proving ground: emotiv insight

Once upon a time the only people with the power to move objects with their mind were upside-down jedi and the demonically posessed... but not anymore. The power of mechanically-enabled telekinesis is just one of the promises of Emotiv Insight: a snazzy bit of sci-fi that is actually a wireless brainscanner you can wear on your head.

Emotiv can sync to applications on a computer or iPhone translating your brain waves into specific movements which can then be used for real-world applications - like steering a remote controled drone.

Firstly you’ve got to calibrate the Emotiv headset and then teach it to recognise how your brain perceives movement. This is an odd process of attaching a very star trekkian headset on to very specific parts of your head and visualising an object moving up, down, forward or back. If you're really adventurous you might even try spinning the object. Once you’ve got the headset programmed you’ve got a pretty fun recipe to destroy the walls of your local office with your choice of remote controlled device. (The walls of SBS will never be the same again!)

The flying example is fun, in an OH&S nightmare kinda way, but it’s the less punishing applications where this starts to get interesting. There’s already been a crowdfunding effort to use the Emotiv to drive a wheelchair and even help with disabled communication. But the real goal is for Emotiv to become the fitness bracelet of your brain - measuring data like 'focus' and 'attention' in realtime throughout the day.

But is Emotiv the sort of thing you would ever want to be seen wearing in public? And What are the limitations of it? And can you call yourself Professor X when you’re wearing it?

juliette binoche: interview

Elegant, outspoken and fiercely intelligent, Oscar winner Juliette Binoche spoke to me in Paris about acting, filmmaking and more. She gives Marc the first taste of what to expect from the hugely anticipated “anti-blockbuster" reworking of Godzilla from director Gareth Edwards (Monsters). She explains why she turned down iconic roles in Jurassic Park and Schindlers List and how a sculpture she saw when she was 15 years old has changed the way she approaches art, acting and more.

real life video games

Most of us play video games by furiously thumbing a console or hurling a Wii around the living room. But not Drew Hobbs and Zoe Tame. The prefer to play games with flesh and blood. Literally. They are the team behind IRL Shooter and they stage real life video games that you can physically play, level-up and win.

IRL's first event Patient Zero: Melbourne remains the biggest crowdfunded venture in Australian history. It was played in a 7000sqm warehouse meticulously converted into an abandoned underground medical facility with over 200 non-player character (ahem.... zombies) radio communications and more. Now as they get set to mount an even bigger game in Sydney the team have added even more advanced infrared weapons and electrical “pain belts”.

The Mk.2 is IRL’s 2nd generation gun, an upgrade from the one they ran in the first version of the game. It’s reasonably close to the weight of a Colt M4 rifle and fires with a gas-powered recoil that replicates about 80% of the real recoil of a weapon of this nature. They’ve also replicated the process of reloading. You have to expel the empty clip and put in another – which is kind of stressful with 20 zombies bearing down on you. The weapons are also capable of affecting the building environment itself. You can ‘shoot out’ lights for example, if you want to employ stealth tactics in certain parts of the facility.

But far more notable this time round are the Pain Belts. It’s basically like strapping a cattle prod to your chest. It gets triggered by proximity to the zombies, misfires from your home team or by the game designers if you behave like a douche. There's seven settings and the impressive thing is the contractions you get from the electrical pulses actually do replicate a feeling of impact. And when I say ‘impressive’, please understand I actually mean “fundamentally awful”.

2013 was a year of stars and nerds.

I flew 10 hours to have a 5 minute conversation with Will Smith and waited 2 hours in the corner of the Sydney Town Hall to put a microphone in the face of the man who created the World Wide Web. From the underpaid, overworked special effects designers who make the movies we love to the likes of Ang Lee, JJ Abrams and Russell Crowe.

Usually when it comes to big stars you basically walk into a room with 2 cameras, 15 lights, an expectant movie star and a ticking clock. Every once in a while though you get a fun, unexpected moment. From Julian Assange critiquing Benedict Cumberbatch  to the man who translated all of Star Wars into Shakesperean Verse.  These, however, are my favourites... 

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1. Andrew Gordon, Director of Animation at Pixar 

Deep inside Pixar Studios this man has a secret bar that Steve Jobs and Tom Cruise used to hang out in. Deep inside this man is a childlike love of animation that will make you warm and fuzzy. 

2. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the Web

Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube,  Wikileaks, Anonymous even LolCats would not exist without this man. In 1989 Tim Berners-Lee created the web. This was his only broadcast interview in Australia and they wouldn't let me film it. Once I got in the room I understood why. I later found out that Sir Tim was recovering from a major illness which left him shuddering throughout the interview. His mind however is still as vibrant as ever. Stay for the end bit with him talking about appearing in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. It gives me goosebumps every time. 

3. Sir James Dyson, Inventor

Sir James Dyson has built a $2 billion fortune from applying new technologies to seemingly mundane appliances like the vacuum cleaner and the hand dryer. But for him... it's all about failing gracefully. If you've every made something, you'll find this guy inspiring.

4. Zach Braff 

Ever wanted to see Zach Braff belt out the Jurassic Park theme song? The actor & filmmaker talks about his love of the dino epic, getting killed off by an internet rumour, why he loves the internet community of Reddit. He later DM'ed me on Twitter to say how much he enjoyed the chat but he wouldn't tweet it because I bagged Oz: The Great and Powerful. I'm claiming this as both a #humbelbrag and my weekly dose of editorial independence brownie points. 

5. Julian Assange 

Julian Assange was easily the most internationally recognised person running in the 2013 Australian Federal election. But ever since he set up the Wikileaks Party, it was been plagued by resignations and a preferences scandal. More importantly, this is how he rated Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as him. 

6. Guy Pearce

World's. Easiest. Guy. To. Talk. To. He talked about why sometimes you need to shave your head for a role,  What hoops he had to jump through in order to get ahold of a script for Iron Man 3 and why the hell did he chose to be in Prometheus anyway? 

7. George R.R Martin, Creator of Game of Thrones 

Meet the man responsible for murdering all your favourite characters! What's lovely about George R. R. Martin is how he is happy to go anywhere in an interview. There's not many authors you can talk to about their Porn fan fiction and they'll come along for the ride.

8. Armie Hammer 

Way to cause controversy, guy. Armie Hammer (The Social Network, Mirror Mirror) was in Australia to promote The Lone Ranger and we got onto the topic of George Miller's scrapped Justice League Mortal. Hammer was on board to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the buzzed about film, and even went through costume tests before the project collapsed... and Kevin Rudd is to blame.

9. Danny Boyle, Director 

Danny Boyle is a champion. He is one of the easiest people in the world to talk to about movies and what makes them so, frankly, sexy.  His latest film is called Trance and he opens up about messing with the audience' head, the hypnotism of movies and what it's like directing the actual damn Queen.

10. Baz Luhrmann, Director 

I love how outspoken Baz is. He has a go at critics, politicians and anything else that moves.

Bonus. Hugh Jackman is a dude....

robot therapy

up all night to get loki

making virtual a reality

 Virtual reality devices have been promised for many years, but until recently those VR devices were expensive and cumbersome. Now there's a flood of portable head mounted devices on the market that aim to bring virtual reality to the masses. The Feed's Marc Fennell looks at the portable devices that are changing virtual reality.

shodan: the google of 'things'

daniel bruhl : rush & the fifth estate

hugo weaving

sex apps

Mobile technology has allowed the evolution of many industries from news, to food, to business, and education. But what about sex?

While applications showing sexual content are banned in the various app stores, applications allowing people to hook-up are not.

star wars: shakespeare style

US based author Ian Doescher talks to RN Drive about why he rewrote George Lucas' epic Star Wars in Shakespearean english.

Julian Assange is easily the most internationally recognised person running in the 2013 Australian Federal election. But ever since he set up the Wikileaks Party, it's been plagued by resignations and a preferences scandal. Has Assange already blown his chance to become a Senator and what is really motivating his political run?

Oh, and what does Assange think of Benedict Cumberbatch playing him in a movie? Well, he's not a great fan of the accent.  

the feed: datamining your vote

How do you feel about political parties knowing exactly what tv shows you watch, or changing the look of their website based on what particular electorate you're in?

sharlto copley on elysium

Sharlto Copley was the star of the groundbreaking Oscar Nominated movie District 9 - a giant immigration metaphor about alien refugees parked above South Africa. Now he's back with the same director Neill Blomkamp with a new movie Elysium. It shows a future where the rich live in orbit and earth is a glorified slum. Poor folk like Matt Damon give up their life savings to get to the rich habitat and Copley plays a government agent aiming to stop them. Sharlto Copley talks Elysium with The Feed's Marc Fennell.

therapy with jesse eisenberg

hugh jackman: the wolverine (as opposed to the wolf)

Hugh Jackman is a lovely guy and he's back to play the role that made him famous a whopping 7th time. The Wolverine is the latest ahead of next years Days of Future Past. I interviewed the whole cast so you can expect more details from that in the next few days. 

toni collette teaches me an indian accent

Admit it: you've always wanted to see Toni Collette school someone in how to do an indian accent. Also she teaches me about meditation and then we end up in hospital. kinda. Also we talk about her brand new film The Way Way Back. Which is quite excellent. 

seth rogen & evan goldberg

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg spill the beans on why Green Hornet was a difficult movie too make, why life is much easier when studio executives are distracted by Spiderman, What important lessons you can learn from watching marrionettes have sex... oh.. and demon dick. So. Much. Demon. Dick.  

Enjoy! 

kevin rudd killed batman (kinda): armie hammer

Armie Hammer (The Social Network, Mirror Mirror) was in Australia to promote The Lone Ranger (review here) And we got onto the topic of George Miller's scrapped "Justice League Mortal" came up.

Hammer was on board to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the buzzed about film, and even went through costume tests before the project collapsed. When asked why the film fell apart, Hammer are upfront

"You guys had an election and changed your Prime Minister who then changed your tax rebate incentive program and then we had a writer's strike in the U.S. so we couldn't change anything in the script and everybody wanted to change things. So, it was just the perfect storm"

Watch the whole interview here: