This is a cool little idea for an app: one that tells a story of Santa getting ready for Christmas, then lets you write a letter by hand to him on the screen. You can check out the ad here.
I have to confess to being biased on this one – the music for this ad was composed by my brother, Darius. A disgracefully talented and capable upstart, he’s a musician and sound engineer who has recently moved into composing and quickly established a name for himself. He’s already done the soundtracks for a number of short films. This ad is his first jingle. You can check out some of his other work here. He’s also done a piece of music for me to use on a book trailer I have planned for the Wildenstern Saga . . . when I can get my arse in gear and get the other bits done. You know how it is.
The trailer hasn’t got much further than the layout stage, but you can have a listen to the music on his site. I originally asked him to record that deliciously spooky ‘Danse Macabre’ by Saint Saens on guitar for me (no small task in itself). But he went the whole hog and composed an entirely new piece. I think it’s brilliant – and proper moody. Incredibly, he achieved this fantastic orchestral sound with only a computer, some nifty software, a piano keyboard and not much else.
On a further Christmassy note, here’s a cool little video about the Nativity – the online story. It’ll give you a chuckle.