ditto recently hosted a Campfire talk by Ruth Mackenzie, director of the Cultural Olympiad (the arts wing of the London 2012 events). So with that in mind it seems fitting to have a look back at the eclectic graphic design heritage of the games —and like any family tree there has been a mixture of success, failure and even controversy.

The 2012 logo, designed by Wolf Olins falls into the latter category; unveiled in 2007 it met with almost total derision and continues to irk people. Some said it invoked an image of Lisa Simpson performing a sex act, some saw a twisted swastika, and recently, Iran threatened to boycott the games on grounds of racism, claiming that the jagged shapes actually spelt the word “Zion” — and saw it as a coded reference to Israel.

Whether you believe the logo to be a success or a failure, graphically, the point remains that there is a perfectly well-designed Olympic logo in existence — the famous five rings, designed in 1914 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin; representing Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Another nice detail is that every national flag in the world uses at least one of these colours. Why then do we see the need to create a new bolt-on logo every four years. When you also consider that the new logo apparently cost £400,000 you might start to feel somewhat irked too.

A more popular strand of the Olympic graphic lineage is the work by German designer Otl Aicher for the 1972 Munich Olympics. The restrained graphic work is a fine example of the “Swiss Style” — a clean and modernist approach which is still held highly in the opinions of graphic designers. His series of pictograms depicting the different sporting events were so successful that they were reused 4 years later at the Montreal games.

Success & failure — that’s the spirit of the games themselves and how do you judge failure anyway? The new Olympic logo is certainly one of the most memorable — can you immediately recall any logos from previous games? Brash it may be but it has certainly barged in to the public conscience, sparking an ongoing debate. Perhaps we prefer to look back at past endeavours through the rose-tinted lens than to stand nose-to-nose with modern radicalism — and if that is the case, maybe one day, years from now, the 2012 logo will begin to glow with a warm rosey aura and people will fondly say “they don’t make ‘em like that any more”…

As a resident of Whitstable in Kent, I felt it my duty to visit the newly opened Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate just down the coast. The vistas I see every day on my commute to London provided the subject and inspiration for a lot of Turner’s celebrated works.

On arriving in Margate, the huge structure of concrete and metal dominates the seafront and casts an imposing shadow across the beach, not every ones cup of tea as it could easily be mistaken for an aggregate factory.

Once inside (admission is free) you are immediately faced with the first exhibit, which can be viewed from both the entrance hall and first floor balcony. The work is by Daniel Buren and was inspired by the expansive skyline, which so captivated Turner. It comprises of a two story window with translucent yellow stripes framing an enormous circle through which you can look out to sea. The window is reflected in perpendicular mirrors either side to achieve the effect of infinity. The piece certainly provides a bright and sunny first impression to the gallery and an uplifting experience for visitors.

You access the first floor galleries up a flight of stairs, bearing inscriptions which play on interpretations of Turner’s last words (a conceptual piece by Douglas Gordon).

Stand out exhibitors include Conrad Shawcross, who’s fantastic and enormous moving installation throws shadows across the room, with ever expanding and decreasing circles of light, which my nine year old son interpreted as the expansion and contraction of the universe. The light from this piece brings added drama to a huge bronze sculpture of sound waves, and enormous drawings of the harmonics of sound waves drawn by pendulums, using mind bending maths and physics! Impressive stuff.

Another highlight for me was Teresita Fernández, who had two exhibits – ‘Sfumato’ which is formed of pieces of graphite embedded in the wall with vertical streaks emanating from them to depict a cloud of smoke. Another piece on the floor, ‘Eruption’, reflects light to reveal a red glow only when you lean right over it. This was designed to emulate the sensation of looking into a live volcano.

I would personally have liked to see more reference to Turner himself. I know he’s no longer ‘contemporary’ but one or two originals would have set the scene rather well. The piece for me that best reflected his work was ‘Arcadia’ by Ellen Harvey, which was installed in a huge blacked out beach hut. The work within consisted of a number of mirrors, hung at different levels, with scenes of Margate etched into the reflective material so back lighting could shine through. This allowed the viewer to see their illuminated reflection in the shadows of the pictures. This impressive display was apparently a scale recreation of Turners own gallery and the scenes depicted were the same scenes displayed there at the time of his death.

Although I enjoyed the work on display and it occupied half an hour or so (worth the trip from Whitstable) I feel I might be somewhat disappointed if I’d come all the way from London. My son, quite rightly, expected something more interactive from a purpose built contemporary exhibition space and I felt that there should have been more on show considering the size of the building.

For more info visit Turner Contemporary Galler

Last week, Tech Lab discussed the security fears of Playstation Network. This week, with recent virus attacks for Apple users, and Amazon’s Cloud service failing, how much trust can we place in these digital spaces?

The cloud. A byword for modern internet based computing and remote storage of data. The data exists in an ethereal internet space, an apparently sterile environment. Spread over hi-tech servers in vaults across the world; free from harm, loss or intrusion. A recent study by Axios Systems reveals 68% of Global Organisations are planning to adopt a cloud strategy.

So in late April, when a key part of Amazon’s EC2 cloud service collapsed, many businesses using the service were left stranded. Internet goliaths like Reddit and Foursquare were offline for days.

Apple too, long unaffected by viruses and malware has too been under attack recently. Since early May, a fake security program called MACDefender has racked up hundreds of victims. The internet pop-up urges users to install the malware posing as security software. Although there is much less malware created for Macs, Apple users are still susceptible to the threat.

So with an air of mistrust and fear around tech, it is a difficult climate for Barclays and Orange to launch it’s Mobile wallet. The service will allow users to pay for purchases up to £15. Designed to enable more convenient purchasing on the move, users will need a compatible mobile phone which simply needs to be held against a reader to make payment.

In the digital life we are being asked to place more trust in technology, whilst there are clear mistakes are being made by huge corporations. It is inevitable that new tech creates new avenues from criminals. By storing ever more of our lives in the digital space, we are creating new opportunity for technological failures and cyber attack by criminals. In the material life, we accept that ownership of physical things comes with risk – be it damage, loss, theft etc. So we insure against it. We know that money can be taken from us by force, and our house could burn down – but we don’t eschew houses and money as a result. We mitigate the risk where possible, but accept the remaining risk as part of the cost of the benefits of money/housing. It is ditto’s opinion that technology like this is beneficial, and the start of a revolution which we should embrace. Your information and money being stored in a virtual world is a natural evolution of our integration with technology. Yes, we are placing huge trust in the virtual world – so companies such as Playstation and Apple need to act positively and quickly to patch any holes in their offering. These flaws in security and reliability should not be made at the users expense. We are relying on their strength and resilience to accompany us into an ever more digital existence. When in doubt though, vote with your wallet – do your research, and go where you feel you can be most confident. You can be sure that for a large tech corporation there is no greater incentive towards fixing a problem, than watching customers leave.

If variety is the spice of life then life in ditto’s film and video department has been a veritable vindaloo of late, taking us on a multitude of missions both cultural and commercial.

In March we were commissioned to document the final show in a tour marking the reformation and new album from ‘80s electronic legends Blancmange who found fame with such classics as ‘Living on the Ceiling’ and ‘Blind Vision’. Front man Neil Arthur paid us a visit in the studio, and the man whose music made a huge impact on me and my older colleagues in our teenage years proved to be a perfect gent.

The gig took place at Koko in Camden, and we took a four-camera crew for the performance itself – all mixed live. The band pulled off an amazing performance despite the absence of founder member Stephen Luscombe who was unable to perform due to illness. The new material stood up really well alongside the back catalogue, which proved an emotional and nostalgic journey for the packed venue.

In addition we captured interviews with the band, documented Neil Arthur’s meet and greet with his fans and filmed vox pops of the audience before and after. If this is work we love it!

Two weeks later we found ourselves under Waterloo station in the Old Vic tunnels to live mix and capture the action for the UK launch of the Lucozade ‘Yes’ campaign. The purpose of the event was to recreate the vibe of the TV advert which features Tinie Tempah, boxers and drummers in a similarly seedy tunnel in New York.

Tinie Tempah introduced the new ad. This was followed by the British boxing team sparring on a stage at one end of the tunnel. Behind them was a live projection of the London Guns performing a percussion set in a boxing ring, which was happening simultaneously at the other end of the tunnel, with the boxers projected behind them. Confusing eh? Well it was ditto’s job to make sense of it all by capturing and live mixing the action for projection. We also documented and edited the whole event from start to finish for web release. This five-camera shoot provided stunning results.

Then, barely pausing for breath, the following week we found ourselves, a three-camera crew, in the awesome surroundings ofBattersea power station filming an exhibition by NEC, the cutting edge providers of display solutions. We created seven videos and provided a web platform to demonstrate their capabilities in touch screen technology, augmented reality, architectural mapping, and a plethora of other amazing display technology. There was even face analysing tech which identified your age and sex and displayed advertising aimed at your demographic (although it did add 10 years to mine which is a worry).

We had the edited videos online the very next day. A gruelling schedule to say the least. To see the results please visit www.sharetheexperience.tv/nec

ditto film and video looks forward to another exciting month which will take us to the Ministry of Sound for a further engagement with the Lucozade ‘Yes’ campaign. This time it’s halfpipes, skateboards and very loud music.

Watch this space.

ditto were recently commissioned to capture and create a dual screen live edit for the launch party for the new Lucozade Yes advertising campaign, featuring Tinie Tempah, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, and boxer Katie Taylor.  With the advert having been filmed in a moody subterranean setting in glamorous Los Angeles, my expectations were peaked as to what the UK leg would entail – oh the lights and glamour to come.

Stepping into the Old Vic tunnels at Waterloo and seeing what appeared to be an empty, rat-infested sinkhole, with overhead rumblings every 10 minutes, was not what I had envisaged. However six short hours and various minor miracles later, the area had been transformed into the cinematic urban backdrop we needed, and the perfect setting for a launch party featuring Tinie Tempah, The London Guns and the GB Boxing team.

The tunnel was booked-ended by a pair of purpose built stages, each atmospherically lit, and flanked by dittos edited projections of the opposite stage. As the great and the good began to arrive, and the champagne to flow, the surroundings were starting to look every inch the party venue.

Accompanied by a hefty entourage, Tinie Tempah entered the main tunnel, and hopped onstage to give a brief introduction to his involvement in the Lucozade Yes campaign. Safe to say flying to LA to work with talent including Barker, Taylor and director Jake Nava is a good day in the office even by Tinie’s standards.  As the advert finally began to play, the choice of venue truly made itself clear as an inspired choice, as the sonics boomed around the tunnels.

The London Guns (Gary Powell and Adam Fieck, previously of The Libertines and Babyshambles respectively) rocked up onto one stage, with the GB Boxing team assembling on the opposite stage. The duo began to play a live mix of drums to a specially comissioned track, while at the other end of the tunnel the boxers began putting each through their paces with a training session demonstration. dittos 8 strong camera and edit crew fired hi octane edits to both ends of the venue helping the evening reach its crescendo.

Forty – five minutes later, and having slightly deafened all those present, the event drew to a close. We packed up our kit and watched, as the tunnels returned to the cold and dingy state.  Feeling pretty proud of having captured such amazing footage, and been a part of a great night, we bundled kit and crew into cabs to head back to the Lighthouse.  But not before grabbing a couple of cheeky Tinie Tempah autographs.

Check out the advert on YouTube.

At ditto, we take tech seriously. Even the not so serious tech!

We produce fantastic App’s for business. However, on the side, we are gamers, music makers, video producers. In the last week, we have all been enthralled by the music software, Garage Band for iPad. Offering a fantastic GUI and brilliant ease of use, the studio’s iPads have never been more sought after! And at £2.99, a bargain. ditto recommends!

With technology as a daily staple for us, we were all shocked to hear that one of computer gaming’s backbones had been compromised. On the 6th of April the Playstation Network service went offline, and to this date, has not been regained. This Network allows connection of over 70 million users, for gaming, purchasing and communication services. As any user will tell you, Network access is imperative to the rich gaming experience Playstation 3 offers.

Games such as Call of Duty which thrive on online multiplayer have now been offline for over a month. Services such as the Playstation store, which offers purchasing and stores customer’s credit card details are also offline. As are third party services like those from Netflix and Love Film.

Although offering a proposed welcome back package which includes identity theft insurance, Sony faces a difficult recovery from the incident.

It is ditto’s view that the integrity of the user experience is now irrevocably damaged. With huge competition from Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo for market share, Sony will struggle regain lost customers.

Many of us grew up with the Sony Playstation brand. In the late 90’s, countless teenage boy’s bedrooms were adorned with a poster of Lara Croft, a Sony game character. It offered grown up gaming for a generation no longer enthralled by 2D puzzles. Titles like Grand Theft Auto, offered sex and violence just as we were seeing in the cinemas. Playstation’s always had the best graphics too, and although a premium priced console, it was always the one to have.

Many users have been enjoying the brand since Playstation One (1994), developing a real relationship with the company. But the same users who have faithfully followed each iteration of Sony’s console are now moving on. Sony have broken our confidence by losing our highly sensitive personal information and have been ambiguous and disorganised about fixing the problems. Sony’s last update to fans was on May 5th when they announced they were, ‘dedicated to restoring a full and safe service.’ However the information of what data was lost and what exactly is going on is still unpublished. For users that are accustomed to a gaming session every evening or weekend, it has seemed like a lifetime. The compensation package of insurance and premium services is great but really users want some transparency to help win trust back. After all, this is a brand close to many of us, and our loyalty should be respected.

And for the moment the Playstation 3 is gathering dust. And a Xbox 360 is on its way…

As we all know, on the 11^th of March a huge earthquake and tsunami hit Japan killing over 10,000. A number of big events and stories have overshadowed the full extent of the tragedy – but on Sunday May 22^nd there is a fun way you can help out.

I’m organising an event at The Bethnal Green Workingmen’s Club entitled ‘Yujo Enkai” (literally ‘friendship party’) in aid of the Tsunami appeal. The event runs all day and is split into two sections. During the afternoon it’s open doors at the club for workshops, stalls, food, music, games, kids stuff, prizes etc. Then in the evening we have a show with a great line up of bands, comedians, dancers, burlesque performers, acrobats and more.

Come down and join the fun, safe in the knowledge that in doing so you’re doing a little to help the people of Japan. We also still need people to help in various way – stage hands, acts, prize donations and generally spreading the word.

Details can be found at www.yujoenkai.co.uk

Domo arigato gozaimasu

Joan Miró is one of those artists that makes you wonder what was going on his mind; his works a collection of motifs drawn from the realm of memory and the subconscious with great use of fantasy and imagination.

Born in Barcelona in 1893, his work shows a wide range of influences, which include the bright colours of the Fauves, fragmented forms of Cubism and the two-dimensional Catalan Romanesque frescoes. In 1920 he moved to Paris, meeting Pablo Picasso.

Miró grabs from the memory, fantasy and the irrational to create works that are visual analogues of surrealist poetry. These dreamlike visions, such as the Catalan Peasant with a Guitar, Harlequin’s carnival or Dutch interior, often behave in a humorous or fantastic way, containing distorted images of animals playing, twisted organic shapes and odd geometric constructions.

The compositions of these works are organised on neutral flat backgrounds and are painted with a limited range of bright colours, especially blue, red, yellow, green and black.

El campesino catalán de la guitarra (Catalan Peasant with a Guitar), 1924.Oil on canvas.

El Carnaval de Arlequín (Harlequin’s Carnival), 1924-25. Oil on canvas.

Interior holandés (Dutch Interior), 1928. Oil on canvas.

Identified with the Republican cause, after the start of World War II Miró returned to Spain in 1940, where he led a secluded life throughout the Franco dictatorship. After that he experimented with other artistic media. However, the creations that have greater significance are his ceramic sculptures, among which the large ceramic Wall mural of the Moon and Sun (1957-1959) for the UNESCO building in Paris, and the wall of the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions in Madrid.

La pared de la Luna y La pared del Sol (Wall mural of the Moon and Sun) (1957-1959)

For me, what makes Miró so iconic and one of my favourite Spanish modern artists, is his way of creating astonishing, beautiful and striking paintings from a pallet of very basic shapes and colours. His production can be seen in the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, opened in 1975. And closer to home, from now, until September, Tate hosts a must-see exhibition of one of the greats of modern art.

Miró Tate Modern
14 April  –  11 September 2011
Admission £15
Concession £13.50

Last Thursday it was the opening of the London West Bank studios. It’s a brand new space in West London’s Westbourne Grove, taking up three floors (10,000 sq ft) of a charismatic building that previously housed a bank (hence the name) but which has been ‘bailed out’ in recent years, becoming a huge gallery instead.

On the opening night, not only was the art on the walls a riot of colour but the vibe was brightened by gigantic green tentacles coming out of the roof, music performances on the second floor, live painting and some surreal installations. It was an excellent turn out as huge crowds clogged the entrance to the building, and all in all a super exciting event to attend.

The exhibition, called ‘Urban Invasion’, is definitively one you shouldn’t miss out on if you love street art and stencils. It is a collection of original works of art produced by many of the leading urban artists of the moment. We were privileged to watch some of them, like Inkie (graffiti), Fin DAC (street art) and David Walker (fine art), painting on large canvasses in the courtyard. These three canvasses, in my opinion, were some of the best of the show, demonstrating flawless technique.

I was impressed when I discovered that these works were then sold off during the show, with the proceeds going towards their chosen charity, War Child, which protects children living in the world’s most dangerous war zones.

Congratulations to the whole team involved who showed the world what can be done for the current art scene by converting a disused building in the heart of a busy shopping street into a happening cultural hot-spot. I enjoyed many artworks and I was astonished by the installations and sculptures of Lucy Sparrow. I’ve never seen anything from her before but I’ll definitely dig around to find more stuff.

They say actions speak louder than words – but perhaps the most powerful messages are delivered through the combination of the two. And so it is with Martin Finn.

Just over a year ago, Martin’s best friend Ed Meek died suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving his three children to be cared for by their mother alone. Being young and in apparent good health, Ed had not made detailed plans for what would happen if he were no longer around. It’s been very hard for his family.

In an effort to provide some support Ed’s family, Martin bravely decided, along with a group of friends, to instigate a sponsored cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats – a distance of over 1,000 miles. This would be no mean feat at the best of times, but by Martin’s own admission he has been many years out of the saddle. A great cause, and a great deal of action. The other part of the equation is provided by Martin’s moving and entertaining blog, charting their progress as they traversed the length of this isle, under their own steam.

Martin et al may have now successfully completed their task, but if you’d like to get involved in any way at all, please visit Martin’s webpage, where there are details of how to donate. Every penny we commit will go straight to the cause.

There is no benefactor that can help them, no family member, social welfare, insurance policy or Fairy Godmother. Just the love of friends and the warmth of strangers. Whatever you can give will go a long way. It only takes a minute…

As Martin said himself: what would you do if it were your best friend?