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Friday. 9 hours that everyone struggles through waiting for the weekend. Instead of wasting productivity, at Etiket, I’ve taken control of organizing a series of discussion sessions. These sessions are intended to allow us to explore topics that are provocative, interesting and informative. Having the chance to present any topic, naturally, I spoke about J.J. Abrams. The references in the poster are quite obvious, but like any good story, the scene needs to be set in the first act. With that in mind, please pay attention as independent filmmaker Kirby Ferguson runs us through the true origins of creativity:

The next speaker is renowned radio producer Ira Glass. Mr Glass dispenses sincere advice on storytelling. On keeping at it until one’s abilities catch up with one’s taste. On learning to cut work and ideas when they are clearly not working:

And now that you’re fully invested in this narrative, your reward as a viewer is a satisfying denouement. J.J. Abrams talks about mystery boxes at TED:

Fight Club was released in America 10 years ago today. Director David Fincher’s 4th feature-length film immediately stands out as a gem of darkly comedic, angsty drama. No doubt helped in large part by the daring novel by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club is an unmistakable critique of modern American society. At least as modern as it was in 1999. Palahniuk’s fantastic debut translated well into celluloid. The performances are peerless, the humour is palpable, the Dust Brothers score is inspired, the production quality is faultless and Fincher’s vision is clear and unapologetic.

It’s only the little things that betray the film’s true age. The nameless Narrator’s point-and-shoot film camera, Space Monkeys erasing VHS cassettes  and  cremating Power Macintosh G3′s.

It must have been so much fun to design for this film. The visual detailing in Fight Club is great, from the anarchistic in-flight instructions depicting an emergency landing procedure to the tongue-in-cheek plug for fictitious furniture brand Furni. The attention paid to these elements pay off in the utterly convincing portrayal of a city that is inhabited by an under appreciated and disillusioned working class.

In addition to promotional material and a fake online store for fashion and furnishings found in the film, the film’s website used to host a feature that played out rhetorical fights between historical figures. Clearly the site predates the wired-generation’s coding and design standards, nonetheless it is ahead of it’s time in the thought that went into the masterful way that the content communicates the spirit of the film.

The Public Service Announcements screened at cinemas are dark in their un-PC hilarity. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt – in character – ask viewers to turn off pagers and cellphones while commenting on molestation and scatology.

Despite it’s age, the film has a lot to offer: a strange love triangle; some important philosophical questions regarding masculinity, family and modern society; and legendary one-liners that’ll make a sailor blush. If you haven’t seen this film yet, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy, you consumer, you!

I found this fantastic short-form animation over on Motionographer a while back. It immediately struck me as a very relevant work. It’s dark humour is perfectly in balance with the profound gravity that it’s message demands.