The site went live on July 16, 2009 at 8:02 a.m. with the rocket taking off at 9:32 a.m. – exactly 40 years to the minute after the historic launch. For 4 days the site relived Apollo 11’s lunar mission, minute by minute, in real time - leveraging almost 110 hours of Apollo 11 audio transmissions, full screen 3D animations, and live twitter feeds in the voice of the astronauts.

The core challenge on this project involved creating a truly “real time” event that leveraged massive audio and video files for a mass audience… Pretty scary really. When the streaming audio countdown sounded off: “3…2…1… we have liftoff!!!!” the site needed to respond perfectly. Hundreds of thousands of eyes were watching worldwide – many of them space and technology fanatics with a close eye to detail, so there was zero room for anything but a perfect delivery – after all, 40 years ago the rocket launched perfectly, why wouldn’t it on the anniversary.

Happily the site launched smoothly just as the Apollo 11 rocket had 40 years earlier.

Highlights:
• Over 3 million unique site visits during the first 3 weeks
• Configured Support for 1 Million Concurrent Audio Streams
• Site featured on almost every major news network including CNN’s giant video “News Wall” multiple times through out the 4 day mission.
• The site aggregated 400 photographs and 44 archival videos from NASA and the JFK Library for the first time in one location.
• Over 700 transmission excerpts broadcast out on Twitter exactly 40 years after they were said
• DS developed a widget which also tracked the mission that users could load on desktops or embed in personal blogs.
• A spectrum analyzer dynamically parsed the live-audio wave form providing another compelling visual to capture the user’s attention.
• Once the live mission ended the site transitioned to a archived experience where users can move freely between the separate stages

I was a little skeptical opening this mysterious package today… glad i did. The latest member to the growing shelf of awards, a Webby for our work on Allstate Garage. Congrats to the crew who rocked it!

To determine if this dinosaur should be extinct or brought back to life through cryogenic freezing and rehabilitation, we must truly understand consumer perceptions.

This little image that appears to the left of a URL address on most web browsers is measured to be 16 pixels by 16 pixels. If you don’t speak nerd, this means it is very small. So small, that getting a significant amount of detail within it is very difficult. This being said, why would anyone care or even notice this tiny spec?

Well…oddly enough, consumers receive a sense of authenticity by seeing a Favicon. Favicons have become standard protocol among all websites and have been pushed to their limits. Graphic designers often take particular care in creating a unique Favicon that exemplifies a client’s brand image and is differentiated from industry competitors.

Favicons have become their own art and could be perceived as the pinnacle trend setter in pixilated design. Brands like DHL have also played with the idea of motion in these little buggers by creating a GIF that animates their logo. But where and how can this ever evolve?

Under the current circumstances, web browsers are inhibiting the Favicon evolution. But what if this value generating image could be better, faster, stronger…? I would like to propose web browsers of all kinds to incorporate a new way to read these images. Augmented reality, live video, Flash, and other languages could be integrated. Favicons could become more than meets the eye. They could magnify, alter the website, and perhaps give the user more relevant information.

Next time you are browsing the internet and see a square that has potential to be more than square, join me in declaring the revolution.

To see the line blurred in real time check out what oooii has done for the new Star Trek film using AIR and Flash.

“Humor Me”
When your buds’ jokes fall flat, punctuate the misfire with one of three classic that-ain’t-funny sound effects: rimshot, crickets, and wah-wah-wah. This new three button app makes it easy to:

- mock your friends (and enemies)
- kill the awkward silence
- make your jokes seem even more excellent

The application was just approved by Apple: > Grab it Here

http://www.getdropbox.com
Here’s how it works:

1) Drag and drop to move files around, just like you normally would
2) Any files or folders inside Dropbox will get synchronized to Dropbox’s servers and any other computer linked to your account
3) Green checkmarks will appear on top of your files to let you know that they’re synced and up to date.

Need to share some files with non-Dropbox users? Just drop files into your Public folder. Any files in here will be given a link that you can send to others in emails, IMs, blogs, etc. without requiring people to sign up for Dropbox.

Works with PC, OSX, and Linux

When I saw benjamin button in theaters I couldn’t help but be blow away.  Working in a similar industry and knowing the time it would take to create the effects only made me more impressed that it was so believable.

You can watch the process of how it was done here. ]]> http://loop.domanistudios.com/archive/benjamin-button-vfx/feed/ http://loop.domanistudios.com/archive/sculptural-type/ http://loop.domanistudios.com/archive/sculptural-type/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:00:20 +0000 Paris http://loop.domanistudios.com/?p=640 I’m a huge fan of taking things out of their normal context and functionality, and redefining their meaning and potential. While looking through Computerlove this morning I came across such a redefined thing called Univers Revolved.  Created by Ji Lee, this font is bilaterally symmetrical, allowing it to be read in both directions, and can be used to convey messages, create typographic sculptural landscapes, and kaleidoscopic compositions.  A really neat idea, I love how Lee allows type to be enjoyed as shapes, rather than just focusing on the meaning they carry.

Here’s another great article about the font I found on Fabrik.

The Sites.

Skynetresearch.com is the simple-looking corporate website for the most evil arm of Cyberdine Systems. Filled with 3D product animations, strange voice-overs, hidden password-protected pages and outreach programs for robot enthusiasts and filmmakers, the site enticed users to step into the storyline and “live” the film.

Soon, a new site appeared, resistorbeterminated.com (ROBT), home to a  faction of resistance members (online users) trying to find out what Skynet Research is really about. Initially a simple unskinned blog site, over the course of a few weeks it grew to a fully realized “home base” for resistance information, video blogs and posts, a forum for discussion and a Tactical Simulator: an online strategy-based game designed to help the resistance find weaknesses and plan successful attacks on Skynet.

The Game

The Tactical Simulator is an online strategy-based multiplayer game where players choose to play as Skynet or The Resistance and develop local military units to expand territory and attack enemies. The interface comes complete with different themes for each side and a Google Maps satellite view with custom layers for sector information and indicators of battle damage, which helped keep the game alive in the real world. Using the game’s forums, players organized squadrons, bringing a sense of community among players, who inundated the Internet through their own sites, forums and Twiter accounts.

Resist or Be Terminated

Skynet Site

Im not sure how this will play out but the idea of having less obstacles and devices to interface with seems to be a recurring theme. Designers have a lot to think about when these devices begin rolling out. For too long we have relied on the crutch of a keyboard, mouse, number pad and so on. Should be a very interesting year. At the very least Im sure we will see plenty of living room disasters on YouTube and that alone makes it worth it.