Hugh Garry

100 Unread Messages

We made an app for Gruff Rhys called 100 Unread Messages and we kinda love it. You can download it to your choice of reading device here. Go on... It's great.

100 Unread Messages accompanies the American Interior book, film and album by former Super Furry Animals frontman. It tells the incredible story of John Evans, a distant relative of Gruff, who travelled across America in the 18th century looking for a mythical tribe of Welsh speaking Native Americans.

The idea for the app comes from a song Gruff wrote about the family of John Evans sat at home waiting for news that never came. With such a rich array of content to pick from we loved the idea of telling the story in 100 messages. The messages are distributed across a map following John's journey and are delivered in the form of film, music, photos, drawings, text, spoken word and gifs. All artwork was done by the brilliant Pete Fowler. 

There's lots to say about why we like this app but I thought I'd pull out three things that are noteworthy. 

1. The smart stuff in this app is hidden. Like everything else we do we look at the story first and decide on the best way of telling it. It was app of the week in The Guardian and Stuart Dredge clearly got the experience we were hoping for:

"As a technology writer who’s spent a lot of time covering apps in the last five years, my favourite thing about the American Interior app is the way it helped me get lost (again) in the John Evans story rather than thinking too much about the format in which it’s being delivered. It’s not a whizzy app: it’s a great story."

2. Every message is a Twitter card which means it can be shared as an individual piece of content embedded in a tweet. Twitter now does deep linking, which means that you can link to messages deep within the app. So if you click on a link in Twitter and already have the app and it will fire it up and bring you to that message. If you don't have the app it will fire it up in the store for you to buy. 

3. There is something really interesting in the snack sized portions and physical gesture required to open each message that fires off a shot of dopamine in the brain. The first time I tested it with all the content in was on a 2 hour flight. I planned to test the first few messages but before I knew it the plane was landing and I'd pretty much been through most of them. It's incredibly addictive and a behaviour we're certain to do more research on for future projects.  

Tonight (Wednesday) Gruff is performing at the Apple Store on Regent Street. He'll be telling the story and live tweeting it via the messages built into the app. So people at home will be able to follow the story Gruff tells in the store via a selection of cards embedded in Twitter. 

Credits should go to everyone at Storythings for the work that went into making such a thing of beauty, Nathan Hull at Penguin for generally being ace. And the lovely Cat and Gruff and their team in Wales for their spirit of adventure. 

If you want to speak to us about working on a project get in touch here.

The Content, the Container and the Consumer.

I've been asked to deliver a keynote at Film4's Innovation Summit later this month, which is I'm really excited about. 

When you do things like this you always get a call asking for the title of your talk weeks or sometimes months before the event. This is so that organisers can get their publicity out. The thing is I never give the same talk twice and usually end up preparing something close to the day. For years I got away with it by calling all my talks 'Everything is Amazing' because no matter what, I could always swing the conversation around to this. I stopped doing it about a year ago when I was convinced everyone on the planet had seen that video. 

I really like talking at events like this because preparing really forces you to think hard about what it is you do. It gets you to collect all the thinking you've been doing and to make some sort of sense of it all. It requires you to take all those noodly, random and often fleeting thoughts or bits of conversation you've been having and combine them into something coherent and of value to yourself as well as the collected audience.  

So the title I gave Film4 when asked was 'Nothing Dies, Everything Changes'. But after a chat with Matt yesterday about formats, and having thought a bit more about what I'm going to talk about I'm beginning to think 'The Content, the Container and the Consumer' might have been a better title. Until recently content was made to fit a limited number of containers and just a handful of consumer behaviours. Now, the smart creators think not just about the content but are also designing for a multitude of containers and consumer behaviours.

So there are a few of my thought's that may or may not shape what I talk about. 

The sharpest creators are those who know that teetering on the edge of tomorrow is a much healthier place to be than just worrying about their industry in five or ten years time. I think 'noticing' is something we need to get better at as behaviours become more subtle. And I don't care what Bill Carr, Amazon's VP of Music and Video says about preferring the algorithm over the human tastemaker in the development of TV shows, humans understanding humans behaviour is as important as computers understanding data in our new world. A world of content created by algorithm alone scares me a little.

Rules of watching a movie

When I was working on the LCD Soundsystem film SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS we talked a lot about the idea that a visit to the cinema needs to be more than just a movie and popcorn. I wanted to create an event that went beyond the Q&A with the stars and the directors we already had planned. Could we get band members form across the glob to be a part? Could we replicate moments from the film in the cinema? Could we make it more like a gig? Could we change the language we used around the film to that which you would normally associate with a gig? 

One of the ideas we had was to create a set of rules for watching the film. The rules included 'You can dance', 'You can cheer', 'You must take photos' etc. The idea of encouraging the audience to switch their phone on during a movie is something most cinemas and film makers would flat out refuse. Thankfully Picturehouse got where we were coming from and were cool with it. Switching 'on' your phone during a movie is something that the film industry is going to have to get used to. It's a new rule of cinema - people like to share their lives and that includes capturing screen shots of the film they are watching - it's happening and it's creating spreadable media. Be thankfull. 

So I was delighted to discover that in 1960, after taking control of the promotion of his own film, Alfred Hitchcock made a short film introdicing the rules for watching Psycho. One of the rules was that nobody would be allowed into the cinema once the film started. Another was they you can't talk about the movie to friends. Cinema owners were up in arms, they hated having to play by Hitchcock's rules. As you can imagine their fears were put to rest once the audiences were queuing around the block. Nice work Alfred. 

The rules were accompanied by another film in which Hitchcock gives the audience a tour of the Psycho set and teases them by almost giving away spoiler details. Watch it here.

Storytelling Tips from Pixar

Thanks to the wonderful Emma Coats, storyboard artist for Pixar, who recently tweeted a series of 'story basics' picked up from senior collegues she's been working with at the studio.

I partiularly like "#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next". I often use the 'opposite' technique in my creative process when I have a block. When you're struggling for ideas try coming up with a list of things you definitely don't want to do. You'll be amazed how quickly the fog clears. 

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

Thanks to The Pixar Touch Book for originally sharing these. And thanks to Pete Jackson on Twitter for reminding me of this excellent TED Talk by Toy Story's Andrew Stanton on the clues to a great story.

Let them play

One of the saddest things about our educational system is that schools are too keen to turn moments of 'play' into moments of 'learning'. The crayon becomes the pencil then a pen. The lego becomes the exercise book then the ruler and protractor. As Ken Robinson said in The Element"

“Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it's the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardising in the way we educate our children and ourselves.” 

When I watched Caine's story I struggled to hold back the tears as it reached it's conclusion. In part they were tears of joy for such a remarkable story, but also tears of sadness that his days of play may soon be behind him with his creative spirit dampened by an industrial model of education the sees work and play as polar opposites.

He who seeks beauty will find it

Last night I went to see Bill Cunningham New York, one of the best films I've seen in such a long time. Bill lives a life of simplicity in a world of excess and glamour. He shuns the limo lifestyle getting around New York on his bicycle. He has few clothes and gaffa tapes them together when they fall apart. And he refuses meals at the celebrity dinners he attends most evenings in favour of a $3 diner sandwich.

Throughout the entire film you're constantly questioning how such a man survives in an industry that is so at odds with his own values. In a film sprinkled with touching moments the one that stood out for me was when it was revealed that BIll parted company with Women's Wear Daily because they had changed the copy of an article to poke fun at how people were dressed in some of his pictures. For Bill there was no 'In' or 'Out', just 'In'. There was no 'Cool' or 'Uncool', just cool. Why be derogatory about something that should just slip by unnoticed. Socialite Annette de la Renta later notes, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a cruel picture done by Bill.” It's a cruel business, with questionable morals, which is why it will never be see in light as other art forms. If only it had Bill's values.

Here's a few moments of brilliance from the great man:  

"Everyone has taste, but they don’t have the daring to be creative."

"I let the street speak to me."

"If you don’t take money, they can’t tell you what to do, kid. That’s the key to the whole thing."

"Money is the cheapest thing. Freedom is the most expensive thing."

"It’s as true today as it ever was, he who seeks beauty will find it."

"The wider world perceives fashion sometimes as a frivolity that should be done away with in the face of social upheavals and problems that are enormous. The point is, in fact, that it’s the armor to survive the reality of everyday life."

4 lessons in creativity from 'The Artist'

 

I went to dinner on Sunday with a friend who told me that people in Liverpool were walking out of the cinema when they discovered that The Artist was a silent film. I shouldn't be surprised though. I'm sure there were couples choking into their popcorn in multiplexes all over the country when the realised that a silent movie actually means no speaking and no colour. Not even 3D!!! What was Hollywood thinking?

I was delighted to see it scoop a handful of Oscars last month. It's a brilliant and engaging film packed with lessons in how to be creative in whatever it is you do. Here are 4 to be getting on with:

1. What is not constrained is not creative. If you are faced with a blank sheet of paper to fill try add some restrictions of your own. 

2. Creativity is about subtraction. What you remove is as import as what you add. If you're making a blockbuster like Transformers and you add more robots, you simply have a film with more robots. If you're making a film like The Artist and you take away the voices you have something 'remarkable'.   

3. Talent imitates, genius steals. Borrowing from what has gone before is no bad thing. Singing the Rain was a brilliant movie.

4. Rethink deadness. Just because technology moves forward doesn't mean old ideas are bad ideas. 

 

Woody Allen, Physical Email and the Proverbial Wallet.

I went to see Woody Allen's new film 'Midnight in Paris' today and couldn't help smile when the main character Gil, who is fascinated by 1920s Paris, gets into a debate with Adriana about when was the best time to live.

Gil meets Adriana (a beautiful Parisian who is having an affair with Picasso) after travelling back in time to his favourite era. The conversation takes place when pair travel further back in time to the 1890s, which is Adriana's favourite period in history. Gil wants to return to the 1920s but she wants to stay in the 1890s forever because the era in which she belongs holds no excitement for her. Whilst they are there they bump into Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gaugin and Edgar Degas who all believe that the golden age was the Renaissance and not the 1890s, the era in which they were living. 

We all have a romantised vision of the past, a golden age that we long to return to for some rose tinted reason or other. We're great at ignoring the present and appreciating it for all its brilliance. Personally, I've never been like that, much to the disappointment of my friends as my enthusiasm for reminiscing falls short of theirs. I can be such a stick in the mud sometimes. 

I've said it before. The greatest time to be alive is now. Teetering on the edge of tomorrow. I do forget sometimes, but then brilliant people share brilliant things using brilliant technologies and I get incredibly excited about the here and now again. 

So. If like me you get excited by current thinking around the intersection of the real and digital world then you may just love the work of former MIT student John Kestner (thanks to the lovely Tom Uglow for bringing him to my attention).

Here are a few interesting things he has done. Please do check out the rest.

Tableau

 

"Tableau acts as a bridge between users of physical and digital media, taking the best parts of both. It's a nightstand that quietly drops photos it sees on its Twitter feed into its drawer, for the owner to discover. Images of things placed in the drawer are posted to its account as well".

Proverbial Wallets

"The Proverbial Wallet gives us that financial sense at the point of purchase by un-abstracting virtual assets. Tactile feedback reflecting our personal balances and transactions helps us develop a subconscious financial sense that guides responsible decisions. In addition to providing a visceral connection to our virtual money, tactile output keeps personal information private and ambient".

Charlie Kaufman on Storytelling

There's this theory in fashion that once you spot something three times in quick succession then it's officially 'a trend'. There's also that thing that once you start thinking about something more than usual you simply notice it more. Either way, I agree with Matt, conversation around storytelling seems to be everywhere at the moment.  

I love this from Charlie Kaufman in The Guardian on why he wrote 'Being John Malkovich'. A great example of the combinatoral nature of the creative process:

"I wrote Being John Malkovich while I was waiting for hiring season. My idea was that I would write a script and use it to get work. I had this idea that someone finds a portal into someone's head, and I had another idea that somebody has a story about someone having an affair with a co-worker. And neither one was going anywhere, so I just decided to combine them".

But what I really like about the article is this great anecdote about running. It's goes back to what Ira Glass has to say in 'Part 1' of this post.

"I'll tell you this little story. There's something inherently cinematic about it. I run in my neighbourhood, and one day I ran past this guy running in the other direction: an older guy, a big hulky guy. He was struggling, huffing and puffing. I was going down a slight hill and he was coming up. So he passes me and he says: "Well, sure, it's all downhill that way." I loved that joke. We made a connection. So I had it in my head that this is a cool guy, and he's my friend now.

A few weeks later, I'm passing him again, and I'm thinking: "There's the guy that's cool." As we pass each other, he says: "Well, sure, it's all downhill that way." So I think: "Oh, OK. He's got a repertoire. I'm not that special. He's probably said it to other people, maybe he doesn't remember me ... but OK." I laughed, but this time my laugh was a little forced.

Then I pass him another time, and he says it again. And this time he's going downhill and I'm going uphill, so it doesn't even make sense. And I started to feel pain about this, because I'm embarrassed for him and I think maybe there's something wrong with him. And then it just keeps happening. I probably heard it seven or eight more times. I started to avoid him.

I like the idea that the story changes over time even though nothing has changed on the outside. What's changed is all in my head and has to do with a realisation on my character's part. And the story can only be told in a particular form. It can't be told in a painting. The point is: it's very important that what you do is specific to the medium in which you're doing it, and that you utilise what is specific about that medium to do the work. And if you can't think about why it should be done this way, then it doesn't need to be done".

It has the first building block, the sequence of actions - I went running and met this man and he told a joke and I met him again and he told the same joke. That's followed by a moment of reflection - he says this to everyone and it kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. Then the big point - It's very important that what you do is specific to the medium in which you're doing it.

A very simple story, built with basic building blocks creating something wonderful in a few paragraphs. 

Read the full article here.

 

Eat, Learn and Move

Wonderful...