Portable Film Festival Film the Future Winner: Apoptosis

by Nathan Suberi

To celebrate the 2009 launch of the State of Design Festival in Melbourne, Australia our friends at the Portable created a short film competition they call "Film the Future" (in keeping with the fest's theme, "Sampling the Future"). After hundreds of entries and hours of debate they finally selected Takafumi Tsuchiya's music video "Apoptosis" as the winner. Check it out above.

A mental journey, ambient electronica guides the viewer through scenes ranging from skylines to leafy suburbs, which Tsuchiya distorts into a spiraling circular image. The mixture of sound and visual effects make for mesmerizing entertainment, sparking the imagination to work overtime to construct meaning out of the fleeting forms.

Melbourne designer and Film The Future judge Jeremy Wortsman comments, "The first thing that grabbed me was the excellent use of soundtrack. Apoptosis used sound as an integral part of the piece, especially in engaging the viewer in the first moments, setting the visual foundation for the formal experimentation that occurred throughout the piece. To that end, the idea was simple, yet very effective. The source video seemed carefully chosen to yield the most fruitful results in the kaleidoscopic meanderings of the work and in the end, it left me being able to view these ubiquitous scenes of nature and everyday life in a new light, which is definitely a challenging feat to accomplish in a short film."

Portable's objective is to make film and new media storytelling accessible to everyone regardless of their experience, location or technical proficiency by offering audiences the chance to download an entire curated selection of international film and video program for free to their iPods, mobile phones, PSPs and laptops. Now in its fourth year, their Portable Film Festival starts this 1 August 2009, offering nearly 180 films, from over 800 submissions from 46 countries, across the festival categories of Short Film, Music Video, Look at Me, Get Animated, First Hand Capture and Feature Film. Get more info and all the content at Portable.

Ace Hotel New York Uniforms

by Josh Rubin

Beyond offering affordable comfort and style, Ace Hotels distinguish themselves by integrating into the culture of their home city. Our recent visit to the Ace NYC proved no different—the property embraces a deep history of art, music and design that speaks to New York originality. The Ace perspective on NYC style even shows up in their staff uniforms, compiled from iconic New York staples and thoughtful designer collaborations.

Standard issue footwear is either drab green monochrome Chucks created by Converse exclusively for the Ace or classic black Doc Marten's embossed with a skeleton key. The jeans are by Levi's and Newark-based L. Gambert created custom fitted shirts, handcrafted from patterning to production and overseen by second and third generation family artisans. L. Gambert also created the housekeeping uniform, a utilitarian shirt-dress. The vintage Glen-check Coto tie and blackened silver Surface 2 Air tie chain complete the look.

Once the weather turns cold, doormen will wear a simple Spiewak pea coat and Uniqlo cardigan juxtaposing classic and contemporary from Spiewak's WWII roots and Uniqlo's clean lines.

Check Ace NYC for details on reservations. And stay tuned for the Fall openings of Stumptown Coffee, Breslin, a new restaurant from April Bloomfield and the Spotted Pig crew and a store with the Project No. 8 team behind it.

All photographs courtesy of John Mark Sorum.

Timber Timbre

by Lost At E Minor

Toronto-based Timber Timbre's third self-titled studio release keeps a soft and moody vibe with eight simply structured songs that seem meant for listening to in the dark. Taylor Kirk, the man behind the project, has a singing voice that’s both folksy and restrained. He calls on other artists to fill in strings, banjo and accompanying vocals, while his percussive backdrops anchor the low-key tunes.

Pick up the self-titled release from Amazon or download from iTunes.

Square iPhone Payment System

by Josh Rubin

A project codenamed "Square" is the brand new iPhone-based payment processing system that's currently being alpha tested at the also brand new Self Edge NYC. In addition to keeping the process paperless, Square makes check-out clean and easy. The innovation is in a small, plastic card reader that fits in to the headphone jack of an iPhone (or iPod Touch) and transfers the credit card's swipe data to the app (pictured, right). After the employee enters the amount to charge, the customer confirms by scrawling their signature with their finger and then either one enters the customer's email address to send the receipt to. The payment is processed by Square for a small percentage plus a fixed fee; the funds are transferred directly to the store's bank account, cutting both time and complexity on the processing side. The customer's receipt includes a map showing the location of the transaction which is handy for those who record, sort and file such things (pictured below).

While allowing anyone from a hot dog vendor to a bike messenger to process credit cards on-the-go, all we can say at the moment is that consumer to business transactions are just the beginning.

Native Design

by Fiona Killackey

According to David Brown, graphic designer and former president of the Art Center College of Design, "good design is a form of respect on the part of the producer for the person who will eventually spend hard-earned cash on the product, use the product [and] own the product." If so, Native, the latest offering from renowned Melbourne industrial designer Dhiren Bhagwandas, represents truly good design.

A collaborative effort between Bhagwandas and director/owner/operator Rob Young, Native fills the gap in high-quality Australian furniture design brand. “We wanted designs that were internationally relevant, that explored cultures from around the world—starting with our own," says Bhagwandas. "The name Native is about tracing the origins of contemporary culture. We're using the word in the sense that everyone is native to somewhere, be it his or her country, city or suburb. We are trying to identify the contemporary native within a globalized world, all with different rituals and traditions that should be celebrated."

While the collection only officially launched this month as part of Melbourne's State of Design festival, the concept has been a long time in development with Bhagwandas and Young researching and refining their ideas. "After a long period of development the concept was finalized in 2008," says Bhagwandas. "We wanted to move away from 'glossy, hard-edged' design and create a brand with authenticity and an ethical approach." In addition to its pleasing aesthetic, the Native collection uses sustainable materials such as FSC timbers, chromium-free leathers, natural oil and wax finishes. "The collection fuses craft and technology to create progressive pieces that still maintain a human element, with a focus on durability and simple functionality," Bhagwandas explains.

"I hope that people can discover a story behind each piece and that this will encourage them to further investigate the themes," Bhagwandas tells CH, "Each product is designed utilizing a combination of warm, tactile/textural materials such as timber, leather, wool felt and ceramics, tempered by cooler, brighter materials such as powder-coated steel. Each piece is designed to be refinished or recycled at the end of its useful life, again, encouraging the owner to hold onto the product and extend its lifespan."

The first Native collection is available in Melbourne through Format Furniture. International and Australian interstate orders can be made via contact@nativecollection.com or visiting Native online.

See more images after the jump.

Interview with Photographer Liz Wolfe

by CH Contributor

by Alison Zavos for Feature Shoot

Born in the Canadian prairies, Liz Wolfe studied photography at Ryerson University's School of Image Arts in Toronto. In 2009, she exhibited her work at the Architecture + Design Museum (Los Angeles), the Gladstone Hotel (Toronto) and Project Basho Gallery (Philadelphia). Liz currently lives in Toronto.

You must get some really fun commissions considering the nature of your work. What are some of the more interesting projects you have been asked to photograph?
One of the most amusing projects I've done was for Chronicle Books. They commissioned me to shoot an entire book of Peeps-themed recipes and crafts. I had never heard of marshmallow Peeps, I knew nothing about the obsessive Peeps fan culture that exists in America, I had no idea how simultaneously hilarious and surreal life could get.

And when I awoke, as if from a nightmare, to find myself crouched on the floor, covered in a stickiness that can not be removed with domestic cleaning products, my arms coated in sugar, my fingers placing a miniature veil ever-so-gently on the head of a marshmallow chick bride, preparing her for her imminent role as one half of a wedding cake topper, I finally understood what people mean when they say you never know where photography will take you.

How much of your work evolves from experimentation and how much is carefully thought out from the beginning?
I only experiment in the pre-production stage, never during shooting. Occasional scenarios have arisen in which I've altered elements of the photograph slightly during shooting, but these situations are extremely rare. Typically, everything is sketched out, color-coded and planned in advance. I know exactly what the final photograph is going to look like before I start shooting. And I mean exactly! (Not just because I'm a control freak, but also because I like to shoot on film and I try to keep my shooting ratio as low as possible.)

Though I have incredible respect for people who take full advantage of photography's inherently spontaneous qualities, for me, photography is not a spontaneous medium. It is a recording device and very little else; the most practical way for me to translate the images from my mind into reality.

A lot of your work is available for sale through your site. What made you decide to sell your work in this way and is this proving to be lucrative?
I sell inexpensive open edition prints through my site; it's not lucrative, but it's the best way to keep things accessible so people have an affordable option for purchasing work. It's important to me, to have photographs for people who would love something for their walls, but have no interest in exclusivity or collecting art in the traditional sense.