Sporting New Eyewear Supports The Police
DDB Canada launches arresting campaign for the Vancouver Police Foundation

Vancouver, August 6, 2013 — Recently, the Vancouver Police Foundation launched its first communications campaign aimed to increase awareness and garner support for the charitable organization. The Vancouver Police Foundation provides funding for emerging technology and innovative ideas as well as a wide range of community policing and youth-at-risk outreach programs not included in the police department’s annual operating budget.

Developed by DDB Canada’s Vancouver office, the goal of the integrated campaign is to raise awareness for the Vancouver Police Foundation and better connect the public to the police via a line of iconic, mirrored aviator sunglasses. These sunglasses not only serve as a visual symbol of support that Vancouverites can wear proudly, but they also play a central role to all of the creative aspects within this campaign.

“The iconic sunglasses pay homage to a signature look inherently tied to police and act as a badge of support that buyers can wear,” says Cosmo Campbell, executive creative director, DDB Canada. “This becomes an opportunity and conversation piece for Vancouverites to demonstrate their support for the police and look good doing it.”

The sunglasses play a primary role in two 30-second television spots, titled “Hoodslide” and “Deflated,” which kicks off the campaign and aims to drive sales of the sunglasses. Taking a humourous twist to popular TV police dramas, both spots drive viewers to buy the sunglasses in support of the Vancouver Police Foundation and visit the website to find out more about the organization and how proceeds benefit the community.

“In the short term, the goal of the campaign is simply to raise awareness for the Vancouver Police Foundation and show support for the VPD by wearing the sunglasses,” says Martina Meckova, executive director, Vancouver Police Foundation. “Our long term objective is to increase the membership of the Foundation and broaden the support base, so that more people in Vancouver can benefit from the work that we do in the community.”

A social media contest coincides with the campaign launch and invites people to submit photos of themselves wearing the sunglasses, along with the hashtag #VPDPartners for a chance to win a unique Ride-Along police experience. Symbolizing the solidarity between the people of the city and the Vancouver Police Department, the photos from the contest will be aggregated on the Department’s website as a visual tribute to the police officers.

“Initially, we asked DDB to assist us with some print ads to promote the Vancouver Police Foundation in a local paper,” says Peter Brown, chair, Vancouver Police Foundation. “The agency returned with an impactful campaign strategy that lends itself successfully across various mediums, allowing us to build a stronger relationship with the public.”

Print, OOH, television, social, digital, public relations and an on-air partnership with Global TV BC round out this integrated PSA campaign. The campaign was created pro bono by DDB Canada with generous support from the following production partners: Clinton Hussey for Photography, OPC // Family Style’s Director Jeff Low for the TV work, Post Pro Media for post-production services, Sean Milliken for talent casting, Wave Productions for audio services and Coastal Contacts for facilitating the production of the sunglasses.

The campaign also received help from DDB Canada’s media agency partner, OMD, who offered free services by arranging a combination of donated and discounted PSA buys with BC Business, Bell Media, CBS Outdoor, and Global TV, Postmedia, TV Week and Western Media Group.

The iconic, mirrored aviator sunglasses will be distributed by the police at community events, including Vancouver’s Fresh Air Outdoor Cinema, and are available for purchase starting August 1 from the Vancouver Police Foundation website for $20 each.

“The partnership between the community and police is fundamental to crime prevention and reduction efforts,” Brown adds. “It is through the Foundation that the citizens of Vancouver can support essential policing programs that may be beyond the immediate city budget capability, raise awareness of the outstanding contributions the VPD makes 24/7, and become partners in policing so together we can build stronger communities and make Vancouver the safest major city in Canada.”

One of the world’s most elite (and expensive) cars recently became a canvas for the creative whims of the techie minds at The Media Merchants, a technology-driven production agency based in Vancouver.

In November, the agency gathered influencers in the city’s creative, technology, design, advertising and automotive sectors for The Lamborghini Project, an exclusive audio-visual event centered around projection mapping onto a Lamborghini Reventon.

At $1.5 million, the Reventon is the luxury automaker’s priciest road car. Only 20 have been produced and sold to the public. Using its raw, understated and angular exterior as inspiration, creative technical director Anthony Diehl and animator Stuart Langfield projection mapped a series of real-time visuals on to the vehicle’s dark grey, semi-matte finish.

Initially, Media Merchants conceived The Lamborghini Project exclusively as a projection mapping experience but once they began the meticulous process of mapping animated images onto the car, they realized they had a one-of-a-kind opportunity to do something even more ‘live.’

“One of the surprising and fun elements of the project was getting everything aligned perfectly and then discovering that we had a pretty awesome VJ setup sitting in front of us,” says Anthony Diehl, creative technical director on the project. “Although it wasn’t part of the original plan, we couldn’t help ourselves and took the opportunity to run a live VJ set with visuals created in real-time.”

Diehl and Langfield developed the animated visuals using hybrid 3D and 2D techniques developed specifically for the purpose of projection mapping onto 3D objects. Working from the idea of ‘contrast,’ they sought to highlight the Reventon’s dark, moody and clean lines through a combination of predefined op-art imagery and improvised, real-time effects.

“It’s a scalable technique, allowing us to add or remove projectors for the final execution depending on technical or budget considerations, even after the animated content has been produced,” explains Diehl. “We really tested out the extent of this process on the Lamborghini project and it worked beautifully.”

The video content was created using MadMapper and Modul8 VJ software run off two Macbook Pro laptops networked together for playback sync and then plugged into three 7000 Lumen Panasonic projectors and one 6000 Lumen Christie Projector.

For the music, Media Merchants turned to Mitch Lee of Redemption Audio for a soundtrack that contrasted pure and crisp strings, pianos and snyths with distorted percussion, dissonant noise and an ominous silence. The end result perfectly underscored The Lamborghini Project’s gorgeously subtle symmetry.

Credits:
Projection Mapping: The Media Merchants
Creative Technical Director: Anthony Diehl
Animation Director: Stuart Langfield
Sound Design: Mitch Lee for Redemption Audio
Post Production: JUMP Studios
Videography: Perfect Pictures, Van Media
Director of Photography: Dan Dumouchel
Lamborghini Reventon: SR Auto Group
via: GlossyInc.

Toronto-based animation and design studio Crush has launched another wonderfully paper craft-inspired spot, this time for Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo via creative agency Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener, Seattle.
Working with the creatives at Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener, this spot for the Woodland Park Zoo builds on the work Crush did last year for "Emily's Story", for the Children's Wish Foundation, For this spot, Crush used a lot of classic illustration as reference for their designs and colour palette, but then developed them into something very contemporary.
Crush designer Jullian Ablaza developed the look of the animals and with the help of artist and children’s book illustrator Ashley Barron brought each animal to life. Once the animals were created, Jullian designed the environments to be simple but to compliment the animals as the film flowed from scene to scene. Crush Senior Designer and Animator Yoho Hang Yue put together the animatic and ultimately the animation. To keep the project streamlined and cost efficient, Yoho created the entire project in After Effects, adding textures to the final piece.
"We wanted a very tactile feel, which we would have done in camera if the budget and timeline allowed," said Gary Thomas, Creative Director, Crush. "The end result was very close to that and allowed for a lot of flexibility. The creative team at Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener were a dream to work with. They were totally on the same page and brought great insight to the work. We are incredibly pleased with the final result."
Check out Crush's "Emily's Story" http://glossyinc.com/?p=11420

Credits
Title: "Alive — Lion Clubs"
Client: Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle
Director, Marketing & Corporate Relations: Jim Bennett

Agency: Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener, Seattle
Creative Director: Monkey Watson
Copywriter: Peter Trueblood
Art Directors: Caitlin Finn, Daoust Huertas
Sr. Graphic Designer: Ramon Vasquez
Producer/EP: Steph Huske
Account Supervisor: Heidi Brown

Design and Animation: Crush, Toronto
Creative Director: Gary Thomas
Senior Designer & Animator: Yoho Yue
Designer & Illustrator: Jullian Ablaza
Illustrator: Ashley Barron
Senior Producer: Janice Rebelo
Executive Producer: Jo-ann Cook

Its only been out for 6 hours and I'm already sick to death of hearing about The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to actually be alive and old enough to experience a full-blown movie phenomenon as I missed the boat with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. At least I understood the frenzy behind The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter movies and didn't want to light myself on fire every time it came on the news. But this... this has got even the most hardcore fan inside of me screaming "that's freakin' enough Twihards, settle the frak down!"

Sigh. At least the guys over at Film Drunk feel my pain and have put together a brilliant piece on the absurdness of Twilight fans and their signs at the New Moon premiere. I strongly recommend you read the whole thing in its entirety here. Otherwise, the best bits are below:

"I’m only picking a few of my favorites, but clearly this represented a cross section of America’s finest. Like this guy. He likes America, sleeveless shirts, and vampires that sparkle. I think that was a Bob Seger song. Or this girl, the one behind the girl in the front. She wants to be “a stupid lamb.” Or possibly a stupid lamp, it isn’t entirely clear. Regardless, it’s good to have ambitions. Then there’s these girls,who support the Cullen diet, while standing behind a lady who doesn’t seem to support any diets. Diversity is beautiful. Meanwhile, the girl in the front right is enjoying her one day of the month outside. Anyway, I just thought you guys should enjoy some of these photos, because a lot of good cats went hungry for this."

Well said.

In other vampire news, the poster art for Daybreakers hit the net today and it looks siiiiiiick. And how's the quote from Variety; "Take The Matrix and 28 Days Later and you've got Daybreakers". That's a bloody brilliant line about the film and the poster art looks very slick. Very awesome. Very promising and hopefully a far cry from the romantic notion of vampires, I want to see more bloodsuckers darn it. Daybreakers is an Australian film shot in Queensland earlier this year on a budget of $25 million and stars Ethan Hawke, William Dafoe, Isabel Lucas and Sam Neil. Set in the not too distant future (2019 to be exact), a plague has turned most humans in to vampires who are now faced with a dwindling blood supply. Shot by the Spierig Brothers, I really hope this is a successful attempt by them to cross over in to Hollywood mainstream. If the trailer is anything to go by...

In the beautiful land of Ireland is the hidden gem Horseware, a small but global equestrian brand that wanted to create the company's first ever TV commercial. The ad is simply entitled A Man and His Horse, a soft spoken voice shares his story of love in a poem all the while showcasing Horsewares' blanket line for horses without taking away from the stunning scenery.

Alex Calder of Horseware Ireland shared this about the commercial: "Without an advertising agency and with a very small budget we decided to make our first TV commercial. It's the story of a man and his horse. We wanted to show how that relationship can last a lifetime and how Horseware is an everyday part of it. The partnership between horse and rider is something that means a lot to a lot of people."

Credits:
Production company: Antidote Films
Director: Sean Brangian
Copywriters: Sam Doyle, Sean Branigan
Concept: Sam Doyle, Sean Branigan, Alex Calder
DOP: Piers McGrail
Producer: Andrew Freedman
Post production: Screen Scene
Music: Lennert Busch
Sound studio: Windmill Lane

Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum, one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of shoes and footwear-related artifacts recently had the "Out of the Box; The Rise of Sneaker Culture" exhibition created and designed by famed international designer Karim Rashid that documents the sneaker history from the 1800's to today.

Eventscape was brought in to engineer, fabricate, and install the complete exhibition; literally from the floor finish up to the ceiling. To showcase the prized sneakers, the sleek design incorporates 32 translucent pedestals, a 40 foot long display case, an acrylic entrance screen, five integrated inset wall displays, and seamless printed graphics throughout.
The primary challenge was to engineer a system that would meet all the rigorous museum grade structural requirements of security, accessibility and durability while adhering to the narrow budget of a one-year long exhibit. Eventscape was able to achieve this without sacrificing the clean, flowing aesthetic of the design.
Below, check out a cool time lapse of the 3rd floor gallery being transformed from an empty space to the exhibition itself.

Spec commercial for Barker Shoes.
Directed by Laura Way
DoP Barry Doyle

Shot on location in Co. Wexford, Ireland with a $0 budget.
Shot on the Black Magic Cinema Camera MFT 2.5K.

Everyone loves a good biff, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with The Footy Show. Here, I’m speaking about the one and only Brisbane International Film Festival also known as BIFF. The Gold Coast, being the cultural vacuum that it is, us film geeks eagerly await the annual BIFF where a selection of films from around the world are screened over the course of one and a bit weeks. This year I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the BIFF crew by putting together articles on various films for the website and daily newsletter. With dozens of movies crammed into the 11-day event it would be easy to miss some of the real gems. The good news is I’ve taken a look at the complete line-up of films screening at this year's festival and even watched some of them early. So, the following is my list of the films you MUST SEE or die at this year's BIFF.

For you international readers this can be a handy guide of limited release films you should keep an eye out for in the coming weeks/months.

• An Education — the opening night film starring Peter Sarsgaard and set in the 60s. The Sars-man in a film with romance, drama and intrigue sounds like too rare an opportunity to miss.
• BALIBO — the notorious tale of five young, Australian journalists who were executed while reporting on Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 75. An impressive Aussie cast including Gyton Grantley, Nathan Phillips and Anthony LaPaglia expose the Australian and Indonesian governments shameless efforts to cover-up this important story.
• Coraline — has been covered extensively on this blog given its beautiful visuals and dark storyline. Directed by Henry Selick, director of the classic Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline follows the adventures of a young girl who discovers a secret door leading to an alternative reality.
• 500 Days of Summer — a last minute addition to the festival line-up, this quirky, nontraditional love story deserves to be seen purely because it features the talents of my favourite Joseph Gordon Levitt. It also stars everyone’s favourite indie film star Zoey Deschanel.
• CHE: Parts One & Two — director Steven Soderbergh’s stunning two-part opus based on the life Che Guevara and starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role. You’ll be hard pressed to catch this screened back to back anywhere else in Queensland.
• Away We Go — highly peculiar, yet, interesting film which looks at the journey of two thirtsomethings who discover they’re going to have a baby. Instead of settling down and preparing, the couple take to the road to visit old friends. This is the latest thing from the amicable Sam Mendes and marks a return to his off-beat indie roots.
• The September Issue — one of the most anticipated documentaries of the year, this film delves into the life of legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour in the lead-up to the massive September issue.
• Jules And Jim — this French film from the 60s is a classic love-triangle with arguably the most recognisable face in French cinema — Jeanne Moreau.
• Moon — one of the films I’m most looking forward to, this sci-fi thriller i s the debut feature from David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones and stars Sam Rockwell in what is said to be the performance of his career.
• The Missing Person — a private detective is hired to follow a missing person but what started as a simple job rapidly develops into a complex mystery. Full of double-crosses and classic noir moments, this is a film not to be missed by lovers of all things noir.
• The Strength of Water (below) — having Maori parentage, I like to pay special attention to films from indigenous New Zealand filmmakers. The Strength of Water is definitely worth the gaze. A unique look at the complexity of grief through the eyes of a 10-year-old living in an isolated Maori community. Beautiful, naturalistic, creative and moving. A must-see.
• Van Dieman’s Land — the infamous tale of Australia’s very own Hannibal Lecter gets the big screen treatment from a filmmaker heading for the stratosphere.Subdivison — Brisbanite Ash Bradman (from Nova radio fame) wrote and stars in this appealing comedy set in semirural Hervey Bay. Fans of Aussie films like Crackerjack, The Castle and Kenny are likely to enjoy this.
• The Cove — along with Cathy Henkel’s The Burning Season, this has to be one of the most important documentaries of the year and looks at the culling of dolphins in the picturesque town of Tokyo, Japan. Part horror film, part espionage thriller and part environmental documentary, The Cove is all part's essential viewing. It Might Get Loud — there’s no time for air guitar in this documentary which takes the audience on a candid trip into the world of three of rock’s most iconic electric guitarists; Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin), the Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes).
• Black Dynamite — if I even have to explain to you the plot of this film, given the sheer volume of posts about it on this blog, then you deserve to be pimp-slapped into a China cabinet. Here’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about.
• Dead Snow — Tarantino and Rodriguez fans, like myself, are likely to adore the work of the Norwegian lads behind this low-budget, horror slapstick about Nazi zombies. Writer/director Tommy Wirkola and writer/star Stig Frode Henriksen have been pipped for big things since their debut short Kill Buljo and their first feature doesn’t disappoint. Catch their work before it explodes as their next film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has been picked up by The Weinstein Company (bada-boom).
• Storage — a tense, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from Brisbane filmmaker Michael Craft and starring Gold Coast actor Matt Scully in the lead role. An impressively clever debut from Craft who shot the film in storage facilities in and around Brisvegas. Creepy.
• The Horsemen — containing what is said to be one of the `most amazing fight scenes captured’ is there really any other reason to see this?

Ticket prices are cheap as chips compared to a normal outing at the movies and BIFF is running a series of workshops where you can meet the director, producer, writer and/or stars of some of the films.

The 2nd Vegas, or is better?..

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Hollywood heavyweight James Cameron's 3D underwater epic Sanctum starts filming on the Gold Coast this Friday with local and international film crews busy making final preparations. I had the chance to speak with the director, local Alister Grierson, and location manager Chris Strewe, who shared some juicy, exclusive details. Work has already begun at Warner Roadshow Studios with sets being built in Sound Stage 2 and 8, and crews preparing to film underwater scenes in the studio's $2.1 million water tank. Construction is also under way at a private residence on Bonogin Road, Mudgeeraba where some of the opening scenes will be shot in a semi-tropical rainforest.

Cameron, known for his blockbusters Titanic, Aliens, Terminator 2, Judgment Day and the upcoming Avatar, is serving as executive producer alongside Grierson, from Burleigh Heads, as director. Sanctum will be the first 3D underwater action-adventure-fiction film ever and is being made on a budget of $30 million, relatively small for Cameron spawn.

Grierson remained tightlipped about which Australian A-list celebrities will feature in the film, and said fans will have to wait for the official casting announcement in a few weeks. Just quietly, my bet is on Sam Worrington as he was around recently for the Inside Film awards and lord knows he's on team Cameron. Sanctum follows a father and his teenage son as they navigate a treacherous cave-diving exploration gone wrong.

The underwater cave is being constructed in Warner Roadshow Studios outdoor water tank, where majority of the filming will take place. Cameron will arrive on the Gold Coast to work on the project early next year once he finishes the press tour for Avatar. The crew behind the film will be taking a break over Christmas then continuing filming until mid-March.

To prove how unbelievable Arby’s new Hot Turkey or Roast Beef Three Cheese & Bacon sandwich truly is, Blammo has enlisted the help of real people who’ve experienced UFO sightings, ghosts, or other paranormal activity. Through a series of documentary-style videos, we meet these individuals and hear their amazing supernatural tales. When each is asked about the new Three Cheese & Bacon from Arby’s, they simply can’t believe a sandwich like this actually exists.

Numerous individuals with tales of UFO, ghost, and Big Foot sightings were screened and interviewed prior to the selection of the final participants. The campaign was directed by Suneeva’s Shelley Lewis.
“Although we didn’t have the biggest budget for this particular promotion, we didn’t let that dictate our approach,” says Andrew Simon, Chief Creative Officer, Blammo. “Thanks to our amazing production partners we made the impossible possible.”
The Three Cheese & Bacon sandwich will be available in all Arby’s locations starting October 1st. Media includes in-store signage and digital support. The videos will be disseminated through Arby’s Facebook page and other social media channels.
Credits:
Client: Arby's
Campaign: Believe the Unbelievable
Titles: "Stafani & Wayne", "Paul", "Edd", "Seika"
Ad Agency: Blammo
Chief Creative Officer: Andrew Simon
Writers: Andrew Simon, Grant Cleland, Hannah Gourevitch, Amanda Tucci, David Taller
Art Director: Grant Cleland
Agency Producer: Gord Cathmoir
Account: Amy de Merlis
Production Company: Suneeva
Director: Shelley Lewis
Director of Photography: Todd M. Duym
Line Producer: Kristina Anzlinger
Editor: Michelle Czukar
Editorial Company: Panic & Bob
Online: Andrew Hobbs/Panic & Bob
Sound Design & Music: RMW Music

El Rico

What happens when a stuntman, actor/director and screenwriter walk into a Gold Coast bar? They come up with the concept for an action fantasy film that is already raising eyebrows in Hollywood no joke. Rene Perrin, Avelino `El Rico' Lescot and Susan Macguillicuddy are the trio behind The Black Sun, which recently took out the Most Ambitious Screenplay award at the 2015 International Action on Film Festival in Los Angeles.

The locals are hoping the added hype surrounding their screenplay will push the project into production and attract the eye of distributors. Lescot, a Gold Coast-based actor, stuntman and filmmaker who has worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter Pan and The Condemned, said The Black Sun incorporates several genres.

``It's enchanting and mystical,'' he said.
``It's a gypsy, action, adventure, romance, western with a strong supernatural feel that is set in the Pacific Islands, Mexico, China, New Zealand and here.
``At the moment the film industry needs something different but financially manageable and that's The Black Sun.''

He said The Black Sun's `twist ending' had helped draw attention to the project. The film follows a warrior's worldwide journey on the Matariki boat, which Lescot said is `like another star of the film'. Lescot and Perrin have an impressive international fanbase thanks to the success of their action film Among Dead Men. It won several awards for best fight choreography and generated considerable profits in DVD sales in Canada, Germany, Thailand, Cambodia, Poland, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Hong Kong. It also grossed several times its $7000 budget in DVD sales through Walmart in the US. Perrin, who has worked as a stunt performer on films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Daybreakers, Nim's Island, Fool's Gold and Ghost Ship, said they wanted to combine their `love of action with a love of romance' in The Black Sun.

Balancing out the testosterone on the team is screenwriter Susan Macguillicuddy. Despite having worked with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffiths, Macguillicuddy said working with `the boys' on The Black Sun has been her `most cherished writing experience'.

``It's like we each started at one end of the canvas and worked our way to the middle, fine-tuning the parts of the script we liked,'' she said.
``It took us about a year and hundreds of meetings but we're happy with the finished product.
``We wanted to do something very avant garde with the genre and something new.
``Getting the Most Ambitious Screenplay award means we really pushed the genre, which is what we set out to do.''

International distributors have shown interest in The Black Sun and the trio is currently in the process of looking for investors.

Roadside Entertainment recently turned to MindSmack’s editing and post talent for the inspiring digital campaign “The Next Level” for Lexus. Working in close collaboration with Roadside Entertainment, MindSmack Editor Paul DiNatale helped shape short documentary vignettes that showcase the entrepreneurial spirit of eight celebrity business owners from a variety of industries. The films feature luminaries Russell Simmons, Grant Achatz, Padma Lakshmi, Steve Stoute, Rachel Roy, Jessica Alba, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, and Adam Rapoport. These entrepreneurs elevate industry standards as they each strive to achieve “the pursuit of perfection.” Being fearless, bold and forging new roads to success is the ‘through-line’ with each filmed portrait, and this sentiment dominates this compelling campaign.

See more of the campaign here.
"Lexus wanted to do a series of short films about pioneers in all walks of life and how they approach the challenge of reaching the next level,” notes Director Ron Yassen. “We needed to book, shoot, and edit eight high-profile pieces in three months in order to launch the campaign, so our production timeline was quite difficult. MindSmack's team of editors and artists helped us realize our creative vision, kept us on track and on budget, and made the campaign a huge success.”

“These spots were a fun challenge to work on, getting the messaging just right in a fairly short segment can be tricky; but working with EP John Hirsch and his crew made our job here at MindSmack a breeze,” comments Editor Paul DiNatale, who has edited acclaimed work for ESPN, CBS, ABC, HBO, USA Nickelodeon, TruTV, VH1, Showtime and more.

Credits:
Production Company: Roadside Entertainment
Director: Ron Yassen
Executive Producers: John Hirsch, Cash Warren
Post-Production Company: MindSmack
Creative Editor: Paul DiNatale
Colorist: Dario Bigi
Sound Mixer: Brian Rund

The US Nation's Health

The US president Barack Obama has acted on Wednesday, on September, 9th, with the reference to the Congress in which has stated the basic points of the program of reforming of system of public health services, informs Associated Press.

According to Obama, at the heart of the plan of reforms three purposes lay. The first of them is improvement of conditions of medical insurance for those citizens who have already got the policy. In particular, it is a question of restriction of insurance payments and an interdiction for insurers to limit limits of cost of programs of treatment.

The second purpose of the program is creation of a stock exchange for insurers which will allow to get the insurance for reasonable money to those Americans at whom the insurance while is not present. Thus Obama has noticed, that for legal and physical persons who have no sufficient means, credits and reduced prices will be provided.

The third point of the plan provides introduction of obligatory medical insurance which will allow to cut down not planned budgetary expenses on payment of treatment of not insured persons. The given innovation will concern only those citizens and establishments who are able pay corresponding payments.

According to Obama, the total cost of the program calculated for ten years, will make 900 billion dollars. The president has assured legislators, that these expenses will not lead to the further growth of budgetary deficiency, and has underlined, that reform will manage to the country more cheaply wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or reductions of the taxes undertaken by administration of George Bush.

According to the plan of administration, means for reform will be received for the account of reduction of other articles of budgetary expenses, and also more rational distribution of incomes in the sector of medical insurance. In the long term, has noted Obama if it will be possible to limit rates of growth of expenses on insurance, the budget will win at least four billion dollars.

Besides, Obama has assured, that expenses on reform do not threaten interests of elderly Americans, having explained, that efficiency of program Medicare serving them will be on the contrary increased. Thus the president has answered statements of critics that reform will be defective for elderly citizens.

Reforming of system of public health services is one of key points of program Obama. Earlier it was informed, what exactly this project became the reason of decrease in popularity of the president. The organisations of conservative sense in different states organise protest actions on which blame the Washington authorities for criminal wastefulness.

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The story continues... Discover part two of the new CHANEL N°5 web film/commercial starring Brad Pitt, Wherever I Go is much the same as Part 1, "There You Are" (see it HERE if you missed it). The big budget $7 million kinda big might be working for Chanel, but Pitt is getting crushed with negative comments on his role.

This spec commercial was made for fun with an ultra low budget and the efforts of a small group of people in Los Angeles in one night...and all of us at Great-Ads love it!

Sam Rockwell | MOON

I'm constantly altering the order of the entrants in my hypothetical `favourite actor's list'.However, one permanent feature has been the always awesome and versatile Sam Rockwell. Since his debut in the teen-horror Clownhouse, the 40-year-old has gone on to become a one-man gallery of crooks, rogues and oddballs. Critics adore him. Cinephiles applaud him. Yet still he manages to tread comfortably on the line between stardom and obscurity. Touted as `the next big thing’ for over a decade, Rockwell has made a career of playing the anti-hero. He shifts between supporting roles and leading parts as if they were gears in a car and is widely considered one of the finest actors working today. With a name like a character from an Austin Powers movie, Rockwell is the go-to man for directors with controversial or challenging parts. Thus, when Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, entered into a career as a filmmaker it’s no wonder he wrote his debut feature Moon as a vehicle for Sam Rockwell. As audiences worldwide prepare to see him in the biggest the role of his career, I thought I'd put together this piece to look back at some of the his most memorable performances.

His breakthrough performance was in 1997 as a lovable oddity in Tom DiCillo’s Box of Moonlight. He went on to star in a number indie drama’s and had his first foray in to studio pictures as a child murderer in The Green Mile (below). Despite only having a small amount of screen time, Rockwell left a lasting impression as the charismatic killer.

Charisma was again a major feature in his role as Eric Knox in Charlie’s Angels. One of his most well-known parts, Rockwell was unforgettable as the quirky and deranged super-villain who was just as comfortable moon-walking to Pharaoh Monche as he was shooting missiles from his helicopter. However, it was his leading turn in George Clooney’s directorial debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind that certified Rockwell as a rising talent. He won the Silver Berlin Bear for best actor at the Berlin International Film Festival for playing game show impresario Chuck Barris, who claimed to have been a CIA hitman.

With a growing reputation as a diverse character actor, Rockwell went on to star in several large supporting roles in films such as Matchstick Men, A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Snow Angels and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Perhaps his most controversial role was as a sex-addicted con-man in last year’s Choke which is based on a book by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk. As a serious actor it would be difficult to find a juicer part than that of a man who pays for his mothers hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who save him from choking to death. On the surface it’s the kind of character that audiences should have loathed but Rockwell threw himself in to the part making him poignant and hilarious. He followed Choke with the Oscar nominated Frost/Nixon where he played passionate political writer James Preston Jr.

Although he has spent much of his career playing second fiddle, in his latest film Rockwell is back at leading-man. In fact, he is the only actor in Moon. He plays astronaut Sam Bell (below) who is wrapping up a three-year stint on the moon where he has been overseeing the mining interests of the Lunar Corporation. With the exception of recorded messages from his family and bosses back on Earth, his only company is the base’s computer Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey). That is until he meets a younger, angrier version of himself who claims to be there to fulfil the same three-year contract. Engaging the eye as much as the mind, Moon draws from classic science-fiction films and is propelled by an intense performance from Rockwell. Taking out the best British film award at the Edinburgh film festival earlier this year, it has been hailed as a remarkable debut from Duncan Jones who wrote the film to lure Rockwell in to working with him.

Made on a budget of $5 million and shot in 33 days, Moon has been hailed as an intelligent, intriguing and unique film held together by Rockwell’s performance. Critics have tipped this as the film to finally elevate the American actor to A-List, leading man status. Whether this will actually come to fruition remains to be seen, however Rockwell seems content with his position in modern day cinema. If nothing else the role will be another display of brilliance from the actor and can be added to his repertoire of unusual characters. In the mean time, his next move is away from the indie-circuit and back in to blockbuster mode as he stars alongside Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2.

Props for using real stunt people flying along a cable wire for flying effects in lieu of CGI, but we are not sure that it sufficiently highlights what will appeal to people that are on a budget and do not want to have to worry about what they are buying with their hard earned $130. Price-wise, the Nokia X2 is a solid competitor to the Motorola Moto E, but comparing commercials below, which one makes the best case? via: phonearena

Exclusive behind the scenes footage of the latest Nokia X family advert with director Jako in Vancouver, where the ad was shot...

Here's a cool little illustration of the history of advertising, the advertising timeline dates back to 2000BC when Egyptians first invent outdoor advertising by carving public notices in steel, to the year 2011 where online advertising worldwide becomes second in budget priority, typically at the expense of print and radio.

The illustration was created by/for InfoLinks, you know the ad company that places pop-up in-text ads.

I know there may be some disagreement with the info-graphic on dates and who did what and when, either way it's a fun illustration of where advertising has been.