The next talk will be held on Tuesday, January 6th with

Andy Kaiser, director and animation film maker, and Daniela Knapp, cinematographer, present Friendly Fire.

The goal was to create an animated short film without resorting to a digital process: only to use technology pioneered by Ray Harryhausen and Fritz Lehmann and to see how far it can be pushed. Every effect in Friendly Fire was achieved in-camera, without the option of touching up or rig-removal in post production. This created a myriad of challenges, not least because the techniques used meant that there was a very limited resource of information and advice available.
www.fbw-filme.de/pdw/2008/Friendly_Fire/friendly_fire.htm
www.theendofthepierfilms.com
www.la-gente-agentur.de/index2test.php?uid=16

Alexander von Reiswitz is an architect and photographer. After having worked all over the world, he came to Berlin in 1994. In 1997 he founded his studio “Atelier A”.

For the Family Constellation Project he arranges people on the street in order to shoot family pictures. The “models”, total strangers to each other, have only one thing in common: They passed by when the photographer tried to “form” a family. In this project, Alexander von Reiswitz tries to translate the randomness of life into pictures.
www.vonreiswitz.com
www.familyconstellationproject.com

Stephan Steigleder, since 2006 Senior Manager Digital Media at Universal Music (Division Classics & Jazz), talks about Yellow Lounge.

Classical music was haunted by its image of being boring and old fashioned. The idea of introducing classical music into a completely different, typical environment, preferably frequented by people between the ages of 20 to 40, e.g. lounges, clubs and bars, was born out of this dilemma. Yellow Lounge conveys the idea of relaxing and chilling out.
www.yellowlounge.de

We have opened our Berlin basement bar exclusively on every first Tuesday of the month between 20h and 23h. The whole event is organised by Less Rain web designers and as:if Film Matters film makers.

The basement bar is a private venue where creative people can surround themselves with a network of inspiration & ideas while having a nice drink or two. We are always interested in new speakers, so please get in touch if you want to present yourself, an idea, personal project or anything you think is worth talking about.

Talk about the Weather is developed for practitioners in the creative community. Talk about the Weather offers every participant the opportunity to not only present their work, ideas, projects or just voice their opinion about cultural currents, but also get instant feedback, help or advice from every single member of the audience. In other words, Talk about the Weather is not about being entertained, although it can be hugely entertaining.

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If you would like to join Talk about the Weather or share your ideas with us for upcoming events please contact us (basement@lessrain.com). Please let us know a couple of days beforehand. Find the way to our basement on Google maps.

See pictures from previous talks on www.flickr.com/photos/talkabouttheweather/

Tuesday, December 2nd

Roland Fuhrmann talked and showed a short film about tree houses for hunting pigeons in Aquitania, France. These well concealed, up to 25 meter high treetop castles, in French: “palombières”, serve as hunting stands.

The architecture is reminiscent of Kurt Schwitters’ Merz Constructions or of the nests of an as yet undiscovered species. These buildings are constantly expanded using recycled construction material, old high-voltage towers, and scrap from agricultural machines. But the interiors hold unsuspected luxury: a kitchen, a WC, often even an elevator!
www.rolandfuhrmann.de
Courtesy by Hamish Morrison Galerie

Martin Eberle and Diana Simon presented their book Pyongyang. The book shows photographs taken by Martin Eberle in April 2007. It provides insight into North Korea; a profoundly insular nation which manifests a unique cultural and political landscape.

Pyongyang makes no attempt to explain North Korea; it simply attempts to portray the intriguing singularity of North Korea as it is today. For any outsider, the People’s Republic of Korea is the most inward-looking country in the world today. Media coverage as we know it in the West simply does not exist in North Korea.
www.craenkl.de
www.limette.org

Johann Zeitler and Klaus W. Eisenlohr are two artists that survey and explore big cities. Since July 2008, the two “Landvermesser” (geodesists) are undertaking an art research about public space in Marzahn-Hellersdorf, a district in Berlin famous for its housing projects from times of “Real Socialism”. As part of the project, they organized three art walks in three different places in the district.

During these site visits, which inhabitants of the district as well as members of the “general art audience” attended, artists and guests explored and experienced colours, visible urban developments, thresholds and junctions of the urban scape, representations and constructions of history, as well as city sounds. The artists Johann Zeitler and Klaus W. Eisenlohr present and discuss their joint Berlin project.
www.kulturserver-berlin.de/home/landvermesser/begehungen.html

Tuesday, November 4th

Volker Schlecht showed his animation Germania Wurst, an amusing short rush through German history. From the Teutoburger Wald to the German reunification.
www.drushbapankow.de

Thomas Zimmermann of the Berlin based Golden Section Graphics talked about maintaining creative quality within the contenxt of mass production and a higher market complexity.
www.phiii.com

Alexander Herzog, commercials director, presented short films and a music project. They are an antidote to his frustration with his daily commercial and music video routine.
www.myspace.com/haenschenklein

Tuesday, October 7th

Marcus Doering and Peer Martiny presented a unique system that allows to illuminate overlapping and moving objects according to their exact contours with textures or live video streams of all kind.
www.pmd-projections.de

Roger Ibars talked about his projects Self-made objects and Hard-wired devices. The Tokyo based artist and interaction designer plays with the perception of things of daily use, focussing on computer gamer culture of the 80ies and 90ies.
www.selfmadeobjects.net

Eike König showed newest works: “With Heart from Hort.”
www.hort.org.uk

Tuesday, September 2nd

Klaas Glenewinkel gave an insight into MICT, Media in Cooperation and Transition, a non-profit media organization with offices in Berlin and representatives in Iraq and Syria. MICT’s activities comprise the training of journalists and media producers, programme and content development, radio, film and book production, as well as media monitoring in conflict regions.
www.iraqiscope.org
www.niqash.org
www.mict-international.org

Conchita Soares and Miriam von Versen presented „Petra und Britta“, a film about two very special mini starlets. Have a look at showreels and get a glimpse behind the scenes.
www.conchitasoares.com

Zoran Bihać talked about his personal sources of inspiration and work as a director for music videos and commercials.
www.zoranbihac.com

Tuesday, August 5th

David Fischer, Oliver Gibbins and Maki Shimizu presented “Ziqqurrat”, the story of an architectual dream. (English)
www.ziqqurrat.de
www.space-prize.com/architect/eng/exhi_2006_01.asp

Christian Male and Björn Zaske talked about “The Tulse Luper Journey”, a Project by Director Peter Greenaway consisting of three movies, theater elements and online contents. As associate producer, Moccu made 25 online games and 25 animated films. (German)
tinyurl.com/6prdfc
www.moccu.com

Ariel Aguilera recounted Pandarosa’s general working progress with a main focus on one of their personal projects “2morow’s kingdom cargo” which explores questions about divisions, equality, status and hierarchy. (English)
www.pandarosa.net

Alexandra Kardinar and Volker Schlecht showed their creative approach to informative illustrations for the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. (German)
www.drushbapankow.de

Tuesday, July 7th

Stephanie Renner and Conrad Fritzsch presented a new online music video station.
www.tape.tv

Christian Güttler showed “footbonaut”, a new training machine that might cause a revolution in football training. www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/0,1518,547046,00.html

Luke J. Harris talked about a new approach to music distribution and sound toys.
www.spellcheckgeneration.com

Tuesday, June 10th

Tina Roeder discussed novel methods of product design for the quotidian.
www.tinaroeder.com
recommended literature: If One Thing Matters, Everything Matters by Wolfgang Tillmans, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Janfamily: Plans for Other Days by Jan Family, Booth-Clibborn Editions, Designing Design by Kenya Hara, Lars Müller Publishers

Lars Eberle presented new ways to create more personal and creative forms of e-mail through Me-Mail.
www.lessrain.com

David Krings showed his unique porcelain objects that relate to patterns in one’s surroundings.
www.david-krings.de

Peter Buennagel recounted his experience relaunching the east german sport shoe brand ILMIA.
www.scrollan.de