Open Research

Open research is research conducted in the spirit of free and open source software.

Much like open source schemes that are built around a source code that is made public, the central theme of open research is to make clear accounts of the methodology freely available via the internet, along with any data or results extracted or derived from them. This permits a massively distributed collaboration, and one in which anyone may participate at any level of the project.

2 Cloud Leaders: Verizon & Terremark

 PLAY VIDEO

"The Cloud" is a fundamentality new delivery model in information technology. But if you look back in history, there have been many fundamental shifts in infrastructure that drives business in the marketplace. An analogous change in the early 20th century was the utility grid. 

This time-lapse scribing video tells the story of the coming together of two leaders in the of virtual data management and mobile communications. 

Produced by Verizon
Directed by John Love
Script Management by Diane Durand
Art by Jim Nuttle & Peter Durand

Growing Apart, Growing Together

Have you ever thought about how your food is produced? How connected do you feel?

In the early days of human history everyone had to help find and prepare food for the community. People were intimately connected to the origins of their food. Today on the one hand consumers have grown apart from the origins of food production and they do not have the time to keep up on this topic. On the other hand the farmers who produce the food face many challenges. In this RSA Animate style time-lapse video, our client asks viewers to examine what they know about their food and what it takes to produce it.

CREDITS:

Illustration: Jim Nuttle
Narration: Brian Ufen
Editing: Scott Mumford
Director: Diane Durand

Produced on in Nashville location by Alphachimp Studio Inc.

Cholesterol: Friend before Foe

This short animated painting created for Scientific American tells the other half of the story about the natural chemical that the media loves to hate. 

Cholestrol: Friend Before Foe

Text by Jeanne Garbarino
Images by Perrin Ireland
Video by Nick Navatta

Scientific American: Cholesterol from Alphachimp Studio Inc. on Vimeo.

Mention the word cholesterol in front of my grandmother and she’ll automatically clutch her chest and say a little prayer.  It is because she, along with almost one-fifth of the American population over 20 years of age, is battling high blood cholesterol – a condition tightly linked to heart disease.  As a means to try and curb these undoubtedly dangerous cholesterol levels, which are generally the result of a poor diet, various organizations such as the American Heart Association (AHA) have unleashed anti-cholesterol campaigns, ultimately demonizing this unknowing molecule.

Yes, when in excess, cholesterol can be very detrimental to your health and is often the culprit behind heart attacks and strokes.  However, behind the seemingly dangerous exterior lies a molecule that is essential for human life.

FULL ARTICLE & VIDEO

ABOUT:
Jeanne Garbarino is a mother of two young girls, aged 2 and 4. In her other (easier) gig, Jeanne is a postdoc at Rockefeller University in the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism. There, she studies how cholesterol moves inside of our cells and relates this information to human health and the development of cardiovascular disease. In addition to being a scientific researcher, Jeanne is a self-proclaimed scientist-communicator, often blogging about relevant scientific issues on her blog The Mother Geek, as well as co-organizing a monthly science discussion series, Science Online NYC (# SoNYC ), which is open to anyone who is interested about how science is conducted. You can find her tweeting as @ JeanneGarb or can follow The Mother Geek on Facebook. 

Perrin Ireland is a graphic science journalist who currently serves as Science Storyteller at Alphachimp Studio, Inc. She uses art and narrative to facilitate scientists sharing their stories, and creates comics about the research process. You can find more of Perrin's work here, and follow her on Twitter at  @experrinment.

Integrated Marketing—Think Hockey, Not Football: A Monitor Group Animated Video

DESCRIPTION: In this animated video, Monitor partner Steven Goldbach explains that integrated marketing teams should be modeled more like hockey teams than football teams—they should be composed of quick-thinking and fast-acting team members instead of specialized, inflexible individual players, which will allow them to more efficiently meet the demands of today's rapidly changing marketing landscape.

DETAILS: Monitor Group commissioned us to produce this time-lapse video in the "RSA Animate" style. We worked with the Monitor team to develop the storyboard, record, edit and produce this piece in just a few days.