Learn the Math Behind CBS Show Numb3rs Dan Koelsch, February 21, 2010 There are a lot of procedural shows on right now, shows in which a problem is introduced, investigated and solved all within the same episode (think CSI, Bones, almost every one hour show other than LOST). Many have gimmicks to try to separate them from the bunch (his partner is a psychic!), and one of my favorite gimmick procedurals is Numb3rs on CBS. There’s a nifty website created to supplement the show. The show centers on the Los Angeles branch of the FBI, where agent Eppes (rob Morrow) has a brother who is a math genius and professor at Cal Tech. Each episode has Professor Eppes (David Krumholtz) using advanced mathematics to help solve a case. For us regular folk, this stuff goes over our head, but if you are interested in the math, Wolfram (makers of software Mathematica) have teamed up with the show to help you out. Wolfram’s Numb3rs website goes through each episode and explains the mathematical principals the characters are using or talking about. The well designed site is meant to look like a case file being opened, and you can watch videos that show the math. For a much more detailed look at the science, each concept has a link to it’s own Wolfram page. It’s nice to know that the characters aren’t talking gibberish, and this kind of stuff can actually work. Numb3rs airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS. Viral Marketing CBSNumb3rsNumbers
Feature-Length Behind-the-Scenes Documentary of “The Social Network” Posted Online February 2, 2011The Blu-Ray release for The Social Network is chock-full of impressive extras, and one of those is a 93 minute documentary called “How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook?”, which is a behind-the-scenes of the award-winning film. For those too cheap to make the purchase, IMDB has kindly… Read More
Mark of the Spider-Man Viral Event Happens Tomorrow! February 13, 2012March 21, 2012When we left off, a twitter account for The Amazing Spider-Man‘s viral campaign had been created and tweeted out coordinates for dead drops in several U.S. cities. Thanks to a comment left by a reader, we now know what the next step in this campaign. Countdowns were discovered, but you had… Read More
Win ‘Tweet to See it First’ and See “Paranormal Activity 3” Before Its Release September 28, 2011September 28, 2011Yesterday, Paramount’s marketing team sent out clips for Paranormal Activity 3 to horror specified blogs and now they have unveiled another part of their marketing scheme to have tweeters tweet to see it first. The studio has launched a campaign early this morning where the top 20 cities in the… Read More
The show’s “Chain Factor” ARG is still my favorite example of integrating the viral with the tv show. Took the premise from the Primacy and extended it seamlessly (which is pretty difficult, after watching the episode’s resolution) onto the web and into the real world.