We reverse polarities daily!
I've launched a Substack. I'll repost blogs here, but you can also subscribe and receive each post in an email weekly by using this link: https://substack.com/@japhetasher Fun challenge: Count how many times I use the word "context" in this post. It's my favourite word for a reason. From creating MTV's groundbreaking 'Liquid Television' to pioneering … Continue reading Welcome to The Context Maker
This piece was written for the Children’s Media Foundation Yearbook, which is being published July 5th to coincide with the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, UK. Via his film La Chinoise, Jean Luc Godard suggested we should view the work of Méliès, the first fantasy filmmaker, and the Lumière Brothers, the first documentarians, the other … Continue reading The Metaverse: 1779 more words (of definition and caution) on the Word of the Year
On July 8th, I participated in a debate at the Children’s Media Conference to discuss the future role of Public Service Media in the UK. That day, the Children’s Media Foundation published its report on the same subject, with articles by a wide range of people who have helped to shape what our kids watch, … Continue reading The importance of Public Service Media for Kids isn’t up for debate.
Nam June Paik is known as the father of video art, but he was also a man with a great turn of phrase. He coined the term ‘electronic super highway’ well before the internet was a thing. He was always imagining the ways technology might change human behaviour, and vice versa. I had direct experience … Continue reading Why AT&T’s divestment of WarnerMedia made me think of Nam June Paik – it’s deja vu all over again.
In honour of Children’s Book Week, I’m sharing a video publicly for the first time that I made for a Polarity Reversal pitch a few years ago with kinetic typography, meaning animated word forms. The video is based on a recording of former US president Barack Obama reading Dr Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. The … Continue reading I READ, YOU READ: Polarity Reversal illustrates Barack Obama’s reading of “Green Eggs and Ham” with Kinetic Typography
‘Welcome to Pine Point’ was, for me, a hallmark moment in the evolution of digital storytelling. Funded by the National Film Board of Canada and made by Michael Simons and Paul Shoebridge, this web based factual experience told the story of Pine Point, a small town in the Canadian northwest that was built to purpose … Continue reading Gone in a Flash: Amazing content that lives on only in memory
“I have learned from my mistakes... and I am sure that I can repeat them exactly.” Peter Cook’s famous adage haunts me these days, as I read breathless articles about the latest initiative for AR glasses, the roll out of 5G, and the arrival of the Metaverse. Any day now, while Qualcomm and Huawei battle … Continue reading I Want to Believe: The Promise of AR Glasses
Late last year, OfCom released its third annual report on BBC performance. Once again, the decline in younger audiences for BBC services was highlighted. According to the report, time spent with the BBC by 16-34 year-olds now stands at less than an hour a day, down 22% since 2017. The largest drop of all is … Continue reading How to Make All of Us Commissioners of BBC Content (and win back younger audiences)
Polarity Reversal 