I’m currently watching a new series on Discovery called “We Built This City.” What’s so marvelous about it is that it uses sophisticated and beautiful computer graphics to enlighten rather than dazzle. An image of New Amsterdam seamlessly flows into an image of modern-day New York; footage of skyscrapers in water shows the extent of reclaimed land on the island; and a seamless camera move from bottom to top shows the techniques used to landfill the area. It’s a perfect example of making complex concepts easy to understand visually, the kind of thing that I aspire to almost every day.
2 comments
You may also like
In commiseration with Mac
I've been enjoying reading the trials of Mac as she fires and hires, and herewith I present a sampling of the resumes we've received here at my office recently. After I read the first one boasting of high-level skills [more...]
August 14, 2008
Arizona Point of Pride
As I sit here in the hotel looking out the window, I am struck by how this city has a sort of civic pride that I am not used to. In downtown Phoenix, there is a definite identity system at work, with coordinated [more...]
November 19, 2002
Balance your cosmos (or at least, your car)
This is a rather cool idea — TerraPass. Basically, you figure out the impact your car has on the environment, then you buy a TerraPass, which uses the money to fund clean energy programs to offset the pollution [more...]
December 18, 2005
I missed the NYC and London shows, but I caught 3/4 of the Paris. That was one of the best shows ever. So cool! Can’t wait to see the other two!
Just watched the New York City one. Yeah, it was fantastic! The grid system, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge… all fascinating.