Ted Trailer.

Few movie trailers manage to surprise me, make me almost cry with laughter and have me quoting the film before I've even seen it. But the Ted trailer had all of it. IT. LOOKS. BRILLIANT.



Oh, and Mila Kunis is in it (and the fact that thats the last thing I mention tells you how good this film looks).

Photographing The Yakuza: It's All Luck.

Though not being much a photographer myself, I have always been fascinated by photos and the stories they tell, how one single split second can be so defining. And I can come across few projects that are as fascinating as photographing the Japanese Mafia, The Yakuza.

The photos taken by Anton Kusters all beg to have their stories told. They all look dark, rushed and as if they were shot from the hip, probably because many were. It must have been a terrifying and exhilarating experience all at the same time. You instantly get the feeling of what it must have been like to be surrounded by some of the most dangerous men in the world whilst they conduct some of the most illegal deals in the world.

Luckily enough for us Anton conducted a TED talk to speak about his project. You get the feeling he could talk for hours about the crazy stories and situations that he found himself in. But what really stuck me about his talk is the importance of luck. But not just hoping for luck, making that luck for youself. And you do this by getting experiences and knowledge. The more of these you get, the more you have to relie on, the more prepared you are for any situation.

TED X Observer: Plan B

Now this may not be one of the most slick or smoothest TED talks I've watched, but it is by far one of the most relevant, compelling and important ones I've watched.



Plan B, aka Ben Drew, is a phenomenal talent, I've thought that since his debut album, Who Needs Actions When You've Got Words. That was an album that, like many hip-hop albums, I could not necessarily relate to, but it was one that I could understand and appreciate. The content of his songs, the aggression in his convinction and language he used, although all intelligent and true, was never going to make it mainstream. Plan B knew this. So he made an album that would, in the form of a concept album Strickland Banks. And it did. Not only did it reach number 1, he recieved an Ivor Novello award for it. Plan B's talents lie not only within acting but also movies, directing and acting in Harry Brown and Adulthood, both to much critical and commercial acclaim.


But perhaps the most important thing about Plan B is his need and desire to do something good, to help those that he believes he can. He has used his talent and hardwork to put himself on a platform that enables him to do just this. From this TED talk you really get the impression that, not only does he want to do good, but he understands how to make a difference, perhaps the most important thing. He talks on the power and importance of hip-hop, something I've mentioned before, the need to listen and look after youth, not encourage the press to chastise them and also the importance of hope. He is relevant and intelligent, somethings that most politicians will never be. Kids will listen to him, he is putting his real power to real use. And as he says, it's not just him that is doing it, we all can. Brilliant stuff.

TED: Ads Worth Spreading.

TED recently announced the winners of the Ads Worth Spreading competition. Ted, for those not in the know, is a non-profit organisation that is all about promoting and encouraging ideas that look to change the world in a better way. From the fields of technology, design and entertainment TED "believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world". It's an incredible organisation and something you need to pay attention to.

Back to the ads, this competition really makes sense to me. I undertook my dissertation on virals and investigated if there was a trend or some sort of formula that leads to creating a successful viral. My own research proved that it's almost impossible to come up with some sort of formula, adverts that in theory should be wildy successful can flop and those that just seem to make no sense set the internet alive. However one trend that came from my dissertation, and is in fact my attitude anyways, was that successful adverts are ones that are made for consumers not just towards consumers. It sounds obvious but if an advert is genuinely found entertaining, interesting or useful you really are half way there.

Or as TED put it:

Here are the 10 winners of our first Ads Worth Spreading competition. With this competition, we're seeking to reverse the trend of online ads being aggressively forced on users. We want to nurture ads so good you choose to watch. On TED.com, ads run after our talks, not before. This means they can run longer than the TV-standard 30 seconds. And that's the key! In 2-3 minutes, there's enough time to really tell a story, share an idea, make an authentic human connection, become unforgettable. Instead of ambush, they offer pleasurable, intelligent engagement.

Here are the ads, some I agree with, some I don't, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts:

Chrysler



Topsy Foundation



Savory Institute



Nike Foundation



Nokia



Intel



Batelco



Dulux



Target



Hornbach

InsideOut.

I've seen some of the work of this project but never really knew what it was about or simply assumed it was just some cool street artist with some cool images. However open reading more about the Inside Out project I discovered that it was so much more than just something 'cool'. Like all great art it had something substantial and meaningful behind it, something that connected and mattered to people.

The project by the artist simply known as JR has recently been given it's awarded by the TED foundation to support JR's "wish to change the world". The project involves people from all across the world as they upload black and white images to be converted into these huge prints. This prints of the community members themselves are then put up in communities to create hope, a stand or simply a smile. This project has notably visited Israel, Kenya and Brazil.