RADAR - a look at the cutting edge of storytelling and creativity. A new series from WBP Labs a division of the WorkBook Project

Episode #24 – From the Desk of Sarah Seely

janine — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:28:37 +0000

From the Desk of Sarah Seely is a company of professional dancers, actors and artists all of whom work 9-5 desk jobs assisting executives. Rehearsals and performance opportunities are scheduled and created around this. The company’s work is a blend of theater and dance, a celebration of present-day concerns and campy vintageaesthetics, topped off with the frustration of being artists in day jobs. We join the troupe as they rehearse the performance ‘How to Disappear Completely’ and take their post-apocalyptic vignettes to the street and the office. Sarah argues that a 9-5 desk job is like being a subsidized artist. Rather than identifying as an Executive Assistant or Personal Aide, the annual income, 401k and health insurance can actually make it easier to focus on what you do for artistic reasons.

Relevant sites:

http://www.sarahsdesk.org/

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Ry Russo-Young
DP Charlie Beyer
EDITOR Jawad Metni
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
SEGMENT PRODUCER Janine Saunders
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim

Episode #23 – Patently Silly

janine — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:18:07 +0000

Everyone has at one point had a ridiculous idea that they thought would make them millions. Some of those people went on to patent those ridiculous ideas. Some of them got made, some of them changed history, and some of them remain forgotten documents. These patents make up the content of Patently Silly, a website, book and animation series. We talk to Daniel Wright about the humor in invention like ‘Delivery of Caffeine Through An Inhalation Route’, ‘Retractable Table Top For Toilet’, ‘Voice Communication Concerning a Local Entity’, track down the inventor of the ‘Portable Electrical Mouse Trap’ and learn from lawyers about how public domain content can be used to explore different creative formats and ideas.

Relevant sites:

www.patentlysilly.com

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Josh Cramer
DP Tom Quinn
EDITOR Jawad Metni
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
SEGMENT PRODUCER Nick Olson
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim
Featured Music:
Bitter Bitter Weeks “Sincerely”
Silk Flowers “Chances of Flowers”

Episode #22 – Red Light Properties

janine — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:02:16 +0000

Originally trained as a filmmaker, graphic novelist and writer Dan Goldman has developed a unique approach to his work process, something that he’s taken to new lengths in the creation of the online graphic novel series Red Light Properties, a tropical horror set in the post-mortgage-crash real estate landscape of Miami. While creating the fictional world for his real estate agent / exorcist protagonists Jude and Ceclia, Dan drew on both original video and photo imagery to aid his hyperrealistic digital illustration, and built virtual 3D sets in which to work, allowing him to both easily revise and immerse himself. Red Light Properties is being serialized for free on Tor.com and is also available via a mobile app. We speak with Dan on the eve of him finishing the first volume, as he moves out of NYC to work remotely from South America.

Relevant sites:

www.redlightproperties.com

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Josh Cramer
DP Adam Newport-Berra
EDITOR Jawad Metni
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
SEGMENT PRODUCER Janine Saunders
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim
Featured Music: Obfusc “Oceanic Glow (Night Mix)” and “Beneath The Cumulus Expanse”

Episode #21 – Tape and Mirrors

janine — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:24:05 +0000

When artist Aakash Nihalani moved from the suburbs to NYC he was compelled by its symmetry. As an organic response he started laying down tape on the streets and on buildings, creating brightly colored sticker tape boxes framing aspects of the city he wanted to show people, creating tableaus from real life. Both uncomfortable at potentially defacing property by using permanent materials, and enraged at the continued treatment of public artists as vandals, we join him as he brings 3D to his work for the first time, via use of mirrors and passers-by, and discuss why impermanence is important to the acceptance of street art.

Relevant sites:

www.aakashnihalani.com

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Zak Forsman
EDITOR Josh Cramer
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
SEGMENT PRODUCER Zeke Zelker
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Juliette Richey
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim
Featured Music: Equestrian “Theme From Bushwick”

Episode #20 – Poetry Brothel

WBP Labs — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:34:45 +0000

Believing that Poets undervalue themselves in the creative marketplace, The Madame, and right-hand man Tennessee Pink, set up the Poetry Brothel in order to confirm in writers the literal monetary value of their work, and also to present Poetry in its more natural form – intimate and sensual over the more standard formal and jilted reading. The collective is made up of ‘Poetry Whores’ who ply their trade at specially arranged events, dressed in turn of the century dress, in character. The creation of character, as both disguise and freeing device enables the Poetry Brothel to be a place of uninhibited creative expression, where both whore and John can be themselves in private.

Relevant sites:

www.thepoetrybrothel.com/

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Danielle Lurie
DP Adam Newport-Berra
EDITOR Jawad Metni
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Janine Saunders
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim
FEATURED MUSIC
“Bie Mir Bist Du Schoen” by Tin Pan Blues Band
“Dandelion” by Tin Pan Blues Band

Episode #19 – MakerBot

WBP Labs — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:56:13 +0000

The sign on the door reads MakerBot industries. Inside, boxes line the floors and there is a flurry of activity. A light humming sound fills the air. Machines buzz as they print physical objects that merely minutes before were 3D renderings on a computer screen. This is Bre Pattis’ ‘Botcave’ and within its walls resides a startup that intends to change the face of printing. The MakerBot is a box-like unit that prints using thin plastic, which it lays down layer by layer. Eyeglass frames, wall brackets, tweezers, action figures even a 3D rendering of Walt Disney’s head are all possible. Makerbot came out of NYC Resistor, a hackers collective offering shared knowledge and camaraderie. And out of Makerbot, the hopes are to create a revolution in crowd-sourced manufacturing.

Relevant sites:

www.makerbot.com

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Lance Weiler
EDITOR Josh Cramer
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
SEGMENT PRODUCER Zeke Zelker
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim

Episode #18 – Google Maps Road Trip

WBP Labs — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:16:09 +0000

Whether it’s stretching 1500ft of extension cords from his kitchen to a park to make coffee for passers-by, spending a year dining with strangers across the US, or helping others run errands with the use of a mule to cheer them up, Marc Horowitz’s work revolves around culture jamming, social practice… and just making people feel good. When fan Peter Baldes approached him about doing a cross country road trip the two strangers decided to complete it virtually instead, driving all the way from LA to Virginia…on Google Maps, using the arrow keys to ‘drive’. With a host of ‘back-seat’ drivers joining them and a commitment to keeping close to reality the two toured the country for nine days. We join Marc and Peter as they take their project live for the first time in front of a real-life audience.

Relevant sites:

www.ineedtostopsoon.com

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Ryan Bilsborrow-Koo & Zack Lieberman
EDITOR Josh Cramer
DP Ryan Bilsborrow-Koo
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Janine Saunders
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim

Episode #17 – Waterpod

WBP Labs — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:28:33 +0000

Artist Mary Mattingly uses any medium to realize an idea, whether it’s photography, video, fashion or installation. With a specialization in interactive architecture and an interest in nomad culture, human conditioning and sustainable living, Mary worked with a team of volunteer engineers to create the Waterpod, a floating, self-sustaining eco-habitat inhabited by six artists for six months that roamed the NYC waterways as an experiment in potential future living spaces and lifestyles 50-100 years from now. Both an expression of art and life, the Waterpod changes as is inhabitants adapt and its systems renew. We spend the day with its crew to see what it is really like to live on a living sculpture.

Relevant sites:

www.thewaterpod.org

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Leah Meyerhoff
EDITOR Jawad Metni
DP Tom Quinn
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
SEGMENT PRODUCER Zeke Zelker
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim

Episode #16 – Missed Connections

janine — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:27:16 +0000

Illustrator Sophie Blackall has read thousands of missed connections posts. A self confessed addict of these intimate, fleeting moments described in haste and posted in public, she trawls through them daily to find the most visual, humorous, lyrical or wierd confessions or pleas, before creating a similarly spontaneous illustration she then posts to her blog. We talk to Sophie about the significance of shared moments between strangers, and create the moments that might have been.

Relevant sites:

www.missedconnectionsny.blogspot.com

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Danielle Lurie
EDITOR Jawad Metni
DP Adam Newport-Berra
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Janine Saunders
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim
FEATURED MUSIC
“Frebeight” by Gregory and the Hawk
“Turbulence Remix” by Bisc1
“I Heart Ichor” by Lavalier
“Shiva” by The Antlers

Episode #15 – Art Battles

WBP Labs — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:13:20 +0000

Sean Bono set up Art Battles as a way to correct a system he saw flawed. With artist friends getting arrested for graffiti, others loosing their individuality in mundane graphic design jobs, and more laboring unrecognized in galleries, he started painting battles in his canvas-lined apartment as a way out. Since then his unique take on live art has grown leaps and bounds with Art Battles now offering competitors a compelling way to get seen, sell their work & win residences at galleries. We follow Lexi Bella & Leif McIlwaine as they prepare for battle.

Relevant sites:

www.artbattles.com

Credits:

CREATED & PRODUCED by Lance Weiler & Alex Johnson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Johnson
DIRECTOR Ry Russo-Young
EDITOR Jawad Metni
DP Doug Emmett
SERIES PRODUCER Josh Cramer
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Janine Saunders
SERIES MUSIC T. Griffen
TITLE SEQUENCE Jordan Gray
POST PRODUCTION House of Trim
FEATURED MUSIC J Vegus “Show Me That Ass”