Technology has consistently been a key component within SHOWstudio projects and the desire to utilise it in innovative and exciting ways has helped to shape us into the site that we are today. As an attempt to share this passion with our users we will now be sharing an increased insight into the technological processes that we employ behind the camera. This will also be supported by weekly "SHOWstudio Tech Update" blogs about what is exciting us within the world of technology and its uses within the industry.

In this week's first set of blogs we will share developments in equipment, interesting apps, and innovative uses of technology. As always we welcome comments and discussion on anything posted.

We have long been fans of the Canon 5D Mark II and it is often Nick's camera of choice. So the news that Canon have just released an upgrade to the camera is very exciting. The EOS 5D Mark III offers improved performance for both stills and video. The Mark III can now shoot at 60 fps (albeit in 720p rather than 1080p), has the addition of a headphone jack and external monitor jack, increased maximum clip time to 30 minutes and easier controls for quick recording, all of which make it an exciting prospect especially considering how fond we are of the Mark II.

Hopefully we'll be able to test it out soon and will report back with our feedback. For the full list of specifications please visit Canon.

SHOWstudio have long been experimenting with the idea of 3D scanning and printing ranging from projects such as Sweet in 2000 through to current exploits like Visions Couture. This is an area of  technology that has seen a rapid growth in popularity and development. As with most technology it has begun to filter down into the consumer market, which is apparent with the release of devices such as the Replicator and Thing-o-Matic (3D printers), which have attempted to bring the possibilities of 3D printing into the homes of the consumer.

The Pirate Bay have recently added a new category to the site that they are calling "Physibles", which will contain digital files for objects that can be physically created using a 3D printer, which goes some way to imagining how this technology could work in the future. Instead of shipping products around the world a user would be able to download the code and print it using their very own printer. Such possibilities are obviously quite a few years away (in some cases still a concept), but it's incredibly exciting to see the technology develop further.

Golden Tiger is a really interesting projection mapping project by Le3 Paris. Driving through the streets of Paris the artists projected a running tiger on walls and vehicles from the back of their car. The projection software was linked to sensors on the wheels of the car so that the tiger would speed up as the car did. As you can see in this video, which contains no post-production, the results were great.

As part of Mercedes-Benz' advertising for their upcoming F-cell hydrogen fuel cell technology, they decided to highlight the 0.0 emissions by playing on the idea that it will be invisible to the environment.  Using a Canon 5D MKII and a panel of LEDs, Mercedes set about to make their new car 'invisible' within its environment. The reactions from passers-by make you wish every car was this inspiring.

Neiman Marcus, the luxury retail department store based in the US, have just released an app aimed at enriching customer personal shopping experiences. If the app is active as the user enters the store, sensors automatically prompt the service to engage. Once running the app will allow customers to find new arrivals on the floor, and learn about the line, the designers and fabrics. Users will also be able to automatically alert a sales associate that you have entered the store, who will be provided with a Facebook photograph and your shopping history, so that they can easily identify you and recommend items. Using the app the user can also book sales appointments in advance, ask questions about products and scan QR codes so that the assistant knows what to bring to the appointment.

This is a service that is likely divide people, some may see it as a helpful resource when looking to make new purchases, others may see it more as a intrusive tool to sell, but as its something the user has to first download, this remains their choice. If you would like to test the service, the app can be downloaded from the iTunes app store. In order to get the full experience you will need to visit one of the stores.

Following the launch of the SHOWstudio Tumblr we have been experimenting with animated gifs, so its always interesting to see them implemented in creative ways. The New York fashion week gifs available on cinemagraphs.com are a great example of how adding a small section of animation to a still can bring it to life and deliver a greater insight into the atmosphere of the occasion.

“Ice Angel” is an interactive piece by Dominic Harris and Cinimod Studio that allows users to be depicted in angelic form. The piece that was inspired by how children produce snow angels allows the user to become both the performer and the portrait subject of the piece. Similarly to Daniel Brown's set of interactive pieces currently installed in Le Printemps, as part of Visions Couture, the piece relies on the movement of the user. In this instance, however, as the user moves their arms a wing shape appears on the screen behind them, mimicking the users movements. Each set of wings are created dynamically and are linked to the individual participant, playing with the idea that the artwork is revealing the participants 'inner angel'. The piece also 'remembers' the individual and their angel wings will remain theirs in any future interactions.

The simplicity and playfulness of the piece make it wonderfully effective and the artist has taken every care to make sure that the experience remains simple and enjoyable, for example choosing to mount the camera overhead instead of front facing (which would have been much easier to implement) so that the angels remain the uninterrupted focal point.

There have been several attempts at attaching cameras to remote controlled helicopters over the past couple of years. This has mainly come out of a desire to capture great aerial shots, but at a percentage of the price of a large crane or actual helicopter, and the rapid development of remote controlled equipment. This experimentation has resulted in the mixture of success, and has often been the end of many cameras and RC helicopters.

However, last year OMSTUDIOS introduced a drone, which allows the RED Epic to be attached to a small helicopter known as an octocopter, which has had some great results. The OMCOPTER allows the RED Epic to reach heights of up to 150 meters without the limitations of a crane or the costs and space implications of an actual helicopter. Due to its movability it is also usable in close range to the subject and provides an agile option to follow a moving subject from all angles. In order to achieve the shots achieved in this video you need to use a highly trained pilot (extremely brave as well considering the costs of the RED Epic), who will have cost implications, but in comparison to the costs of hiring an actual helicopter this becomes far more manageable.

As you can see in both videos the results are very impressive, especially when you consider that there are only two cuts in the second film.

Our latest exhibition 'Selling Sex' opens today, which focuses on sex, as seen exclusively from a female perspective. Although 'Geometric Porn' is produced by a man its an interesting take on sexual imagery. Luciano Foglia's app which contains circles, triangles, rectangles and other geometric shapes in order to recreate sexual scenes has recently been rejected by Apple. Apple stated that "Apps that present excessively objectionable or crude content will be rejected. We found that many audiences would find your app concept objectionable, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines." Foglia argues that as the app does not contain any actual pornography it shouldn't be considered in the same vein as apps that contain explicit imagery. Apple's reasoning is understandable, but maybe a warning for user discretion would be better suited in this case.

We all spend significant amounts of time (possibly too much) on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Following on from last year's Museum of Me, Intel have now created What About Me? which feeds into a nicely designed infographic. The vizualisation provides information such as status updates and photos, but also more interesting behaviour such as your most popular photo posted on Facebook (in terms of 'likes'); what time of day you're most likely to log on; the subjects your posts cover most often; and how you found the information that you share.

Produced by onformative and chopchop the “unnamed soundsculpture” is a project by Daniel Franke & Cedric Kiefer. For the piece the artists asked a dancer to interpret a musical piece (Kreukeltape by Machinenfabriek) and recorded her motion using 3 Kinect cameras and Processing. The images were then combined to produce a 3D point cloud, which the artists used to create a digital body that is made up of 22,000 points. The resulting representation of the 'sand soundsculpture' is truly stunning.

Instagram is an app for iOS that allows users to quickly take pictures, add a filter and share with friends. It is a wonderfully simple app to use and is a quick way of sharing beautiful imagery. Regular SHOWstudio users may have noticed that Nick Knight is now a registered user and has begun posting images and sharing them through our Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. You can follow Nick's Instagram feed within the application via the username @showstudio_nick_knight for an insight into his day to day life.

Instagram have also just announced that Hipstamatic (another popular photography application) users can now share to instagram so the userbase and amount of exciting photos is set to further expand. We're always interested to see exciting images, so add #showstudio to your image caption and we'll be more likely to see them.

The use of augmented reality in mainstream media has been steadily growing since it began to service many years ago. Although it hasn't taken off to the levels that were initially forecast, the technology is still making inroads into our everyday lives. Moonpig, one of the leading greeting card manufacturers, have just announced a new range of cards called Video Cards. Similarly to Hallmark's attempt, the new cards allow users to incorporate video clips into the design of a card and using the Moonpig app the recipient can play back the video on a card by holding their phone in front of the card. The video clip can then also be saved to your phone. I can see this service becoming very popular for personalisation reasons and its great to see a technology like this be incorporated into something as everyday as a greeting card.

The Galileo is an iOS-controlled robotic iPhone platform with an infinite spherical rotation capability. The device can be connected to your iPad or other iOS devices, which can then act as a controller for Galileo to move the attached iPhone or iPod. As well as providing increased control for video chat this device could be extremely useful in any remote controlled photography or cinematography. It is capable of infinite 360° pan-and-tilt at speeds up to 200° per second in any orientation, which makes it more than an exciting new toy. The Galileo project is currently listed on the kickstarter site, as the firm needed funding in order to progress, but fortunately they have surpassed there initial target and we can look forward to seeing the first batch released around June 2012.

As mentioned before here at SHOWstudio we are extremely interested in 3D scanning and printing. One of most appealing potentials of 3D printing is the ability to recreate, personalize and customise products to the users specifications. This is an idea that has been explored by n-e-r-v-o-u-s with their range of customisable rings. Users are able to adapt and play with the standard design of the ring changing the structure, sizing, style, and finish until they are happy with their individual product. Once satisfied the user can have the object printed with a 3D printer and shipped to them within 3 weeks.

That is something that HeroDesign have touched upon with their prototype for a new online and downloadable app that allows people to generate their own Voronoi bookshelf. Users are able to specify the dimensions and material of the shelves, and the code generates a series of downloadable files that could go right to a laser cutter or CNC router.

The possibilities of this are pretty incredible. Imagine a point at which you can customise any product to your own needs and simply have it printed, It may be quite a while until this is a realisation, but considering the rate at which the technology is developing it may be sooner than we think.