Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 2 of Rerun, the weekly digest of digital storytelling, interactive video and VR curated by Axonista.
This week in our Top Pick we show you why everyone's been talking about meerkats. Video democratization was on our minds this week and we've got great reads on broadcasting live from your phone, the rise of indie filmmakers, using drones for cinematic flybys, and the past and future of YouTube. We've also got an innovative moving magazine cover and some charming pop culture art that you won't want to miss!
If you have any tips, suggestions or just want to say hi, you can connect with us by emailing connect@axonista.com.
"Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one." - Sir Terry Pratchett
Top Pick
The race to make everyone a livestreamer
This week it's been difficult to ignore the new live streaming app Meerkat as it pops its head up daily in our Twitter feed. A side project from San Francisco start up Life on Air, it allows you to broadcast live video from your phone to anyone on Twitter. It's captured the industry's imagination and added another portrait oriented video app to our screens. In this article @joshconstine tells you all you need to know about Meerkat and the other players in the inevitable democratization of live video broadcasting.
Features
Fan films and the future of fantasy
Take a digital camera—even your smartphone—and healthy dollop of enthusiasm and imagination. Combine with a fundraising platform like Kickstarter and the distribution power of the internet and social media. This is the recipe for a new generation of filmmakers bringing their stories to the world, and this is a charming read about just one such story.
Drones will change how directors make movies
Think of those amazing sweeping aerial shots you see in film and TV. They used to require helicopters, pilots, cranes, trained camera operators and a truckload of cash. Now you can carry it all in a backpack. Drones are about to open a world of new possibilities for indie filmmakers and photographers. The sky's literally the limit!
The daring future of YouTube
It's the 10 year anniversary of YouTube this year and few would have guessed just how huge it would become. This is an in-depth look into the kind of ecosystem that YouTube is and the new generation of creators who inhabit it. It also poses the question; how to do you predict or direct the future of a platform as broad as YouTube is now?
An all-singing, all-dancing digital fashion magazine
Fashion magazine AnOther have created a remarkable digital magazine cover. The effect is captivating and blurs the line between print and digital. It's a limited edition print run of 1000 copies, so unfortunately you won't see it taking over your newsstand, but we're very excited to see what the future brings!
Interactive docs for the nonbelievers
An interesting look at interactive documentaries and a good jumping-off point into the young genre.
How House of Cards helped Monument Valley jump up the charts
In a fascinating example of product placement—app placement even—you can see how sales of award-winning game Monument Valley spiked precisely alongside the House of Cards binge watchers. Don't worry there are no spoilers!
Smaug can now melt the flesh off your bones in virtual reality
Weta Digital, the special effects studio behind all the creatures you see in The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit, have teamed up with Epic Games to create 'Thief in the Shadows'. It's a state of the art VR experience for the Oculus Rift that sees you come face to face with Smaug. It sounds like an incredible experience, but unfortunately one that isn't available outside convention booths for now. We're waiting impatiently!
One to follow
We saw Hey studio present at Offset festival last weekend in Dublin and fell in love with their pop culture people on Instagram. Well worth a follow at @every_hey for a daily dose of colourful character art! Have a great weekend!