Last night in the mountains of Telluride, Colorado, I sat in the little Nugget Theater for the first two hours of Mark Cousins’ epic documentary about the origins of film, as a medium, a cultural language and a mode of visual thought. This patchwork of clips is mind-expanding, occasionally pedantic yet always surprising, seeking to express the history of cinema through cinema. It poetically explores the early days of cinema to the more recent works of Scorsese and Spielberg. Narrated by Cousins’ lyrical, precise Northern Irish accent, we are transported into the luminous footage of the early works of Edison and Lumiere, intercut with juxtapositions – poetic, relevant and occasionally disorienting images from Hollywood, cities and nature. At this thin-air altitude, it was a heady, inspiring experience to pull me in to the meditative, carefully curated ambiance of this jewel of American film festivals. Tilda Swinton, sitting a few rows behind me, walked directly up to the filmmaker after the Q&A to offer her warm congratulations. Up next, my review of The Artist.
I’ve been interested in finding famed directors’ early work lately. Here’s my latest discovery. Tony Scott, director of such acclaimed classics as TOP GUN and CRIMSON TIDE, is one of hollywood’s famed siblings. He and his now more famous brother, Ridley Scott, started collaborating early on. Their first short film to get attention was BOY AND BICYCLE. Here’s an exerpt that shows some surprising command of editorial style and pacing. And a pure celebration of a youth (Tony) on a bicycle. The music was done by famed composer John Barry (James Bond soundtracks) after he was surprised by the quality of the brothers’ short film.
Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. - Thomas Jefferson
Last week Google launched an online quarterly magazine called “Think Quarterly.” It’s a companion website to a publication about data that they sent to their partners and clients. The interview with Google’s Chief Economist, Hal Varian is fascinating.
“Between the dawn of civilization and 2003, we only created five exabytes; now we’re creating that amount every two days. By 2020, that figure is predicted to sit at 53 zettabytes (53 trillion gigabytes) – an increase of 50 times.”
From Facebook posts to tweets to blog ramblings, vast amounts of human communication data are being stored. How that data is put to use is a key question that statisticians are exploring in droves. It’s the new sexy job – applicable to Marketing, Economics, Consumer Behavior, Psychology, Market Prediction and pretty much anything to do with human life on earth.
Imagine accessing consumer behavior data in real time – and adapting online marketing strategies immediately to correspond with consumer trends, day by day, hour by hour. Imagine the possibilities for interactive TV marketing (eventually to be mostly an online medium). Or consumer reactions to movie trailer releases. The ability for a company to adapt a marketing strategy in almost real time will be key to finding more precise placement.
Anyway, it’s a fascinating piece. Thanks Google, for sharing some of your incredible employees’ insights with us. About the positive reaction, Google says:
Like most companies, Google regularly communicates with our business customers via email newsletters, updates on our official blogs, and printed materials.
On this occasion, we’ve sent a short book about data, called Think Quarterly, to a small number of our UK partners and advertisers. You’re now on the companion website, thinkquarterly.co.uk (also available at m.thinkquarterly.co.uk, if you’re on the move).
We’re flattered by the positive reaction but have no plans to start selling copies! Although Think Quarterly remains firmly aimed at Google’s partners and advertisers, if you’re interested in the subject of data then please feel free to read on…
Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. - Thomas Jefferson
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