Talks - Portable.tv

Andy Jenkins at Semi-Permanent Melbourne

2010-09-09T14:41:46Z

Semi-Permanent Melbourne 2009 Montage from Semi Permanent on Vimeo.

The organisers of this year’s Semi-Permanent event in Melbourne have truly outdone themselves, rounding up some of the world’s most interesting and prolific creatives types to speak at the two-day event. From Leif Podhajsky, a Melbourne-based graphic designer we have to thank for Tame Impala’s ‘Innerspeaker’ record cover, to Simon Allen, an animator from Pixar, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will be practically imploding with all the creative energy buzzing about next weekend.

One of the speakers we’re most excited for is Andy Jenkins, a Californian who’s been working as the art director of Girl Skateboards since 1994 and who co-founded Homeboy and Dirt magazines with close friend and Portable favourite Spike Jonze.

Of the Semi-Permanent event, Andy says, “Honestly, this scares the shit out of me, but I feel like I need to test myself. The last time I tried speaking publicly, I was introduced as Andy JERKins and my brain to mouth connection failed so badly I had to be bailed out by my fellow speaker and BMX legend, Bob Haro (who was perfect). So if you happen to be in Melbourne, Australia on September 18th, drop by and witness either a flaming fiasco, or a one hour slideshow retrospective of my work… I’m leaning toward success this time around, if only because I’m in my 40s now and not a know-it-all 22 year old. And, by the way, I’m not too sure I ever thanked Haro for the save back in 1986. Thanks Bob.”

Tickets you say?

You can purchase tickets for the events and learn more about the speakers here. Don’t leave Andy hanging.

Kings of Leon's Grandmother Loves Them Again

2010-09-09T12:35:11Z

Kings Of Leon talk about “Radioactive” kingsofleon on YouTube

The Twitterverse (which is totally a thing, despite that spell-check thinks) has been a-buzzin' the last few days with every second network/radio station/music blog declaring they’ve got the “EXCLUSIVE! New Kings of Leon Track! Only Here! Nowhere Else!” etc.

After the firey sex on their last album (‘Only by the Night’) lost them a good chunk of the fans who dug them in the early 2000s (and won them millions more new ones), the Kings look set to return, in part, to their Southern-Preacher’s-Son roots with the tune Radioactive, from their upcoming fifth LP ‘Come Around Sundown’.

If the interviews with the band and those gorgeous shots of a gospel choir singing their hearts out in a barn (where else!?) in the video above have you wanting more, you can check out a high quality version of the new Radioactive clip here.

Erik Beck: Shark Fighter

2010-09-02T11:19:31Z

We don’t think we’ve ever seen anyone having this much fun in a prescription scuba mask! Portable’s special Australian visitor, Erik Beck from Indy Mogul, is not leaving any stone or piece of coral unturned in his great adventure down under.

After psyching everyone up for his visit and asking for suggestions of what to see, eat and do, Erik spent some time on Hamilton Island in Queensland. Donning a wetsuit and hanging with some great whites, he then dried himself off to present at Portable’s Next New Networks events in Adelaide (where he ate “the most amazing and huge burger I had ever had”) and Sydney.

He’s in Melbourne tonight: ticket and event information here. Get in quick so you don’t miss out!

Who Is Alec Monopoly?

2010-09-01T12:52:38Z

Alec Monopoly is a name you may not recognise, but if you’ve hung out in downtown Los Angeles in the last couple years, chances are you’ve seen one of his Mr. Monopoly characters plastered across the city. The elusive street artist recently sat down with Huffington Post contributor, John Ennis, to discuss where he draws his inspiration, and how his work fits into everything else that’s going on in the L.A. landscape.

Interesting side note: Did you know that the official title of Mr. Monopoly is ‘Rich Uncle Pennybags?’ The character has served as a mascot for the Parker Brothers board game since it’s inception in 1939 (the same year the ‘shit hit the fan’). Also, he has a nephew called Randy who may or may not be part woman. True story.

[via The Huffington Post]

The West Coast is the Best Coast

2010-08-30T12:03:01Z

The Stories of Best Coast (Interview) from SUPERSWEET on Vimeo.

One of the best bands to emerge from California in the last few years wears its love of the West Coast proudly on its sleeve…literally. Bethany Cosentino, frontwoman of Best Coast has, among her other scattered tattoos, an outline of her home state on her forearm and in this video you can see just how strong her relationship with the place is.

Thanks to SuperSweet, Beth and her bandmates Bobb Bruno and Ali Koehler sat down with a map of LA (minus the directions to stars' homes) and a pile of post-its and mapped out the places and times that played a part in building Best Coast. From the hospital they were born, to Bethany’s favourite record store and the place they had their first rehearsal as a trio, they’re doing a good job at selling the West to us!

If that little trip around the hills didn’t satisfy your Best Coast cravings, then perhaps this will. The Tripwire tagged along with Beth as she got a manicure and set about grilling her on celebrity news. Who would’ve thought such a sassy, smart broad would share our love of Snooki and the guilty pleasure that is Speidi. We also learn that she’s a keen Drake fan, which readers of the Best Coast blog would already be aware of.

Getting a Manicure with Bethany Cosentino from The Tripwire on Vimeo.

Werner Herzog Won't Take Your Calls

2010-08-26T13:16:43Z

@misterwheeler | Werner Herzog from FirstLookStudios on YouTube

If you could ask Werner Herzog one thing, what would it be? “What do shoes taste like?” would probably our first query, but that’s not the point.

The point is that FirstLook Studios, who released Herzog’s 2009 film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans, recently hosted a Q & A with the director (who is taking time out from being terrifying to plug the other film he made last year, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done) and invited their Twitter buds to do the asking.

We don’t know what it says about us, but we find the answer he gave to @misterwheeler’s “Do you own a cell phone?” question pretty funny and cute, in a cranky-old-man-on-a-bus kind of way.

iMagazine

2010-08-24T12:35:11Z

The world’s first mobile Augmented Reality Special Magazine Edition from metaioAR on YouTube

People have been booking taxis, ordering pizzas and meeting potential lovers with their iPhones for years (like, two years), and now the device allows those who own smart-phones (smart-phowners?) to get more out of their magazines that the plebs who don’t.

While many magazines are folding as a result of both the GFC and the compared ease (and cost) of reading their content online, German magazine Sueddeutsche Zeitung has embraced technology by creating a special edition featuring “the world’s first mobile augmented reality”.

By downloading an App. and running your phone over certain pages of the magazine, you can access exclusive content, like 3D images and a cover that comes to life. You can also spoil everyone’s fun and learn the answers to the crossword.

via The Awl

Erik is getting excited!

2010-08-23T17:40:56Z

Erik's Australian Adventure Blog #1 from Erik Beck on Vimeo.

In his first video blog Erik is asking your advice on what to do and how to prepare for what should be an awesome Outback adventure. Hilarious! This guy is going to be cracker. We already have front row seats. Secretly hoping he brings the puppet!

Tickets are being snapped up like Tim Tams at a diet factory! Tickets are $48 Full Price, $40 Concession

Book now

ADELAIDE, Tuesday 31st August

SYDNEY, Wednesday 1st of September

MELBOURNE, Thursday 2nd of September

To check out the rest of Erik’s video blogs check go to: indymogul.com/downunder

Geting to Know a New Yorker

2010-08-23T11:03:36Z

GTKU - Jonna & Olivia from Trevz New Pop on Vimeo.

“Life is like a box of chocolates, so are people.” This Tom Hanks-inspired idiom is the focus of the Getting to Know You project, an initiative of one of our favourite blogs, The New Pop.

Thanks to this series of short portraits (shortraits?), we’ve met people like Jonna and Olivia, Kevin the comedian and Sarah, who drives an ice cream truck called the Hearts Challenger.

While each video gives us a taste of a different side of New York, they all carry that same unique New York (say it five times fast!) flavour; they are friendly but offer short responses, they take advantage of good weather by spending their time in the park, and they don’t work boring, nine-to-five jobs. In other words, they are our favourite kinds of people!

B'Ball Creativity: Make Something Workshops

2010-08-18T14:52:00Z

Make Something Recap from Curated Magazine on Vimeo.

It’s the lead-up to the World Basketball Festival and you’re collaborating with Eric Elms to design a mural, helping Andrew Jefferey Wright design some posters, Carri Munden from UK label Cassette Playa is looking over your costume designs and you’re laying down some fresh beats with A-Trak. Pinch me I’m dreaming? Have I gone to design heaven? Founder Aaron Rose talks us through the mindblowing opportunities that were granted to kids aged 14-18 in the New York Tri-State area who participated in art, design, music, fashion workshops for Make Something. This amazing opportunity funded by Nike and Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum wrapped up yesterday and looked like a barrel of fun. Here’s hoping they share the love and it tours to a town near you next time around.

The Internet is Twitter's Rushmore

2010-08-13T14:30:19Z

Meet the Class of Twitter HQ from Twitter on YouTube

I really think that Twitter and I would get along. We both like telling people every minuscule, banal detail of our lives (thanks for letting me do that, by the way. You’re a good guy, Twitter) and we both really dig Jason Schwartzman’s breakout performance in Wes Anderson’s breakout “Wes Anderson” film, Rushmore.

Inspired by the sequence detailing all the clubs Schwartzman’s iconic character Max Fischer belongs to in the film, the staff at Twitter HQ set about recreating it. They even managed to squish in a reference to The Office’s Finer Things Club in there. Just for good measure, let’s go back and watch the original and compare.

Jason Schwartzman: Weatherman.

2010-08-12T14:48:39Z

Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman Do Atlanta Weather on YouTube

I think we all take the job weather-ladies and -men do for granted. Pointing to a blue screen and pretending there are pictures of smiley face suns there is a lot harder than it looks, as you’d know if you ever took one of those interactive school-group tours of a news station. If you didn’t though, you’re in luck: Jason Schwartzman is here to show us all how hard it is to point at the right things and not get hit by mass transit vehicles.

During their press tour for Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Schwartzman and Michael Cera stopped by the local Atlanta news station and wound up reading the weather. Or trying to, anyway. The video really says more than we ever could, including a visual description of just how good moustaches and baseball caps can look together.

via slashfilm

Terry Gilliam Talks Arcade Fire and Teen Wolf

2010-08-09T10:54:20Z

Arcade Fire – UNSTAGED: Pre-Show Behind the Scenes from ArcadeFireVEVO on YouTube

You might’ve noticed how hyped we were in the lead-up to this past weekend’s Arcade Fire show. Not because we would be at Madison Square Garden watching it, but because we could watch the Terry Gilliam-directed webcast from the comfort of our homes.

Not only can we watch clips from the show on the band’s YouTube channel, there is also a handful of behind-the-scenes tidbits featuring the eccentric director to whet our special-features-loving appetites. In this one, Gilliam faffs about on the piano and questions frontman Win Butler’s decision to purchase his film Time Bandits as well as a Teen Wolf/Teen Wolf Too double DVD pack.

Watch right to the end for some classic ridiculous Gilliam shenanigans. Spoiler Alert: Arcade Fire are robots.

Jason Bateman: Exhausted Veteran

2010-08-06T14:16:45Z

Red Band Trailer Episode 103 – “Master Bateman” from redbandtrailer on YouTube

Our favourite unconventional, pregnant internet talk show hostess Diablo Cody is no longer pregnant (her baby boy was born over the weekend) but is still dragging her famous friends into her Airstream trailer to grill them.

Previous guests/visitors/victims include Adam Brody and Chelsea Handler, and for episode three of Red Band Trailer, Cody jumped out of her pool and quizzed Juno star Jason Bateman about the Arrested Development movie (spoiler alert: it’s not good news), being the youngest inductee to the Directors' Guild of America, what he would call his grandmother if he spoke Spanish, and his life as a child star (including a little spanking on Little House on the Prairie).

To refresh your memory of Bateman’s early years, see this, this, this and this.

Walk Across America

2010-08-03T10:36:34Z

Walk Across America – Behind the Scenes from walkUSA on YouTube

Remember a few years ago when a video of some guy called Matt doing a super dorky dance with people all over the world went viral? The guy’s got over 50 million YouTube views to his name and a Google search for “Matt” directs you to his site. He’s pretty much the king of the internet.

The Walk Across America project is kind of a re-imagining of Matt’s project. This time, though, a time-lapse/stop-motion short features Mike (a model/actor) walking from New York to San Francisco, giving a few high-fives along the way. He also starts resembling a Second Life avatar at about the one-minute mark.

Check out the map of Mike’s journey here.

LRG Artist Driven Series - Pose

2010-07-28T16:39:32Z

Artist Driven with Pose | Los Angeles from LRG on Vimeo.

Chicago-based street artist Pose shows off the amazing creativity, control and flair he has over his spray cans in the first of Lifted Research Group (LRG)’s Artist Driven Series. From the get-go LRG have aimed to support independent and underground culture and are showcasing their support in this series of artist profiles. In this installment, Pose discusses his collaborations with LRG and how creative freedom and a bagload of talent go a long way. We’re basically gobsmacked and totally mesmerized with the way he he creates this wall piece for LRG.

An Idiot Abroad

2010-07-27T17:24:46Z

An Idiot Abroad | Karl Pilkington’s Seven Wonders Of The World from GervMerchPilk on YouTube

Fans of pre-Hollywood Ricky Gervais will be pleased to hear the funnyman has once again teamed up with Steve Merchant (his co-creator of The Office and Extras) for a new television series. This time, though, the focus will move away from Gervais and settle on the shiny head of Karl Pilkington, the star of the record-breaking Ricky Gervais Show podcast.

An Idiot Abroad: Karl Pilkington’s Seven Wonders of the World will follow the not-very-intrepid traveler as he visits the world’s most famous places, including Egypt’s Pyramids (where he complains about their poor use of space), Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer (that he says, “looks like a pylon”) and India’s Taj Mahal (which doesn’t have much “curb appeal”), while Ricky and Steve observe from their office in London.

“I can’t wait to get started,“ Pilkington told Sky1, where the series will air next month, "Not ‘cos I’m excited but ‘cos the sooner we start the sooner it will be over. The fact the nurse gave me an injection that protects me from dirty chimps put a dampener on the whole thing.”

A Tour of Nikki S. Lee

2010-07-23T12:56:42Z

The Creators Project Meets Nikki S. Lee from Creators Project on Vimeo.

Rather than taking photographs of different sub-cultural groups around the world, South Korean artist Nikki S. Lee has made a name for herself out of transforming her identity to conform with those groups and photographing herself seamelessly fitting in with them.

In this new video from The Creators Project, Nikki leads us through her life and her most notable works. Projects saw her become, between 1997 and 2001, everything from a drag queen to a senior citizen, a skateboarder, a Korean schoolgirl and one-half of a lesbian couple. Her more recent photographic work, Parts (2002-2005) consisted of images of Nikki and a person she had a close relationship with…who had been cut out of the frame. In October 2006 her film A.K.A. Nikki S. Lee premiered at MoMA, and her most recent series Layers, which featured sketches of her face by international street portrait artists, was shown last year.

Inspirational Artists: Pascal Campion

2010-07-21T17:27:07Z

Pascal Campion is a San Fransico based illustrator and animator, who, among other things, has worked as an art director for Disney. In a recent spotlight on the artist, Anthony Vu explores how Campion approaches his work, and what inspires his unique aesthetic. Explaining the reasoning behind the profile, Vu writes:

“Every Monday through Friday morning for the past 4 years, I have gotten an email from my friend, Pascal. In fact, I have an entire folder dedicated to Pascal Campion with over 1,000 e-mails. And in each email is an attached image. It’s his “Sketch of the Day (SOTD).” Every SOTD is a story that Pascal tells with his amazing talent. Pascal has thousands of fans following his SOTD, but if you ask him, he’ll tell you that they are not fans, they are all his friends. That just the type of person he is. This video is a glimpse into his process and his insight. Watch as he translates emotion into art.

If you’re in San Diego, you can catch Campion in booth G03 at Comic-Con, which kicks off tomorrow, and runs until July 25.

Tied Together - Nike (RED)

2010-07-21T12:36:07Z

Nike and charity (RED) collaborated on this international initiative to fight HIV and Aids in Africa. By purchasing Nike’s (RED) laces, people were able to directly contribute to the project with 100% of the profits funding health education through soccer and medication. The Tied Together project is a part of this campaign and all through NYC, London, Milan, Berlin and Paris artists, designers, musicians, cyclists, skaters and general big-hearted folk were inspired to make a difference and participate in a 120 hour global relay race to help raise awareness of the Nike (RED) initiative. This video, directed by Kai Regan, documents the different approaches to Tied Together and interviews participants throughout the 5 participating cities.