Why do I like Stop Motion videos so much?

Okay, I admit it...I like stop motion videos. Why, I'm not so sure.

• Is it the amount of time that it takes to take all these pictures?
  
• Is it the forethought and planning that goes into each and every meaningful photograph?
  
• Is it that care with which the stop motion director flawlessly executes that wows me?
  
• Is it that the story is unfolding, literally, before my eyes?
  
• Is it because I view stop motion videos as exemplars of perseverance?
  
• Or, is it because there's value in understanding that we can overlay a frame-by-frame lens to view our dynamic and fluid world? 
  

Perhaps after viewing this short stop motion video, you can help me understand why I like them so?

Jetsons, anyone?

I grew up watching the Jetsons. Perhaps you did too? This disclosure ages me, but it's worth sharing with you given the recent news from Terrafugia, a startup formed with graduates from MIT. They are developing a car that morphs to its plane form in 20 seconds. After your flight (of no more than 500 miles), you can be back on the road and parking in your single car garage. I wonder if it makes the same sound as the Jetson's version (click here to hear, courtesy of dailywav.com).

The Newest Crossover SUV

Have you seen this new crossover SUV? Actually, it's not real. I came across this in my reading of Tim Brown's Design Thinking blog. It is one blogger's idea of what the Smart Cars of the future could look like. Click here to see the rest of the images.

I got a kick out of the pictures and thought my readers might like 'em too.

PivotLok Video Montage

One of my Senior Experience teams worked this semester with a local entrepreneur on his PivotLok Benchtop Work Positioner product. The team developed a handful of videos to help market and create awareness for this interesting product. As with some entrepreneurial ideas, the PivotLok is a solution to a problem. The difficulty lies in specifically defining the problem that it can serve as a solution to.

When talking with entrepreneurs, I get the sense that most of them find a problem and solve it. In this case, Jim West (the creator of the PivotLok) is a "shop guy" who used his mechanical aptitude to create a really interesting product. When people see it and work with it, they get it and want to buy it. However, Jim's discovered that it's incredibly time-consuming to get this product in people's hands to interact with it. Because of this, he asked the students to create videos to show what the PivotLok can do. Here's their short commercial that introduces the PivotLok:


The students also a few stop motion videos to whimsically present the range of motion of the PivotLok. Here's one with an interesting soundtrack:


Early on in the project, one of the students wondered if they could use the popular song "I Like to Move It, Move It" and change it to "I Like to Pivot, Pivot". Here's what resulted from that inquiry:

CSUSM gets in on the crowdsourcing concept for new logo

With little fanfare, CSUSM is getting on the crowdsourcing train. As our youngish campus nears its 20th birthday, the admininstration is looking for a new logo to incorporate during this important rite of passage. Over the 9 years I've been here, we've had 2 logos. The logo currently in use is what I refer to as the seagull/hill logo, while the previous logo was much more academic and stoic.

If you are--or know someone who is--a creative individual and have some graphic skill, please submit your design here: http://www.crowdspring.com/projects/graphic_design/logo/logo_california_state_university_san_marcos/details

Answers in the Everyday...from Afrigadget

Afrigadget is one of my favorite blogs to read. I originally came across the blog while developing a class session on repurposing products. I wanted to challenge business students to see beyond the obvious and taken-for-granted in their surroundings. The latest posting provides another glimpse into the resourcefulness and ingenuity that is evident in developing countries. As a teaser and as a prompting to visit the blog, look at this photo from Afrigadget and see if you can find an "answer in the everyday". How long did it take you to see it?

Tweetphoto...latest and greatest from a CSUSM alum

My students and I had the great fortune of hearing from another CSUSM alum, Sean Callahan, co-founder of tweetphoto.com.  You may remember that Sean was a guest speaker (albeit via Skype videoconference) in my Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship class last semester.  At that time, he was launching addsyou.com, a web-based publishing service that is kicking off here in the next week or two.  Good things are happening with addsyou, but Sean is even more animated about the future prospects for tweetphoto.  

Since I'm not a Twitter-er and I don't Facebook, I'm not in his target market.  Nevertheless, the students and I enjoyed interacting with him and hearing how the idea came to be and how his talented international team is using user feedback and competitive analysis to continually refine their service.  The site will launch (beta version) later this month.

My students were interested to learn how Sean is currently using crowdsourcing (via crowdspring.com) to generate a finalized logo design for his new venture.  While I've mentioned this concept a couple of times in class, the students can now see a living and breathing example of how crowdsourcing is used.

I'm regularly impressed by my current entrepreneurially-minded students at Cal State San Marcos and hearing from our entrepreneurial alums reminds me that we're doing things right. 

*update: to read Sean's account of our session today, click through to his blog.*