Hollywood came to Manchester in 2010 to recreate 1930s Brooklyn on a grand old backstreet right in the heart of the city. The elegant ghost of the past was evoked with plastic lamp posts and chipboard shopfronts creating a world so convincing that local residents begged the film crew to leave the set standing when they left. Tax incentives and the world’s most respected film industry means that Uncle Sam often comes to Britain to make his movies. Alfie was remade in Manchester’s Northern Quarter just down the road from Dale Street where Captain America staged a chase scene. Continue reading
Design
Captain America
Categories: Design, Photography, Random, Travel, Vibe Monitor
Tags: 2010, Captain America, Dale Street, Film, Manchester, movie, Movie Set, movies
7 Comments
Vampire Trumpet Chimney
Vampire Trumpet Street sculpture near Affleck’s Palace in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
Categories: Art, Design, Photography, Random, Travel
Tags: architecture, Big Wheel, London, Manchester, Manchester University, Northern Quarter, River Thames, Sculpture, street art
9 Comments
Editing Reality
I love the way I can use various apps on my iPhone to edit and enhance my pictures. The dull and the flat can be transformed into little masterpieces, sharpened and toned to resemble more professional equipment, or taken to more abstract extremes. The big thrill is finding something dazzling hidden inside a picture destined for the trash.
Zoom here to see how a dud picture (Picture 1) is changed into something worth keeping. For those of you who are interested, I used Photoshop Express (Picture 2) to add HD enhancement which fortifies details and added the Orton filter to emphasise colour. Then it’s over to Tadaa which is a more versatile version of Instagram for those who want more control over the results, where I added the Otherworld filter for a more abstract look (picture 3) and finally the tilt and shift effects combined with a vertical vignette to lighten the sides and throw the central column into sharp relief. Sounds complicated, but it’s all intuitive and much more fun than Angry Birds.
Tadaa and Photoshop Express are free picture editing apps.
Categories: Art, Design, Photography, Random
Tags: app, carving, editing, enhancement, iPhone, Mark Wallis, Photoshop Express, Tadaa, The Vibes, wood
7 Comments
Knob Creek and Bubbles
Sounds like a minor complaint…
Ice cream heaven at San Carlo
Louis Vuitton, Manchester
Giant bubbles blown in Market Street
More Louis Vuitton
Booze Box, Harvey Nichols
Categories: Design, Photography
Tags: food, Harvey Nichols, Instagram, iPhone, Knob Creek, Louis Vuitton, Manchester, Market Street, Photoshop Express, retail, San Carlo, Tadaa, Window display
4 Comments
The Olympic Games Closing Ceremony
Take your seats please, ladies and gentlemen because the party’s nearly over. But not until The Fab Lady sings.
Kate Bush is rumoured to be performing Running Up That Hill at the Olympic Closing Ceremony. If it’s true then let me tell you, the top of my head will blow off and all manner of fantasmagoria will erupt like the cover of Never For Ever. The astonishingly inept Amazon might have accidentally posted the Running Up That Hill 2012 remix too early and spoilt the surprise…and then removed it again – so I’m taking that as confirmation that she’s on the bill.
The last time she performed live was 1987 (apart from a mere cameo vocal in 2002 with Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd), and her last tour was in 1979! This a monumental event for British music and Kate’s vast fandom. It’s been a fantastic fortnight of sporting achievement, but this really is the cherry on the cake. I hope she jumps out of one!
We’ll be celebrating in Manchester with Boots’ Chocolate Gold medals and mucho Absolut.
+ + + UPDATE: track available on iTunes, click image to preview + + +
+ + + UPDATE2: Kate Bush no show + bunting taken down + + +
Main picture based on original motion graphics created by Anthem and Mammoth Graphics. Closing ceremony Sunday 21:00 GMT on a TV screen near you, unless you have NBC and then you’ll have to wait for an edited version.
Categories: Design, Music, Random
Tags: 2012, Closing Ceremony, Gold, Gold Medal, Kate Bush, London 2012, Olympic, Olympic Games, Olympics, remix, Running Up That Hill, tv
19 Comments
the vibes 