Money: that's what I want

Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.

The first month of the 2009 is all but gone, with the lovely summer weather making it tough to sit inside and concentrate on work. For thousands, however, there is no work to concentrate on anymore, as the deep recession scythes through jobs at a frightening rate.

While it’s hard not to feel worried in this climate, it also brings opportunities for those with ideas. The current issue of Idealog is packed with ideas—in fact, a full one hundred pages worth of gloom-defying stuff. Check it out. Our next issue will be even bigger. And if you need something more to keep your chin up—an as-seen-on-TV product to banish those blues—we have just the thing.

We wish you the best in 2009 and look forward to bringing you the people, products and ideas from the creative heart of New Zealand.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o50_ZlMnjqY

Money: that’s what I want

It’s not a lack of talent that’s holding back our entrepreneurial crowd, writes Mike Booker in the current issue of Idealog. We have everything we need to grow innovative industries, but not the venture capital to get them off the ground. How bad is it? What can we do? And why isn’t all that beautiful Kiwisaver money being invested in our most promising startups? Read Mike’s take on the situation in the latest issue of Idealog, in print and on our website.

Tightening of the copyright screw

It’s a difficult act to balance the rights of creators and the public, we know that; however, lately, the biggest rights holders have managed to swing things their way, to the detriment of creative people everywhere.

Apart from New Zealand’s own Digital Millennium Copyright Act With Knobs On, the one that can get your Internet account canned through a mere allegation, YouTube is now automatically deleting audio from uploaded clips. That’s that for mash-ups then?

In editor Matt’s words, “This is stupid.”

Anvil tunes

“Everyone has a song inside,” says Microsoft, and points novice musicians to its new Songsmith program. Songsmith automatically generates musical accompaniment that matches a singer’s voice, even working out what genre the tune is.

Not surprisingly, the claim has been put to the test. Here, have a look and listen (and be quick, before YouTube deletes the soundtracks):

‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis, fed through Songsmith

‘Roxanne’ by The Police

Then there’s Van Halen, though it seems unfair to blame the software for struggling to work out just what Eddie is singing. [Update: our inhouse Metal Correspondent tells us that’s David Lee Roth, not Eddie.]

Perfection, Pursuit and Paper

Stop-motion origami reaps awards galore. No, really.

Spinning the discs

All right, so this falls into the Extreme DIY category, but the turntable is wonderful. For a mere fifty dollars, it’s great value too.

Got a bit more moolah to play with? Then we have the turntable for you, co-developed by Christchurch’s Denco Engineering. They’ve finally found a worthwhile use for the humble golf ball.

Share that Groove Armada

Download and share for free, legally—that’s what Bacardi is mixing up with Groove Armada and some of their previously unreleased tracks. There’s nothing rum about this at all, just an innovative way of distributing music to listeners, while ensuring the artists get paid. Check out this refreshing initiative and download the mini-album for free until February 16 this year, after which date it’ll cost money to buy. (Bacardi B-Live is the same initiative that saw a bunch of Kiwi musicians taking a journey to Brazil in 2006.)

It’s Webstock soon

Five days, nine hands-on workshops and 26 butt-kicking speakers mean Webstock of course, the number-one Wellington web event of the year.

If you’re interested in web design, standards, user experience, community building or you’re just keen to check out the innovation and inspiration that Webstock has in store, blank out February 19 and 20 in your calendar and head down to Wellington.

More details and registration here.

Job of the Week

Creative Head (P0490)

3D Technology • Team Leadership • Gaming Interest

My client is a New Zealand-owned company that works in the area of 3D screen technology development and due to growth is seeking a Creative Head to lead its team of young designers and developers.

This is a hands-on role and you will be responsible for and proficient in concepting, story boarding, art directing and working through to implementation of artwork.

You will have a great portfolio of design and an understanding of moving image, you will be ready to commit to the role and entrench yourself as a crucial part of the leadership team.

If you are ready to move up to the next level and really take charge of a team that is moving forward in the 3D screen technology area—then this is the exciting and dynamic role you have been waiting for.



Contact Louise Lawton on 09 379-9303, or apply on our website.

Pause here

Hankering after a year’s supply of gloom-defying ideas and unlimited television? Subscribe to Idealog, and we’ll deliver your ideas straight to your letterbox. We’ll even throw in a 28 percent discount. Subscribe before the end of Friday 30 January—and we’ll put your name into the draw to win a MyFreeview|HD digital television recorder worth $800 too. Go on, it’s an investment.

Down to a T

Fancy ten grand worth of stuff to launch your own t-shirt label? If so, submit up to four designs to the Little Help Project, and you could win a start-up package comprising 400 Paper and Wafer tees, plus screenprinting for them and custom re-labelling.

Head over to the AS Colour website to download the PDF template and entry form for the competition, which closes March 31.

More at Idealog online

Read more on our website: web exclusives, opinion, creative directory, Idealog TV, the Idealog blogs and the Idealog podcast. See you at idealog.co.nz.

  Juha Saarinen
  Ideologue, Weekly