Midam: crowd-sourcing gags
I dropped by the Entreprendre fair yesterday for one thing, a talk by comic strip artist Midam. If you have kids, you might know him better as the author of the Kid Paddle character. He gave a fascinating look at how he runs his business – as a business it is. Despite claiming he couldn’t really draw (modesty, modesty), he is applying a model for anyone involved in the creative industries.
CANNES 2009: THE HUNT FOR KILLER TAGLINES
With the Cannes Fest (and its market) coming up, I’m reading a lot of blurbs, pitches and write-ups at the moment. These are the one- or two-line – sometimes only five-word – summaries that people use to grab our attention and perhaps give a little flavour of what the story is about. I always remember “Alien” being sold under the warning that “In space, no one can hear you scream“. The producers of “Speed” showed remarkable focus when they were pitching the project as “‘Die Hard’ on a bus“. That’s five words, folks. Considering the millions of profit it generated, I’d say that’s pretty effective writing.
So I thought I’d start a collection of killer taglines as I come across them. The opening salvo comes from the British company Swords & King.
THE FUTURE’S NOT OURS TO SEE
IGLOO RECORDS: 30 YEARS OF EUROPEAN JAZZ
MUSIC FOR FACEBREAKER GAME
We occasionally find music for games and audio-visuals. The most recent track is the dotty electronic track “Kwaai Techtic” from the eloquently-named Tone Deaf Junkies. This South African electro team are part of one of the most exciting scenes at the moment and are featured in the new “Facebreaker” game from Electronic Arts.