This post came about after reading Garr Reynolds' excellent blog-post about Logos & identity. The Starbucks Logo and its many rip-offs is one of the things Garr dig into. Through the links in his post I also found my way to Ranquit.com where Starbucks' logo is placed eight in the "All-Time Ranqued logos". As you've probably gathered from my sub-heading I don't think it deserves this honour.

-Faulty by design

One of the most important elements of a logo is that it is instantly recognizable. It should immediately separate itself from other companies' logos so that the customer can recognize it at a glance. The problem with the Starbucks Logo lays in the shape. Why the circular badge looks pleasant it also has the same shape as gazillions other logos:

Now, as long as you watch these logos displayed like this in full colour displayed you should have little problem separating them. Although at a distance you might already be forgiven for mixing the Skoda and Starbucks logos. Let's try in black and white:

As you can see the logos now appear even more similar. Flipping through a newspaper I doubt if any of these would evoke immediate recognition. The identical geometry becomes a problem. Just look at these silhouettes:

You might argue that none of these logo-owners would ever present their logo in a simple silhouette and you'd be right. But a strong silhouette improves the recognizability. Furthermore, Starbucks (or any of the others) surely can't expect to copyright a circle?! Other companies however have clear, distinct shapes that both stand out in a crowd and are hard to copy:

How close do you think anyone would come to these before becoming synonymous with copyright infringement? As mentioned earlier: a logo should be instantly recognizable. One of the easiest way to achieve this is to design a strong and exclusive silhouette.

I love technology. Not all technology of course, but great looking, seamlessly working gizmos and cleverly designed software are things that bring a smile to my face. As much as I love technology I am also depressed at some people's blind belief in the tools of the digital age. Technological advances and lower prices have put professional tools in the hands of anyone willing to part with the cash. In the 80's desktop publishing, advanced computer-typefaces and photocopiers drove a lot of smaller advertising agencies out of business. A lot of executives figured 'we can do it ourselves and save money!' No one would claim to be a carpenter simply because they bought a hammer and some nails. Yet this was essentially the logic governing their decision.

Picasso’s La Guernica

Today I doubt you'll find any serious company that make their own advertising material. (Short of them having a professional marketing department). As people got used to seeing material with fancy font-work it became apparent that smooth fonts and clipart alone does not make professional looking documents. While most people wouldn't know how to design a print-ad, most people do know a bad one when they see one. Over time, talent prevails. After all, most people reading this could probably afford to buy material better than that used to paint the Guernica. Most would probably not come close in their artistic efforts though. Even if they did have the time (and space!) on their hands.

If you need an illustration would you rather buy it from an accountant who just bought the latest version of Photoshop or from a proven artist using Microsoft Paint?

From YouTube/EclecticAsylumArt

As you can see from the above example great artists can make great artwork even with limited tools. The combination of great tools and great artists is the stuff dreams are made of. If you can only have one of these you should choose the artist - every time.

When it comes to heroes childhood heroes I didn't know anything about, Italian cartoonist Osvaldo Cabandoli (Cava) comes close to the top of the list. His cartoon La Linea (the Line) was a huge favourite and remains so to this day. The title-character is a highly emotional man depicted as a line-drawing silhouette. His whole world exists solely on a 2D-plane made up from line-drawings and the cartoonist's hand is the only other frequently returning "character".

Walking the line

The humour comes from the interaction between the two and the sublime animation. This is a truly superb example of Visual Storytelling. The character's language comes from The Republic of Gibberishia meaning that people all over the world can enjoy the antics of this unlucky character. I also have to commend the excellent and highly humorous A cappella music used. As always, these things are better experienced first hand than read about. Enjoy!

’’Nordpolen’’ is Norwegian for 'The North Pole'

The style I've chosen for this project is a simulated cut-out/handicraft look. This is more discernable when the images are in motion but hopefully these couple of images can help you get an idea of what I'm trying to achieve...

*It obviously isn't quite that time of year yet, but these things take time!

Despite the fact that part 2 of my JFK vs. PowerPoint project was something of a flop compared to the original I've decided to finish the trilogy. (New readers should probably look through part 1 and part 2 before the read on). This time I have not limited myself to the use of Slide Ware (PowerPoint/Keynote). I've made a dynamic presentation based on the same audio-clip as I've used in the previous examples.

Seductive Visuals

Hopefully you'll find that this version commands attention and is actually quite interesting to watch. And I really hope it serves to demonstrate a point. That point being that despite this latest iteration probably being the most visually pleasing, it is no more effective in presenting the message than the original 'boring PowerPoint'.

While the two version differs a lot in quality and dynamics they have at least one problem in common: When you force the audience to read they cannot give their full attention to the spoken word. This means that no matter how beautiful the text is displayed on your PowerPoint-slides they will harm your presentation if delivered at the same time as you speak. If you look at the second example however you'll find that the imagery is designed to augment the speech. The images should work either to make the message clearer or to strengthen your audience's emotional connection to the material.

The first rule towards better PowerPoint presentations is in my mind so simple it's almost ridiculous. Text = Bad. Imagery = Good.

As always there is also a higher quality QT version available.]]>benjamin.larsen@noreagle.nostorytelling2008-06-30T18:30:26+02:00http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/49606dfdf3ef7a7e78520552ed8d0888-53.php#unique-entry-id-53http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/49606dfdf3ef7a7e78520552ed8d0888-53.php#unique-entry-id-53Oslo's new Opera House

I'm not particularly knowledgeable about architecture. I can probably recognize a couple of style-periods but have no detailed knowledge of the craft. Like most people however, I know what I like. Oslo's new opera building is among the latter. The new seaside Opera-building was drawn by the firm Snøhetta and is an abstraction of a glacier. To me, the most stunning thing about the building is how it almost transforms what constitutes a building. The slanting roof accounts for the majority of the building-mass. Accessible to the public, it creates a landscape that works incredibly well both on its own merits as well as the glacier-feeling it is trying to achieve. The construction is made in such a way that at times only the white marble of the building and the sky is visible. It really does evoke a feeling similar to being on a glacier, you better bring your sunglasses.

A long time coming

And there's more. This is a building for the National Opera and Ballet and as such it has obviously been paid for by the government. The prelude to actually building the thing has not been without a few sour notes.

The debate to whether Norway needs a dedicated Opera has been on and off ever since 1905 when we regained full autonomy as a sovereign state. Also, spending huge amounts of money on a building dedicated towards what is perceived as high culture will always tick some people off. Personally I think making beautiful buildings for the public actually improves people's quality of life to some extent. (Although it is hard to design a spreadsheet to prove this).

Song of Norway

As Snøhetta are based in Norway they are of course well aware of the historical aspects of the project. This is what really got me thinking. Take a look at the following text:

«Yes, we love this country as it rises forth, rugged, weathered, above the sea...»

As my blog has just reached its 6 month of existence and is soon to reach 25.000 page-views and 6000 visitors (thanks to each and everyone of you!) I figured it was time for my first meta-blogpost. I think every bloger will sooner or later sink to this low, and for me it took just 6 months. Sorry.

Anyway, to avoid wasting your time completely I thought I'd inform you about the tools I use for my blog:

My very first blogpost

1. My MacPro. This is the physical corner-stone for more or less all my creative work. I type on this, I touch up images, animate, edit videos and make music on this thing.

2. RapidWeaver. RealMac's RapidWeaver. This, OSX only, software seems to be spreading like wildfire. Pitching itself somewhere between Apple's iWeb (part of iLife) and Adobe's Dreamweaver it is a solid Web Authoring Tool. While the blog-section is not 100% customizable (closer to 80%) the ease of use and clean coding-nature is definitely good enough for me.

3.) iPhoto. Another part of Apple's iLife this is a firm favourite of the household helping me to retain some sort of order in my steadily growing collection of digital photographs.

4.) Adobe Photoshop. Yup the great old man of advanced image-manipulation is another heavily used favourite. While it is to some extent approaching the state of bloat ware it also enables the users to do just about anything and deserves its place at the top of the food chain.

5.) TextEdit. Occasionally used to rid text-clippings of any unwanted formatting or font issues.

6.) SubEthaEdit. Yet another OSX exclusive. This is my general tool for occasions when I code my sites the old fashion way. When it comes to this blog it is mostly used to alter css-files.

7.) And last but not least: My Notepad and ballpoint-pen. Always with me, a lot of the stuff you'll read here is actually written on the tube (underground, metro, subway or whatever you like to call it).

The tools of the trade

Well, that's about it I think. Once again, my heartfelt thanks to everyone stopping by, and doubly so to those of you bothering to drop me a comment every now and then. Cheers!

Interactive Movie : a hybrid of a movie and a video game is an art-form that never seemed to take off. They were created in a way where the movie stopped/paused at a certain point and the user's interaction would decide the continuation of the movie. One of the best known examples is the Laserdisc based arcade game Dragon's Lair. While Dragon's Lair was commercially successful, few would argue that it worked particularly well as a game or that its narrative was worthy of any awards. Thanks to the work of legendary animator Don Bluth and his team it looked brilliantly though; and for a while the novelty of the visual quality was enough to forget about all the shortcomings. [Un]fortunately, later attempts at repeating the success would demonstrate that the format was basically flawed.

-Flawed format

Possibly the best looking video game of all ages

Despite the fact that the technology used was crude compared to today's standards, I don't think the major problem was of a technical nature. Let me elaborate: When we watch a movie the filmmakers tell us a story. This is the basic premise of the narrative movie and from the spectator's point of view it is a passive medium. (Not taking into account the emotions a good movie can evoke). This is what we sign up for an it is in many ways an evolutionary step from the storyteller traditions of yore. When the audience have to "help" the hero or decide where the story should go it breaks the mould. We're basically experiencing the storyteller putting his hands up saying «I don't know, what do you think?». It simply doesn't work. We've trusted you to tell us a story, now tell us a freakin' story!

-A way for the viewer to participate

I think however that there is room for a different kind of Interactive Movie, one where the storyteller doesn't give up on the story. Greater minds than mine* may already have thought of this, but nevertheless my idea is as follows:

The Interactive Movie v 2.0 will start like any other movie, setting up the basic premisses, introduce the characters etc. At a certain point the story will diverge into two parallel actions. This is already a widely used storytelling tool in the world of movies, enabling switching between the different parts of the story. The difference is that it will now be up to the viewer to decide when to switch. At certain times the two strains of the story will again converge and most times they should come together to form a satisfying conclusion to the story.

The Arcade ‘Trailer’ in all its glory, courtesy of YouTube/Digital Leisure

I think this could work brilliantly. I don't know about you, but I'm an avid channel-switcher. When I watch television I've found that it is possible to follow two programs at once by switching back and forth between the two. In my proposed Interactive Movie you could have the hero struggling to break out of the villain's stronghold while his comrade-in-arms is on his way to bomb the building to smithereens. The viewer will have to switch back and forth to see if the hero will make it in time. In a way, the viewer becomes the editor.

Obviously there are caveats as some Storytelling Tools will be left useless. (The moviemakers can't cut away to another part of the story to increase tension). It does however allow the viewer to engage him- or herself in the story deciding which part to watch without breaking the story as a whole. The storyteller is still in charge of the story, but the viewer can decide which part of it to follow at any given time.

*I've been told they exist

In hindsight I’ve become increasingly aware of some shortcomings in my last post about technical presentations:

Returning to the master slide after each and every detail seems redundant in my presentation example. The Star Destroyer Blueprint is easily recognizable even in its miniature form and the viewers should have few problems recognizing the different parts based on the highlighting of the miniature model.

Return of The Jedi

Keep in mind that more complex blueprints could demand going into more detail. If this is the case the technique is an easy way to assure your audience is focusing where you want them to. When you’ve performed the return-to-master-trick a few times the audience should have familiarized themselves enough with the layout so that you can skip this interim step.

If nothing else I hope my slip-up has served as a reminder to the fact that no two presentations should be treated the same. Every case must be true to itself and follow its own dynamics.

Strong visuals, less text, no bullet points and a clear story-like structure are some of the steps on the journey to become a PowerPoint Jedi. I recently watched a Q&A session with Garr Reynolds where he was asked how best to give a technical presentation. His answer was something like "Give the audience a copy of the printout". (Due to the low image resolution of PP-slides). I agree that this is a good idea but don't think it should be the final word.

Heart of Darkness

It is not uncommon that a detailed technical printout is at the heart of the presentation. Normally this would mean an audience familiar with most of the technical terms. If you're giving a presentation of this nature it still needs to be as effective as possible. It is important that you lead the audience so that you all focus on the same details at the same time. This is where the Rebel Alliance can help!

Attacking the Death Star

When attacking the Death Star, rebel leaders had to communicate the technical details to a crowd of pilots. They could have just handed out printouts of the thing and given a standard PowerPoint presentation. Luckily they didn't. If they did, the emperor would already have won. Instead they split the information into smaller chunks, focusing on one piece of the puzzle at the time. I suggest you do the same.

Death[star] By PowerPoint

Use the Force

By all means, let the audience have a printout of the technical information and begin the presentation-segment with the same image. Then you can start focusing on the details. I reckon you don't have an R2-unit to help you, but you might should have some sort of image-processing program and a high-resolution scan of the information you want to share. Create separate images from parts of the high-resolution image, detailing different parts. It is easier to show and tell, than just tell, so I've tried to give an example below.

A quick and dirty Keynote example

I've borrowed the blueprints from The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Star Wars) and Ansel Hsiao (did I get that right?) kindly granted me the right to use one of his 3D-renderings. Check out more of his work at FractalSponge.

Update: When exporting to flash a lot of the transitions etc. was lost on the way. I have therefore included a Quicktime-version where everything should look as planned. Macusers can also download the original Keynote-file, if they're interested(?)

While I briefly mentioned Drew Struzan in another post he definitely deserves a post of his own. He is, according to George Lucas, "The only artist worth collecting since World War II". While I think this is erhaps taking it too far, he has been one of my heroes since my childhood. Not that I was aware of it at the time, but I used to marvel at those fantastic movie-posters wondering what kind of magic was used to make them. A film with a poster like that had to be worth seeing!

Incredible But True!

Only several years later did I find out about the man behind the art. No magic-tricks, just an amazing talent in the visual arts. That his parents actually named him Drew is one of those coincidents that it is hard to believe. But it is nevertheless true.

The Hero Of A Thousand Faces

Better Than The Movie?

Being one of the most recognizable poster-artists in the world he is probably best known for his work on Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Even if people don't know about the man, they're likely to recognize the style. In addition to the almost super human technical talent, he also seems to recognize the storytelling aspect needed of a Movie Poster: Teasing the audience to see the film. I dare say Drew's work is often the best thing about a movie!

Personally I just find it gratifying to see someone build their success on an indisputable talent. Mr. Struzan makes the posters with a variety of natural medias and techniques, without the aid of Photoshop or other digital tools. Come to think of it, that sounds a little bit like magic after all...

Yup it's finally time for another one of my Pointless Ramblings. This one might actually not be entirely pointless.

This time I've tackled the media's role in the upcoming election and I think it should be worth a look for just about anyone. Enjoy!

A higher quality Quicktime-file is available here.

That's right. 10 years ago Apple released the first iMac. It was in its time a revolutionary product on many levels and can in many ways be considered the first big step in the resurrection of Apple.

The most obvious differentiation from its peers was the way that it looked. The all-in-one-enclosure was a friendly looking egg-shaped machine in a blueish hue. The material had reportedly been created in cooperation with a candy-factory and I think it is safe to call the machine a genuine design-classic. It was by and large the first computer made where the manufacturer really considered the esthetics to be as important as the technical specifications. As Steve Jobs (Apple's CO) said: "...the back of this thing looks better than the front of the other guys'...".

It also gave birth to a new naming convention, starting the name with a lower-case "i". Today, using a lowercase first letter is fairly common, but back in its day it was another thing that told the audience that the iMac was something special.

Apple is today one of the strongest, most popular companies in technology. This is of course largely down to the fact that they release high quality products. But, it is also because Apple honors the fact that the "story" matters...

First iMpressions (ooh, that's clever)

As I've been mentioning going on and on about in my last posts, the first impression is incredibly important. Apple's focus seems to be on delivering the best possible user experience and they obviously understand the importance of a good first impression.

That's why they spend money on stuff like packaging. Where most PC-manufacturers will send out their machines in a brown cardboard-box, Apple will pack their machines in specially designed cartons with 4-color printing and often creatively designed styrofoam designed to make the unpacking easy but also to create an experience in its own right.

Ad for the original iMac

Telling A Story

Some will shrug at this and say that it doesn't matter. Well, it doesn't matter if your product doesn't live up to the experience, but it certainly puts the receiver in a mood where he or she is ready to be further impressed by the hardware. When people spend hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars they want to feel well catered for. The same feeling of quality and attention to detail seeps through from Apple's advertising all the way to the finished product. It tells a story. The story of a company that cares about their products, not just about cutting costs to improve the bottom line.

Above you'll find a video from the release of the birthday-kid. It's also a nice example of how to give an effective presentation.

This post is a straight follow up to my last one. After writing Setting the Mood the subject has lingered with me. Looking through my bookshelf I couldn't help but being struck by the difference in presentation from one book to another. I was particularly taken by the difference between Cliff Atkinson's Beyond Bullet Points and Garr Reynolds' Presentation Zen.

Both books tackle PowerPoint/slideware Presentations and set forth to make the reader a better, more efficient presenter. I've praised Presentation Zen earlier, so I won't go any further than saying buy it this time. As for Beyond Bullet Points it really is rather good, giving a clear and concise recipe of how to make your presentations more accessible to the audience. (And as you've probably guessed, how to get rid of those dreadful bullet points). Perhaps a tad on the technical side at times and limited to one particular method it is still more than worthy of purchase. I am sure it would be very helpful to a lot of people who want to improve their presentation skills, but don't know how.

Judging two books by their covers

Where the book really fails however is in its presentation. This is bad for any book but could be disastrous for a book about presentations. How many people have seen that cover and decided that whoever's behind it clearly don't know anything about presentations. The book has done very well, despite this shortcoming though. (Mostly due to strong word-of-mouth I believe).

Imagine coming into the bookstore looking for a book on presentations. Just look at those two covers, which book would you choose? I don't think they even compete in the same division...

How your story might start sooner than you think

May the 22nd Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull opens in theaters worldwide. Probably the most eagerly awaited film of the year thanks to the huge following of the franchise and the time passed since the last one was released. I am part of the fold and have huge expectations for the next Indy-installment. I have a fairly clear idea about what I am going to get. Any fear of Lucas and Spielberg messing with the formula has been removed by the marketing material. As soon as the first teaser-poster was released I was convinced this film will deliver. "The Man With the Hat" is really back.

The poster was, of course, created by one of my heroes, Drew Struzan. He has become the semi-official Indy-illustrator and his work immediately puts you in the right frame of mind: This is Indiana Jones done the way it has always been done. This is Indiana Jones done right!

Only 3 more weeks left to wait!

A Lesson To Be Learned

I am not suggesting that you hire Mr. Struzan for all your projects (but if you have the means, feel free). It is however important to acknowledge that the presentation of your "story" starts earlier than you might think. If your "story" is a PowerPoint Presentation then what do you put up on the screen before you start the show? A blank slide? A Windows desktop? The latter will hardly put anyone in a mindset ready to be inspired. Is your story a DVD you've made or a book? Then what does the cover look like? Does it look good? Or more importantly, does it look right? If you've written your doctorate thesis on the use of nano-technology in cancer-treatment please tell me you didn't use the dreadful comic sans-font!

Of course the quality of your work might win your audience over, but why make it more challenging to begin with? Always think about your audience's first impression of your work. As the saying goes: "You only get one chance to make a good first impression". I'll leave you with this YouTube Classic. Robert Ryang made an "alternative" trailer for Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". Try to imagine the audience choosing to see the film based on that trailer. The definition of setting the wrong mood.

Trying to keep the visuals out of the way

I came across this on TED and found it most interesting. It's not exactly storytelling but rather a music video where the creators try not to let the visuals dominate the music.

"Moonlight in Glory" (David Byrne & Brian Eno)

I'm not 100% sure about the use of text, as I find it impossible not to read when I see text and as a result I'm distracted from the musical experience. Also the designer, Jacob Trollbäck, is Swedish; and as Norwegian there are limits to how much praise I can give to one of those.

Nevertheless, I find this to be an excellent piece and a brilliant example of using the right visuals for the right job.

Why not use the round wheels of filmmaking?

Changes don't always equal improvements

I'm a fairly conservative guy when it comes to Film Aesthetics. I don't mind people experimenting with the form and trying out new approaches . It is actually required to improve the art-form. What I really don't get though is how some of the world's current directorial hot-shots seem to let style getting in way of their stories. Surely storytelling is what directing is all about?

The problem

Yet, several "modern" directors go out of their wits to cram so much spectacle and fancy camerawork in there that it's bound to detract from the story. When watching films with excessive Camera Movements and edits that seem to be made simply to look "cool" I'm just annoyed. Huge vistas, helicopter fly-bys and some incredible effects-work is perfect to make great trailers, but have to be used with care if they're not to hurt the story.

So if it looks cool what's the problem? The problem is it pulls me out of the reality of the story. I dabble a bit with film-stuff myself and am generally interested in the technical side of things. Yet, I find that if a film works I never consciously notice the techniques while watching a film for the first time. (I probably will on second or third viewing). When I notice the filmmakers have failed in my book. It would be like reading a Crime Novel and then starting to think about how the sentences are built or perhaps what a brilliant font they've used.

The Wheel - it really works!

There are of course times when an author wants to attract attention to the language, but this is seldom the case in Thrillers where the narrative is the main focus. The odd bit is that there is a classic, well established language of film that seems to be lost on some contemporary directors. In many ways honed to perfection as early as 1941 with Orson Well's Citizen Kane. The choice of lenses, the lighting, composition and angles are all made to enhance the viewers understanding of the characters' psychological state. The brilliance of this is that it works on a subconscious level. If you want the viewer to empathize with a character you make sure that character is close to the camera and that we see the world through his or her eyes it. When the majority of the camerawork consists of huge battle-scenes shot from afar the viewer will eventually loose interest.

Watch the master

The guy who knows how

The thing that makes the situation even more absurd is the fact that the most successful director of the last 30 years does use this language. Steven Spielberg seems to have an incredible understanding of the psychological value of the camerawork. This is probably the reason why many will have a hard time pointing out what makes his films work so well. Witness the T-Rex attack on the car in Jurassic Park: Almost the entire scene is shot from inside the car. This way we, the audience, can feel the fear and despair experienced by the charcters. This is done despite having the coolest and most expensive animatronic T-rex available. Oh, how tempting it must have been to show off the beast in all its splendour! Yet, Spielberg obviously knew that this would work against the film.

Unfortunately a lot of the younger filmmakers today seem to have missed the point completely. While they are more than willing to let themselves be inspired by the fantastic premises of Spielberg's films the key to great filmmaking seems to elude them...

Why image quality in films doesn't really matter

Okay, that last sentence is a lie, but it got your attention didn't it? But while image quality does matter I am convinced that resolution and general image-quality is among the least important aspects of storytelling. The information the images contain and the look (composition, colours, lighting, etc.) is however vital if you want to succeed in telling your story.

To some of you the mere idea that resolution is unimportant is bordering on blasphemy. If you spend a large chunk of your money on home-theatre equipment and an equally large part of your time fine tuning the equipment you're probably fuming at these preposterous lies! And I understand. Really, I do. I own a Laserdisc Player for Pete's sake! I too prefer to watch films displayed in the best technical quality possible, but I've also found that good films work fine even when presented in more meager ways. If not, how did television ever succeed? It has never been able to compete with the vivid imagery found in the cinema.

Lo-fi Success Story

Sing, Sing, Sing

I am of course singing the age-old "story, story, story"-chorus: If the story is strong enough and it is told with the right use of visuals most viewers will soon forget the technical quality. This is something worth keeping in mind in an age when everyone is trying to sell us the latest Real-HD-1080p-BlueLaser-X-Camstation-3000-Videoplayer. Even more importantly than the consideration for our wallets: It is something for those of us dabbling with visual storytelling to be mindful of. By all means - get the best quality imagery you can, but don't let a few missing pixels prevent you from telling your story...

*Don't worry Hollywood I bought both on VHS and DVD later on.]]>benjamin.larsen@noreagle.noopinion2008-04-09T19:23:34+02:00http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/8f039578ab9bc2249571e970993a96db-38.php#unique-entry-id-38http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/8f039578ab9bc2249571e970993a96db-38.php#unique-entry-id-38

Time for a sequel

Some of you might remember my post Killer Looks where I sought to illustrate how bad visuals, or more specifically bad Power Point, can destroy even the greatest of speeches. My example seemed to work quite well and I received a fair amount of positive feedback. As the post was also one of the most popular posts I've made, a sequel was inevitable. The thing that irked me about the original was that while it demonstrated the point I was trying to make it was also rather contrived. The Power Point Presentation was designed to be bad and while I've experienced similar examples in real life it did tickle the "do-better"-itch.

The original "Boring Powerpoint" clip

The where- and whats

What if I tried to make a proper presentation to go with the same speech? Would it still detract from JFK's dynamic delivery? To make the experiment more comparable to presentations in the wild I decided not to pull out the big motion-graphics guns. Everything was created in Apple's Keynote which is part of the excellent iWork. The free images were downloaded from FreeFoto.com and npg.gov.

The Result

I find it hard to distance myself from my own work and the legendary status of President Kennedy's Inaugural Speech makes it even harder. I am confident that it works okay but Kennedy's charisma is so strong it will always be dificult to improve upon. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether this presentation detracts or ads to the speech...

When it comes to classic examples of visual storytelling the Bayeux Tapestry is one of my absolute favourites. The tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings where the Norman army led by William the Conquerer defeated King Harold's Saxon army. A truly defining moment in British history and one that among other things is largely responsible for the heavy latin influence in the English language. (Something to think about the next time you eat pork).

In the context of this blog I will naturally focus on the use of visuals to tell the story. Told sequentially from left to right with vivid imagery and latin inscriptions it is constructed surprisingly similar to modern day Comic Strips. It is rather ironic that while the Bayeux Tapestry is celebrated as a brilliant piece of medieval art, comic strips are still occasionally shunned upon as an art form.

If you are dreading the continuation of this post to be a dry step-by-step description of the actual tapestry you are in luck. As the tapestry itself was meant to be experienced visually I won't spoil it for you. Thanks to animator David Newton the story depicting a huge battle, Halley's Comet and the fate of a nation can now be experienced in a better way:

Purists might object but I think this is a really clever example of how to present an ancient piece of artwork to a contemporary audience.

This is what I love about the web. On one of my many random search safaris through the maze that makes up what we all know as the internet, I came across the site ICT Inspirations. This is in itself an interesting blog (and I've bookmarked it), but what was really great was how the blog revealed to me the brilliance of The Common Craft Show, something I had never heard about before.

The Common Craft Show is made by Lee and Sachi LeFever and consists of small videos explaining complex ideas in a straightforward manner. They refer to themselves as interpreters which seems fairly accurate. Their simply brilliant (or brilliantly simple) style consists of well prepared cutouts, an equally well prepared voice over all put together by manipulating the cutouts physically in front of the camera and some really tight editing. The final product almost seems like a high-tech animated scrapbook and the effect is quite mesmerizing. Have a look at the below clip and see for yourself:

Common Craft's take on Google Docs

The first time I watched one of the clips I was hit by a hard spell of why-didn't-I-think-of-this-ulosis.

This is truly a brilliant example of visual storytelling if I ever saw one.

An application for creative writers

Based on my output in this blog so far it should come as no surprise that I enjoy writing. The stuff I post here is for the most part written directly in RapidWeaver, the application I use to maintain this site. (Most of the text actually origins from the notebook I carry with me on the tube).

For larger projects, not intended for web, I find that more specialize tools are required. One of my current projects is a children's novel and I have used this project to test the shareware application Jer's Novel Writer (JNW for short).

From writer to writer

JNW is made exclusively for OSX (sorry Windows- and Linux users). It is created by Jerry Seeger - himself a creative writer and this really shines through. For one thing, this is not your Swiss Army knife Word Processor. It does not bother with fancy layout options nor allow you to import a single graphic element.

Normal windowed-mode

You may however create chapters, have a database of characters, places (or anything else you might fancy) and not the least, put notes in the margins. The killer feature for me though is the Full Screen Mode. No icons. No menus. Just a clean white screen to write your heart out on.

The all-conquering Full Screen mode

JNW will of course let you export your text to other formats, useful when you want to perform more complex layout tasks. It also has a nifty print function that allows you to define different print templates each with their individual fonts, font-sizes, line breaks et cetera. All this is done without altering your actual document.

I guess it is quite apparent by now that I like JSW a lot. I am generally a fan of lightweight specialized apps and this is close to Nirvana in that respect. At $30 this is a steal. If you're still not convinced you are of course allowed to download a free trial version that's not limited in any way save from a nagging function.

So ten* thumbs up from this blogger. Jer's Novel Writer truly is an excellent piece of software, perfectly balancing the feature-set and user-friendlyness.

*I'm all thumbs

Visual storytelling and the secret of greatness

This blog was eventually dedicated to visual storytelling simply because most of the posts I made had something to do with the subject. Reflecting over this made it clear to me that visual storytelling has always been a big part of my life. I've always been inclined towards the visual arts and traditional fairy-tales were a natural part of my upbringing. The last bit is something I as an adult find rather fascinating. The fairy-tales have been passed down through generations and are in many ways links to our forefathers. Their storyteller tradition is often referred to as an oral tradition but I find this definition a bit narrow.

What makes a great storyteller

The best storytellers have always been the ones who could paint the most vivid pictures. Surely these individuals used every trick they had up their sleeve. Acting out the different parts of their stories: An attacking boar. A sneaking hunter. Essentially creating visuals to enhance the experience.

Some of them might have used shadow-images on the cave walls and we know ancient men made beautiful cave-paintings, perhaps in an attempt to strengthen the impact of their words. The point I am trying to make is that we have always used visuals when telling our stories. It almost seems like it is an integral part of who we are as a species.

Think

It does not work without an effort though. Storytelling does not automatically become great simply because visuals are added. The imagery has to support the story. If the two competes for attention neither one will reach their full potential. In the same way abstractions may confuse the audience. We are however probably more advanced when it comes to reading complex visuals than ever. No surprise, as we are constantly bombarded with the stuff. TV-commercials, billboards, computer-games, magazines, websites and films. We couldn't avoid it if we wanted to.

Tough crowd

The flip side to this is of course that your audience is not so easily impressed. Some try to counter this with a more-is-more approach. I personally find this incredibly annoying. Spectacle will make a spectacle of you. You might keep your audience's interest for a while, but both you and your audience might loose track of the story in the process. While the correct use of great visuals will help the story become all that it can be - they cannot elevate a mediocre story to greatness.

The good thing about the omnipresence of advanced visual stimuli is of course that inspiration should not be hard to come by. Inspirational sparks from other people's works can be the starting point of greatness. We all have to find our ideas somewhere and can't all expect to have a divine muse available every time we feel a bit dried out creatively. I am of course not talking about copying the work of others.

Be great

The final piece of the puzzle is not exactly revolutionary: Work. We all want to be the best that we can be and most of us can't expect to have more than a couple of truly great ideas in a lifetime. We might have quite a few good and decent ones but greatness is hard to come by. But as a great idea can be buried by poor execution we owe it to ourselves to make sure our moments of inspiration reach their full potential.

So to sum up:

• Have something to tell.
• Enhance/tell it with visuals, but make sure the visuals are right.
• Work until you're satisfied it is as good as it can be.

Childhood Heroes

Comic-books are without a doubt one of the most successful forms of visual storytelling. Yet it's a subject I haven't tackled in this blog so far, save from a couple of self-made attempts used as illustrations.

I grew up on comics and for a large part of my adolescence the only thing I dreamt of was to become a comic-creator. My biggest idols of that period was probably the French/Belgian masters Franquin, Uderzo & Goscinny. This first comic-oriented blog post is however dedicated to another one of my heroes: Will Eisner.

The Spirit

Eisner's most well known character is probably The Spirit. A noir-styled, masked crime-fighter. The stories often border on the absurd and it is often quite hard to predict just where Mr. Eisner is going until you actually finish the last page or the last panel.

Opening page from a Spirit-story. Copyright © Will Eisner.

As you can see from the image above, the drawings are of a slightly caricatured nature and the page layout is extremely dynamic. Yet the composition always seems to lead your eyes in the right direction avoiding the distractions you find in some other comics. In lack of a better word I'd call the look "modern" which in this context is meant as a compliment, especially since the original Spirit stories were all made between 1940 and 1952(!)

Beyond the Bedroom

Eisner is generally considered to be one of the comic-creators who really managed to elevate the art of comics beyond the bedroom of teenage boys. His achievements are probably best witnessed in his graphic-novel A Contract With God (available at Amazon). A piece of work that demonstrates just how potent comics can be when tackling more serious material than cape-wearing guys in leotards beating up bad guys.

Of course Eisner himself was well aware of the possibilities that existed in the art form and wrote two books on the subject. I highly recommend both Comics & Sequential Art and Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative to those of you with a larger interest in the subject.

His Spirit Lives On

Sadly Will Eisner passed away in 2005 so we won't see any new work from the master's hands. His legacy lives on however and through researching this blog I found that a film about The Spirit is scheduled for release next year. What makes this project really interesting is that the director/screenwriter of the film is none other than Frank Miller(!)

Link: Official Will Eisner site.

Coffe Time

Monkey business?

This one is all about coffee and is not recommended for the squeamish coffee-drinker. (Don't tell me you weren't warned). A higher quality Quicktime-file is available here. Any positive sensible feedback is welcome.

The mission

Imagine being given the task of explaining the origins of an object to an unknown recipient. A recipient that doesn't understand your language, has no knowledge of your alphabet and not even a basic understanding of the symbols we all consider universal.

This might sound absurd but it was exactly the assignment Dr. Carl Sagan and Dr. Frank Drake set off to accomplish when starting design on what was to be known as the Pioneer Plaque.

To infinity and beyond

Pioneers

NASA's Pioneer program consisted of space probes being sent out to investigate celestial bodies. The Pioneer 10 and 11 would actually travel to the end of our solar-system and continue into deep space. Journalist Eric Burgess was the first to present the idea that the satellites should contain some information about their origin in case of alien interception.

What a design challenge! How on earth (pun intended) can you possibly imagine what it would be like for an alien to witness imagery from a totally unfamiliar world? Will they even have the ability to understand artistic renditions? It might seem obvious to us but the majority of beings on our own planet cannot. They did make a few assumptions that limited the challenge slightly. As the chance of the satellite ever coming in contact with an alien civilization was slim at best, they figured that the best chance would be for it to be picked up by an alien space-craft. This would mean the collectors weren't exactly cave-men.

And when watching the imagery it certainly seems decodable. While I don't instinctively catch the deeper scientific bits. I recognize the planets and the two human figures. So credit to Drs. Sagan and Drake and to Sagan's wife at the time - Linda Salzman Sagan who actually prepared the finished artwork.

The curse of knowledge

However: It is hard for us, as it was for the plaque's creators, to escape the curse of knowledge. We all know about the stuff the pictures are describing. The human figures are nearly instinctively obvious to us as we're trained to recognize other humans from the moment we open our eyes the first time. For otherworldly beings however all this could be potentially confusing. Just think back through our own history when [legend has it] that the Aztecs mistook the Spanish conquestador Cortes for a good when he unmounted his horse. We all view our world based on knowledge, culture, religion and other filters society have bestowed upon us. The earth used to be flat remember?

So to try to round this up the plaque-creators had a seemingly impossible task and they probably knew it. They gave it their best shot however and whether they succeeded or not we'll probably never know.

The point you should keep in mind is this: Your audience, whether you're making a speech, lecture or film, might be Alien Aztecs. They might be completely oblivious to what you trying to convey. Therefore you must try to put yourself in your audience's shoes. Otherwise you just might end up as an Aztec deity on The Forbidden Planet...

For some strange reason most of my posts so far have been either about poorly used visuals or about how the message might be better without visuals. Interesting as this may be, I also think I've been overly cautious. It is after all much easier to point out flaws than put your neck out and tell the world what you really like.

An example of Richard Condie's style as well as Sharon Condie's background-work

So, one out-sticking neck coming up. Okay, I'm not taking an enormous risk recommending an Academy Award Nominated animation. I do however find Richard Condie's "The Big Snit" from 1985 to be an absolute superb piece of visual storytelling. To some of you raving about this film is probably like raving about water being wet. I still find that it is nowhere near having the position it deserves among the general public though. This is not the Disney-, WB- or MGM-cartoon that's part of our common cultural fabric.

So why do I find this piece so brilliant? Well, as a piece of visual storytelling it is brilliant because the visuals are the main-source of the quirky humour it exudes. Normally a story about a couple experiencing domestic problems under the threat of nuclear holocaust is not your regular laugh-riot. Yet it clearly works here. Admittedly the humour is of the dark variation but thanks to the friendly style of the animation you're left with a positive feeling despite that ending. So, as I've already spent way too man words describing something that is better experienced I suggest you head over to the National Film Board of Canada and see for yourself.

The mother of all blogposts

What's not to like?

I consider myself the kind of guy who "work to live" rather than "live to work". Despite this I feel best about myself when I actually do something creative. About now you might be asking "where the heck is this post going?" but bear with me I'm almost there. The thing is that while I find I enjoy the "good life" - relaxing, eating and drinking well under the sun, I quickly start to feel guilty as I could be using my valuable time for something more profound.

Not alone

Most of all though it is probably just evidence that I've had way too much time to let my mind wander during my Spanish holiday...

After finishing the "Uncle George and I"-piece I came across this somewhat related blog-post over at Agile Filmmaking. It's a speech by J. J. Abrams of Lost, Alias and Mission: Impossible III fame and it touches so many of the topics I've blogged about so far that I would be crazy not to present it here.

Mr. Abrams is something of a Hollywood wunderkind and I find it incredibly generous of him to share his thoughts with the world for free.

The message

One of several highly interesting speeches to be found at TED

The delivery

I found this very interesting and highly effective. The visuals and his oral presentation never had to compete for the audience's attention. Now this is certainly not the only way to do a presentation and on the surface it might even sound boring. If you watch the clip you'll find that it is anything but though. Abrams heartfelt enthusiasm carries through even on a small flash-clip on my computer-screen.

None of this is exactly rocket-science as any communication-expert worth his money will tell you that enthusiasm is contagious. It does show though that with the right delivery you don't need fancy visuals. This might seem an odd statement to make on a blog about visual storytelling but the visuals should always be there to strengthen the core-message not because they look "cool".

*As long as you're not struck with poverty.]]>benjamin.larsen@noreagle.noopinion2008-03-01T00:10:32+01:00http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/0a35aec22f9610e73fc666cd49e9444d-23.php#unique-entry-id-23http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/0a35aec22f9610e73fc666cd49e9444d-23.php#unique-entry-id-23

I remember reading that George Lucas wouldn't start work on the Star Wars prequels before he felt the technology was ready to serve his vision. I am, in case you were wondering, not a legendary writer/producer/director with a huge foot-print on our popular culture. I do however have an experience not unlike the bearded one's: Technology becomes cheaper over time and now even average-Joe's like me can afford tools that used to be the exclusive domain of the film-studios. This means that today "anyone" can produce films of a professional quality. Luckily, having the technology is not enough. Talent is still a necessity but at least the stinking-rich-but-talently-challenged will have a harder time succeeding. And there are a other things to be happy about: Thanks to the web new channels makes it easier to reach an audience.

George Lucas is not considered a rich dilettante by this blogger

Let people know! If you find something you really like, share it with your friends. If you find a small clip you like, an article, a piece of music send an email to people you think might enjoy your find. Be honest though, don't go head over heels to share every mediocrity you come across, this will just turn people off after a while. However if you are truly moved/inspired/cracked up by something you really shouldn't keep it to yourself. If we all pass it on perhaps we can reach a state where the web truly becomes a stage full of interesting niches.

We'll probably never get completely rid of the moron-with-money but at least we can make him run for his...

Before anyone ask: no George Lucas is not my uncle!

]]>benjamin.larsen@noreagle.nofindings2008-02-26T19:48:52+01:00http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/253fd618575157819e930e7d90b59c28-22.php#unique-entry-id-22http://www.tbenjaminlarsen.com/files/253fd618575157819e930e7d90b59c28-22.php#unique-entry-id-22

Buy this book!

Really it's as simple as that. If you ever do slideshow presentations (Powerpoint, Keynote etc.) this book will help you communicate your message in the most effective manner. It doesn't matter if you're a pro or amateur this is the book that will help you fulfill your potential as a presenter.

The look of required reading

Now personally I never have to do presentations. I am however quite interested in them as I am nearly in all visual forms of communication. Unfortunately I am occasionally subjected to presentations and find that they differ from the rare good to the all-too-common terrible. A few are even help-get-me-out-of-here-my-brain-is-melting horrible but I've yet to witness (live) a single presentation that deserves the great-stamp. OK, I'm probably quite stingy when it comes to my great-stamps, but needless to say the Powerpoint-presentation-genre is in dire need of improvement.

Based on Garr Reynolds blog of the same name, Presentation Zen is a pleasant read, nay a pleasant experience from start to finish. The layout is top notch (as it has to be) and the text is of the personal yet effective variation. This is not a book on technology though. You won't find explanations about the hidden "make it great" menus in Powerpoint or the like. What you will find is a thoroughly explained philosophy about the DNA of presentation greatness.

If you run a business where a lot of the communication is carried out through powerpoint you should buy a copy for each and everyone of your employees. I wouldn't be surprised if this modest investment would actually improve your productivity.

So, this is it. After all the false prophets among books on presentations this is the Jesus-book. It will save us all, make you a better person and make the world a better place for all of us. (OK, maybe not, but it will make you a better presenter and give the audience a better experience).

7 strange facts about me

1. I only use the first initial of my first name. T. Benjamin Larsen, what's that all about? Well back in '72 when young Mr. Larsen arrived Benjamin wasn't exactly your run-of-the-mill name here in Norway. My grandparents were less than thrilled and insisted on a "proper" Norwegian name. I got one, but won't reveal what the T stands for at this time…

2. I own a car but have never had a licence. Being a 35 year old male, the fact that I don't have a licence often get people to raise their eyebrows. The ownership of a car is of course explainable as I own it together with my wife who does drive. (And have a licence!)

3. I am a huge fan of Liverpool Football Club. Well, not that strange as it is of course the greatest club in the world. I am however able to see the absurdity in the fact that a born-and-bread Norwegian get mood-swings based on have a north-English, American owned football-team trained by a Spaniard is doing on the pitch. (Some of you might refer to football as soccer, but this is the game where the players actually passes the ball with their feet!)

4. I have a soft spot for Howard the Duck. That's right the duck known as one of hollywoods biggest turkeys has a special place in my heart. I accept that it's not good, but for me it has enough charm and (for its time) some great effects. (I love the stop-motion monster in the end sequence).

5. I have a silly drinking problem. Not the serious kind, but I find it hard to drink slowly. Whatever the beverage, as long as I have a glass i front of me I seem to finish it before anyone else have emptied half of theirs. Not a problem when it's water, but at other times…

6. I once bought an Amiga-CD32. An amigo-whatwhat? The Amiga-CD32 was Commodore's desperate attempt to revive the company with an Amiga-based gaming console. Too-little-too-late and some really badly thought through specifications meant it was doomed on release. No one bought one, at least no one with an ounce of common sense.

7. I can't stand Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. Yes I know I am not totally alone in this but as I love fantasy, enjoy most of Jackson's earlier work and was a huge Tolkien fan as a kid it is kinda' odd. What's even stranger is the fact that I own the extended version of all three films on DVD.

Now let's see if this tagging thing actually works. I'll tag the following people:

Some rough pencil sketches to guide me through the upcoming sequences

* Yes I know there are female gamers as well, it's just the way I write...

Phew, it's hard work sorting out those a's and o's in anamolies anamalies anomalies!

I've been working for some time on the first installment of what I've chosen to call "Pointless Ramblings". No, that is not the new title of my blog. The idea behind this, and hopefully future ramblings, is to make a quick video about uh... something. I prepare a text relatively quickly and get a soundtrack in place based on the text. I then more or less improvise by making illustrations, animate text and put together a visual to accompany the video. In lack of a better term it could be called video-jazz.