Yohji Yamamoto: The Poet of Black

Yohji Yamamoto invites us in to peak into his studio and shares with us his beginnings in Paris, his philosophy on design, and his thoughts on the fashion industry as a whole. You can't help but be captivated, he has the depth and intellect of a master.

Candy Claws

Candy Claws produces the frothiest, most effervescent, dreamlike music I've ever heard. Their sound is as if mermaids, fairies and angels decided to make music together in some magical land where heartache and pain doesn't exist and animals frolic around undisturbed. Lots of angelic string like sounds, bubbly bells and whispering vocals. I love the lyrics just as much as the sounds in their music, it complements the melodies so well. In their songs Candy Claws describes the silent activity of the Earth before human life, the beauty of the ocean, the vastness of forests and anything else pertaining to the magic of nature. It is truly beautiful. Listen to all of their albums on their website here.

Making of The Lego Movie

I actually kind of liked this movie, surprisingly. What I really liked were the visuals. The effects they pulled off within the physics of Lego bricks is impressive; especially the fluid movement of smoke, water and fire rendered as bricks. Initially I wondered if they used actual Lego bricks in the movie, it turns out most of it is CGI. In spite of it being CGI the movie looks like it was 100% made out of real physical Lego bricks. Watch some of the voice acting and animation processes below.

Virtual Web World

Imagine browsing the web in a totally immersive world in which you can walk through and explore. Replacing links with doors and webpages with rooms, this is exactly what James McCrae has done. Using the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift, McCrae transforms the World Wide Web into a literal world with his project called FireBox. The potential of this amazing concept is vast. Online stores become giant super markets with merchandise that can be manipulated and previewed in 3 dimensions, chat rooms become virtual bars and websites like Deviantart becomes a massive art gallery. FireBox actually brings Futuramas's Infosphere into reality; this is the inevitable future of the internet. Watch a walkthrough below.

Face Hacking

Developed by Nobumichi Asai and team, he uses projection mapping coupled with real-time face tracking to create something truly exciting. This technology has tremendous applications in the storytelling and VFX industries, maybe even replacing CGI at times. Check out Bioluminescent Forest, a short film that exercises the possibilities of projection mapping.

Making Of: "The Bigger Picture"

This Academy Award nominated film uses the most ambitious film style I've seen to date. They incorporated both 2D life-size painted animation, with 3D stop-motion for a highly unique experience. Objects literally jump out of the canvas, transforming from a 2D painting into a physical object. It's an amazing concept, see how it was done below.

Alessandro Squarzi

Alessandro Squarzi is a bit of an icon in the street style scene, I first discovered him in one of Scott Schuman's street style books. Alessandro is the founder and director of Alessandro Squarzi Showroom, a leading fashion consultancy out of Italy. Tommy Ton considers him to be “THE master of Italian sprezz”; Alessandro is elegantly casual. Read some of his thoughts on style here.