Ford VJ Frankfurt

[spark]

We're through day two of Ford VJ Frankfurt being live, and currently the stand is being reconfigured from its press setup to the public layout. What that means is that we're through the suits stage - where the project largely gets judged - and the setup is about to get locked down for the week or two of public onslaught. Making a five minute mix every 20 for the best part of a fortnight. What that really means, is that you spend at least a month in pre-production, bringing the technical and creative together to make it work, and then just when you've had the least amount of sleep and are most stressed it all gets judged in the first five minutes of its output by the creative agency and client executives... which would somehow be fine if that was the final thing, except thats the point you remember its actually just the beginning, the show has just opened, and that closing date is far, far away.

But yep, we're in a good place; things are working, the output has been really good, and, perhaps most importantly, there has barely been a mistake... doing anything live in such a controlled, branded environment is always a risk.

I'm here with dr.mo [www.morishuz.com] and Jasmin Jodry [www.sophisticatedmadness.com], fellow vjs and content producers. And no accident in them being native German speakers, something always good when in Germany and interacting with the public as part of the reason for being there.

I'll try and post updates as the show progresses, we made a few tests today that i've slung together and uploaded, and i'll link up the first two iterations of this project. Excuse the crazy dotmac urls, the spark site and hosting is in flux at the mo (if you want, check www.tobyz.net/spark/v2beta and send me some feedback on what you find).

Today's press-day test: http://homepage.mac.com/tobyspark/.Public/spark-fordvjfrankfurt-pressdaytest-webhi.mov

The big introductory film about the project from the Geneva motor show: http://homepage.mac.com/tobyspark/.Public/spark-fordvjgeneva-web.mov

A photo gallery from Geneva: http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/fordvjgeneva.html

A photo gallery from Amsterdam: http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/fordvjamsterdam.html

Some blog posts:
http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/tobyzblog/48D7EE68-3473-47AB-BFEF-B99D17F285A0.html
http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/tobyzblog/FCE53377-6027-4BAE-BB08-2AE56AB0FE17.html
http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/tobyzblog/9593C619-1CC7-40EE-9AA5-BB5D918A7996.html
http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/tobyzblog/CAC5E970-1265-452B-A069-47BDD9FE6459.html

Quite enough to keep a spark busy and under the VJC radar...

Toby

ps - props to Mo for the decent spacelapse shot in the test sequence, i'm sure he'll pop up in this thread =]

[Scratchpole]

Kissy Kissy corp sell-ins. Do you get a free motor?

[oxygen]

hey toby!!!
Good luck with this one.
I hope it will be easier then the first one an the 2nd one...!!
Hopefully the hours are not so long as Amtserdam?
x

[thomase]

All the best to my favourite VJ!

[robotfunk]

Good luck mate, say hi to Mike and Ziggy from me.

[spark]

"The Ford VJ area won the Gold award for Best exhibition feature area at this evening's Event Awards 2007 at the Natural History Museum."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dansloane/1382774865/

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/1382774865_b2e36efe36_m.jpg

...and its up for two categories in the AV awards next month too. fingers crossed!

[spark]

haha, and no, i don't get a car. do get to see all the new ones, but hey - i ride a bike around london.

and olga+jilt, have passed on the hello; and i've totally changed the vj setup for here, no manipulating the exact level of seven sliders any more!

toby

[spark]

couldn't believe it - check out the "babe'n'beards" webcam shot that came through to us, in the left of the photo...

http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/tobyzblog/D626FF74-79AF-4464-8D74-863C1FC6E09C_files/IMG_0216.jpg

[flowershower]

looking forward to see more spark. say hi to jazmin from her old digital technician please :)

[spark]

...the end seems so far away, and then all of a sudden you're walking out for the final time.

back home now, here is a provisional photo gallery, and a video will come once i've logged and captured four hours of HDV...
http://web.mac.com/tobyspark/iWeb/tobyzstuff/fordvjfrankfurt.html

toby

[Anyone]

hey, I didn't know you spoke german Toby ? :up:

[spark]

well, ask people at a car show what they wanted to be when they grew up, you soon get to know every possible combination of "fahrer"...

toby

[drmo]

every possible combination of "fahrer"...
toby

haha

[robotfunk]

I do hope for your sake they changed the 4 tunes...

[spark]

i am one with those four tracks =]

...but thank all deities ever that the fiesta "hot crotch" track had gone, and gary numan wasn't repeated a thousand times an hour. i did a quick sum and i'd heard that like two thousand times over geneva and amsterdam?

toby

[drmo]

I do hope for your sake they changed the 4 tunes...

no, they didn't and it took it's toll. halfway through the week i woke up one night - in a panic - with the environment track playing really loud and clear in my head.