Face Forward

The past 12 months have been out of this world. Quite literally.

When I began to tell our story at Sirius Technologies Inc., we took incredible steps creatively and technologically, but the thing that enthralled audiences – from one to one or one to a theatre or the rest of the world – was our mission. Impressive, ambitious, inspiring, and the potential outcome… revolutionary.

Any one point on Earth to another in less than 60 minutes.

More on our science fact in another post. But first… meet ‘Face Forward’: My celebration of science fiction. An 8-portrait tribute to time and space in film and TV.

I have been bringing portraits to life for over 30 years, capturing the personalities, the souls and the magic of individuals or vehicles. Many larger than life, but all worthy of preservation in art form.

Here’s an interstellar showcase for gallery owners considering a new space-themed art exhibition as we head into 2026. The first 8 are ready for blast off!

• Mars Attacks [Martian Ambassador – Himself]

• 2001: A Space Odyssey [David ‘Dave’ Bowman – Keir Dullea]

• Doctor Who [The 10th Doctor – David Tennant]

• Flash Gordon [Prince Vultan – Brian Blessed]

• Star Trek [Captain James T. Kirk – William Shatner]

• Alien [Xenomorph + Lieutenant Ellen Ripley – Sigourney Weaver]

• Star Wars: A New Hope [Princess Leia – Carrie Fisher]

• Armageddon [Harry S. Stamper – Bruce Willis]

E3: The Blockbuster Generation

Hollywood is rejoicing as cinema-goers flock back to the big screen this summer. In recent years the movie theatre experience looked as if it was going the way of the music business, but now the 2015 summer of excess is serving up the blockbusters.

The current box office takings merely provide the warm up act to this winter’s releases where we’ll see the long-awaited extension to the Star Wars franchise following on from James Bond’s November action in SPECTRE.

I have a point to make here, relating to the millennials amongst us (the kids born this millennium) and my time spent at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in LA this week. Having sat through Avengers: Age of Ultron last month, I came away feeling a little despondent and wondering which came first… the story-less all action ADHD blockbuster or the constantly distracted audience?

I had an interesting conversation in the back of a cab last year. I was heading to the airport having just delivered my TEDx talk in Athens, before jetting off to LA for the next big adventure.

I say the talk was interesting, but I mean ‘challenging’. My esteemed car-sharer was a seasoned TED speaker, with years of experience in the field of human behaviour. He held the view that kids today are bombarded with too much information, especially of the digital variety. He believed that mobile devices should be strictly rationed as they cause more problems for kids than they solve.

I told him that I agreed in principal but ‘all things in moderation’ is a better approach than insisting on a non-digital solution. You don’t filter the noise out by turning it all off, you learn to live with it, categorise it and make use of it.

I’d be the first to admit that my kids don’t lead a normal life. The very nature of my job exposes them to a new piece of tech hardware or delivery platform on a regular basis. They are a fabulous sounding board for the reactions of the next generation of consumers as they’re quick to dismiss and not afraid to speak their minds. They have none of the social or business diplomacy to worry about – it just works or it doesn’t.

They’ve been fascinated by and indifferent to various smart watches and VR headsets over the past couple of years and it’s easy to see that a constant supply of digital watch faces will appeal more than garage door openers and short-form film and games are perfect for VR.

At E3, the audience is hungry for new games, but still prefers the familiarity of a sequel and will happily immerse themselves in a single game for hours on end if the content offers enough variety and a continual challenge.

Minecraft is already huge but Microsoft demonstrated a whole new level of immersion at E3 – on HoloLens. If you’re not familiar with this new platform, it’s Microsoft’s foray into the augmented reality market. projecting seemingly real content into the wearer’s field of vision. I’ll be getting hands-on today and will update this article in a few hours.

So where does this leave our kids? Lost in a digital world of shock and awe, content and distraction? Yes, all of the above and it’s brilliant.

I saw the Disney movie Tomorrowland a couple of weeks ago and I loved it. It touched a creative and technological nerve and moved me to write this article. It’s not an explosion-a-second blockbuster like Age of Ultron as it manages to combine an all-action adventure with something subtly cerebral.

It’s a film with a message. Don’t lose your sense of wonder, investigate new technology and be creative with it. Use it to push boundaries, not live within them. We wouldn’t have reached the moon or built electric cars without a commitment to improve the world in which we live. We can also have fun whilst doing it!

It’s our responsibility to encourage kids to live with and use technology to their advantage, rather than distance themselves from it, and a brighter future.

The Virtual Force Awakens

It's a blockbuster year for Hollywood, so Star Wars Day seems an appropriate time to reveal the subject of my Bitspiration talk in Warsaw... The Virtual Force Awakens.

I'll be presenting Brandwidth's, Disney's and Lucasfilm's creative story behind the multi-million download Star Wars Scene Maker app and where leading-edge digital products go next. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and wearable technology all provide stunning platforms for digital storytelling, so it's time to push boundaries.

Feel the Force at the superb Bitspiration Festival in Warsaw Poland, June 22-23, then find out more here after then event.

UPDATE: My full presentation video (including the unfortunate #VaderPorn incident).

2015 Shorty Awards: A Year of Living Dangerously

It’s been a whole year since my last Shorty Awards campaign. Here I am again, but everything has changed! The Apps category is no more so I’m championing an entirely new category… #Innovation.

Last year I reached the final and headed to New York only to miss out on the night. You think the Oscars are competitive, the Shorties are even more cutthroat!

This time, I’d love your votes in a category that will only exist if we work together. There isn’t currently an Innovation category but if I receive enough votes, it’s possible the Real-Time Academy will make it official.

There's no 'I' in Shorty Awards but it is all about the individual. Having said that, the cutting-edge innovation only happens thanks to the brilliant Brandwidth team.

Here’s the link to take you directly to the voting screen, just double check the drop-down box shows ‘Other’ and the text contains the hashtag #Innovation (plus your reason for voting for me of course). We can do this! 

Add your vote! < THIS IS THE REALLY IMPORTANT LINK TO VOTE

If you need more convincing, here’s the campaign video featuring Brandwidth’s Star Wars Scene Maker app for Lucasfilm, the incredible Maleficent multi-touch book for Disney, the Bernhoft Islander HD music app, my TEDx Athens 4D app experience and my Oculus Rift Light Saber battle with Apptain America at Silicon Beach.

Oh, and Olivia and Hattie in their own virtual worlds…

To add even more depth, here’s the summary of my Shorty Awards Interview and my thoughts following defeat in New York last year.

Thanks!