Viral of the week. Robot Quadrotors Perform James Bond Theme.

Watch also this: http://www.ted.com/talks/vijay_kumar_robots_that_fly_and_cooperate.html

Flying robot quadrotors perform the James Bond Theme by playing various instruments including the keyboard, drums and maracas, a cymbal, and the debut of an adapted guitar built from a couch frame. The quadrotors play this "couch guitar" by flying over guitar strings stretched across a couch frame; plucking the strings with a stiff wire attached to the base of the quadrotor. A special microphone attached to the frame records the notes made by the "couch guitar".

These flying quadrotors are completely autonomous, meaning humans are not controlling them; rather they are controlled by a computer programed with instructions to play the instruments.

Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science is home to some of the most innovative robotics research on the planet, much of it coming out of the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab.

This video premiered at the TED2012 Conference in Long Beach, California on February 29, 2012. Deputy Dean for Education and GRASP lab member Vijay Kumar presented some of this groundbreaking work at the TED2012 conference, an international gathering of people and ideas from technology, entertainment, and design.

The engineers from Penn, Daniel Mellinger and Alex Kushleyev, have formed a company called KMel Robotics that will design and market these quadrotors.

More information: http://www.upenn.edu/spotlights/penn-quadrotors-ted

Video Produced and Directed by Kurtis Sensenig
Quadrotors and Instruments by Daniel Mellinger, Alex Kushleyev and Vijay Kumar

Banksy on advertising.

"People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs."

Peter Weyland in TED Talk Video. Prometheus Viral Campaign.

https://www.weylandindustries.com/
http://blog.ted.com/TED2023/

Music video of the week. Gotye - Easy Way Out.

Film clip for the Gotye song Easy Way Out, from the album Making Mirrors
Buy Making Mirrors here smarturl.it/gotye 
gotye.com/
facebook.com/gotye/
twitter.com/gotye/

**********************************************

Easy Way Out lyrics

Seventeen seconds and I'm over it
Ready for the disconnect
Putting on a brave face
Trying not to listen
to the voices in the back of my head

(But it's alright now)
It's a distant memory baby
(It's alright now)
You know you should just let it go

But some feelings have a habit of persisting
even though you wouldn't let it show

Wearing me out
(All this)
Hanging around
(It just starts)
Getting me down
('till I'm just)
Looking for an easy way out

Braindead from boredom
I'm led to distraction
Scratching the surface of life
Nothing really happens
But it's easy to keep busy
When you tell yourself you're traveling right

(But it's alright now)
Was it really worth it baby?
(It's alright now)
Was it just a waste of time?

Keep on second-guessing
Use my memory like a weapon
On everything I try

Video credits:

Directed By Darcy Prendergast
ohyeahwow.com

Directors of Photography
Andrew Goldsmith & Jeremy Blode

VFX Director
Andrew Goldsmith

Animators
Darcy Prendergast
Seamus Spilsbury

Assistant Animators
Josh Thomas
Jeremy Blode
Michael Greaney
Sam Lewis
Andrew Goldsmith

Costume
Paige Prendergast

Lighting
Shelley Farthing-Dawe
Andrew Goldsmith
Jeremy Blode

Motion Control 
Glenn Anderson

Art Direction
Darcy Prendergast

Editor & Colourist
Andrew Goldsmith

Rotoscoping
Andrew Goldsmith
Josh Thomas

Sound
Ben Matthews

Model Makers
Michael Greaney
Josh Thomas
Benjamin Aguesse

Set Builders
Seamus Spillsbury
David Pennay
Cody Sevedge
Benjamin Aguesse
Wes Starr
Jeremy Blode

Production Manager
Nicky Pastore

Cardboard Flame Painters
Fiona Dalwood
Shaun Stares
Nora Juncker
Giulia Sandri
James Bailey

Music credits:

Produced by Wally De Backer
Mixing and additional production by Francois Tetaz,
assisted by Andy Stewart and Wally at
The Mill, Gippsland, VIC

Bass guitar: Lucas Taranto
Drums, percussion, guitar and orchestra samples,
lead and backing vocals: Wally

Contains samples from Echoette as performed by Buddy Merrill. Licensed courtesy of Accent Records

Music video of the week. PAUL WELLER / GREEN.

TRACK 1 FROM THE GROUNDBREAKING NEW ALBUM 'SONIK KICKS'

DESIGN & ANIMATION - RUFFMERCY
PRODUCED BY ANDY SOUP FOR SOUP FACTORY - soupfactory.co.uk
http://www.ruffmercy.com/

Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

http://morrislessmore.com/

Inspired in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, "Morris Lessmore" is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation), award-winning author/illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. "Morris Lessmore" is old-fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

"Morris" was awarded the Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film in the 84th Academy Awards®.