Rubberductions News

IVCA Win

Matt Golding — 2008-04-05T15:33:52Z

Rubberductions picked up a Silver award at the IVCA's last night for our Sony Playstation 2 promo. The award was in the "Sales of Products and Services" category and we attended with our production partners on the job from Between The Eyes & Prime Focus. Thanks to all who worked on the film!

Microsoft Windows Vista films live

Matt G — 2008-04-04T16:48:26Z

The films we shot for Bristol digital agency Mason Zimbler for the new Microsoft Windows Vista site are now live. They require Silverlight to view on the site. We'll post quicktimes on the site here very soon.

Comedy Series passes 3 million views

Matt G — 2008-04-04T16:42:08Z

The Kensington Report films we made for Heavy.com have recently passed 3 million views, which is great! Watch The Kensingston Report here.

Microsoft Web Films

Matt Golding — 2008-01-24T08:46:47Z

Rubberductions are in the midst of post production on a large Microsoft web promo, featuring Windows Vista and Windows Live, for Bristol-based digital agency Mason Zimbler. The project was shot on a variety of High Def cameras during a four day shoot just before the Christmas break. The result will be a music driven, multiple character storyline based website - in Microsoft's new Silverlight web video software - with Ferrari driving action. The website will be live in early March.

Video feeds for blogs

KirkH — 2008-01-07T15:02:49Z

Time and again we get asked this question: why would bloggers want to show videos from viral marketing campaigns to their users? The explosion in use of video feeds for blogs, and the ease with which it can be done, has shown that there is an enormous appetite for this online content as it represents a free and entertaining way of showing relevant content to readers and using films created specifically for viral marketing campaigns is an extension of this. Often the content is of a high quality, and is designed to engage and entertain people. Additionally, in this world of Web 2.0, lots of viral content is designed to integrate into your site design seamlessly and work in partnership with the main social network sites. With such good content available so readily, the question is: why wouldn't bloggers want to use viral marketing films to engage their readers?

Short Film in final of Eurostar Film Festival

MattG — 2007-12-06T00:00:00Z

Oedipus - the BBC award winning short film by directing collective RONG - co-produced by Rubberductions - has reached the final ten of the Eurostar Film Festival. The finalists are all top short films that we've seen on the circuit previously as winners of numerous other festivals - so we're pleased to be a part of such a stellar line up. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Paris tonight which one of our production team is attending.

Triumph Rocket III film broadcast

rubberductions — 2007-11-21T14:12:50Z

The Rocket III film the good people at E3 Media commissioned us to make for Triumph Motorbikes is being broadcast on Nuts TV tonight at 10:30 - Freeview Channel 42. So OK, its not BBC1, but its cool that the bloke orientated channel have chosen to broadcast the viral advert as entertainment content - you normally have to pay for 3 minutes of advertising time. Anyway, check it out tonight, or watch the Triumph Rocket III film online.

2 Million views and counting

Rubberductions — 2007-11-15T19:28:03Z

Our commissioned work for Heavy.com has cleared 2 million views on their site, which is good news. The site has a huge amount of traffic so we can't claim all the credit, but we're glad that their international audience is responding so well to our very British humour. The Kensingston Report and our latest series for T-Mobile are now online.

Rubberductions get charitable

Matt Golding — 2007-11-08T09:25:25Z

Director Matt Golding is a keen cyclist, having started out mountain biking, and now getting converted to the dubious ways of long distance cycling on his brand new On-One Inbred 853. So when Sustrans approached us to help them in their bid to win £50 million for their Connect2 project in an ITV based lottery vote show thingy in December, we were happy to be involved. Visit www.thepeoples50million.org.uk to find out more, see the films (not the one with Lorraine Kelly, bless her - but that wasn't us) and vote for the project.

T-Mobile series in production

Matt Golding — 2007-11-08T09:12:20Z

Rubberductions are currently out and about filming material for a new T-Mobile project. The project comprises 4 mini shows on texting for the mobile giant to act as content on huge US web TV channel Heavy.com, and an innovative "text-chain" user generated project. The first episode is up live now, with more to come over the next few weeks.

MTV spot clears 400,000

Matt Golding — 2007-11-08T09:10:19Z

It was pointed out to us that our MTV Joy Of Non Sex spot has cleared 440,000 hits on video sharing site Daily Motion. A nice little surprise to see this TV spot getting a life of its own online - and a vindication of sorts of our passion to make our work entertaining.

Happy Bristol Day!

AndyP — 2007-10-26T07:51:15Z

Posted by Andy. I am working today (who takes their own advice?), but most of our staff have the day off for our 'not-quite-statutory', self-declared unofficial bank-holiday, Bristol Day. Britain has not enough official holidays in our view. We can't change that across the country (Gordon Brown could, if he chose to), but we can give Team Rubber people one extra 'statutory' holiday. So we did, and our staff looked frankly gleeful as they left the studio last night. They've got a range of things planned: pleasingly, quite a few are taking a long weekend to see friends and family (which is what we hoped as that's supposed to be a GENERALLY GOOD THING), but really we don't mind what they do, that's their business. Our business of course is running Team Rubber (Rubberductions' parent company): our income comes from billable time, so the cost to us is around £6000 in lost billings, but we think it's worth it. One way to look at it is that £6k is less than the typical recruitment fee for a graduate, so if we can attract (or retain) just one person through this kind of thinking about our employment culture, that's a winner. Or we can look at the health and productivity benefits of giving our staff a break between August and Christmas, just when those dark days come in and everyone gets a bit under the weather. And if that doesn't convince, then it's still a great story that's got us good PR and is a nice thing to talk about. Why is it Bristol Day? Because we thought it up in Bristol - the city that brought you an extra day off. We're not the only ones doing this either, thanks to the magic of Pledge Bank, Bristol Day has been adopted by a bunch of other businesses who are imaginative about their employment culture. We'll be doing it again next year, same time (October), same place (Pledge Bank). So happy Bristol Day. Will you join us?

WHAD: 1st October 2007

AndyP — 2007-09-26T09:22:41Z

For World Hepatitis Awareness Day, have a look at this brilliant little animation about Dennis and his efforts to catch Hepatitis C. UPDATE!!: Our WHAD animation has been featured on the Ads of the Weird website.

Ahh, that's better!

AndyP — 2007-09-19T12:11:31Z

For the last few months, we've had a self-indulgent blog brewing, involving phrases like 'judicious use of green', 'new and super-fast', 'all about our work, of which we're very proud' and other such friendly-but-still-professional-and-hip-but-not-offensively-cool snippets. To legitimise this outpouring, we decided to build ourselves this new website, features include:

judicious use of green
new, super-fastness
increased focus on our work, of which we're very proud

Hope you like it ;)

Pint Shot Riot

rubberductions — 2007-09-11T00:00:00Z

Director Matt Golding has just completed a music promo for up and coming guitar band Pint Shot Riot. The video is for new single Punches, Kicks, Trenches and Swords which will be released at the start of October, and was shot in the bands home town of Coventry. The crew experienced the whole range of joys Coventry has to offer on a joyous 2007 summer day (ie rain) but managed to make the best of the situation to deliver an energetic performance video.

Are you living next door to a Superhero?

Rubberductions — 2007-08-12T00:00:00Z

Rubberductions recently completed a special edition of comedy news series The Kensington Report for Heavy.com in the US. The one off edition of the show ties in with the launch of a new series of hit (but frankly weird sounding) US show "Who wants to be a Superhero?" (How long before THAT hits our shores?). Shot in sunny Golden Hill, Bristol, and featuring our favourite man of action Peter Clifford, the show has received over 100,000 hits in its first few weeks online.

Skipping rain to win festival acclaim!

AliceW — 2007-07-27T17:58:37Z

Rubberductions Director Matt Golding was fortunately the only storm brewing at Port Eliot Literature Festival last weekend.
Matt collaborated with three other creatives to win the "Phone film Fest" competition, as voted for by an adoring audience for their film "Port Eliot - The Locals View".
The film was shot during the Sunday of the festival. On winning Matt commented "It was hard gaining the trust of the locals at first, but in the end they spoke out for the greater good..."
To watch the movie visit: YouTube

Matt and Guy shortlisted for Cannes

MattS — 2007-07-03T12:36:16Z

Matt and Guy's MTV spot via Rokkit for Ogilvy, was shortlisted for this years Cannes Lions advertising awards in the "Public Health and Safety" category. The ad, entitled "The Joy of Non-Sex" depicts a variety of positions in which you can not have sex, the offered alternative being to use a condom. The spot is viewable here.

Triumph film passes 180,000 views

MattS — 2007-07-03T12:33:29Z

The viral documentary film we made for our friends at E3 media for their client Triumph Motorcycles has passed 180,000 views in its first 3 weeks online. The viral hit 100,000 within its first week, and is now continuing to receive thousands of hits per day. We're very pleased with the results. View the film here.

Today we're proud of...the Kensington Report

AndyP — 2007-05-24T07:59:15Z

There are many questions. One of them is, Does cheese cause racism? Find answers with The Kensington Report. By rubberductions for Heavy.com.

Matt&Guy nominated for One Show award

MattS — 2007-05-05T18:13:21Z

Directors Matt&Guy's recent MTV commercial "The Joy of Non-Sex" has been nominated for a prestigious One Show award in New York. The award, which will be announced soon, covers the top commercials industry work from accross the world. The commercial was produced through london agency Rokkit for Ogilvy & Mather, London.

Polaroid get experimental

MattS — 2007-05-05T18:10:16Z

Rubberductions have shot a series of experimental films for Polaroid Sunglasses. The films, shot in a secret research laboratory (read a studio in North London) show "serious science" being carried out. The were shot on the revolutionary Weisscam high speed camera and were helmed by director Matt Golding.

New film for Triumph Motorbikes

MattS — 2007-05-05T18:08:05Z

Rubberductions have been commissioned by E3 Media to produce a short film for Triumph Motorbikes. The 2 1/2 minute piece allows viewers to fully understand the little known techniques key to modern motorbike manufacture, and then gratuitously throws in some stunt shots. The film, written and directed by Matt Golding, is currently having the final touches put to it before being launched virally over the next few weeks.

SONY Buzz Film hits UK + Europe

MattS — 2007-05-05T18:03:52Z

Rubberductions Playstation 2 promo for Buzz Quiz has been delivered and hits stores and internet in the UK and Europe over the next 4 weeks. The film will be live on this site soon.

Playstation 2 promo in production

MattS — 2007-03-31T11:41:00Z

Rubberductions are creating a 90 second promo for Playstation 2 title Buzz Mega Quiz. The film, shot on Super 16, is being produced out of the London office with production partners Between The Eyes, and features a cast of 8 in a gangster style rendesvouz.

Fratellis music documentary exclusively on "Baby Fratelli" single

MattS — 2007-03-31T11:35:30Z

The Fratellis feature in a new 8 1/2 minute documentary by Rubberductions director Matt Golding and Onion Features' David Obree. The black and white mini movie harks back to years gone by in its coverage of a day in the life of the Brit Award winning band. The documentary features as exclusive content on the USB stick version of the single for Baby Fratelli, the bands latest track, released on March 16th. The film will be available to view here soon...

BT commercial via Rokkit

MattS — 2007-03-31T11:30:01Z

Matt & Guy have directed a new spot for agency Ogilvy via production company Rokkit. The spot is for online use and bring some low key humour to the office environment.

Users prefer shorts

AndyP — 2006-12-13T08:50:45Z

In short: survey shows web users prefer short clips to feature films. May change in future.

It's Hard to Get Paid to Dance in Your Bedroom

AndyP — 2006-12-12T17:57:07Z

Mike-O-Matic has a nice short blog post about web popularity vs. commercial success: 'The more widespread issue is that there is no such thing as easy money. We look at these shows on MTV showing this extravagant lifestyle, read about Bill Gates and how he could buy Delaware, and think, �You know, I want that. I think if I had a million people watching me dance in my dorm room, I could pull that off.�' Includes 3 top tips for success. Read more at Mike-O-Matic

MTV "Joy of Non Sex" TV commercial highlighting AIDs epidemic goes live

MattS — 2006-11-30T18:11:11Z

Rubberductions director Matt Golding has recently completed a TV spot for MTV, highlighting the issues surrounding the Aids epidemic. The spot, directed with partner Guy through our TV representatives Rokkit was made for Ogilvy, and begins broadcasting internationally from December 1st (World Aids Day). It will screen on all MTV channels across the world, and is also being made available to other broadcasters who wish to use it. The spot is available to view online at www.staying-alive.org/turnontv (by clicking on Ogilvy) or via our section of the Rokkit site here.

Google rev-shares with video content owner

AndyP — 2006-11-01T07:18:14Z

Interesting and hoped-for move by the Gootube juggernaut - splitting ad-revenues with the owners of popular videos. Revver have been doing this for some time, but it's the people with the red logo who have the best network. Metacafe are getting in on the action too - figures of $5 US per 1,000 are quoted here. [No figures are mentioned for GooTube]

Dawn of the "GooTube" era

AndyP — 2006-10-11T20:18:58Z

So the YouTube deal is done - it seemed to take an age, but the most likely candidate has done the obvious and will now be selling ads to all those eyeballs (criminal not too). Can anyone say 'monetisation'? Quick analysis on our sister blog over at Rubber Republic

Advertising = mobile business model

AndyP — 2006-10-05T19:40:38Z

Content = paid for service

Content = free

Content = advertiser funded

Semi-official apparently. Numbers and everything. Enough said.

[Advertainment retailed » here]

Lucas - not going down the rathole.

AndyP — 2006-10-05T19:33:48Z

From Variety, George Lucas is getting out of the movie biz. "We've moved away from the feature film thing because it's too expensive and it's too risky...I think the secret to the future is quantity," Lucas said. That doesn't mean Lucasfilm is diving into online distribution, though. "Having had a lot of experience in this area, we're not rushing in," he said. "We're trying to find out exactly where the monetization is coming from. We're not interested in jumping down a rat hole until such time as it finally figures itself out."

YouTube's future (or lack thereof)

AndyP — 2006-10-03T18:21:46Z

With a monthly bandwidth bill estimated to be around $2 million where is YouTube going?

Mobile video - makes mini-media sense with ad revenues?

AndyP — 2006-09-07T12:00:43Z

Great breakdown at eContent on why mobile has failed to become a mini-media (or mega-media) goldmine. Mobile has been interesting: some lovely people are doing very well (Aardman story). I'm not aware of any other standout successes (if you are let me know). Our own numbers on Dude Corp show that consumers will buy clips directly, but in the 4th slot on a Vodafone UK deck we're far from break even. As eContent puts it, "It turns out that some consumers were willing to pay for mobile content, but not as many as the wireless industry had hoped and not across a very wide range of content categories." This is old news on the web, where no credible business model exists for selling clips (except Pixar on the iTunes Music Store). On the web 'everyone knows' that video is "free". Watch that space as Apple and Amazon launch their nearly-here video stores. During the Napster frenzy 'everyone knew' that music was "free". Apple changed tha by making it trivial to impulse buy music. Millions of iTMS customers think that's a worthwhile deal. Millions more people still file share music for free. More on that another time. Meanwhile ad-supported video sites like Atom and Heavy have more than stayed in the game selling media space to brands (incidentally Aardman's Angry Kid built as a web brand with Atom before crossing successfully to mobile). Atom and Heavy have built audiences and mindshare using conventional interruption marketing - ads before content. Engaging consumer eyeballs (and driving measurable sales) with better techniques looks like a wide open opportunity right now - but no-one has shown a standout model for this with video...yet. Expect then to see ads in mobile space equally as much as all other media. Not every consumer expects to get their content for free, but enough do that alternative ways of funding content production are essential. Mini-media moguls may feel a strong desire to create channels that are 'pure' and free of commercial influence. But to move beyond the hobby-business ghetto we need imaginative and innovative ad-supported models sooner rather than later.

iTunes saves your telly...allegedly

AndyP — 2006-09-05T16:46:59Z

iTunes movie-download speculation is flavour rampant right now. This article from Reed speculates that Apple's goal is to get video downloads off the pc (or 'pod) and onto your telly. In a rosy picture this could give mini-media moguls access to a market of sofa-snug media-snacking consumers. Taking off the rose-tinted mini-media specs, (i) Apple haven't yet opened up iTunes movies to independents at all (although the music store is available to independents). (ii) There's nothing yet to indicate that consumers want to pay for mini-media in this way. But here's hoping.

Oedipus on Atom Films

ClarissaM — 2006-08-30T00:00:00Z

Oedipus, the award winning short film by RONG, is currently being featured on the front page of the comedy section of Atom Films. Oedipus is the latest addition to the library of short films, online movies and video clips at Atom films. Atom Films is watched by more than five million people each month and its videos will soon be available across MTV's 24 broadband Web channels. Atom films describe Oedipus as a "naughty nod to Sophocles’ classic tale about a teenage boy and his family affairs". We prefer to think of it more as a dramatic and faithful updated version of the classic tragedy.... but we can see where they are coming from. Watch Oedipus here!

AOL, Amazon crank up paid-download video services

AndyP — 2006-08-25T08:03:55Z

Two new services offering consumers movie downloads for dollars:

Amazon details slip out

AOL signs studio deal

For mini-media moguls the interesting question isn't about DRM or whether it works on Macs, it's whether we get into these online storefronts at all. If anyone 'gets' long tail models then it's Amazon, so watch that space with interest.

If ever there was a mega-media mogul business then it's AOL, so that one's hard to call. Scrub that: all of this is hard to call right now. Mini and major media moguls alike, nobody knows.

Sony snaffles Grouper web video site

AndyP — 2006-08-24T10:21:17Z

Sony Pictures Entertainment has bought SF-based video site Grouper for US $65 million.

Sony are pitching this as a way 'to infuse the studios with new ideas and talent for movies, television shows and games, a top executive said' » Full story here

Related: in the red corner: Why Apple should buy YouTube

And in the blue corner: YouTube to kill Apple iTunes

Why should any mini-media mogul care about these deals?

1. Because sites like YouTube, Grouper, and Revver solve one-half of the mini-media distribution problem: it's now easy to reach an audience

2. Except Revver, none of the big video sites offers mini-media monetisation (either advertising or paid-for downloads). Why is this bad? Because we all have rent to pay.

Will this change? From the Sony story "Sony may develop ad-supported and premium content businesses -- Hollywood jargon for selling video episodes online" - So watch that space.

And will Apple buy YouTube, integrating the world's most popular video site with the best paid-for content store? I'm not staking my �5k on it.

Agree? Disagree? Got a way to monetise content? Send your views: andy@rubberductions.com

RONG win Shiny Audience Choice Award

ClarissaM — 2006-08-11T00:00:00Z

RONG have been awarded a stylish acrylic confirmation of their audience choice award success at the Filmstock International Film Festival. Their film "Oedipus" won the award back in June, and today they received a lovely, very colourful and extremely weighty award for the achievement. It is temporarily residing on top of the bookshelf in the office until we win a beautiful, glass fronted display cabinet from another festival. Or if we win one in a raffle. Thank you to everyone who organised or attended Filmstock International Film Festival!

Oedipus selected for LA Shorts Fest

ClarissaM — 2006-08-03T00:00:00Z

RONG are off to Hollywood! "Oedipus", their comedy-epic, has been selected for the 10th annual Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. The festival will be held at the ArcLight Theatre in Hollywood this September. The festival is attended by more than 10,000 moviegoers and filmmakers every year and attracts an array of stars, but it has never before had a RONG film! In past years, 23 films participating in the LA Shorts Fest have earned Academy Award nominations, with 7 filmmakers actually taking home the Oscar. RONG are being optimistic about their Oscar chances, and if you would like to be included in their acceptance speech, please send us your name and �10 on a postcard.

Dude Corp on Vodafone Live!

ClarissaM — 2006-08-01T01:00:00Z

Dude Corp clips are now available to download onto your mobile phone on Vodafone Live!! (The first exclamation mark is part of the brand, the second is added for emphasis). You can download classic Dude Corp clips, and also enjoy two new episodes exclusive to mobile, 'Corridor' and 'Feedback'. I won't give away what happens, but they do involve robots, harpoon guns and suggestion cards; all of the essential ingredients for office drama. It is not the answer to all of the world's problems. But it is a start. Vodafone Live is managed and maintained by Mobile Streams. The Dudes are managed and maintained by Dude Corp. Watch Dude Corp the old fashioned way, here.

The Film Strip - The Rubberductions Newsletter

ClarissaM — 2006-06-27T00:00:00Z

This week we launched the first edition of "The Film Strip", Rubberductions' very own entertaining, not-quite-spam newsletter. With "The Film Strip", we hope to give you an insight into the world of film and media as we see it, and we see it as a lush landscape filled with flowerbeds, wilderbeasts and custom-made water features. This month's edition features news on the future of film funding and mobile media, as well as links to Rubberductions' Cannes award winning film "Towel Talk" and animated series "Dude Corp". You can read The Film Strip online at our new dedicated section of the site, imaginatively called The Film Strip . You can be the envy of all your friends by watching our films online, catching up with some of our news and finding out what is happening on the UK media scene. You can then sign your friends up too to finally put an end to the animosity.

Vision Mixing for the Foo Fighters at Hyde Park

ClarissaM — 2006-06-26T00:00:00Z

Rubberductions director Matt Golding was drafted in at the last minute to do the vision mixing for the live screens at the Foo Fighters gig in Hyde Park last week. The gig coverage itself was directed by CADS winning director Nick Wickham at Splinter Films. This is Matts second foray into live music coverage after directing and editing the live coverage of the Massive Attack/Portishead/Robert Plant Tsunami gig last year. Matt indulged in some crowd surfing amid the 85 000 strong audience, and the crowd were calling for an encore from Matt long after the Foo Fighters had left the stadium to chants of "come back and do some more vision mixing!"

Mobile Media on the Move (In an upward direction):

ClarissaM — 2006-06-20T00:00:00Z

Informa Telecoms & Media issued a report at the MEM conference claiming that "mobile games, music and TV & video will be worth a total of US$25.9 billion by 2011". That is a lot of money, and it looks as if it will not just be spent on amphibian-based, shouty ringtones. The amount of content available to you on your mobile phone looks set to explode. MocoNews.net recently reported that both the BBC and ITV will start a new six-month mobile TV trial using DAB technology. It remains to be seen whether watching TV on your mobile phone will become really popular. For now, you can download "Dude Corp" onto your mobile phone from the Dude Corp website, and watch Dude Corp films in all their glory as they were meant to be seen: on the very very small screen.

Funding Shakeup

ClarissaM — 2006-06-20T00:00:00Z

There was a time when to fund a film, aspiring filmmakers had to resort to measures such as appearing in teatime TV quiz shows and selling non-vital internal organs. This dark era of filmmaking has passed with the dawn of reliable and secure money transfers over the internet. A new trend has emerged where filmmakers attempt to involve the public in fundraising. A few examples of this phenomenon have been brought to our attention recently. The 1 Second Film, directed by Nirvan Mullick, invites people to become producers by donating money to production costs. If you donate up to $9.99, you can become an Associate Producer. If you pay between $9.99 - $99.99, you can become a producer, and $100 or more will make you an Executive Producer. The finished film will have one second of animated footage, and 90 minutes of credits. True, it doesn�t sound like a laugh-a-minute film, and the ending is a bit predictable, but all of the proceeds go to charity, and you can get your name listed on the Internet Movie Database. People who have already signed up to be producers include Spike Jonze, Kevin Backon, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Kaufman and Steve Buscemi. In the UK, The Million Dollar Movie Project has been set up by Tony Lane and Andrew Cargill. They are second year students at the International Film School of Wales, and their modest aim is to make the best British feature film of all time!!! However, before they can work on that, they want to fund their feature film by selling advertising space and producer credits. On their website they claim, �what makes us different and unique is the fact that we are going to put every single aspect of making this movie onto our website�. Producers will also be able to submit ideas for characters and scenes in the film.

How To Kill Birds

AndyP — 2006-06-12T14:50:21Z

more of what you love. From rubberductions

Watch "Towel Talk"

ClarissaM — 2006-05-31T00:00:00Z

You can now watch "Towel Talk", the Cannes 24hr Film Challenge winner, online. Written and directed by Rubberductions director Matt Golding, and co-produced by Wysiwyg films, "Towel Talk" is a hard hitting, gritty thriller about towels. Watch Towel Talk.

Rubberductions Direct Pimms Adverts

ClarissaM — 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

It�s Pimms o�clock at Rubberductions (and not just because we're having an extended office barbecue): we've been busy shooting some lovely Pimms advertisments. Rubberductions director Matt Golding and his commercials directing partner Guy Paterson have just finished shooting some break bumpers for Pimms that are set to air this weekend on ITV. The bumpers have been commissioned by London advertising agency �Mother� through Matt & Guy's London agent �Rokkit�. They will be shown between 21.00 and 22.30 on Sunday 27th May around the Beckham�s World Cup Party. The ads will feature Alexander Armstrong, his famous catchphrase and lots of Pimms. Watch them! Watch them!

Rubberductions Win at Cannes!! (Before the closing award ceremony even happens)...

ClarissaM — 2006-05-25T00:00:00Z

Rubberductions director Matt Golding has won the Cannes 24hr Film Challenge 2006. Matt wrote and directed the winning short, called 'Towel Talk'. Co-produced by Wysiwyg films, 'Towel Talk' is a tense thriller about a man, a film festival, and some unresolved issues with towels. The Cannes 24hr Film Challenge invites filmmakers to write, shoot and edit a film in just 24 hours. This sounds like a tight schedule as it is, but due to an administrative error, the 'Towel Talk' team only started this project with four hours to go to the deadline! Nevertheless, 'Towel Talk' emerged victorious and was presented with the prestigious winner's award on 23rd May at Pangea Beach in Cannes. An exciting towel thriller was just what the doctor ordered for Cannes, which was still struggling under the weight of a heavily disappointing Da Vinci Code and yet more disenfranchised hero mutants. The great and good of Cannes were eligible for the competition. Mr Spielberg couldn't bring himself to cut two unnecessary scenes from his film though and so missed the 5 minute time limit, and Copolla went off toward the wooded hills surrounding Cannes and has not been seen since. No towels were hurt in the making of the film. Please do not try to recreate any of the feats shown in the film; they were undertaken by trained stunt-towels.

Dude Corp on Channel Frederator

ClarissaM — 2006-05-16T00:00:00Z

You can now watch Marion, Carpet and Eastwood failing at what they do best on the popular "Channel Frederator" podcast. Channel Frederator showcases great animated shorts to millions of cartoon fans around the world. "Fan", "New Chair", "Ice Skating" and "Prank Caller" were featured in Episode 29 of the podcast. The good people at Channel Frederator have also featured a blog about Dude Corp on their website. This blog contains a shocking interview, in which Matt from Rubberductions reveals the ultimate secret of Dude Corp. I won't give it away, but it is something to do with time, real offices, powerful editing software and your wildest dreams. You will have to read the interview yourself to find out whether Dude Corp is really "the real world meets the world of office dreams". (But yes, it is!) Fans suffering from Dude Corp withdrawal can be assured that there are more episodes on the way. Our powerful software has been working overtime, simulating an even more dreamily futuristic office space of future dreams. Visit the Dude Corp website here.

Dial D For Dude Corp...

ClarissaM — 2006-05-04T00:00:00Z

...Actually, that's an oversimplification. But you can now download Dude Corp episodes direct to your mobile phone by typing just a few numbers into your mobile handset. To download episodes to your mobile phone, visit www.viralmob.com. Dude Corp episodes have been in the Top 3 of the Viral Chart on ViralMob for the past few weeks. Watch Dude Corp films in all their glory as they were meant to be seen: on the very very small screen.

RONG - Pitch Big and Win Big

ClarissaM — 2006-05-03T00:00:00Z

RONG were runners up last night in the East End Film Festival "Big Pitch" Competition. RONG came third out of 45 whilst pitching a RONG film concept to a panel of:- Rebecca O�Brien (Producer Ken Loach�s Ae Fond Kiss, Bean), Pratibha Parmar (Director Nina�s Heavenly Delights) Sarah Golding (Head of Development at Mike Leigh�s Thin Man Films), Maggie Ellis (Head of Production at Film London, including Microwave digital feature film scheme) RONG won a bundle of prizes and some script development advice for the project, which went down very well with the audience and gained lots of favourable feedback. The RONG team will now work on refining the concept using feedback from the event, to move it forward.

Dudecast on iDudes....

ClarissaM — 2006-04-06T00:00:00Z

Have you ever really wanted to watch an office worker get sliced into pieces by an electric fan whilst you were on the move? Well, now you can. Got iTunes? Get Dudes. It�s that simple. If it were any more complicated we wouldn�t have attempted it. The Dudes are getting everywhere. You can now download the Dudes onto your Apple Video iPod by subscribing to Dude Corp Podcasts. Then you can enjoy the adventures of Marion, Carpet and Eastwood while you are on a train, or walking home, or on a bus, or on a train � the possibilities are endless. You can find Dude Corp on the iTunes Podcast Directory. Or go to the "subscribe to podcast section" in iTunes and type in "www.dudecorp.com/podcast" if you have a deep mistrust of lists.

It�s Like BBC3, But it�s Totally RONG!

ClarissaM — 2006-03-21T00:00:00Z

The BBC New Filmmaker�s Award will be televised this week on BBC3! Tune in to watch RONG win the big prize with their film �Oedipus�. You may even be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an interview with the directorial trio! The awards coverage is split over three programmes and showcases all of the finalist�s films. The programmes are being shown on Tuesday 21st March at 24:30, Wednesday 22nd March at 24:40 and Thursday 23rd March at 24:25 For those of you with no Army training, that is 12.30 am, 12.40 am and 12.25 am.

Oedipus Wins Audience Choice Award

ClarissaM — 2006-03-15T00:00:00Z

�Oedipus� won the Audience Choice Award at the Toronto World of Comedy Festival 2006. The award was announced last night and was voted for by festival-goers of all ages. The audience in Toronto selected "Oedipus", directed by filmmaking trio RONG, over all the other shorts and features in the festival. This is particularly exciting because the award was decided by such a large group of people - even without RONG giving out free sweets and pens to the crowd!

Matt and Guy Complete Commercials

ClarissaM — 2006-03-10T00:00:00Z

Rubberductions Director Matt Smith and co-director Guy Paterson have completed two new test commercials for our london agent Rokkit. The ads are viewable on the Rokkit website here. Matt & Guy have recently completed their first commercial job, which is not yet ready to go live, but watch this space...

Avoid Being Naked By Wearing Dude Corp

ClarissaM — 2006-03-08T00:00:00Z

Have you literally nothing to wear? Be slightly less frowned upon by society by purchasing one of our brand new Dude Corp T Shirts! We will be expanding the range of Dude Corp T Shirts available, but for the moment we have a selection featuring Marion, Carpet and Eastwood. Take them around with you wherever you go. Talk to them. Let them keep you company. Purchasing a Dude Corp T Shirt is very easy � just follow the link on the website � www.dudecorp.com!

New Dude Corp Episode � �Prank Caller�!

ClarissaM — 2006-02-22T00:00:00Z

We�ve all been there. You answer a nuisance phone call that nobody else wants to and it really dampens your whole day. The Dudes feel your pain... and then feel some more which is uniquely their own. View the new Dude Corp episode �Prank Caller� over at www.dudecorp.com. One more Dude was hurt in this episode than was absolutely necessary.

Dudes on BBC1

ClarissaM — 2006-02-10T00:00:00Z

Rubberductions was featured on the BBC National 6 O'Clock News last night as an example of a successful creative company that is exporting British goods worldwide. Rubberductions Director Matt Smith was featured on the programme commenting on the ability of small creative companies to successfully trade internationally. Britain is currently in a trade deficit; but the Dudes are going to sacrifice themselves in various entertaining ways to save the day. DudeCorp is in negotiations for distribution in the USA, Africa, the UK, Australia and other European territories, and Rubberductions have completed commercial and corporate shoots for a number of international clients in the past 12 months. British trade owes (almost) everything to Dude Corp.

Dudes on Ice

ClarissaM — 2006-02-02T00:00:00Z

The wait is over. The brand new episode of "Dude Corp" is now online. Watch �Ice Skating� over at www.dudecorp.com right now! Even more Dudes were hurt in the making of this episode than it appears on screen.

Processed Online!

ClarissaM — 2006-01-19T00:00:00Z

The gripping tale of sex, death and salad is now online at the Processed Site. Follow our plucky hero as he battles his way through a myriad of menacing machines, narrowly escaping death at every turn. You�ll never look at salad in the same way again�

Oedipus Top Comedy!

ClarissaM — 2006-01-13T00:00:00Z

Award winning RONG film Oedipus has been voted the top comedy on the BBC Filmnetworking Comedy site. The rating, given by viewers, puts Oedipus one place ahead of another RONG production, Le Cheval 2.1, which takes second place! Visit the BBC Film Network Comedy Site.

So what do Aardman think of Dude Corp?

AndyP — 2005-12-22T00:00:00Z

Just what we've learned to expect....snappy, violent and funny! - David Sproxton, Executive Chairman, Aardman Animations Watercooler moments...check out more of the buzz around DudeCorp.

Dude Corp!

AndyP — 2005-12-21T00:00:00Z

"If it feels good do it again". Just in time for christmas we bring you two new Dude Corp episodes and a Photocopying game. Sounds too good to be true? Check it out at DudeCorp.com More Dude Corp coming soon to a screen near you...

Oedipus hits Clermont Ferrand!

MattS — 2005-12-09T15:29:57Z

Oedipus has been selected for the Cannes of Short Film Festivals, Clermont Ferrand! The prestigious festival screens a tiny selection of top quality shorts from across the globe, and Oedipus has made the pick. The festival happens early in 2006. more > Rong.co.uk"

Potatoes goes mobile on "3" and Orange TV!

MattS — 2005-12-07T16:14:29Z

Rubberductions director Matt Smith's film Potatoes is currently one of a select few films being launched on Shorts TV, Short International's new mobile TV channel. Available on Orange's new mobile video platform Orange TV, and on the "3" network, Potatoes is accessible via your 3G handset, so you may never be short of Potato related facts, even if you are out in the fields.

RONG receive Judges Commendation in 50 Quid Film Festival

MattS — 2005-12-07T16:12:15Z

GASH, A Brief Guide to Social Realism, by filmmaking trio RONG, was given a Judges Commendation at the 2005 50 Quid Film Festival in London. The event, held in the Curzon Soho on the 6th December, screened the ten finalists. The team celebrated with a slap up chinese meal in Chinatown, where to top off the night, they were given a free bottle of wine! The fun continues... > Rong.co.uk"

"Oedipus" wins BBC New Film Makers Award

AndyP — 2005-11-26T12:14:18Z

Writer/Director collective RONG has just scooped this years BBC New Filmmakers award with their latest short film Oedipus. The Rubberductions produced film was announced as the winner at the Brief Encounters Film Festival in Bristol. Nik Powell, presenting the award called the film a "Fresh and original comedy", although actually it is a tragic family tale of death and wo culminating in a now award winning spaff shot. Rubberductions Director Matt Smith set up RONG with Stephen Scott-Hayward and Alex Kirkland. The collective were heard to mutter the phrase "That's not shit. No. That's not shit at all!" on receiving the news, and the �5000 cheque that accompanies it.

For more Rong, check out www.Rong.co.uk.

RONG reach finals of 50 Quid Film Festival!

MattS — 2005-11-24T00:00:00Z

RONG have just received confirmation that their short GASH has reached the finals of the 50 Quid Film Festival. The short (a brief guide to social realist filmmaking) contains a foolproof guide to winning a BAFTA. A spokesman for BAFTA was unavailable for comment, but we could imagine he would say "This film is a revelation!", or words to that effect. > Rong.co.uk"

Rubber take on Brief Encounters

HannahS — 2005-11-14T16:28:26Z

Rubberductions have three films in this years Brief Encounters festival. Come along to see Oedipus, up for the BBC New Filmmakers award, Industrial Love Dwarf no.7, in the South West showcase, and Processed, in the HP SE3D screening! Brief Encounters is happening at the Watershed in Bristol between 23rd November and the 27th November. For full details of all Brief Encounters screenings and events visit www.brief-encounters.org.

Short Film "Processed" finished

MattS — 2005-10-22T00:17:47Z

Rubberductions have completed production on 4 minute animated short "Processed". Created entirely in CGI, the short, produced in collaboration with Submerge, Fixel, HP, Alias and Dreamworks, is to be screened at festivals in the coming season, and will tour internationally as part of a showcase for HP's Utility Rendering Service.

RONG stack award nominations

JoannaB — 2005-09-21T18:58:43Z

Comedy Collective RONG, co-created, developed and produced by Rubberductions have had their latest film "Oedipus" nominated for the BBC New Filmmakers award. The film, featuring Bristol based poet Nathan Filer, and the worlds best ever comedy ejaculation, was selected from over 600 other entries, including RONG's other films GASH and ILDno7, one of which also go through to the final 25! The winner is announced at the BBC party during Brief Encounters on November 24th.

RONG foursome at top US comedy fest

JoannaB — 2005-09-21T18:56:19Z

The RONG collective has had an incredible 4 of its films screened in top trans-atlantic comedy festival Just For Laughs! The world renowned comedy showcase is where top US comedy talent are discovered, and the Montreal based event screened the Oedipus, GASH, Le Cheval, and La Descent. Not only this but Oedipus was selected for the "Best of the Fest DVD" and is now touring the world's film festivals as a showcase of the worlds top upcoming comedy

'Firefighters' graphics package TX1

JoannaB — 2005-08-26T00:00:00Z

Team Rubber have been working on a title sequence for an ITV programme entitled 'Firefighters'. This sequence, a mix of real time footage and animation, has been created and edited by head designer Damon Charles. To see the smouldering results check out ITV on September 14th at 11pm where it will be showcased.

'Where Were We?' at music festivals

JoannaB — 2005-08-09T00:00:00Z

Celebrations are in order as 'Where Were We?' is to be screened at the Carling Reading and Leeds festivals between Friday 26th and Sunday 28th of August. Rock fans everywhere will soon be immersed in the rubber world.

'Wedding Crasher' promo.

JoannaB — 2005-07-07T00:00:00Z

The Rubberductions team have been busy shooting footage for the viral game created to promote the new Owen Wilson / Vince Vaughn laugh fest "The Wedding Crashers" (in cinema's soon). This was produced for Southampton based Lawton Communications and will be online soon. The promo features a boxer, two glamour models, and lady bumps. Follow where Matt Smith has proudly lead and directed and try and get the bridesmaid into bed! Try your luck!

'Where Were We?' Storms The BBC

JoannaB — 2005-06-01T00:00:00Z

Where they were - who knows! Where they will be tomorrow? - only on the flippin front page of the BBC Film Network website, that's where! Check out the Rubberductions short "Where Were We'

Animations for Newsnight

JoannaB — 2005-04-20T00:00:00Z

Rubberductions has been commissioned by Pax's Newsnight crew to create 3 short animations around topical themes in the run-up to the general election. The animations, planned to be screened weekly, have been inspired by songs written and recorded elsewhere within the depths of the BBC.

'Processed' animated short with HP

JoannaB — 2005-03-24T00:00:00Z

Team Rubber film specialists rubberductions together with the student showcase team at Submerge and animation experts Fixel are putting the finishing touches to their first animated film, Processed. Using the latest in rendering technology from HP Labs, Processed will be screening at Brief Encounters November 2005

Binge drinking awareness film

JoannaB — 2004-12-06T00:00:00Z

rubberductions recently completed "One man and his bog", a film which uses humour to highlight the problems of binge drinking. The film was premiered at a leading drinks industry event hosted by AIM. For more information contact Matt Smith on 07887 747 987 or Chris Quigley on 0207 379 0795

Electoral Commission films

JoannaB — 2004-10-20T00:00:00Z

As part of the Electoral Commission's work at the 2004 Party Political Conferences this autumn, the rubberductions film team ran a series of film workshops with local children in Bournemouth and Brighton aimed exploring what their ideal politician would look like.

Buzz for Sony 'True Widescreen'

JoannaB — 2004-07-26T00:00:00Z

Team Rubber film specialists rubberductions have launched "Room to Manoeuvre" - a buzz film to promote Sony True Widescreen Camcorders.