webqem blog

Creative nerds of the internet have been abuzz for the last few days after the release of The Wilderness Downtown. It’s a half video clip, half HTML5 experiment for Arcade Fire’s song, We Used To Wait (link to bad YouTube bootleg)

It’s gotten an interesting response. Mostly, people that have bought into the hype of HTML5 love it and tout it as another reason why Flash is dying. However, others aren’t as impressed.

I for one, think it’s pretty great, but I don’t think it has anything to do with HTML5 or the lack of flash

It’s just the right amount of “interactive”
Halfway through the piece it asks you to write a letter to your younger self, and the interface is fun and playful and most importantly totally intuitive. This small amount of emotion and playful engagement keeps you hooked and helps you remember the experience

The use of multiple windows
This is an old trick, but still a great one. Since early JavaScript we’ve been able to do this, but the way it’s used here is pitch perfect. This is mostly because the overall experience is passive and you’re just watching. There’s a good reason why we can’t use this in ads, but I think its underused enough that its still memorable for most people when they see it in this kind of movie watching context.

The art direction is great
Not “change the world” great, or even D&AD award winning great, but defiantly “highlighted in a good portfolio” great. The grading on the video combines well with the sketchy style of the illustration. The small amount of 3d is tastefully handled if a little low resolution. Even the slight treatment to the Google maps and street-view images is great.

It makes me think of home
I ran it using my actual childhood home address, and the gimmick totally worked on my. I became that runner. I imagined myself going for a run near my old home and flashing back to my childhood. This may not be as effective for you as it was for me, and I suspect mileage may vary based on how long you lived in one home or how good the Google coverage is in that area.

The song is great
As with all music video clips, the star is the song and this is a damn great song. In fact, I love the album. You should go get it. Go on. I’ll wait.

It’s effective
I’ve been listening to the album all day, and recommending it to people. I even wrote a blog post about it.

Yes, a lot of this could have been done with flash, possibly even better. But as a creative its not the technology that impresses me, it’s the idea. Something we need to remind ourselves of continuously as the HTML5/Flash war continues.

On Friday 6th August the new look Core Equity Services website was revealed.

Originally launching in March 2009, Core Equity Services represents the consolidation and history of some of Australia’s pioneers in straight-through equities trading and broking services.

Since that time, Core Equity is a leading provider of wholesale broking solutions to some of Australia’s largest financial institutions, offering a range of products and services.

The new look and feel is aimed to showcase the entire product range that sits under the Core Equity umbrella in a simple and easy to navigate website.

Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 has created a huge splash, providing major enhancements to an already powerful toolset. From all facets of design through interactive publishing and development, there’s now even more you can accomplish. So how can you be sure you’re getting the most out of it?
Hands-on, classroom training.
For the next few months we’re running an extensive range of classroom training programs covering all facets of CS5, at our training facility in Sydney. We’re celebrating the Adobe CS5 launch and you have a great opportunity of booking 3 people for the price of 2, saving 33%. Please note this offer is for a limited time only and on selected courses.

Until recently, the notion of a truly paperless classroom has kind of felt a bit theoretical… we all know its ‘possible’ but perhaps too much of a leap to envisage fully. Well, it feels a lot closer having looked at Inkling – rich, interactive

textbooks for the iPad.

They certainly look very beautiful and richly presented, but the real beauty lies in the collaborative functionality – bringing the textbook alive with shared notes from both peers and the trainer. Brilliant stuff.

The team at webqem are in the midst of a fitness make over. Twice a week Suzette from Straight Ahead Fitness puts us through our paces. It’s nice to get out of the office and into the fresh air but it’s not all fun and games… with one participant tweeting “I can barely type this message. #webqembootcamp has kicked my arse… and back, shoulders, stomach… etc”.  Everyone looks forward to the end of our six week program where we will be able to see our progress from sloths to superhumans.

Just occasionally, clichés are perfectly apt.
And this is one of those occasions. In a merger that really is a case of “the whole being more than the sum of its parts”, two of Australia’s most experienced web and print software companies have become a single, powerful entity.

On July 1, Formstar Print Technologies merged with Webqem, pooling resources and talent to create a formidable team of over 40 highly skilled individuals.

Having operated independently over the past decade, the pairing is a natural fit. Both companies share similar processes for improved business processes, core skills and the same development tools platforms.

In times like these, organizations need to do more than talk to their custom ers — they need to engage them. Join the webqem team for a FREE E-Seminar on how your organization can create outward-facing applications that overcome common customer challenges — like complex forms and security fears — to provide easy-to-use and impactful experiences that truly engage.

We’ll explore how Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite can help you:

• Improve your customers experience, simplify processes,and provide better service
• Connect easily to your back-end systems to automate the end-to-end process
• Work seamlessly with applications that your customers already have, like Adobe Reader and the Adobe Flash Platform

The event will be running on the 17th of August  from 12:00pm-1:00m. It is to be  held in the comfort of you own chair via a Adobe Connect meeting room. If you would like to attend please email Thomast@webqem.com or register online.

The brand new NAB Private Wealth website was recently launched.

Designed by webqem, the website is a significant upgrade to the existing look and feel and showcases the real point of difference that NAB offer; their people.

The project included requirements definition, wireframing, design and front end build. There is an emphasis on bringing the role NAB play in thought leadership to the front and creating a living template that will allow NAB Private wealth to maintain an up-to-date website in the future with content relevant to their audience.

Mark Upton, specialist coach for the Adelaide crows, approached webqem for advice on how to solve their issues around reviewing game footage. Previously players and coaches had to watch the game together to gather feed back, which didn’t make efficient use of their time. The solution was eLearning, using Adobe Flash Media Server, LiveCycle Collaboration Service, Connect and Adobe Captivate Mark has created a remote access training environment and conduct regular training with interactive opportunities.

As a result, the Adelaide Football Club have streamlined access to training, greater flexibility for the team players and coaches to meet and discuss strategies in real time and improve retention of training information.

Read the full success story to find out more about how webqem helped the Adelaide Football Club

For all of the K-12 schools out there, Adobe has a great offer for their Creative Suite 5 software. From now until the end of October, all K-12 schools that purchase a brand new Adobe CS5 site license will receive a 35% discount. To be eligible for this promotion all you need is a previous version of Adobe or Macromedia K-12 school site license and must be a K-12 school in Australia.

To help you make the most of this upgrade, this offer also comes with 2 FREE one day training courses (valued at $1749).

The Adobe K-12 School Site Licenses allow installation rights for 250 or 500 school-owned or school-leased computers regardless of school enrollment size. K-12 school site licenses also come with valuable DVDs of curriculum and training materials to help educators implement career and technical education programs around design, web, and video programs.

Take advantage of this great offer now and contact us here at webqem.