This project looks like So Much Fun!

Every day in 2011 Madeline shot some video of her life in LA.  At the end of the year she compiled it into one 7.5 minute video, with each day represented by about a second of footage.  The end result is so much fun and the ending is perfect.  It looks like a happy year!

My birthday is in March, and this looks like a really fun way to document my year of being 32.

I have six weeks to decide whether I’m this disciplined…

So here’s the thing.

I’m going back to work today after almost 4 weeks of leave.

I really don’t have the words to describe how I feel about this, so please watch this video instead.

Hold me.

After organizing our bookshelf almost a year ago (http://youtu.be/zhRT-PM7vpA), my wife and I (Sean Ohlenkamp) decided to take it to the next level. We spent many sleepless nights moving, stacking, and animating books at Type bookstore in Toronto (883 Queen Street West, (416) 366-8973). 

Everything you see here can be purchased at Type Books.

Grayson Matthews (http://www.graysonmatthews.com/) generously composed the beautiful, custom music.

But none of it could have been done without all the volunteer hands who shelved and reshelved books all night, every night.

This is absolutely magical.  Thanks to Sophie of Her Library Adventures for sharing this!

As far as I’m concerned, the stand-out single of 2011 was Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know, featuring Kimbra.  The video is equally as captivating as the song, so if you’re the last person on Earth to know about this incredible track you really need to watch the video above.  It’s magic, and so is the rest of Gotye’s latest album.

It came as a complete surprise to me that this song could handle a reinvention, but Walk Off the Earth and Sarah Blackwood recently got together and recorded this astounding cover.  Once again, the video is every bit as thrilling as the song and I had goosebumps!

Such a perfect tribute to the original.  I think I’d better go and find out what else this band can do…

Can anybody think of a single good reason why I don’t have a pet owl?

We had the most incredible weather in Melbourne today, and for a while I forgot that I wasn’t in Queensland anymore.  It was the sort of humid, sticky weather that reminded me of my years growing up in Far North QLD.  Summer in Cairns meant angry skies, soupy air and the hope that it would pour with rain at the end of the day so that you could get some sleep.

The only thing missing was the sound of frogs croaking in the drain pipes!

All day today the weather reports said that there would be a huge storm this afternoon, but I almost didn’t believe it.  Right up until I left work the sky was beautifully blue with hardly a wisp of cloud in the sky.  But down on the horizon, just behind the skyline of the buildings, the sky was jet black.

And it moved quickly.

I caught some of it on my phone when I got home, and I’m so glad I bothered to do so.  It’s fun to watch the little birds hopping on and off the power lines, and seeing the clouds get pushed around in several directions at once.

Just before the storm hit I took some photos of the birds on my neighbours TV antenna.  I liked the original shots a lot, but I love the moodiness that these filters gave the photos.

I’m such a weather nerd.  Despite the heat and humidity it’s been fun to watch the sky change all day, and now I’m looking forward to sleeping to the sound of heavy rain on my roof.

Simple pleasures.  I’m all about those.

The other day I discovered a new app for the iPhone called iTimeLapse Pro, and I decided to give it a spin today when I got home from work.  This cute little app automatically shoots a series of images at whatever interval you specify, and when you’re done it renders them into a video!  It has built-in sharing for YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook etc and you can add a soundtrack from any mp3 in your library.

You might have already seen my previous sunset videos (the best one is here) using the video function on the iPhone camera.  The effect is absolutely beautiful, but I was never able to shoot more than about 50 minutes of video before it reached the maximum filesize.

iTimeLapse compromises a little on smoothness because you’re compiling still images, but it allows you to capture a much longer period of time in your video.  The timelapse video above was shot over a period of about 3 hours, and if I had chosen a shorter song (or rather, a higher framerate) the effect would have been much smoother!

But how could I pass up such a beautiful song?  It’s by QLD singer Emma Louise, and it’s called 1000 Sundowns.  Perfect.

Here’s the same video with a higher framerate.  It’s a much better result!

My only complaint?  The app automatically focuses and exposes each shot, and there’s no way to override it.  I’d have liked to have exposed for the brightest part of the sky to eliminate the overblown white patches, but the machine took over.  It’s definitely something to consider when deciding how to best set up your project.

Definitely worth a play if you’re an iSlave like me!

I spotted this video a couple of days ago and loved it instantly.  The original source of all this good advice came from paulzii on tumblr, who created the graphic below.

I was amused to see that “drink coffee” gets its own line – who knew that I was already such a naturally creative type!

Melbourne has been good enough to grant me a couple of extra weeks of cool weather this year, and I am eternally grateful.  The next few days will be scorchers, but it was nice to get just one more wear out of my tights and cardigan today!

When I came home from work I noticed that our outdoor setting was bathed in warm sunlight, so I grabbed my laptop and a glass of wine and soaked up the rays. The cool breeze took the edge of the heat and I was in heaven. I wanted to stop time.

We had a pretty sunset, too. Maybe not as good as the last time I recorded a sunset from our dining room window, but still beautiful!

Music – Sunny Road by Emiliana Torrini

(I think I’m just about ready to share the next part of my house tour with you, so look out for that in the next couple of days!)

Little blog, I have been very unkind to you this month.  I’ve been having a little too much fun offline!

I have lots to write about over the next few weeks, but I thought I’d start by sharing this beautiful tune by Charlene Soraia while I figure out what to write about next.  Apparently this song was used in a Twinings commercial in the UK and now I need to find out what else she’s recorded!

Enjoy.