Default gadgets

I bet that most of you guys out there know how it's like to carry around or always have around on your desk a couple of items that you are kind of addicted to. Yes, I'm talking about smart gadgets that somehow give you strength and confidence in your everyday life and even put a smile on your face. 

Personally, I wasn't a gadget "freak" until recently (and by this I mean until 2-3 years ago), but getting to know some of the gadgets that today I always talk about, carry and are a must in the business process, made me ask myself "why wasn't I attracted by them earlier ?" (stupid question, I know ha ha ha ) My personal favorites which I fully exploit on account of my needs are pretty basic, not the most high-tech but I can call them "my precious". Here they are :

1. Nokia E51

2. iPod Touch

3. Wacom Bamboo graphic tablet

Of course, if you feel the need to share your gadget top 5 and your personal experiences as gadget "freaks", feel free to comment on this blog on this topic.

Until next time, just enjoy thinking

Oh yes

Hello people ! First of all, I'd like to apologize for being absent this weekend, but I have a really strong reason which I'm really eager to share with you :)

Finally, after waiting for almost one year and a few months, the most awaited "Trainer training" took place this weekend. Yupee, haha. I've been on the waiting list from the first moment after they made the public announcement. Who's "they" ? The "Ruhama Foundation". I dreamed for a while to participate at such an event and it came true after actually loosing a bit of faith that this training would ever take place. The reason it was postponed twice was that there were not enough trainees. They finally made it. 
The training was split in 3 days / 9 hours a day Friday-Sunday. The trainers were members of the Ruhama Foundation : Monica Suciu  (Career Center Manager) and Marian Daragiu ( Foundation Chairman).

What were the benefits of this training ? Oh boy...a lot, amongst which : communication abilities, group dynamics, group management, evaluation processes, conflict management, training abilities and tips & tricks all seasoned with tons of practical exercises, team simulations and so on. 

The hard part is about to come : the exam, that will take place next Monday in front of a specialized jury. Our task will be to actually simulate a specific training session on a chosen topic. The subject of the workshop will be presented based on team work (every team member will stand in front of the jury and "teach& train" a part of the topic). Our team : Bianca (senior psychologist), Lia (audit expert), Nadir (communications & PR graduate), Saj (medical resident) and myself, Bogdan (creative director). Exceptional team, great team communication, team work at full throttle :) 

Here you have some pix from the "crime scene" :))

Training Weekend 

The "Keep Walking" Philosophy

At the end of 2009, The 4Th Floor entered a pitch for Johnnie Walker's new commercial campaign. A well stated creative brief and guidelines, a very powerful voice-over and a very goose-bumpy poem. The rest was for us to put together : script, characters, locations, musical production. At the end our video was chosen as a winner along with 7 other videos. 

We chose the following story : 

"The concept behind the whole JW video was a pretty complex one, we tried to signal out the idea that more and more people nowadays don't (somehow) dare to dream of something great. In my opinion our society is shutting down the lights from time to time, that's why we sometimes flicker. Our Walker has been composed from glimpses of three "agressive" movies : Trainspotting, Fight Club and A Clockwork Orange. He's the blacked-out dandy 2009 rebel who still has a clear image about evolution. By still protecting that clear vision of a dream (that alter-ego represented by the guitar playing hobo) he is able to seek and chase the whole process (in spite of all the walls he's surrounded by) of re-lighting-up the lightbulb he needs to keep walking. In only a few words this would be our concept and it was mainly built up from personal past experiences, filtered out through musical concepts like Pink Floyd or The Doors, through literary filters like Kerouac, Jim Morrison, Burns, Rimbaud and others. This whole video is a small part of my way of never giving up on things."

Due to confidentiality matters, we're only able to show you footages from the video shooting, but soon to come we will provide the video. Keep walking and just enjoy thinking.

5 ads some should watch after a bad meeting

No.1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

No. 5

Proud community members

Starting last year, The 4Th Floor became a member of the Eyeka media community. This Paris based organization acts as an interface between advertisers and creative individuals. So far, we've been honored to join pitches for major brands such as Johnnie Walker, Virgin Radio, Sony, The Lien Foundation, Nike or Footlocker. Every single pitch was a real challenge that demanded extreme professionalism and, of course, a unique brand experience like no other.  Every single time, Eyeka assisted us along every pitch, with full support regarding our questions or further problems, through it's community manager, Nicolas Duminil ,who, trust me guys, means business.