We were blown away by the fantastic effort from all the entrants to this year’s Mishmash competition.  We’ve had a hard time judging, but two pieces of work really stood out for us. And so, without further ado, we’d like to announce the winners:

David Hopkinson won the UK prize with “Flash Forward (And Back)” – a video which merges a series of old-school images and footage, with a classic speech from Grand Master Flash on the art of mixing. Tommi Lius won the Northern Europe category with “Glitchmindly” – a fast-paced, high octane video montage set to electronic music.

Each of these winning videos has carefully blurred the lines between imagery and footage, from archival to contemporary, to create music videos which amazed the judges with their innovative editing techniques.

The judging panel comprised of a who’s who in music and film production, including representatives from advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi, production company Cobblestone Hamburg Filmproducktion and UK music duo, “Hexstatic.”  The judges looked at each music video as soon as it was uploaded and gave their verdict by leaving comments and rating each entry, ensuring each video received real time feedback.

One of the judges, Dan Waite, Label Director of MTV Talent  & Music International said: “It was a delight to be a judge on this panel. The creativity that the entrants showed using Getty Images’ stock footage and Pump Audio music tracks was of a very high quality.  As I watched some of the videos, I thought that a few were good enough and compelling enough to be on a music channel in their own right. It highlighted to me the breadth of the Getty Images film archive and the outstanding abilities of tomorrows’ music video and film producers.”

Congratulations to our two winners. They’ll soon be receiving their brand new 17″ MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro.

If you weren’t lucky this time, don’t worry, as we’ll be running Mishmash 2010 next year. So, get your thinking caps on — we’re sure it’ll be an amazing competition.

For more information and to see all the work, visit: www.gettyimages.com/mishmash

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The  Mishmash judges have been busy looking at entries and were amazed at the quality of work produced.  Well done and thanks to all that took part!

So… who made the cut? We have five finalists from the UK and four that made the cut for Northern Europe.   Each of the shortlisted videos has carefully blurred the lines between imagery and footage, from archival to contemporary, to create music videos which amazed the judges with their innovative editing techniques.

The nine finalists are:

UK

• Christian Anderson-Marshall – We’ve come a long way baby…
• Manuel Barrio – Twist in the fabric of space
• Chris Gavin – Mashmatick
• Robbie Gibbon – SPIDERS!
• David Hopkinson – Flash Forward (And Back)

Northern Europe

• Tommi Kortesniemi – Moving Mosaic
• Tommi Lius — Glitchmindly
• Altti Sjogren – First Humans Land on Earth
• Nigel Upchurch – Rear Window

Congratulations!  The two winners will be announced on the 18th November and will receive their 17″ MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro.

To vote for your favorite video, go to www.gettyimages.com/mishmash

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It’s been over a year since Getty Images partnered with Flickr to launch the groundbreaking Flickr Collection on www.gettyimages.com.  We wanted to provide a quick update on how the Collection has grown and some of the exciting new developments in our partnership.

When launching the Flickr collection, our goal was to choose photos that created a commercially viable collection, while preserving the inspirational and unexpected nature of the kinds of images that are so prevalent on Flickr.  We’re proud to announce that today the collection has grown to over 60,000 images, many of which have been license by customers from around the world.

As you may remember, for the last few months, editors at Getty Images has been busy exploring the Flickrverse to find the right photos to be part of the collection.  While we know they’ve enjoyed viewing your work, with over four billion images, it can sometimes be an overwhelming experience!

In the past, the Flickr community could set their account settings to reflect that they wanted to be contacted by Getty Images, but could not proactively present a portfolio of photos for consideration. We know how eager Flickr members have been to showcase their work and wanted to develop a solution.

That’s why, today, we’re very excited to announce a formal Call for Artists, meaning ANY Flickr member can submit their work to be considered for the collection through the Call for Artists group on Flickr.

Detailed guidelines can be found here but a submission should include exactly 10 images that represent what they consider to be the best of their work.  The Getty Images create team will evaluate submissions based on style, subject matter and technical skill.  If some or all of the photos – or other images from that member’s photostream — are selected for the Flickr Collection on Getty Images, they will receive an invitation via Flickrmail.  This invitation will clearly show Getty Images’ initial selection of images and introduce the enrollment process.

When we first launched, we aimed to create a “living collection” — one that mirrored the vibrant Flickr community itself.  Now, with the community’s help, the collection will continue to grow and bring a new flavor of photography to Getty Images and its customers — an authentic view into the daily lives of people around the world.

We at Getty Images truly can’t wait to review the portfolios of the accomplished and experienced photographers that contribute to Flickr. With the community’s help, the collection will better represent, what is, in effect, the world’s image library.

Andy Saunders

Vice President of  Creative Imagery for Getty Images

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In our latest podcast, co-founder and chief executive officer of Getty Images, Jonathan Klein talks with Bill Wallauer, a renowned filmmaker for the Jane Goodall Institute.

For more than 15 years, Bill Wallauer has documented the wild chimpanzees of Gombe National Park for the Institute, capturing dramatic and fascinating footage of their daily life.  In this podcast, you will hear the stories behind some fo the never-before-seen footage of life among wild chimpanzees.

Click here to visit our podcast page featuring Bill Wallauer.

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Erik Von Weber/Getty Images

Due to popular demand, Getty Images has extended the deadline for “MISHMASH” Music Video Challenge to October 23.

What is MISHMASH? It’s a competition for people who enjoy remixing and editing music and film. Create a music video using one (or a mix of 5) Pump Audio music tracks and at least 50% of Getty Images’ footage clips & imagery.  Submit your video before 23 October 2009 for the chance to win a MacBook Pro 17inch with Final Cut Studio.

MISHMASH Music Video Competition is open to any person over 21 years of age, who are residents in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and UK and are working for agencies or production companies.

To get all the details and to register for the competition, visit MISHMASH.

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From Robert Brown, Chair, Compassionate Eye Foundation:

We are thrilled that Compassionate Eye Foundation (CEF) Founder,  Robert Kent is one of twenty photographers selected for the September issue of Photo District News Magazine, in their “Concerned Photographer” feature.  (Note that the PDN feature article is available by subscription only.) It is an exceptional honor for Robert to be recognized in this publication.  All of us at CEF are very proud!

Members of a Guatamalan women's group, supported by CEF

Robert Kent created CEF from the heart.  He saw an opportunity to help those in need through his own talents and those of his generous peers in the creative industry.   Since its inception in 2006, CEF’s mission has been to support, honor, and empower those in developing nations in order to expand educational opportunities, basic health services, and tools for economic development.

A student served by the school that CEF built in Guatemala

CEF creatively adopts a stock photography model to generate funds for its much-needed work. Photographers and other generous volunteers from the creative industries donate their time to create saleable images that CEF offers for commercial licensing, through our partnership with Getty Images.  CEF receives the photographers’ royalty share and Getty Images donates an additional portion of each license fee to support CEF’s projects.  This unique and innovative model enables CEF to leverage the donations made by the volunteers and turns this revenue into a significant contribution to people on the ground.

Graduates of CEF's first school in Guatemala

CEF’s annual fund raising event, the Summer Solstice Shoot, involves hundreds of people from around the world in an incredible display of charity and effort.  Photographers and their teams (producers, models, art directors, make-up artists, editors…an impressive list of volunteers) spent a tremendous amount of time in preparation and on locations donated to CEF, in London, Vancouver, Los Angeles and New York.  Some of images generated from these photo shoots are already edited and submitted to Getty Images to be part of CEF collection on gettyimages.com.

Imagery created during those days will make a huge difference over the coming years to CEF, and more importantly, to the communities we support.   Over the past two and a half years, our images have raised $350,000 which as enabled us to support educational projects and programs in Guatemala, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Lai, India and funded a number of income and livelihood enterprises in Ethiopia.  To find out more about our Foundation and the communities it supports, please visit our website: www.compassionateeye.org.

On behalf of CEF, I thank everyone for their contribution of time and talent, and thank everyone at PDN Magazine for recognizing Robert Kent’s ingenuity and compassion, which flourishes in an amazing effort through the cooperation of all supporters and Getty Images.

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Imagno/Hulton Archive/Getty Images – Ned Scott/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Classic is the thing now, with the current state of the economy, right?  People are “shopping in their closets” and investing in fashion staples like plain white shirts, trench coats and little black dresses.  Have you seen all of the rugged Filson bags on shoulders and Barbour jackets on backs?  Not exactly exciting fashion, but it’s tried and true.  Inoffensive enough in appearance to last a while and hearty enough to take a beating.

The same attitude towards spending can be applied to interior design.  Recently, the king of “classic”, Thonet, paired up with Japanese lifestyle designers, Muji for a collection of furniture.  The pieces aren’t inexpensive, but with the mindset that you are making an investment in classic design and quality materials, the price tag might be right.

Mark Kauffman//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Popperfoto/Getty Images – CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Michael Thonet is the originator of the ubiquitous “vienna cafe chair”.  You are familiar with the chair whether or not you know it’s origins.  Made of bentwood (usually beech), it’s sinewy curves and graceful proportions yearn to be sat in and yes, photographed.  You are reading the Getty Images blog, which makes me think you are interested in photography.  Right now, Thonet is hosting a photo contest through the end of 2009 featuring their no. 14 chair.  Go here for details.

The chair has many imitators but they are all based, more or less on Thonet’s No. 14 chair from 1855.  It has been called the most influential furniture design in history.  It takes very little wood to create, is very light and therefore inexpensive to ship.  You see them on stages, in restaurants, bars, in set design, and homes of all kinds.  Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec depicts the chairs in his paintings of Parisian cafe life, Picasso used one in his studio and  they are in the MoMa permanent collection. Can you imagine Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly upstaged by a piece of furniture?  They are above (top right) Even Ikea manufactured their own plasti-wood version called OGLA.

See how Thonet’s designs invade our subconscious here.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images – The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

Express/Express/Getty Images

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