I’m always drawn at the site of micro structures, pods and/or any type of compact-living unit. I guess you could say it’s the kid in me who always loved his club house (I took over a shed in our back yard, and turned it in to my personal headquarters). Also, a few years back, while living in Chile, I took a trip with 3 friends out to Pan De Azucar, a Natural Park where the desert meets the ocean, for what was supposed to be a 2 week camping trip. Fascinated by the sense of community formed by the “tent metropolis” we encountered and later experienced, we extended our stay to close to a month.
At the time, I couldn’t help but think that we were witnessing what ultimately all living communities and societies would end up turning in to, so when I came across French designer Pierre Stéphane DumasBubble Structures, I was brought right back to those thoughts.
Pierre wanted to create a Eco-friendly space, following a single charter:
Proximity to nature, minimum environmental impact, landscape integration, economic integration of social aspects.
He also says his “creations” are “unusual huts for unusual nights”. He explains:
Having a night under the stars or seeing the sun rise and set is not something that many people experience anymore.
A normal tent or camper van means people miss out on these things, so I designed this eccentric shelter with the aim of offering an unusual experience under the stars while keeping all the comfort of a bedroom suite. The ceiling of the bubble has the Milky Way, guests will be able to enjoy this as well as the extraordinary light variation of the sunset and sunrise.
What started off as a few tents that could be found scattered around France, has now turned in to a couple of hotels in the same country, Attrap’Rêves in Bouches-du-Rhone (near Marseille) and Sky River outside of Loir-et-Cher.
Also, if you’re looking for inspiration or a good read on microstructures, I personally recommend Micro: Very Small Buildings by Ruth Slavid. Great projects, photos and layout.
In early May Datassette will hit us with ‘People Without Mouths.’ The 12″ EP will be available on Shipwrec records and the digital version will follow two weeks after with bonus tracks and a a remix by Ilkae. He was kind enough to share the track ‘Don’t’ with us, and it’s a smooth, tingly gem of a track. Sprinkled with vocal stabs and bent percussion. Really stoked on this EP, head over to datassette.net for plenty of other goodies.
On my recent visit to Austin, TX I was lucky enough to catch Missions perform a set. He was surrounded by vintage equipment, a control center shrouded in synth. ‘Darrk/Blakk’ is the A-Side of his upcoming 7″ via Pau Wau Records. It sounds as what I assume an early 80s’ Depech Mode demo would sound like via a walkman running dangerously low on batteries. Haunting vocals seem to sit between towering walls of synthetic goo slowly dripping into your ears. Looking forward to more from Missions.
‘Don’t Open The Door’ from VHS Head was released on a Benefit Compilation for Japan on ICASEA. Contained within is the signature VHS Head sound. He is the master in mining the depths of pre-certification video. ‘Don’t Open The Door’ is a droopy eyed jam, it brings to mind the river of pink slime in Ghostbusters II, and what I might be like to slowly sink into that warm, murky mess. Quality track.
Innergaze just dropped their second LP ‘Mutual Dreaming‘ on Cititrax. Hailing from Brooklyn, this synth wielding duo pants a perfect picture of early dance music. ‘Is This Your Love?’ really had me floored upon first listen. It’s a slightly grey journey inward, highlighted by glittering arpeggios and synthetic stings. Topped off with vocal stabs that seem to pull you in and press you back out. ‘Mutual Dreaming’ will get some heavy rotation from me.
Last week I flew out to Las Vegas alongside the Fiction crew for NAB. The show covers everything from post-production and computer hardware to lenses, cameras and lighting. It’s hard to summarize everything that I saw because I was constantly in overload, so I decided to pick the one product that stuck out, the Blackmagic Digital Cinema Camera.
The Digital Cinema Camera is a Raw ( Cinema DNG 12-Bit ), 2.5K ( 2432 x 1366 ) camera for 3,000.00 USD. There’s a laundry list of features that the camera offers but mainly…it’s very, very cheap and it’s output at 2.5K is RAW. They implemented a Canon EF mount, so everyone transitioning from Canon can do so, easily. Also, it’s all touchscreen and uses off the shelf SSDs as media. The sensor is Micro 4/3 so it’s smaller than a Super35mm ( 7D / Red Epic ) and much smaller than the 5D which is close to 65mm ( In film terms, not still ), but they’re claiming 13 stops of dynamic range on it. The camera only shoots up to 30fps, so it’s not a camera that just beats all the others, but it definitely puts an option out there that a lot of people have been interested in.
From my perspective, it’s not about what the camera looks like, it’s what it delivers when it’s in the timeline. I think this fills a gap that’s been around for the past few years where the Canon DSLRs work for a lot of stuff that’s non-commercial or internet only…this offers professional level images at a bargain price. I think what I’m excited to see is the creativity and quality that’s about to change. I feel like a lot of motion designers and directors starting out use Canon DSLRs for low budget and experimental work and while it looks great now, imagine if these guys and girls are shooting 2.5K RAW and able to really work footage in terms of color, overlays, etc. The camera ships in late July, and they’re also including Davinci Resolve with it. I’m having a hard time not clicking “Add to Cart”.
Here’s a video detailing the camera completely from DSLR Newshooter. I wanted to get in and shoot a little interview but the booth and the 3 or 4 cameras they had out were swarmed every day I was there.
As of right now, I’m heavily invested in a RED Epic and I’m hoping to get together a techincal post on the camera and answer any questions on it in the next month. However, if I didn’t have it, I’d be all over the Digital Cinema Camera.
If you’ve got some time, hop over to their specs page and check it out.
Also, I hope to never hear the phrase “game-changer” again.
I noticed OFFF in Barcelona is coming up next month because of Duane Dalton recent post on his Cargo Collective. We really enjoy his work, we’ll have more from him next month. Anyone headed to OFFF this year? The schedule looks great, just went thru some of their portfolios.
The Swedish National Bank had a competition for designers to redesign the Swedish banknote. The Stockholm Design Lab, was among the 46 competitors and was even among the top 8. Unfortunately they did not win, but their design was promising. I really enjoyed their banknote design because of the simplicity and type.
We’ve talked about currency design before but I’m still rather curious if there is a list somewhere out there that can detail all of the finer points that a new design for currency has to be upheld to. View the full PDF for SDL’s design process.
You may remember Smithson Martin as the guys who made a splash a while back with this crazy monstrosity touchscreen DJ controller which smacked of vaporware.
Well apparently that thing was real and now it’s even realer because they have released a beautifully designed desktop version that’s infinitely more practical. Unfortunately it’s like $5000 so it’s not happening. But one can dream. Personally, I still haven’t figured out whether touchscreens are my thing for live performance. I got an iPad with the hopes of incorporating it into my live workflow but it still hasn’t happened. I personally don’t like having to be constantly looking down at gear the whole time and I need the tactile feedback of knobs and sliders.
Still not sure if I’d dig the Emulator for live music, but I think it would be great in the studio. And not just for music either, I think this would make a great Photoshop or Lightroom controller if set up properly.
Another day, another poster. I usually just do one poster for longer tours but this time around I wanted to do something specific for a couple of the shows this summer. First was the Troubadour print and now it’s this one for the July 14th Tycho show at Webster Hall in NYC.
In the summer of 1968 three men and good friends, climber and surfer Yvon Chouinard, climber and skier Doug Tompkins, and champion skier Dick Dorworth, set off from California in an old van to surf, ski and climb their way down to the southern end of Argentina, where they were met by a young British climber, Chris Jones. Their goal was to climb a mountain that had been climbed only twice before: Cerro Fitz Roy.
Little did they know, this journey would not only have a tremendous impact on their own personal lives, but would also help launch a movement by inspiring (and continue to inspire to this day, like the film 180º South) many other outdoor lovers, as well as set the tone for many future expedition/adventure films and documentaries.
Mountain Of Storms was shot on a 16mm Bolex (drool Charles Bergquist) by Lito Tejada-Flores, and is narrated by Tom Donahue.
