Silent Disco

Written by Administrator | 07 October 2010

Silent Disco

London Zoo (6th-27th Aug)

 

 

 

A number of truly unexpected events have taken place this month combining both exotic animals and dancing! London’s Zoo has been holding Silent Disco’s all through the month opening up the Zoo to later hours. Just to fill people in that have not heard of the newly popular Phenomenon, it consists of a DJ playing music which is then is transmitted through headphones which then each member of the audience wearing, allowing for the animals not to be disturbed by the loud music. A BBQ and a seafood bar were set up so that the party goers could get something to eat as well as the bar serving champagne, Pims and mojito’s. This is a very innovative and risky concept; which has left each event with full turn outs and tickets selling out instantly as soon as they were released. If you did not catch any of these hopefully there will be a repeat next year!

Link: http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/whats-on/zoo-lates,427,EV.html

Secret Cinema

Written by Administrator | 07 October 2010

Secret Cinema

Imagine booking cinema tickets with no clue what the film or the location is until the day it is shown. Well the Secret Cinema can now provide this and has been hugely successful.
The ‘Secret Cinema’ turns routine cinema experiences into an exciting adventure for film lovers who enjoy suspense, mystery and a sense for the theatrical. Taking place in 6 cities around the UK, the secret cinema will give the location on the day of the event and a clue of the film.
By signing up to the its online newsletter each respondent is given clues and small amounts of information on how to acquire information for the film showings in a secret agent/mission impossible style, this including clues of the location and then later on the film itself, giving the customers small tasks to complete for instance visiting certain locations in which they discover more clues. Each location that they have to visit is themed around the genre of the film, keeping the mystery going all the way to the cinema. The location could be a 5 star hotel car park to a truly thrilling, London graveyard. With cult classics to one off film previews, such as: Bugsy Malone, The Warriors and Ghostbusters. This then turns the traditional generic trip to the cinema into a compelling experience, building a much more intense suspense for the customer. 
This unique idea is growing in popularity and confidence, with each event promising more and more, such as special guests and live entertainment. The popularity has also been confirmed with its new Windows Phone sponsor where users can now receive a live update of news which is then displayed on their mobile phones. This is a well received boost for the ever declining Cinema ticket sales, to find out more access the link provided.

Link: http://www.secretcinema.org/

Notting Hill Carnival

Written by Administrator | 06 October 2010

Notting Hill Carnival

 

On the 29th and 30th of August London’s Notting hill Carnival took place; the event set up and started by the West Indian community in Notting Hill. The event showcases all different carnival celebrations including elaborately decorated floats with bright colours and many different performers, not forgetting the outstanding food that is served throughout the two days. The one off event shuts off all of the streets surrounding Notting Hill attracting tourists and an opportunity for people to celebrate the wide arrange of different cultures and heritages of the capital, everyone enjoying the event in true carnival spirit.
From a business perspective this is a real opportunity to promote branding and gain some real cultural associations. For instance, many radio stations set up floats or stages with their resident DJ’s playing, encouraging awareness and to promote their brand. Also it is worth mentioning Red Bull, who has been rapidly expanding into many new areas apart from their traditional sport sponsorships, now including areas such as new and existing music artists within their Red Bull Music Academy. At the Carnival itself they sectioned off an area in which they have staged many popular music artists in the spirit of the event including Major Lazer, Diplo and the legendary Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry performing in a designated area. In order to access the area, tickets must be acquired from the website proving to be hugely popular selling out within minutes of them released. This allowed them to promote their brand effectively with an exclusive edge with the limited ticked available. Also as it’s was only available on the website it forced users to check on the website strengthening the link between the website and their actual activities and well has increasing the chance that views would check over the website itself. Overall a great use of the event to promote and increase awareness associating music with its brand breaking away from its already established sport customer base.
Link: http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/

 

 

References:

http://www.redbull.co.uk/cs/Satellite/en_UK/Event/Notting-Hill-Carnival-2010-021242873057473

http://www.shuttervoice.com/11495/notting-hill-carnival-2010-peaceful-but-230-people-arrested.html

Inception

Written by Administrator | 07 October 2010

Inception

The room is spinning!

 

This is not referring to the feeling you get after drinking too much but rather the breath-taking special effect used in the fight sequences in the new block buster film Inception directed by Christopher Nolan starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Without giving the story line away for those who have not seen the film, I can confirm that the film is extremely gripping; fusing sci-fi elements similar to the Matrix, in terms of transportation and action scenes, whilst following a compelling storyline forcing the audience to rethink their perception of what is humanly possible and the blurring dreams and real life.
The most impressive scene in the film has to be the fight sequence within the revolving rooms, this involving three different locations where the actual location move around the characters as they are fighting. Due to the film large budget this was able to be achieved through actually building the sets with wood and scaffolding which the rooms are then rotated using motors. This was opposed to using regular green screen techniques allowing for the realistic reactions and movements from the actors. Not only were the actors fighting within an actual spinning set but they had to remember where the cameras in the floor were placed so that each scene could be filmed at different angles, this resulting in outstanding fight sequences.
I have provided a video link to You Tube showing ‘behind the scenes’ shots of some of these amazing shots, I strongly suggest that you should watch the film firstly before watching the video so not to spoil the actual scene.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=685R2P6j26E&feature=channel
Official Link: http://inceptionmovie.warnerbros.com/

If you enjoy spectacular effects, high energy and a storyline which turns your world upside-down I highly recommend you watch this film!