This Friday was the Cut&Paste Global Championship from the Hammerstein Ballroom in Hell’s Kitchen. Let me just say that this was a marathon. Five hours worth of people drawing on their CAD tablets. Was it good? Absolutely! Just as a reminder to what this event is all about, this event involved graphic designers from around the world in 2D, 3D, and motion design. 3D has 20 minutes to produce a work that was made from scratch. 2D has 15 minutes with the same rules except they can use images from the venue using a digital camera. Motion design has 8 hours to produce a 15-second animation. There are more rules to this one which will be explained later.

Round by Round analysis

Round 1-2 Preliminary heats for 3D design, Competitors that moved on were Gabriel Smetzer from San Francisco, Drausio Fonseca Tronolone from Amsterdam, Stephen Tierney from London, Last one ? (I forgot who the last one was).

This round had it all. It had two people in the first heat finishing early and dancing to Cosmo Baker’s music. It had a lot of people who did not know how to speak English very well scream “I love New York!” Some of my favorite art was one that involved a bird flying through a wall, an image of a Zapper from the old NES console with a “Make Love, Not War” quote. There was also a person who drew a lighter flaring up a grease pipe. There was a guy who continued the whole time making images with hypodermic needles. Finally, there was a field covered up by a yin-yang symbol. The theme for these heats were duality. That means that they had to make an image with two objects that are exact opposites that work together. Overall 5/5

Rounds 3-4 2D Preliminary Heats, Moving on: Janee Meadows from Los Angeles, Miguel Hernandez from New York, Fox Fisher from London, and Marco Gonzalez from Barcelona.

The theme for this round was a lunchbox with a theme of nostalgia. First things first, there was this person from the Amsterdam event, Jordy van den Nieuwendijk. This guy was 100% showboating the whole way. He mainly did this as a competition for the fans and not focusing on winning the competition. Secondly, once he got to the Cartoon Cartoon characters from Cartoon Network (Johnny Bravo and Dexter,) I really hoped he’d lose. Otherwise, some of the artwork I enjoyed was mainly Janee’s where she drew a train with a nostalgic quote coming out of the smoke and one of the competitors from China that drew a teapot chasing a teacup in a forest. Overall, because of Jordy’s drawing, 4.25/5

Before Round 5 analysis, I met two of the competitors for the 2D competition, Janee Meadows and Miguel Hernandez. Both of them were really nice and total class acts all the way. Get ready for the Drag Race later on.

Round 5: 3D Finals, Winner ?

I don’t remember much about this heat. (No Score)

Round 6: Motion Design Finals, Winner: Jake Guttormsson, New York

This was the greatest part of the night, by far. The winning entry, by Jake Guttormsson involved a robot couple giving birth to a robot baby. He won a collaboration deal with Converse to design a commercial for them. Other videos I enjoyed was one with a silhouette of a person jumps into a stampede of silhouette horses. There was also one of a guy bungee jumping off of a cliff. Those were my top three. overall 5/5

Round 7: 2D Finals, Winner: Janee Meadows. Runner up: Marco Gonzalez.

The theme for this was a rock festival poster with a theme of homage. The winning entry was a image of a clenched fist showing that they want to be involved in a revolution. There was also a quote that said “Rock for Revolution.” Marco Gonzalez sort of pissed me off with a poster involving Michael Jackson. I am so sick of hearing about him already that it sickens me. Sure, he was the “King of Pop,” but do we really need to hear about him months after his death? My other favorite was Miguel Hernandez’s ” Fun Life poster, with a fat belly as the background. The winner, Janee Meadows won a collaboration with 55DSL on a t-shirt collection that she will create. overall 4.5/5.

Once again, Cut&Paste amazes me with how creative people can be. The DJ, Cosmo Baker was also excellent. He kept the Reggae to a minimum and played almost no Afrobeat. Thank you Cosmo Baker. Also, a big thank you to Lauren D. for all the things she done for me over the past two weeks. I did my part to her also by advertising it on my blog and reviewing the show as best as I can remember it. Overall score 4.5/5

PS – at least there was no Spider-Man this time.

To find out more about Cut&Paste, visit www.cutandpaste.com.

Cut&Paste 2009 Global Championship

2009 GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

This year’s Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament has made its way through 16 cities and 256 competitors from February – June 2009. 

It now culminates in a battle of the best, champions vs. champions, with the final 2009 tournament event: the first-ever Cut&Paste Global Championship. 

Showcasing the talents of 48 competition winners in 2D, 3D, and motion design, from the North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific regions , the championship event will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Friday, October 16, 2009.

The Global Championship will present the same three competition formats that Digital Design Tournament 2009 has featured throughout the cities on its global tour: 2D, 3D, and motion design. The Global Championship will be putting sixteen competitors onstage for all three competitions. These competitors, forty-eight in all, represent the winning designers from every city on the 2009 Cut&Paste tour. Arriving with at least one successful competition under their belts, the city champions will take the stage again to quickly create designs against the ticking pressure of the clock and under the watchful eyes of the crowd. And this time, the pride of their countries and hometowns, along with their personal reputations, will be on the line.

When:

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Doors open: 7:00pm EST

Show starts: 8:00pm EST

Where:

Hammerstein Ballroom @ Manhattan Center Studios

311 W. 34th Street

New York, NY 10001

Who:

48 Competitors from 3 Competitions and 16 cities. To take a look at their portfolios and winning work from each city, check out the following links:

2D, 3D , Motion Design .

Here are a few more features from the press packet on the event.

Disclaimer – I do not work for Cut&Paste, I am just promoting it because I support these people and all the blood, sweat, and tears they put into putting these events on. These events are extremely entertaining.

This event is being held at the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th St. in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan. The time of the event is 6 PM-10:30 PM(11 PM?) with doors opening at 5 PM. For more information about Cut&Paste, visit www.cutandpaste.com.

Yesterday, I went to see the play End Days at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. The theatre was pretty packed for a Monday. It was pretty close to being sold out.

The story involves a family who moved to suburban NYC in the wake of 9/11. The father, Arthur Stein (played by Peter Friedman) was a survivor of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He is in PTSD mode as he is afraid to go outside after what happened after the attack. Sylvia Stein, the mother, (played by Deirdre O’Connell) is a convert to Christianity and is trying to spread the word that the End Days are coming. Rachel Stein, their daughter (played by Molly Ephraim), is in a goth getup and is the polar opposite of Sylvia.

The story starts with the stalking Nelson Steinberg, (played by Dane DeHaan) who keeps following Rachel home. He dresses in an Elvis costume every day. One scene involves a lunchtime talk with Rachel and Nelson about his obsession with Science. Rachel does not want to talk to Nelson because of him stalking her. He gives her a book by scientist Stephen Hawking. She takes the book and later finds the book interesting. (more on that later.)

Sylvia is hanging out with Jesus (played by Paco Tolson), where she is trying to spread the good word outside of a porn store in their neighborhood. She is trying to prepare for the Rapture, which she thinks is going to happen on Wednesday. Paco also plays Stephen Hawking, who shows up quite a few times to talk to Rachel. This was probably the funniest parts of the play.

There were also quite a few scenes where Nelson and Arthur are preparing for Nelson’s Bar Mitzvah. He teaches him the part of the Torah he has to learn. Nelson has some pretty funny mistakes in the reading.

Some questions to ponder when you go to see this play. Does the rapture actually happen? Does Nelson eventually get the respect from Rachel despite his shortcomings? Does the father eventually start to realize that there is life after 9/11?

Overall this was a very funny play with a little satire of science thrown in for good measure. Overall score – 4/5

Today, I went to the Highline Ballroom to check out the Leonard Cohen tribute choir Conspiracy of Beards. Lets just say that this was the most unique concert experience I have ever seen. The concert was made up of 2 acts, the opener, who was folk singer Peter Whitehead, and the choir. Here is the breakdown of how the two acts stack up.

Peter Whitehead – In the beginning of the set, I thought that he was going to be pretty good, with an excellent voice. He played some of his songs on an acoustic electric guitar, while other songs were played on a sitar. Everything wa going fine until the last two songs. What was up with the weird lyrics in the second to last song? Burn your mother and burn your father was the weird lyric. This song didn’t sit well with me. Also, there was a song that pretty much the only lyrics were “More is More” and “Less is More.” Overall, this was just an okay performance. Performer Score – 3/5

Conspiracy of Beards – Wow! What can I say. A disclaimer before I talk about them. I have no knowledge in the music of Leonard Cohen. I went into this concert blind. This 30-man choir delivered in every way possible. They performed Cohen’s classics in many different choir styles. They performed mostly in Gospel style, Doo-Wop style, and Barbershop style. This really made the music sound fun and exciting for me. The voices of the 30 men have to be some of the best voices I’ve heard in a vocal choir ever. Highly recommended for when they come back to New York possibly next spring. They mainly perform in San Francisco. Performer Score – 5/5

In all, this was an excellent concert once the opening set was completed. The choir was awesome and I highly recommend them, even if your not a Cohen fan. Final Score – 4/5

Find out more about Conspiracy of Beards at www.conspiracyofbeards.com.

Tonight was the deal breaker that makes me give up Hell’s Kitchen for the remainder of the season (until at least part 2 of the Season Finale.) The woman I thought was the best looking woman this season, Carol, was eliminated from contention. I have this idea, it may sound strange but it would help keep the opposite demographic of who the show is aimed at. I call this “Mamacita Immunity” in the case of female oriented reality shows, and I don’t know what the male version of it would be called in male oriented reality shows, where the hottest male gets the immunity.

Here is how the “Mamacita Immunity” system works. First, the producer chooses who he/she thinks is the best looking female/male (depending on demographic orientation.) of the finalist pool. The person who is chosen therefore is immune from elimination (or in the case of the Amazing Race, Non-Elimination Penalties), but not immune from losing the competition. This will keep the male/female (again dependent on opposite target demos) audience intrigued to keep watching the show, while the producers feel that they have added more entertainment value by keeping the rivalries between the contestant for the opposite demographic heated.

I know that this idea is likely a pipe dream that will never come to fruition from a television producer. I personally think that this idea would keep me intrigued in a show like Hell’s Kitchen or some other female oriented reality show. This is just a thought that I had in my head since Danielle and Dani got eliminated from Season 9 of the Amazing Race. (That move made me not watch the rest of the season until the finale, where I knew they would show up at the very end of the episode. That’s my rant, see you Sunday with a new review.

Last weekend, I went to the Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament 2009 at Webster Hall. What it was is four competitors at a time duke it out for digital design supremacy. There were two projectors showing everybody’s every single move in the creation of their project. The other screen showed what was being shown on the webcast on their website. There were three categories that were in the event, 2-D and 3-D design, and motion design. Lets just say that the majority of the work was very good. Lets get on to the breakdown of the three departments.

The first portion I will cover is the 3-D design section of the show. There were only 4 competitors, so there were no elimination rounds. Being that it has been awhile since the event happened, I forgot what the artwork was for this section. I will only mention winners.

Neil Benjamin won the 3-D design tournament. He created something involving a hand in the first round. The other artwork was what looked like the beginning of the reproductive process.

There were two elimination rounds in the 2-D Competition with two advancing to the finals in each round. The winners, plus a comment on one of the losers is coming up.

Miguel Hernandez and Ryan Kennedy won the first heat with similar homages. Miguel’s was a homage to the artist Escher, with an optical illusion of two hands spinning the same record. The other one by Ryan looked like just a homage to the vinyl record. The ones that lost, one had a problem and the other one was not good enough to the judges. Alex Evans, the only female competitor in the tournament, had technical difficulties and could not finish in time. Matthew Lucero created a not too good Polaroid homage.

The second heat sort of pissed me off. One of the ones that didn’t win could have won if he would have added something else. The artist is Ray Sison and his homage was about Spider-Man. Unfortunately, he hasn’t visited marvel.com (sorry for another plug of this) to see the best Spider-Man, the Japanese one. He would have had a better chance if he INCLUDED LEOPARDON (or even the Marveller form) in the image! Enough with the rant, the winners were Tunde Ogunnoiki and Graeme Richardson. Tunde created a homage to Frank Miller, who I think had something to do with the Batman and the Robocop movies (or the comics, I’m not familiar with that guy.) Graeme Richardson I forgot what he drew.

The winner of the final round is Miguel Hernandez, who created a subway ad with the theme, “Freak Out.” He created an ad that took an image from the audience and cropped it into an ad for a fictitious fragrance known as Freak Out. He took a photo of some bartender in the crowd with his shirt off dancing. He also included a caption that exclaimed “This * Works!” (Use your imagination for the asterisk.)

The final event was the motion design, the winner was Jake Guttormsson. He created a video of some caveman bonking people on the head to the tune “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” I thought the one before him, Rodrigo Redondo had the best clip. The video was a 15-second homemade animated music video of Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” Overall the best part of the show.

One more thing, the DJ was awesome. He was Rich Medina. He played a lot of music that I recognized, but it is not the stuff you hear in cookie-cutter Long Island clubs (or even the nightclub portion of Webster Hall.) That means the usual House and Hip-Hop hits and pop remixes of modern day music. Medina played mainly 70′s and 80′s funk, soul, reggae, and afrobeat. Some of the highlights were lots of James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That,” and what I thought was the Rocker’s Revenge version of “Walking on Sunshine” from 1982. It turned out that it was the original 1979 version by Soca singer Eddy Grant (of “Electric Avenue” fame.)

Overall a very fun experience watching art being designed in 20-minute deadlines. I Hope to see more of this in the years to come. Overall score – 4.99/5 due to no Leopardon in the Spider-Man image.

Cut&Paste has their Global Championships on June 20th, 2009 at the Hammerstein Ballroom at 311 W. 34th St. in Hell’s Kitchen. More info at www.cutandpaste.com.