woensdag 13 oktober 2010

The Box.

Last week I turned twenty, and as usual when you hit a milestone, you get sentimental about life. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but 16, 18 and 20 are a big deal. So looking back at what I learned and experienced, I found out I moved a lot. So many things I carried around, clothes I folded, stuff I packed and shit that needed to be thrown away. And always that bagage I took with me to my new life. Whenever I see a box, it means something to me and it means 'new'.
Today, another box was presented to me. Not a physical one, but a psychological one; a box that I needed to get out of. Because creative thinking means thinking out of the box and therefore we need to move our claustrofobic ass to another way of thinking. So after some of the teacher's very long stories, we had to watch this.




"I'm sorry, is sitting by the river playing Baroque music hoping to get inspired not 'creative thinking'? Fuck." Well, there went all my ideas, assumptions and expectations. Right in the bin. Shattered because my way of thinking about creative thinking wasn't right. 
"Hold on, assuming this man's definition of creative thinking is right.." My right-eyebrow started to twitch and a feeling in my stomach told me something was off. "Wouldn't excluding other ways of thinking be thinking inside of the box?" 
I noticed a lot of thinking had to be done. So, how can we think outside of the box when we verdict other ways of thinking as basically 'not creative'? Of course, assuming this man's definition is right. I went in complete denial, thinking this man is absolutely not a creative thinker, because in my opinion, creative thinking equals openminded-ness. Therefore listening to other people's ideas and thoughts and accept these. Because these ideas might bring you to other thoughts and ideas. "So screw this!!!"

Somewhere in the distance I heard that man's gloomy voice and a picture of a dinosaur appeared on a sheet of paper in front of me. I wasn't paying attention anymore. Shit, I found myself in a box. Not accepting this guy's opinion, not listening at all to the words coming from another man's thoughts. I sighed. 
"These friggin' boxes.."


vrijdag 1 oktober 2010

E-motion

This morning I felt I was going to have one of those days that you just know it's gonna be a good day. I had that perfect cup of coffee, my iPod randomly chose 'Feeling Good' by Nina Simone and my train had no delays. Or so I thought. There was no train, no announcements and yet a lot of irritated passengers to ask what the fuck was going to ruin my day. Strangely, I did not ask the first person I ran into, the second, third or fourth. No it had to be specifically the seventh, who would inform me that it's all gonna be fine. So why the fuzz about that train and moreover, why didn't I approach that first person?
Well, if I recount my steps, it all comes down to that click. The click that tells you instinctively what you like or not. It's as simple as combining + and -, like creating battery life.
So if an emotional mindstate equals certain energies or electricity, how come we get so afraid that future robots might get smarter than us? And eventually, take over?

I've been watching "The Dog Whisperer" lately. For those who do not know this program, it's all about dog psychology, and it's pretty entertaining too. What's so interesting about this tv-show, is that this Mexican guy is talking about the realness of human beings. And that realness is defined by emotion. Sure, he throws around some shrink jargon like 'calm/submissive energy', but he's still referring those emotions with energy. Suppose this is all true, and moreover, plausible, wouldn't the next step for technology be combining technology with emotion?
Turn it the other way around and we see that emotion is already intertwined with technology. Look at social media; how many times do we use Facebook to express how we feel to others. Or use that Blackberry to ping or text somebody that something has fucking ruined your day. And what about those Mac-freaks that get turned on by simply the design of a single MacBook. And we didn't even mention the use of technology in art yet; cause admit it, art always hits an emotional snare, right?
So why the fear, since we are humanoids already? Why the denial of something that seems freaky and unknown, but in fact already exists?

"It's all gonna be fine? So where is that fucking train?!" I thought. I automatically reach for my phone and posted on Facebook that I was gonna be late because of those damn trains. My iPod randomly chose '99Problems/Points of Authority" by Jay-Z and Linkin Park, which ironically fitted my mood. Finally, the train arrived and I stepped in as I use all of my energy to not get frustrated. And feeling that tension, I pulled out my MacBook to see that I got a reaction on my Facebook-post. It's a friend of mine, who became a friend of mine because, I guess, we clicked. I continued watching 'Alice in Wonderland' and hear the Red Queen yell:"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!!"
I guess we don't need our heads, cause we run on e-motion.



Moodboard "E-motion"


































dinsdag 28 september 2010

Create.

After dissecting a tornado of thoughts, images and stupid insights I finally came up with a few ideas for the next assignment of Graphic Design. Which was designing a promotional postcard for Creative Technology. So I pulled some stuff together, fired up Photoshop and out of my crazy mind came these two:






What do you think?
Sharah



dinsdag 14 september 2010

Urban Mayhem

Yeah, the world is a dark place, and in big crowded cities it gets even darker. In this project for 'We Create Identity' we're going to show how unsafe an urban environment can get with an interactive video. This video you see here is a little preview of metropolitans getting crazy; the end result will come in six weeks from now.




You can also follow the process of making the interactive video on one of my teammate's blog:


Stay safe,
Sharah

maandag 6 september 2010

Grappa.

Something about this magic potion distilled from mashed grape skin and seeds, triggers me to start playing video games. I guess this emotion is derived from a memory,  when a dear friend and I, after drinking a fine glass of grappa, decided to screw Easter. Consequently, we ditched the chocolate Easter eggs and went to see "300".
Now I really like this movie, not because of the story. Nay, I really enjoyed this movie because of the bullettime-effects; it really kept the stupid entertainment-level high up in the sky. There's a first time for everything, so I left the cinema mindfucked of the beauty of bullettime.. Secretly I wondered how it would look and feel like when these effects were put into game.
So, it's 2010, I'm randomly looking at Youtube-clips with my brother, and check this out:

                                                                                     Metal Gear Solid: Rising
     Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtM3PGyiQUc&feature=fvst 

It's time for me to ditch DJ Hero and get a grappa; I've got some serious slashing to do.

Cheers,
Sharah

woensdag 1 september 2010

Just some random inspiration..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4p2Le7J2dM
(Typhoon - Sprokkeldagen)

Truthfully I'm not the biggest fan of Dutch hiphop (Except for Kyteman and Pete Philly&Perquisite ofcourse) But men, this song comes straight from the heart. Seriously, just listen and don't pay attention to the creepy video. Nothing fancy or outrageous, just some raw emotion in your face.


Enjoy,
or better said,
Peace!
Sharah