Zooppa USA - Blog

MP Gear Competition Update

zooppastaff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:36:58 +0000

Greetings Zooppa Community!

We just wanted to clarify something about the MP Gear contest that opened up on Zooppa last night. Initially, the brief called for video and print ads. Actually, the contest is for Video and Banner ads.

We apologize to any one who was planning to submit a print ad to the competition. We would still love to see your work in the form of a banner ad! We are really excited for the MP Gear competition, and can’t wait to see what you guys come up with for this one.

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Survey Closes, Winners Announced.

zooppastaff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:30:16 +0000

Thanks so much to everyone who completed our survey. The results of the survey are being tallied, and your feedback will be the driving force behind upcoming changes to our website. Your insights are providing us with invaluable information about how we can give you the Zooppa experience you so deserve.

As promised, we picked a name at random from those of you who participated to win the survey door prize.

Congratulations bigkat, the lucky recipient of $250!

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Idea Lab: The Dolly Shot

zooppastaff — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:13:17 +0000

This article is another in a series exploring film making techniques that inspire us to think outside of the box in our own work. Makers of major motion pictures obviously have the resources and the budget to do all sorts of amazing things. As technology becomes more available and accessible, its easy for anyone to make a film of their own. Just because you don’t own a ton of expensive equipment and have a crew of hundreds of trained experts at your disposal does not mean that your creative output is limited. A big vision and a little resourcefulness can go a long way.

In cinematography, the camera is frequently mounted on a wheeled platform to allow for steady movement and a dynamic shot. This technique is called a dolly (or tracking) shot. This is not to be confused with a shot wherein the camera is stationary and the zoom lens creates the effect of moving closer or further from the central action. Basically, every time the camera moves within a single take, you are looking at a dolly shot. And that would be often…dolly shots are standard fare in all genres and levels of cinema. There are some directors out there however, who explored new ways of using this type of shot to achieve revolutionary results.

Spike Lee has made a signature move of placing his actors on the same dolly as the camera. For Lee, and others, the technique is typically used to signify an altered state of one kind or another. One of Lee’s most notable uses of this shot is in his 1992 biopic Malcolm X. Denzel Washington, as Malcolm X, is filmed standing on the dolly as it tracks backward, approaching the site of Malcolm X’s assassination. The scene is very affective; viewer is led to understand that perhaps Malcolm X knows he is about to be assassinated, or at the very least that this moment is pivotal. Lee uses the technique again and again in his films. It must be said that the effect can seem heavy handed if not used appropriately or sparingly. In my opinion, Spike Lee does it pretty well. Lee is one of my favorite auteurs…but, I happen to have a weakness for stylized cinema.

Another offshoot of the traditional dolly shot was pioneered by Martin Scorsese in his first major feature film, Mean Streets (1973). The shot is amazing. The scene takes place in the neighborhood bar featured prominently in the film. There is a private party, and Charlie (played by Harvey Keitel) gets quite drunk. Rather than tracking the camera with Keitel as he walks across the set, Scorsese straps a camera to the actor’s chest. As Keitel walks through the bar, he is framed centrally and his surroundings sway and pitch with his steps creating a visual cue: intoxication. Almost twenty years later, Darren Aronofsky makes use of the same technique throughout his 2000 epic Requiem for a Dream.

Side note: Requiem contains a number of nods and allusions. The recurring dream sequence featuring Harry (Jared Leto) and Marion (Jennifer Connelly) that takes place on a Coney Island pier glowing with bright white, diffuse light is undeniably similar to a sequence at the end of Alex Proyas’ film of 1998, Dark City. In Dark City, it is Rufus Sewell who runs down a pier toward the ever unattainable Jennifer Connelly, although this sequence is slightly less dismal seeming, if my memory serves. Also, Aronofsky allegedly purchased the remake rights to Satoshi Kon’s 1998 anime film Perfect Blue in order to stage a live action shot-for-shot recreation of one scene in Requiem for a Dream.

Be inspired by the film making techniques you love (not unlike Aronofsky), and don’t let your lack of budget or equipment stop you. When we want to create a dolly shot here at the Zooppa office, we use a wheel chair purchased from a yard sale. It is a really easy way to achieve an interesting effect on a low budget. What inspires you in your own creative work? I would love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Congratulations Luke Bryan Winners!

zooppastaff — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:21:46 +0000

The Luke Bryan competition has wrapped up and we want to thank everyone who submitted ads. We couldn’t be more excited about the amazing work all of you did. In addition to the monetary awards, all winners will also receive an autographed copy of Luke Bryan’s new album “Doin’ My Thing.”

And now for the winners! Drum roll, please…

1st Prize – $1000
“Baby Do I” by mlkconcept

2nd Prize – $650
“Doin’ Our Thing” by XCpuckstopper35

3rd Prize – $350
“Lonely” by ArmenAdamian

4th Prize – $200
“Wedding Day” by ArmenAdamian

5th Prize – $150
“Do I. Coming Soon.” by toskana18

6th Prize – $125
“What Went Wrong?” by viddovation

7th Prize – $100
“Do I, the new song of Luke Bryan” by magicreative

8th Prize – $75
“Luke Bryan – Do I” by mggeralle

9th Prize – $50
“How do I?” by awhalen

10th Prize – $50
“Luke Bryan, Do I” by magicreative

Luke Bryan Award – $1500
“Luke Bryan – Do I (Piano Version) by MEDesign

Zooppa Award – $750
“What Went Wrong?” by viddovation

Congrats!

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Zooppa Creative Profile: Jason Harper

zooppastaff — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:53:05 +0000

You should take a few minutes to get to know one of our newest Zooppa members Jason Harper as he talks about his work and his views on creative success and the future of advertising.

Congratulations to the Official Cap-Sac Competition Winners!

zooppastaff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:38:57 +0000

The time has come to announce the winners of the Cap-Sac competition. We really appreciate everyone’s participation. Thanks for helping make the Cap-Sac competition such a success. And congratulations to the winners!

Cap-Sac Awards

First Prize – Flip Mino Camcorder
“Who Needs a Backpack” by XCBuckstopper35

Second Prize – Special Prizes
“William H. Buxster on Cap-Sac” by Buxster

Community Awards – Video

First Prize – Special Prizes
“Cap-Sac in Color” by Henry Nahurski

Second Prize – Special Prizes
“A Pocket Without the Pants” by drum1080

Community Awards

First Prize – Special Prizes
“Exhibitionist” by Bardak

Second Prize – Special Prizes
“Gotcha!” by Lexar

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Last Week to Take Our Survey, Make Zooppa Better, and Maybe Win $250

zooppastaff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:37:50 +0000

Thanks to everyone who has already taken our survey. We would like to announce that we will be closing the survey after this week. The winner of the random drawing for $250 will be announced on Friday, October 30th.

If you have not taken the survey yet, you still have time. The questions are designed to give you a quick (three-minute) way to give us feedback about Zooppa. As we begin to make some major changes, we want to make sure that our site reflects You, our Creative Community. We want to know what you love about your Zooppa experience, and what you might change.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Thanks,
The Zooppa Team

Click Here to Take the Survey

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Engaging Filmmaking Techniques: Breaking the Fourth Wall

zooppastaff — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:42:25 +0000

This week in the Zooppa office, we had a really great conversation about filmmaking techniques that we like to use in our own creative ventures. One of the techniques that generated some healthy conversation was ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall.’

The term ‘Fourth Wall’ refers to the imaginary barrier at the front of a theater that separates the action on stage from the audience. Traditionally, the action on stage happens despite the audience, so to speak. When the actors speak directly to the audience, suspension of disbelieve is disrupted. Enter self-reflexive cinema/theater. The audience is made aware of their role as passive spectator to constructed scenario. This approach is certainly not new, people have been using it pretty much since the beginning of theater. After all these years however, breaking the fourth wall is still a compelling way to engage your audience and throw a wrench in the cog of traditional modes of viewing.

To give a recognizable contemporary example: Woody Allen uses this technique consistently throughout his films as a comedic tool. John Hughes utilizes the technique in his 1986 cult classic Farris Beuller’s Day Off. In most cases, one character will take on the role as fourth-wall breaker. Frequently it is the main character, the one with whom the audience is meant to most identify or sympathize. These moments of disruption can serve as comedic tool, or to further elucidate the action unfolding.

A personal favorite example is the films of director Michael Winterbottom. Admittedly, I have not watched all of his films, but the ones I have seen: a) I adore, and b) utilize breaking the fourth wall as only one element in a totally self-reflexive, postmodern cinematic schema. Example: One of the most awesome moments in his film 24 Hour Party People (2002) revolves around Steve Coogan’s character and his self-aware flirtation with another character in the film. As he waxes poetic to this woman about his awareness of the social phenomenon of flirting and his participation in it, he turns to the camera (read – audience) and states: “Don’t judge. I was being postmodern, before it was fashionable.” Blatant? Maybe. No less clever, however. In fact, within the first five minutes of 24 Hour Party People, Winterbottom establishes the film as a piece of self-reflexive cinema, and Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson as the conduit of the device.

Winterbottom also makes extensive use of this technique in his 2004 film Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. It is a film about making a film that is adapted from the suposedly unfilmable novel by Lawrence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemen (1759-1767). Still with me? Tristram Shandy stars Steve Coogan as Steve Coogan as Tristram Shandy. The fourth wall is broken in this film not only by the actor speaking to the audience, but also in exposing the behind the scenes aspects of making the film. The crew is shot filming the fictional movie that this movie is about filming. Ostensibly this same crew is actually shooting the film. Exposing the crew disrupts the believable narrative, again, making the audience of their role as viewer. Bottom line, Tristram Shandy is hilarious. It also functions pretty well as a work of postmodern meta-text. I recommend.

All of that said, as much as this post is about films that successfully break the fourth wall, it is also meant to suggest that you can be inspired by filmmaking techniques you love. And use them. You don’t need a feature length script and a million plus dollar budget to think outside of the box in your own work. I would love to hear about other filmmaking techniques that inspire you. Who knows, maybe I’ll blog about it.

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Take Our Survey, Help Us Make Zooppa Better, Maybe Win $250

zooppastaff — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:02 +0000

Zooppa is working to grow and develop our site in a major way. We want these changes to reflect You, our creative community. The best way you can help us help you is to fill out our brief, three-minute survey. The survey questions are designed to tell us how you use Zooppa, what you like best about us, and maybe some things you would change or add to the site.

We want you to feel like you are getting everything you want to out of your Zooppa experience. Plus, we will be picking one person at random to win $250, just for completing a survey. We really appreciate your feedback!

Click Here to take survey

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.

Official Winners Announced for “I Love Internet” Competition

zooppastaff — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who submitted ads to the Telecom Wired “I Love Internet” competition. All of your creativity and hard work made this contest a great success. After counting up all of the votes, we would like to officially congratulate the winners!

Telecom Wired Awards

1st Prize – $2000
“A Story” by MEDesign

2nd Prize – $1700
“From Germany With Love” by jmharper

3rd Prize – $1400
“We Are Building the Future of the World” by rafita

BigZooppa Awards

1st Prize – $1400
“Tuttu Intorno a Te” by mirrorprod

2nd Prize – $1000
“Happy@Birthday” by BobStorm

Community Prizes

1st Prize – $1100
“01.06.09″ by ilBongio

2nd Prize – $500
“New Disorders to Your Senses” by JANKHA

3rd Prize – $300
“Love Story” by Ema80

Thanks for reading the Zooppa Blog. Your top destination for all things crowd-sourced creativity. Check out our active video, design, and interactive competitions for top brands.