Before there was a Nano, there was the Beetle, and now it is here. The original “people’s car” was the Volkswagen Beetle that became synonymous with freedom, the sixties and the “drop out” hippy culture. Now it is India – overpriced and nowhere near the original vision of a cheap affordable car – but still an Icon of the automobile’s 110 year history.
C3CUBE Multimedia (http://www.c3cube.com) today announced that it will be producing a new film and educational multimedia project called “Cracking the Inner Code: The Story of Yoga.” This exciting project is being driven by veteran award-winning multimedia producer Raja Choudhury and Dr. Karan Singh, the eminent Indian cultural ambassador, Hindu Scholar, President of ICCR and a Member of the Rajya Sabha.
For the first time ever on TV, DVD and Web, this production will tell the compelling story of the history, art, science, spirituality and evolution of Yoga from its start in India through its passionate following today around the world. This unique multimedia package comprises of a 90-minute documentary Film for International release, a DVD set, an educational Website, a Book and an original Music Score. The film will premiere in March 2010 through Theatrical release and TV in the US, UK and India followed by the launch of the educational multimedia elements for families, teachers, schools and Yoga enthusiasts.
The film will be shot and edited in India and the US in HD with original
Interviews, never-before-seen illustrations, animations and archival footage, demonstrations of asanas and practices by beautiful Indian actors, Yogis and dancers, rich captivating visuals and cutting edge CGI (computer graphics) to tell a unique and fascinating story.
Raja Choudhury, Managing Director of C3CUBE Multimedia, who has been creating successful multimedia productions in the US, UK and Indian markets since 1993 said “This is a story that has never been told in digital multimedia and we felt it should be presented to the world by Indians themselves using world-class production values and cutting edge techniques and know-how.”
The producers are now seeking additional production finance as well as marketing partners and distributors to ensure the film’s widest possible release around the world. For further information or to get involved in this exciting venture contact Raja Choudhury at raja@c3cube.com or call +91.9871586502.
DilliDilSe.com Home Page design - moveable ajax tiles provide interactive intro to exciting site
DilliDilSe.com is Coca-Cola India’s first entry in the Web 2.0 world of rich online media and social networking as part of its sponsorship and promotion of the Delhi Daredevils team during DLF IPL2 in South Africa. It partnered with Webby award-winning creative agency, C3CUBE Multimedia to design and deploy both the website and a network of 27 multimedia touch-screen kiosks at prime customer outlets such as McDonald’s, Nirula’s, DT Malls and other locations across Delhi NCR.
DilliDilSe.com takes a very different route from the regular fan community and team sites during IPL 2. The site integrates bright and cheerful design elements, cutting edge Ajax technologies, rich media flash content in the forms of games, tours and fan cards and the best of Web 2.0 technologies including a social club with friends, videos, photos, slogans, forums and short messages. Fans can interact with Gauti, Veeru, Amit, as well as each other in new and unusual ways within a safe, fun-filled environment.
In describing the vision for the site Mansoor Siddiqi, Director of Integrated Marketing at Coca-Cola India said that “we felt the Delhi Daredevils fans needed something in addition to the regular channels of communication, to share their passion for the team during the DLF-IPL season in a dynamic and interactive environment…and DilliDilSe.com is our way to help them cheer the team on.”
Raja Choudhury, Managing Director of C3CUBE Multimedia said “the partnership with Coca-Cola pushes the boundaries of what is possible in sports promotion in terms of online presence, and we are excited to see the success of DilliDilSe.com as the Delhi Daredevils shoot to the top of the league table.”
For further information contact Kritika Singh at Kritika@c3cube.com or call +91 9899847497
A new online multi-player game has been launched by the Future Institute in Menlo Park (Silicon Valley) called SuperStruct:
….the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game. By playing the game, you’ll help us chronicle the world of 2019–and imagine how we might solve the problems we’ll face. Because this is about more than just envisioning the future. It’s about making the future, inventing new ways to organize the human race and augment our collective human potential.
By getting involved in a massive social networking experiment through blogs, forums, videos, wikis and other Web 2.0 tools, the games aims to get you involved in the chronicling and shaping of the world of 2019. game starts with a doomsday premise:
The Global Extinction Awareness System, a supercomputer that accurately predicted the extinction of red squirrels several years ago, has run the numbers for our own species through the computer, and our odds of survival aren’t good. According to GEAS, Homo sapiens may go extinct by the year 2042.
According to Discover magazine this isn’t just a chance for gamers to flirt with the dark edge of disaster; they’ll also be participating in a cutting-edge experiment that tries to harness the wisdom of crowds for a higher purpose. Superstruct is what the Future institute calls the world’s first “massively multiplayer forecasting game.” The Institute for the Future doesn’t like to put it this way, but it’s essentially trying to use crowdsourcing to predict the future….visit SuperStruct.
If you are a designer, inventor or environmental genius and have never heard about the “Live Edge” award then it may just change your life. This competiion offers an award of $100,000 and “to enter, your design must be original and innovative, use electric and/or electronic components, and positively impact the environment, such as by increasing energy efficiency or reducing carbon emissions.” The submission for this year’s awards start on 1 October – to find out more visit Live Edge.
Creativity was always considered to be the domain of Mumbai, Ahmedabad or Kolkata. But now Pune is set to join the ranks of design school centered cities with the launch of the new International Institute of Industrial Design, Gaming and Animation. According to the Business Standard:
In a bid to tap more than 80,000 jobs that would come to Indians through outsourcing in animation, gaming and industrial design sectors over next three to four years, the France-based Chamber of Commerce and Valenciennois (CCIV) has joined hands with Pune-based DSK Group to launch the International Institute of Industrial Design, Gaming and Animation in Pune.
Business Week, the international business magazine has done an interesting article – reflecting its current fascination with India as I am sure subscriptions must be climbing here – analyzing the the state of the Indian Graphic Design industry and the growing demand for talent, ideas and education. According to the article by Eliza Williams:
For a designer or advertising creative, India is a pretty exciting place to be right now. Rapid commercial growth has prompted an unprecedented client demand for design and advertising skills, while those creating the work find themselves in the exhilarating position of being able to shape and redefine India’s new identity, both within the country and internationally. All this change has occurred rapidly, however, at a pace that is perhaps too fast for an industry, in graphic design at least, that is still finding its feet. Design is still often misunderstood as a profession, and with a dearth of decent design schools in the country, graduates are finding that they often receive their real education on the job, a position that stretches already overloaded designers even thinner. The bounteous amount of work has also led the lines between advertising and design to blur, with ad agencies, which are far more established and recognised within the country, tackling aspects of assignments more traditionally found within the design domain. And, of course, overseas networks and companies are also edging in, keen to pick up a slice of the action.
In case you ever begin to feel that we creative types could never make it in a really big way or have a real impact on the world, there is comfort in the knowledge that India’s most pioneering and successful entrepreneur Ratan Tata trained as an Architect at Cornell before turning to revolutionize his family’s business. OK, he was given a silver spoon to start with but just look at how big he went and made it…a grand vision from steel to the Nano and Jaguar…Vision….something he picked up in design school perhaps.
While most of the residents of Chandigarh are critical at worst or ambivalent at best about their “modernist” architecture, the rest of the world has slowly been stealing its unknown treasures and making a killing at international auction houses like Christies.
Furniture designed by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret – both were responsible for the city’s unique plan and its official buildings and many of its residences – which normally would be considered junk in Chandigarh and sold for a few hundred rupees were fetching prices of over $8,000 in some cases.
According to an article in the International Herald Tribune:
A handful of antique dealers from around the world have become regular visitors to government junkyards in Chandigarh, the experimental modernist city 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, north of New Delhi, conceived by the architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s. They buy up disused stocks of furniture that was specially created by Corbusier’s colleagues to fit out the new city.
The disappearance of large quantities of these distinctive, ultrafunctional tables and chairs – most of them designed by Jeanneret, Le Corbusier’s cousin, for the city’s government offices, courtrooms and colleges – has begun in recent months to alarm architects and some government officials in the city.
Citizens of Chandigarh should wake up to the potential goldmine they are sitting on and begin appreciating their heritage no matter how ugly it may seem to many. The city is suddenly worth millions on the art market.
Web 2.0 seems to be the new holy grail for all entrepreneurs and marketers, and while many experts sing its praises, an equal number do predict its demise into enterprise ether. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in-between. But one business area where Web 2.0 certainly has had a major impact is in branding and marketing. This cannot be denied.
Web 2.0 is a broad term that covers all aspects of Web usage or technologies that facilitate collaboration, sharing, online conversations, user-generated content or social networking of some kind. For example, there are over 10 million blogs today and no matter what area of business you are in, someone has probably created a blog about it and someone else is actually reading that blog. (Blog stands for Web Log or Journal or Site that a Web user creates themselves on any subject of their choosing.)
As a brand builder or marketer, ignoring Web 2.0 is ignoring some of the best tools you can find in managing your 360 degree (touching every touch point in your marketing matrix with an appropriate relationship) marketing strategy and your reputation online. Understanding your customer’s buying habits and interests, mapping current trends, getting free feedback and reviews, testing out new concepts on focus groups for free, managing your brand’s reputation through proper message management, distributing viral messages and ideas quickly – what else can a marketer ask for. This is the promise of Web 2.0. However, remember – the opposite can hold true as well – so use these tools carefully. Here are some ideas to help you along: Continue reading