Fuze Blog | ©Bryan Landaburu (aka Willie Vega) | Reno.Sparks Blogger

I've Been To Reno...err Greater Reno[dash]Tahoe

Was passed this today by some of my more creative friends and i am going to try to spread it "virally" to my 10's of loyal readers.  From Corey McAbee, comes this Sundance Short Film Entry on our fair city.  Lyrics are damn funny if you're from here.

Here is also a link to Corey's Sundance Institute interview on the concept.  It's cool, not just cause I said so.

Enjoy it a plenty.

BL

I'm all Joost up!

This week Joost released their first public beta of their new video-on-demand service and let me tell you, it is damn impressive.  In my opinion, you are looking at the future of broadcast television.  While the platform is primarily clip based now, you can certainly see the potential of this new medium which all runs through a thin client you install on your PC (works on Windows & Mac's).

Screen Shot:

Some interesting features i thought were cool after about 10min of review:

• Channel chat - chat options while you are watching a show
• Targeted ads - ads appear in the lower part of the screen and seem to be logical when they display.  they also don't seem to get in the way of the experience.  There are multiple ad units that run and all seemed well timed. For instance, while watching the Red Bull Fighters Video, I was shown the subtle title sponsor Red Bull logo, and an ad for Degree Antiperspirant.
• Widgets - platform is going to be open which will allow developers to build around it
• Channel list - you can create your own programming list and watch what you want
• Major players - i was impressed to see things like the MLB Postseason '07 and Comedy Central featured in their respective genre's
• Depth of content - there already is something for everyone on Joost.  I was surprised to see so much content already available in the Beta
• Speed & Quality - application is very fast to load, and there is no loading time. shows queue instantly - video and sound quality are very good, clear, very little (if any) clipping at all.
• User Interface - the UI is sexy, and slick, and easy to understand & navigate
• A real power button - just cool and simple, when you click the power button the entire box shuts off like an old TV console.

I could go on and on.  Looks like we have another time killer on our hands. In my head, when I combine this technology with video tagging technology like VideoClix, I see a whole new platform emerging, and, a whole new way to think about the TV box & the movin' pictures.

Remember, this is just in BETA - imagine what is coming.  Start thinking now advertising braniacs - could it be Web 4.0?  Why not?

Join us wont you...

WBV

A little diversion - The Rendezvous (oldie but a goodie)

While most car freaks will have likely seen this video at one point or another, I still find this fascinating.  Our friend Alex Roy of Team Polizei fame (who has a new book coming out next week) brought it back to my attention so I thought I would share it here as well.  The video depicts a Ferrari 275 GTB racing through the streets of Paris at insane speeds - one take - incredible driving - beautiful scenery.

Even if you're not a car guy, you cant help but love the shots of Paris streets when you watch this insane video.  A few notes to read AFTER you watch the video (so it doesn't spoil it for you):

Claude Lelouch
He was arrested after his 1976 film, C'était un rendez-vous, reportedly at the time featuring a Ferrari 275 GTB being illegally driven at speeds approaching 140 km/h through the streets of Paris by a Formula 1 driver, was first shown publicly.

Recent claims made by the director himself, however, suggest he drove his own Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 in the film and dubbed the sound effects of a Ferrari 275GTB. Several independent groups have verified that the car in the film never reaches past 140 km/h (85mph) [1]

All that said, pretty impressive time killer considering the state of 'special effects' back in the Spirit of '76.

Nothing else to report today.  Just another IN-sane week here at the Fuze camp...

Live well.

WBV

Amature drummer seeks: [editor]

As a drummer [amature] people often send me videos of people playing drums and they are cool and all, but the video stream below is an amazing bit of video editing that turns a video clip of someone banging drums and pinging piano into a song that is pretty impressive.  Editors, give this a shot in your spare time.  Enjoy.