The Spots Of Time project by Henry Iddon perfectly illustrates the problem of light pollution. The Guardian's Martin Wainwright describes Henry's images as 'a rare set of photographs'
Read the article at: The Guardian - Environment
Creative studio Skylab has won the prestigious Anthony Wilson Original Modern Award at the 2008 Big Chip Awards held in Manchester on Thursday 22nd May 2008.
Skylab was selected from all of the entries in the main categories as the overall winner of the award by special guest judge Yvette Livesey for their race viewer on the website for the 2007-08 Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
Nigel Collier, Managing Director of Skylab, said:
“I am very, very proud of the whole team for winning this award. Skylab was founded on the principle of building a dream team of passionate, talented people and having the freedom to do what we do best. I am also very moved by the award, especially considering that it’s given in Anthony Wilson’s name, which recognises our blend of original thinking, creativity and technology. Skylab is all about the journey, not the destination, and as such, I hope we get the opportunity to tread this path again in the future.”
Now in their tenth year, The Big Chip Awards are the top awards for ICT and new media outside London. The awards are known for the highest standards of objectivity and integrity and are judged by a distinguished panel of experts from organisations such as New Media Age, Channel 4, Grey Worldwide and Index Ventures.
The award is given in honour of the late Anthony Wilson, well known for his work in so many fields as a presenter, journalist, founder of the world-famous Hacienda club, and joint founder of Factory Records. Anthony was a committed supporter of the North West digital industries and for the last four years the much-loved compere of the Big Chip Awards.
Special guest judge Yvette Livesey said:
“Tony believed absolutely in the use of technology to both enable and enhance the sporting experience. Encouraging a greater experience either through participation or helping the sport to move forward.
It drove him crazy that football refused to be dragged into this century, refusing to take up technology to help the outcome of uncertain decisions, unlike Rugby that has wholeheartedly embraced it.
He loved sailing, though from the perspective of an armchair, which makes this development in the use of technology even more personal and relevant to Tony. An application of technology that is both original and modern.”
Skylab are very proud to have been nominated for a Big Chip award. We have been recognised in 'Best Use of Technology' for our development of the Raceviewer on The Clipper Round The World website. The Raceviewer cleverly fuses satellite yacht data with a Google Maps front end.
Fingers crossed then!
Skylab have been commissioned by Hanrahan Media to create an HD title sequence for BBC's new Hiphop comedy 'Trexx & Flipside'. The early stages are underway with a huge green-screen shoot at Media City's 'The Pie Factory' studio complex.
Watch this space for updates.
Skylab has created a stunning website for the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
The website is Skylab's most ambitious project to-date. The site launched to great acclaim to coincide with the start of the prestigious global ocean race.
The race was first run in 1996 and is the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man ever to sail solo non-stop around the world. Ten teams compete over seven legs covering 35,000 miles of exhilarating ocean racing. The race is a truly global sporting event with a TV and newspaper audience in excess of 200 million.
With their in-depth knowledge of digital technologies, Skylab has developed a Race Viewer that tracks yacht positions with satellite tracking and Google Maps integration. Skylab has also developed a fully-featured content management system providing news, blogs, podcasts, video and photographs taken onboard the yachts during the race and delivered to the site instantly. Website visitors can also provide comments and get involved in the race.
Design Director Neale Johnson commented, "We're very proud that we were asked to create the Round The World Yacht Race website. We're understandably very excited to be involved in such a high profile event.
I think it's true to say that we've been challenged during the development cycle. The results however are obvious for all to see. The site is a feast for the eyes and comprehensive in its offering to both the occasional visitor and the avid ocean racing fan alike."
Catch up with the race at: www.clipperroundtheworld.com
Skylab has a new home.
The team recently moved into a plush new studio space in Manchester. The studio is bright and airy, the AV room is fully kitted out. More importantly the stereo is cranking!
Manchester creative studio Skylab was invited to create a 6 minute motion graphics film for Oasis as they played Rock ‘n’ Roll Star at the 2007 Brit Awards.
Having sold more than 50 million records worldwide, Oasis now sit alongside The Beatles, U2, The Who and Paul Weller after collecting the prestigious ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’ Award.
Skylab created a 6 minute film which was displayed on a 40ft screen and provided the perfect backdrop as Oasis ended the Brits with a grand finale, playing the anthem of a generation, Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.
Production on the 6 minute film was led by Skylab’s Design Director Neale ‘Nel’ Johnson. Nel commented, “The event was due to be broadcast live in front of millions of viewers, so the pressure was really on but we delivered with typical passion and style. We locked ourselves away, turned up the music and went nuts.”
Skylab MD Nigel Collier commented, “Making motion graphics films for TV, DVD and live events is core business for us but working with Oasis wasn’t work, it was just a pleasure. It was a genuine honour to work with one of the world’s best.”
Skylab have been asked by rock'n'roll supergroup Oasis to create a visual backdrop for their forthcoming live performance at The Brits 2007.
Design Director Nel has worked for the band previously on dvd design and content creation for the band's dvd release of 'Definitely Maybe'.
The Brits will be live on ITV on February 14th 2007.
Skylab have just launched a beautiful web-based photo gallery for renowned photographer Henry Iddon. Henry recently won Arts Council support for a project to capture images of the Lake District. Following in the footsteps of Wordsworth, Henry aims to capture the beauty of the Lakes but with an added twist, he's doing it all in the dead of night. The website for the Spots Of Time project clevery utilises Google Maps as the method of accessing Henry's amazing images.
Skylab have just produced and delivered our first HD film. Experienced HD producers, Reflex had too many projects to deliver and turned to Skylab to help them create a launch film for one of their large clients. The film, with a challenging storyboard created by Reflex was a combination of live action and animation sequences and was beautifully shot in HD and edited by Skylab.
"Reflex turned to Skylab at a time when we had more work than we could deal with, despite our own extensive in-house facilities. Originally a standard definition project, we changed not only the storyboards and storyline in response to our own clients, but also the format up to full 1080P high definition. Skylab delivered this with great flexibility and to our very exacting standards."
Laurence James, Head of Film & Digital Media. Reflex Communications.
There were lots of 'oohs' and 'aaahs' at Skylab HQ recently as we took delivery of our shiny new edit suite. Based around Apple's Final Cut Pro Studio and some heavy hardware, this new facility gives us the capability to produce and edit broadcast quality content in both SD and HD. The system will also supercharge our motion graphics output, significantly accelerating our After Effects production.
Skylab have recently completed our latest interactive project. The studio worked in conjunction with Universal Music to deliver a dvd-based music game for the premier French radio station Radio Nostalgie.
The station's distinct 'golden oldies' output was complimented perfectly by Skylab's funky retro design.
The studio has just completed an immersive animated adventure-game for Universal. The aim of the game is to guide the star of the show 'BigFoot Junior' from the means streets through many trials to reach the finale of the game - on stage at the 'World Music Awards'.
Skylab designed the characters, vehicles and environments, recorded the soundtrack and designed interactive elements and motion graphics for this high profile release.
Featuring beautifully shot architectural sequences, clever typography and an animated history of Manchester's technological achievements our launch film for the prestigious One Central Park in North East Manchester has gone down a treat. The film will now be shown to welcome guests to the facility.
Skylab has been officially awarded "Certified Trainer" accreditation from Apple.
We have recently completed a multi-platform project which required a printed brochure, a film, a website and a huge live event stand to be designed and delivered for a major live event. The show was a great success and a true test of our ability to deliver on any platform.
Skylab offer training to the highest standard for Apple's Final Cut Pro. After receiving official accreditation from Apple, Skylab have begun training courses in Final Cut Pro supporting amateurs and professionals to broadcast standards.