Filed under: Greensboro, Higher Education, MadMonk Projects, North Carolina
UNCG’s History and Interior Architecture departments ask:
“How do we make history matter to our communities? How do we preserve a living legacy for future generations? How do we work with contemporary communities to help them tell their stories and make meaningful decisions about the future of their towns and cities?”
Their proposal: Offer a unique set of graduate concentrations in Museum Studies and Historic Preservation which integrates core disciplines, classroom-based theoretical learning and hands-on experiences outside the classroom.
Their new website had to engage visitors to see how their graduate program looks like in action through stories told by real students in print, photos, illustrations, and audio stories. Listen to a few and it’s made clear that this program is special in numerous ways.
Filed under: Greensboro, MadMonk Projects, North Carolina, Video/MoGraph
synerG is an active organization of young adults who lead initiatives with the mission to attract, engage and connect young professionals to Greensboro, North Carolina. There is social and professional networking as well as leadership opportunities. It was a pleasure to work with Action Greensboro and get to know many of synerG’s volunteer leaders and participants. We filmed at numerous events to capture stories and glimpses of the energy that keeps it getting broader and more exciting. For their YP Sports program, one expects basketball, softball and the like, but who knew adults also play organized kickball and dodgeball? We even learned that two people who met on the dodge ball court actually ended up getting married!
Our efforts eventually formed into two projects: A redesigned website and an eWelcome Flash microsite that features videos of each of synerG’s initiatives and five facets of Greensboro Living. Additional footage found it’s way into the website in the form of a “Downtown Living” segment, and a few YP video profiles.
Learn more: First get immersed in the synerG eWelcome, and then visit their website to learn more. See for yourself – check out their events and attend synerG events that fit you.
With an extensive photography career still going strong, NC-based James Bridges’ portfolio glows and inspires. Motion pictures, directors, actors, portraits, forms, furniture, he can shoot about anything and sometimes, on anything to get the winning shot! Having to showcase hundreds of photos, we worked to create a website that is modular, flexible, and allows his art to be the star. A visitor can navigate linearly via “back/next” buttons or non-linearly via bottom-anchored thumbnail navigation. Images scale to fit the monitor/resolution size which allows for some large photo renderings. It was a fun Flash challenge.
“Current & the Alliance for Climate Protection are looking for creative and provocative ecospots; very short video messages that will drive your friends, community or government to get involved in solving the climate crisis…”
A few years ago (while with Spin Communications in Greensboro, NC), we developed a short campaign for Wrangler called “You Call The Shots” where, like similar user-generated promotions, some samples are posted for reference, some materials you can use are posted, and winners are eventually chosen. Fairly common (as exhibited through big names like Chevy’s SuperBowl Challenge and winning spot “Car Wash” and Frito Lay’s SuperBowl Challenge winning spot “Live The Flavor.”
This one of course is less about selling jeans, cars, & chips, but a cause. Assuming that the prizes are donated for the cause, it’s fairly encouraging that such methods of promotion are now being used directly for human campaigns (unlike the back door where Chevy was given plenty of “anti-Chevy” ad spots by protesting applicants). Although just a small effort for further P.R. about Global Warming, advocates could look at it as a worthy endeavor, potentially engaging even more of the general tech public. And those that believe Global Warming to be a hoax, well, at least this is the “free market at work” as are the wave of green corporatism we’re increasingly seeing in media (including the cover story of the Sept. 2007 edition of Fast Company). History and science will eventually look back and document the facts, but for now, I look forward to seeing the winning spots.
Filed under: Greensboro
UPDATE: Today’s (8/14/07) Boston Globe covered the ECON 201 course/game, a nice piece for all concerned. As it mentions, it’s not Doom type of a visual/gaming experience, but it’s increasingly evident that it’s an evolutionary step in online learning.
ORIGINAL POST (8/26/06): This is getting some buzz (check out this Yahoo Finance article), and for good reason. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has been developing ECON 201, a video game for college credit teaching the principles of microeconomics. The story follows “an alien species that must learn how to survive after crash-landing on a futuristic, post-apocalyptic earth.” With the past decade’s boom in gaming, this makes sense. I think one day these will be more common but to take it further, it’s just another evolutionary step. Imagine a course (a few decades down the road) built in a virtual reality environment, where a student can study a foreign language and culture by virtually visiting Japan’s stock market, an Indian corporation, or a North African bazaar.
MadMonk Interactive shares building space with a bunch of small businesses, ranging from a real estate development to videography to sales reps and a gaming start-up, others as well. One of them are a production company led by four brothers that DJ around the area, a scenario ripe for a reality show, right? Well, they beat us to it ’cause they’re already in production. Check out their trailer on YouTube and their MySpace page as well for more information. Chemistry is important in any group activity, and these guys certainly have that. And with neighbors like these and the others, it’s never boring around here.
UPDATED ENTRY: Please read the comment on this post about the benefit event on Friday December 22nd at The Garage (in Winston-Salem) 9:00 pm, called The 2nd Annual Million Star Hotel AIDS Care Service Benefit. Featuring Jeffrey Dean Foster and the Birds of Prey With very special guest Lynn Blakey (of Tres Chicas). Bottom line: See a good show and support a good cause at the same time. ‘Tis the season.
ORIGINAL MADMONK POST: The past few months, we’ve enjoyed a couple of performances by local musician Jeffrey Dean Foster and yes, I admit, I’m biased since we’re friendly with Jeff and his family…but he and his band (The Birds of Prey) are worth listening to. But don’t take it just from me, how about Rolling Stone: “Million Star Hotel is easily one of the best albums ever to come out of the fertile North Carolina music scene,and it deserves the kind of exposure that the work of home-state peers such as Ryan Adams, Ben Folds and Tift Merritt has enjoyed.” — Parke Puterbaugh, Rolling Stone Contributing Writer.
Earlier this Summer we saw Foster/Birds open for Alejandro Escovedo for the Eastern Music Festival’s Fringe Series. Escovedo was awesome too, quite a show to see live.
We saw Foster/Birds the second time last Saturday in Winston-Salem for Summer on Trade’s last show of the season. Some good shows go on there, free to the public in Winston’s Art District. Check out their events calendar come Spring.
Tonight we saw Triad Stage’s well done production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Although those who’ve read the book (and many who haven’t) know the story, their production proves why although the details are in war-torn World War II Europe, it’s a timeless story in need of continual renewal. As hard as it is at times to think back at the ruthlessness during the characters’ circumstances, it challenges us to reflect critically at what’s happened and is happening since then. Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, just to name a few. The sheer fact that I’m writing on and you’re reading a blog right now shows how distant we are from these monumental atrocities. Luckily, many of us feel a small degree of validation when Anne wrote “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart.”
Triad Stage’s work (running through September 24, 2006) is in partnership with the Greensboro Public Library’s One City, One Book where throughout September, organizations across Greensboro will highlight this project with discussions, exhibits, speakers, and more. As usual, Triad Stage’s set itself is a work of memorable art too.
In a recent conversation, we made the analysis that for many, video/film/documentary type of media is serving as historical record keeping and on a more casual level, fitting in where a novel would, telling stories and the like. So this reminded me of my office neighbors, SchoolKid Chronicles. In our current times where digital cameras are plentiful and YouTube.com has enabled unprecedented usage of them, SchoolKid Chronicles’ offers a five minute interview of kids from 4 year-olds to high-school seniors. And it’s not the same as filming our own kids. SKC’s interview questions are age appropriate and kids tend to talk during this interview in different and often more candid ways then they would with their family and friends. Take a look at their site yourself. Maybe you or someone you know would dig doing this.
Through the animated birth of a Cig Egret, this PSA reminds that the cigarette (representing all human trash) is not native to the California coast. The :30 spot urges people to participate in the California Coastal Cleanup Day on September 16. (Requires Quicktime Player, need it?) Pretty nice animation work. Although for CA’s campaign, it reminds me of all our public places. Just this evening, we went to the Bog Garden right here in Greensboro to feed ducks, turtles, fish and watch the other critters when our older son noticed litter in the creek, later in the bushes. Not terrible levels, but nevertheless, unneccessary. Alright, personal observations aside, the PSA was Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Stardust Studios.
Filed under: Greensboro
A few weeks ago, we had The (Greensboro, NC) 48 Hour Film Festival where the goal is to write, shoot and edit a short film in 48 hours. Of the nearly 40 teams competing, “Gi Ho Lo: The Legacy of Richard Long” was chosen as the top Greensboro movie and if you’re into independent short films, it’s worth a view (8 minutes).
