BMW Documentaries – the future of mobility, by Faris Yakob
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A decade ago, in 2001, BMW unveiled a series of short films, collectively known as The Hire, but commonly called BMW Films.
High production values and big name actors and directors highlighted what the cars could do in dramatic situations and kick-started the burgeoning world of online branded content.
Since then, the world has shifted, ever so slightly…
In the interim, things such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Broadband, 3G, 4G, the iPhone, Android, Apps, the Flip, the iPad, Hulu, and ___________ have brought about a content landscape typified by abundance, a heightened desire and capacity for transparency and collaboration, and the rise and rise of the hacker/geek to cultural tastemaker and business hero.
Into this environment, we launched BMW Documentaries – a series of films about the future of mobility, collectively known as “Wherever You Want To Go” – to explore and add value to the emerging conversation around alternative mobility technologies, re-introducing the brand to an audience of early adopter, beta testers.
You can watch them all in full sized full res widescreen on the site.
The films examine the topic from different angles, thinking beyond the product – looking at how cities have historically been designed around cars and what cities of the future might be like, what prediction tells us about present concerns, and how technology and mobility are inextricably related.
The mini-documentaries feature various awesome thinkers and visionaries including:
• Buzz Aldrin, retired astronaut
• Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired
• Naveen Selvadurai, founder of Foursquare
• Marissa Mayer, VP at Google
• Syd Mead, futurist, conceptual designer for Blade Runner
• Graham Hill, Founder, TreeHugger.com
• Robin Chase, Founder, ZipCar
• George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic
The site – BMWActivatetheFuture.com – hosts discussions around the future of mobility – and each film comes with associated content to explore the topics further.
When we developed the concept, we wanted to create a documentary that was of and for the web.
Content that reflected how content is viewed, discussed, and propagated online.
So, while the films are available, the website provides an enhanced viewing experience.
The films are designed to be non-linear, hypertextual. So you can explore additional pieces of content around the primary narrative, in real time, inside the video player, and then jump straight back into the primary narrative.
The films are designed to precipitate discussion from different points of view, so, by logging in with Facebook, you can comment on specific moments, creating conversations around them.
The films were inspired as BMW began to plan for the field trial for the ActiveE – their first electric vehicle concept.
The films, conversations, the ActiveE itself, all make up part of BMW’s larger focus on collaborating to create the future of mobility.
Read more perspectives on digital.
Posted: April 6th, 2011 | Author: elen.lewis | Filed under: Digital, Faris Yakob | Tags: BMW Documentaries, Digital, Faris Yakob | Leave a Comment »
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