
Animation Desk is a sort of digital version of the traditional, 2D approach to animation; much like using digital software and Wacom-type tablets for digital image animation creation, only this thing enables your handy iPad to get into the fray. Neat-O!
Just got my hands on the latest update. So much for getting any work done in THAT meeting.
Seriously, as a working animation professional, I see this being useful in a whole bunch of ways- lots of options and so easy to use! Here’s my blast of initial production-based thought bubbles:
- work on animation/ sequence ideas quickly & on the fly, sans parking at your computer, drawing table, etc. Great for water cooler meet-ups!
- As a director, rough out actions or sequences with thumbnail drawings for storyboards, then save them in your photo gallery for storyboard meetings, et al. Cut & paste into Celtx Studio storyboard templates!
- Speaking of meetings, I can doodle and animate during long winded diatribes, switching back to serious notes when I get busted. Instantly. Who’ll be the wiser?
- sketch conceptual stuff at the cafe/ coffee shop, waiting for traffic, sitting out a ticket roadside, etc. Beats the hell out of using napkins & coasters. Or the back of your hand.
Get Up and Go Draw
The portability factor is the keen thing, here. iPad’s are inherently meant to be functional everywhere, so it’s only natural that an app like Animation Desk would surface, and surface it did! It’s a miniature, virtual version of a traditional animation desk, complete with peg bar, rear light and glass. Think of it, all that stuff is now in your hands and not in your office. With the full screen mode available, you can utilize the full size of the iPad’s workable space to draw much as you would on a sheet of punched paper. I love it; I can leave my laptop and Wacom on the desk, instead just bringing my iPad and a stylus to the park, Starbucks, pre-movie, laundromat, the tree house, dog house, where ever. Start drawing. How cool is that?
It’s a Digital Flip book… I like it!
Sure there are a plethora of similar applications out there for iPad, if not better for certain animation functions as well. What I love about Animation Desk is the ease of its elegant interface, usability, shallow learning curve, and effectiveness for translating quick sketches into individual files or animation sequences quickly & easily. Practically anybody can use it, it’s so simple. Kids can learn traditional animation concepts on this from the get-go. Neat thing is, the app has a lot of flexibility with the tools at hand, too. Sketchbook Pro it isn’t but for under 4 bucks, it still delivers animation fun and is great for sketching what you need, when you need it. It’s even cheaper than a spiral bound notebook! What’s not to love?
If You Love Something, you don’t HAVE to let it go…
This thing makes drawn animation truly portable. something I’d never imagined when I got started, outside of a traditional flip book approach. In that, individual sketches and animation sequences are saved to your photo gallery, Facebook page or Youtube channel. Super handy for sharing with teammates, production staff, friends or just for creating an archive for yourself.
It’s a nice feature for tracking changes, iterations, sequences concept development or just tracking your progress as an animator, all stored online and accessible from any machine, anywhere you’ve got the interwebs. Save all your drawings/ sequences, store them in your photo gallery, print ‘em, assemble them, and voila! You’ve got a flip book to hand out to friends and family. Make one, or a dozen; the office will love you for it.
The New Definition of Easy
Using the app couldn’t be easier; very intuitive with a super shallow learning curve. I had it in hand about 30 seconds, and had the thing working. Lotta fun. The interface is really basic, with most everything you need on the desk top: right there in front of you. Simple enough for kids to learn quickly, and for adults to wrap their heads around, too. Got a questions? Down lower right you’ll find a ‘?’– pop that, and you’ll get your fill of How To in a jiffy.
Drawing is super simple, too. Choose your pencil or brush from the menu on the right and have at it! Like eating fried chicken, it’s cool to use your fingers, or opt for a stylus, your choice. Personally, I tried my fingertip, but liked having a plastic tipped stylus in hand for more control. That’s just me. The demo shows off some animation magic happening with merely a fingertip; all up to you!
All This – and Colors, Too
How about some color? You’ve got a reasonable selection – a bunch of ‘paint pots’ show you what’s available. Nice addition when you’re onion-skinning your drawings, and looking to quickly separate the stacked layers for clarity.
Updates, too! Here are the latest, greatest ‘glad to have ‘em aboard’ updates:
- Five additional brushes! Exquisite.
- Palm Rejection! Don’t take it personally… it’s a nice feature to have. Really.
- Pressure sensitive brushstrokes! No-brainer there as per coolness factor.
The views are cool, too, with three of them being available. Yeah, three! Fun Factor tripled. There’s Desk mode, Full Screen mode and Film Strip Mode. Check the neat little video demo of the application in action below. Excelsior!
