Man of the moment
Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.
Man of the moment
Artist Dick Frizzell is on fire: his pop re-imagining of the Four Square man is everywhere, even fronting the Rugby World Cup campaign, and his book Dick Frizzell: The Painter has been warmly received across the industry. A warm and engaging first-person retrospective, it provides a insight into just what life in the creative industries is like. What’s more, it shuns the unnecessarily academic style of many other books about art.
Perhaps unusually for an artist, he blends the commercial with the creative and stresses the importance of being business-savvy - the notion of the starving artist, he says, is “dead and buried”. This month David MacGregor caught up with the man himself and chats to Frizzell about culture, commercialisation and self-curation. Find out more in Idealog #24 and on our website.
Put a smile on your dial
Feeling a bit glum? Struggling to smile? The Happiness Hat will train you up. It’s a wearable device that detects whether you’re smiling and provides a painful reminder—read: spike to the back of the head—if you’re not.
http://vimeo.com/7283341
White Team wins
Fast Pitch found its winner this week: Chris White of Podscape, a social media app for kids and music. Think Farmville but with music instead of, er, farms. Confirming what we know about Kiwis the contestants all had great ideas but frankly, says Idealog publisher and Fast Pitch judge Vincent Heeringa, were shite at selling them. Except for one: South African Neil Petrie, who took the presenters award. That’s not to detract from Fast Pitch, which exists to help Kiwis hone their presenting skills. We look forward to future improvement.
So why did Chris win? With the IPÂ 100-percent owned by Chris and an idea that could go ballistic, Podscape is one to watch. Chris wins three months in the Icehouse and a heap of useful swag. We’ll keep you posted on his progress. In the meantime, you can view all our FastPitch coverage here on Idealog TV.
TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ACCOUNTANT, LOOK BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Keeping your business future fit is about being better equipped to make bold and powerful financial decisions. At Hayes Knight, rather than just work the numbers, we interpret them. The result is more empowered, knowledgeable clients able to be proactive with the next steps of their business. To find out more, visit hayesknight.co.nz
Mini turns 50
That’s right, the Mini is officially half a century old. It’s come a long way from its early days but it remains an icon of design. Check out this neat mini-documentary celebrating 50 years of the Mini Cooper.
http://vimeo.com/6967818
Job of the Week
Mac Op/Production Coordinator(P0530)
Exciting opportunity for an exceptional Mac Operator and Production Coordinator at a busy indie advertising and design agency. This is a role for someone who thrives in a busy environment, can manage workloads and deal with a range of tasks in the studio and across a diverse client base. You will have strong agency experience, be a fast accurate Mac op with a thorough knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite. The role also involves production coordination so experience in dealing with external suppliers and quoting will give you a distinct advantage. This agency is a fun hard working team - it is a fantastic opportunity to work in a growing strategic based creative environment. The role is based in Napier - so if you are looking for a brilliant role and the opportunity for a positive lifestyle move as well this is the role for you. Please send your PDF CV/Portfolio to annie@portfoliorecruit.co.nz. Please note if you are not eligible to live and work in New Zealand we will not respond to your application.
Invite from Idealog
Singer-songwriter Damien Binder has made a name for himself with his distinctive, moody alt-rock sound over the last ten years. Since his debut in 2000, he has performed both nationally and internationally and supported acts such as David Gray and Marianne Faithfull. He plays at Sale St on Friday 6 November at 8pm, in association with Idealog. It’s free. You’re welcome.
Smart art
Lester Hall, one of New Zealand’s most interpretative artists, is down from the Bay of Islands to exhibit his latest work. The Art of Race Relations, a thought-provoking collection of printed and original works, can be viewed at Remuera Gallery from 3 - 15 November.
Calling all wordsmiths
Budding songwriters and short story writers, it’s your time to shine. AUT, Idealog and bFM are holding a creative writing competition to foster young homegrown talent. The winning lyrics will be sung and performed by a band, while the winning short story entrant will receive mentoring from a top Kiwi author. Two Sony Vaio laptops are also up for grabs! The winning entries will also be featured in Idealog. Entries close 4pm January 31.
Are you in?
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There’s still time to enter the ONYAs - entries close on 9 November and finalists will be announced in early December. So if you’ve got a clever web app you’re particularly proud of, or a brilliant website you want to show off, what are you waiting for? Designed to recognise the best of the New Zealand web industry, categories in the Onya Awards include best user experience, best visual design and best accessibility.
Getting animated
Where else can you learn, pitch, and network with the best in the FX industry? AnimfxNZ, the conference for the animation, visual effects and digital industries, is running from 5 - 7 November in Wellington. The lineup includes guest speakers from Weta and a series of creative workshops.
Quote of the week
“I’ve just signed up to sex up New Zealand’s new Rugby World Cup presentation. That will be the end of my career, I tell you..”
– Dick Frizzell, in Idealog #24
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