Friday, August 26, 2011

Must Watch: ‘Portal: No Escape’ | /Film

Portal: No Escape is a must see for everyone, but especially video game fans. The film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who has been directing commercials for the last few years, slowly working towards his feature film directorial debut. In May, he directed a horror short film “More Than You Can Chew” for Black Box TV, which got a bunch of people in Hollywood talking. Dan surprise premiered a new short film at Comic-Con, which was met with a standing ovation by the almost packed crowd. The film brings a grounded realism to this sci-fi concept, which is rarely seen in video game movie adaptations. Watch Portal: No Escape now embedded after the jump.

Trivia:

  • ?The movie stars Danielle Rayne, who has been working on tv for the last two decades, including a regular stint on All My Children.
  • If the strong female action character reminds you of Sarah Conner, it isn’t a coincidence — Rayne played Conner in the Terminator 2: 3D show at Universal Studios Hollywood.
  • Some of you might recognize director Dan Trachtenberg from his appearances on the /Filmcast. More people know Dan from his highly successful internet television show the Totally Rad Show.
  • Diggnation/TRS host Alex Albrecht has a cameo as one of the masked guards.
  • The film is scored by Mike Zarin, who is probably best known as the composer of the first Inception trailer (listen here). While Zack Hemsey gets most of the credit with his trailer song “Mind Hiest”, Zarin was the composer responsible for the now infamous “BRRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRWRRRMRMRMMRMRMMMMM!!!” which not only the other Inception trailers built upon, but went on to influence Hans Zimmer’s approach for score for the film.
  • Dan’s brother David Trachtenberg edited the short. David has edited episodes of HBO’s “Funny or Die Presents…” and is cureently working on the upcoming Will Ferrell/Gael GarcĂ­a Bernal comedy Casa de mi Padre.
  • Visual Effects Supervisor Jon Chesson has worked on the television series V, True Blood, Falling Skies and the upcoming film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Posted via email from Wesley83's Blog

Monday, August 22, 2011

Get to Know Social Media Club - Fliptop

Do you have a passion for social media unlike any other? Can you barely go by a given day without thinking of new ways to market yourself on Twitter? Do you spend most of your day scouring posts about Facebook and blogging tips?

Then it sounds like the Social Media Club is the place for you.

Social Media Club was founded in 2006 by two social media lovers just like you. Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells saw the rapidly changing face of online communication and knew there was plenty of discussion to be had if folks like them were to stay on top of it. So they formed the club, which rapidly grew to boast over 200 chapters on six continents.

What is Social Media Club All About?

Social Media ClubThe world of social media is always changing. And in a field so dependent on conversation, it’s natural that there is a means to propagate these talks. And Social Media Club is simply a way for like-minded individuals to figure out what the future of social media will be while discussing the finer points of today’s world.

It also naturally has pulled in some heavyweights of the industry.  Like Kellye Crane, of Solo PR Pro and co-chair of the Atlanta chapter.  Kellye has over 20 years of PR experience, 15 of those as an independent consultant working with Coca-Cola, IBM, and Microsoft, and is frequently listed as one of the top 100 PR Pros on Twitter.  Wesley Faulkner, of WordRipple, is on the board of the Austin chapter of Social Media Club and on the Advisory board of SXSW Interactive. Wesley’s experience spans multiple facets of the technology industry, from manufacturing to product development.

“Social Media Club was my haven when I first entered the world of social media.” Shared Wesley, “Just like start-ups have incubators, Social Media Club is a great place to learn. It makes the novice a leader and turns the good into greats. Many of the people in the industry can be traced back to a chapter of Social Media Club. The club doesn’t just help individuals. As the co-chair of nonprofit outreach we are currently working with A Glimmer of Hope to strengthen their social media presence. Their work touches countless women and children in Ethiopia. With new communication channels they are able to get their message across more efficiently, reach more donors, and help more people.”

Why You Should Join Social Media Club

The tagline for Social Media Club is “If you get it, share it.” We’re all in this together, so there’s no need to hoard and stuff away important bits of information, tips, and resources.  That’s what the club is all about – not feeling so alone as you’re surrounded by hundreds of digital colleagues and friends!

The ways such information is shared between members varies. For one, they have their own wiki, the Social Media Club Wiki. This is an online database of all the information gathered over the years, constantly updated to stay current. Another, is that social media professionals involved with the Club can “adopt” a blogger – they show them the ropes and some tips and tricks – they mentor one another.

On top of such innovative programs, members of the club enjoy updates on upcoming events, a total guide to all social media speakers throughout the world, listings of social media jobs, and even a book store. Between educating new bloggers, members write blogs for the site under different categories, including chapter news and social media education.

If you’d like more information on Social Media Club, visit their website and check out your local chapter. You’ll likely find a meet-up scheduled for the near future and slip right in the social media groove.

Posted via email from Wesley83's Blog

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Friday, August 5, 2011

BMW Powered Twin-Rotor Hoverbike

BMW Powered Twin-Rotor Hoverbike

Every once in a while something comes along so crazy, so unearthly cool, we have to shout it from the rooftops. Today just happens to be that once in a while, so feast your eyes on the BMW boxer engine powered Hoverbike. Framed around an 1,170cc 4-stroke BMW boxer engine that powers the twin rotors, the Hoverbike was the brainchild of Australian inventor, Chris Malloy. Malloy claims that the Hoverbike’s thrust to weight ratio should enable it to elevate to 10,000 feet and reach a speed of 173 mph (this begs the need for a good parachute and industrial strength body armor). Yowza. The rest of the Hoverbike is a Kevlar reinforced carbon fiber and foam core frame and exotic Tasmanian oak propellers. All controls are handlebar mounted, including speed, pitch, turning, vertical and horizontal travel. Using most of his hard earned funds to build this atomic salad shooter, Mr. Malloy is looking for investors and fluid dynamics engineers to bring his dream to production. In the meantime, we’ll be holding out hope for a test drive flight. To see more photos of the prototype he’s developed so far, keep reading on the next page.





Posted via email from Wesley83's Blog

‪Japanese way of folding T-shirts!‬‏ - YouTube