Zoom 101

March 2005, Lebanon is on the verge of change. This year marked a watershed in the history of our country. Lebanon was basically divided into two sides, to parties, two ideologies and even two ways of reporting fact by Lebanese media outlets.

At that time LBC and Future TV were mainly pro 14th of March, whereas the other stations such as the Hezbollah owned channel were rallying with the 8th of March party. It is no secret that Lebanese TV stations are majorly owned and controlled by political parties and are heavily influenced by their actions. That said, it was normal for them to report facts with a special twist, the way they wanted to be seen. 

A very famous form of presenting and broadcasting news at the time entered our political life and even Lebanese pop culture. Zooming in and out. It was reported that TV stations used to zoom out on certain manifestations to created this sense of added depth to the amount of protesters. Likewise rival TV station used to zoom in the view to remove this sense of infinite showing a few number of protesters. At this point in time, a Lebanese citizen was measured as the amount of square meter he can invade.



This practice was on everyone's tongue; hours of political debates and explanations on air by reputed politicians. It was even the subject of dares by political rivals to count each person at the opposite protests and announce the majority. This slight use of propaganda by Lebanese medias created a new form of selective censorship and editing. It was a main argument to use while talking about the situation.

This practice shows that media outlets offer you the news the way they want you to see it. Technically, they are not masking facts or pretending they didn't happen. They even didn't re-edited or modified it. What they did is a mere job of zooming in or out the picture, to help the cause their political parties are fighting.

Until today, many regimes in the Arab world used this simple technique to blur the lines between reality and what they want you to see. This is why media has always been the go-to platform to publish and broadcast facts. The perspective and the way it is produced changes with every outlet depending on what coming for them at the end of the day.

A whole new dimension

Artists through out time have tried to re-create reality on canvas, experiencing with different perspectives and techniques. In 2012 and in partnership with 3D Mapping Factory, and for the occasion of it's 75 years of existence, ALBA presented a first in the country way of representing reality: 3D Mapping.

With the digital revolution and the easy access of 3D technologies everywhere, it was expected that these kind of practices will be available one day. The presentation takes the viewer and submerges him into a new reality, a reality that is extremely close yet untouchable. Artists used to paint on walls, paper and other traditional materials. In the 21st century why not making our concrete buildings our canvases . The main idea is to transform something fix, unmovable into a new way of presenting an idea to picture a new reality.

The creators of this 3D mapping introduced the viewer to a new perspective that represents perfectly the way we look at ourselves. Traditional ways of representations are not as effective with the presence of more realistic and representative way of telling something of spreading the message. This whole concept of meet-up and watching a virtual projection makes it more intriguing and interesting. This explosion of colours and wide variety of animations grasp instantly the viewer's attention. Old representations were nearly ephemeral. However, 3d Mapping is instant and quick: the ALBA campus is always there unlike the message and the graphics that do not belong to the structure.




Another different approach to 3d mapping is it's re-appropriation in music and arts theme. The projection took place on the Rochester Castle and the video was an unexpected mix of ACDC and Iron Man. Even if the subject was targeted to niche audience, many gathered see the castle warping, morphing and collapsing in front of them. What's different with the ALBA 3d mapping, is that this projection was not created for a particular purpose; it was just produced for the sake of creating art and combining those two themes together. It is now no longer a question of purpose and more a question of aesthetic since artists come up with different ideas and medium to express their art. 

One of the most famous forms of 3d mapping projection is without doubt the Tupac hologram at the Coachella Music and Arts festival in California. Brought to the mainstream by no other than Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, this icon of West Side rap appeared safe and sound with the most prominent figures of this genre today on stage. 

Without doubt, 3d mapping has a bright future ahead. The idea of morphing and changing something that is here, always is a huge leap in the way we represent perspective. The fact that it's making art instant compared to nearly ephemeral pieces produced in the past. The show is limited in time creating this urge to gather around walls of concrete to catch the piece of art. What's next? Maybe in few years 3d mapping will be a thing of the past just like canvases.

Old school taking over

When was the last time you had a shawarma sandwich at your favourite restaurant? With the rise of American diners and fast-food chains, local traditional shawarma restaurants had a real slump in sales because people want something new, something hip. With their tame and boring branding there was no way they could compete with those expensive branding campaigns and social network presence that the competition was getting. Not it until now at least.

The newest kid on the block, Shawarma  Republic is here to make it change. The brand successfully re-appropriated the traditional shawarma and transformed it into a modern and interesting sandwich. It all started with a viral video on YouTube. The video portrayed a DJ spinning music with shawarma making the idea of consuming this type of sandwich something that could be identified as "cool". The owners tried to make path for resurgence by changing the way we look at shawarma in general. The viewer decodes this video in a way that wants him to try and see if there is something different in that particular sandwich.

Shawarma Republic also appropriated the very popular Obama "Yes We Can" campaign in one of their visuals with the slogan "United we sandwich". In other words, the main idea is a heavily westernised image that conforms with what the competition is offering to attract a maximum number of clients. The viewer is interpellated by this image which includes him  in the story and main theme of the visual. The "We" creates a sense of belonging to group of people, a group that is willing to try/or tried the brand new shawarma. The viewer also immediately relates this visual with the "Yes We Can" campaign which was successful creating a positive appeal to the brand.

Shawarmanji, a brand that is also fighting for it's place in the battle of the sandwiches is also taking the same approach. The visual is professional yet approachable which targets the viewer in becoming a potential client. The shawarma which was at one point and old and traditional offering is now having a second wind thanks to this re-appropriation by Shawarmanji, for example, that is integrating it with our today's standards. 
Shawarma also had an international boost after Tony Stark refers to it in the latest instalment of the Iron Man franchise. Following the release of the movie Shawarma restaurants in LA and New York were jam packed with people wanting to try or to replicate their favourite action hero.

Reviving old products or items has always took an important part in the world of branding and visuals. Shawarma was popular and will remain popular. However, these new approaches are making it more hip, more trendy. It's just 21st century version of one of the region's most popular sandwich.