Getting Stoked for the Oscars?

Who will win the Oscar fight for Best Original Score? John Williams or Arcade Fire? I never thought that contest could possibly exist. Enjoy this clip from the scoring of Spike Jonze's in-the-not-too-distant-future film Her.

Volkswagen Bio Runner Concept

Back in 2008 I stumbled on this cool concept sketch of a futuristic VW Baja-style racer called Bio Runner. I saved some pics of it on my hard drive and stumbled on them the other day wondering why the crap I never posted them anywhere. The Bio Runner was one of the award-winning designs to come out of that year's LA Design Challenge and I just can't get enough of the spectacular image of the Syd Mead-ish future it paints.

The concept features an athletic vehicle with limbs that can respond to various terrain types and basically lean into turns. It's supposedly powered by dual-turbine engines that can rev up to 500,000 rpm's and drinks bio-synthetic jet fuel. So apparently it's not a hybrid?

I love that the creator went to as far as to envision things like the support chopper delivery system, a Speed Racer-esque spy drone and even a Red Bull sponsorship. This kind of creativity reminds me so much of building crazy LEGO vehicles as kid! Speaking of LEGO... man, I gotta go see that flick already...

Here are some additional images to geek out on:

Branded Content Done Right

Been having some really interesting conversations with folks lately about the dos and don'ts of brand content. There's a such a fine line and a balance that needs to be achieved in order to make something that'll really resonate with—not just anyone—but the right audience of brand evangelists who'll then spread the good word on your brand's behalf. 

This short film about Justin Vernon from Bon Iver does just that for Red Wing. Thanks for the heads up @Upto12.

The Future Is Now

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to sit behind the wheel of a brand new BMW i3. Sure, its not the sexiest beast on the road, but there is nothing out there that feels more connected to the future of automobiles. Watch this little flick and you too will feel like the future has arrived.