A federal appeals court has upheld a decision mandating that IconHealth and Fitness pay $1.6 million in attorney's fees for filing an unwarranted patentlawsuit against a competitor.

Iconsued Octane Fitness in 2009, saying thatOctane's high-end elliptical machines infringed US Patent No.6,019,710, which describes an elliptical machine that allows for adjustments to accommodate individual strides.After two years of litigation, a district court judge found that Octane's machines didn't infringe. Octane asked for an award of legal fees, but later in 2011, a judgerejected the company's bid. That decision was upheld on appeal.

Octane didn't get its fee award, despite the fact that it had uncovered e-mails in discovery suggesting that Iconwas simply using the lawsuit to hamper a smaller competitor. An Icon executive had described the '710 patent as an "old patent we had for a long timethat was just sitting on the shelf."

But the fact is, it was nearly impossible to win fees in a patent case in 2011. However, Octane didn'ttake its loss sitting down. The companyappealed to the Supreme Court, whichheard oral arguments onthe case in 2014.

In a 9-0 vote, the courtissued an opinion (PDF)making it much easier to get attorney's fees. Justice Sonia Sotomayorwrote the opinion, holding that patent laws call for awarding fees in an "exceptional" case, which is "simply one that stands out from others with respect to the substantive strength of a party's litigating position... or the unreasonable manner in which the case was litigated."

With that, the case was kicked back down to the lower courts. Under the new standard, the district court judge awarded $1.6 million to Octane, over the objections of Icon lawyers.

On Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld (PDF) that award in its entirety. The district court foundthat Icon's claim construction arguments were"wholly at odds with the patent text, prosecutionhistory, and inventor testimony," The court alsofound that Icon includedNellie's Fitness, an equipment distributor, as a defendant for the purpose increasing Octane's legal costs.

The appeals judges found "no clear error in its analysis" andupheld the district court's award.The panel dismissed a cross-appeal by Octane asking for a larger award, which would also cover litigation over the fees.

There's no higher courtto appeal the case to except forthe Supreme Court, which has already weighed in on the matter. That makes the chances of a further appeal infinitesimal, and the $1.6 million figure is likelyfinal.

Octane's lawyer, Rudy Telscher, said in a 2014 interview with Arsthat his clienthad spent about $2 million in defense costs at that time. The only reasonOctane was able to pursue the matter for so long, Telscher said, is because the company had purchased IP litigation insurance.

See the original post here:
Fitness company that took its patent case to Supreme Court gets $1.6M fee award - Ars Technica

JAIPUR: After a pilot in Uttar Pradesh last year, where HDFC Bank trained 5 lakh teachers in 1.75 lakh government schools for improving quality of education, the lender on Wednesday rolled out the scheme across 12 states starting from Rajasthan. As part of the Zero Investment Innovations for Education Initiatives (ZIIEI), the lender invites innovative ideas from teachers aimed at improving teaching in classrooms, reducing drop-out rates, creating a conducive environment for girls and enhancing teacher, parent and community involvement. "Over two crore school students in Uttar Pradesh are going to be benefited because of the intervention. In Rajasthan, HDFC Bank will train 2 lakh teachers in over 70,000 government schools benefiting more than 81 lakh students. But cumulatively, 15 lakh teachers across 12 states in 6.2 lakh schools will be covered under the ZIIEI," said Smita Bhagat, branch banking head north, HDFC Bank The initiative is implemented in partnership with Sri Aurobindo Society and state governments, the bank said.

Read the rest here:
HDFC Bank to train 15 lakh government teachers in 12 states - Times of India

Indic book Club is delighted to host Indic Chat on Zoom with Gautam Chikermane, author, Tunnel Of Varanavat. Saiswaroopa Iyer, author, Abhaya and Avishi, will be in conversation with him on August 27, here. The chat begins at 7 pm.

In his chat, Chikermane will talk about the Mahabharata, how he engages with the epic, what he tries to do with the Mahabharata, his style, the unknown characters in his book that were not there in Ved Vysya's Mahabharata, Sri Aurobindo, and how Sri Aurobindo's work influences his.

Reimagination of an epic is as cyclical as the process of birth. Timeless text is born and reborn. Reimagination initiates a deep sense of returning to a universe and its wider interpretations. The epic opens itself, layer after layer, to be read and reread, to reveal the written and unwritten. Then, reimagining shapes into a series. A sequence unfolds, taking the readers through the holes, openings and tunnels, of texts they had read and not read, in a renewed action and performance of retelling a skill in people blessed with the art of reading and rereading. Chikermane is one of them.

His engagement with the Mahabharata deepens every time he tries to answer the unanswered. Chikermane's Tunnel Of Varanavat, written last year, his first fiction, placed Purochana under new light.

The journey Chikermane went through while writing Tunnel Of Varanavat, remains alive, and may deepen in future books. He recently attended a workshop on Mahabharata, and this year, the epic stands before him, ready to be interpreted and read afresh. He says, "every time I think I have read and understood the Mahabharata, things happen that tell me I have barely begun. The recent workshop with Professor Vishwa Adluri in Delhi, for instance, is making me approach the text with new perspectives. It is like reading it afresh. And that's what makes the Mahabharata what it is an eternal and timeless text that engages you, captivates you, engulfs you in its depths, carries you to its heights and widens you to its span."

What is the Mahabharata?

"Mahabharata is the universe I live in, and which lives in me. To me the Mahabharata is way beyond a story, a history, a literature. I see it being played out everywhere in foreign policy, in justice, in dharma, artha, kama and moksha. It is there in every incident and will be in future. It is an anchor in the stormy seas of life."

The constant urge to rewrite comes wrapped within the urge to reread and reinterpret. Chikermane views Tunnel Of Varanavat from behind his thick glasses and his sharp eye for economics and detail. He says, "I am mostly satisfied, but after a year, the feeling of exhilaration has gone and I can see blemishes in my work. I could have done better. That said, some parts are so living that I wonder if I wrote them. This year, I have engaged even more deeply with the text and realise that it would be a constant and life long journey to a perfection that may never come."

Currently, he is reading On the Meaning of the Mahabharata by V S Sukthankar, Tantu by S L Bhyrappa and India Transformed: 25 Years of Economic Reforms by Rakesh Mohan. "In recent times, mythological fiction is expressing itself in the English language. K M Munshi's seven-book Krishnavatara series was probably the first that attained a mass following. The next jump came with Ashok Banker's brilliant and forceful eight-book retelling of the Ramayana. And with Amish's Shiva Trilogy, the 'market' just exploded. This will continue as new authors examine these eternal texts and stories, with contemporary themes and modern expressions," he adds. Chikermane is writing. "There are two themes I'm working on, one, a fiction continuing my Mahabharata Reimagined series, and the other, a non-fiction. Let's see which emerges first," he adds.

What does he think of mythological fiction? "It had always been a living literary companion to every Indian. Which citizen doesn't not know the story of Ramayana and the Mahabharata? These two texts guide us, live in us are us. They are our cultural heritage, a spiritual inheritance, a genetic state of being. From Amar Chitra Katha comics to sophisticated Sanskrit treatises, mythology has accompanied us in our growing years."

Chikermane knows the counters of mythological fiction. He recently interviewed Amish Tripathi on Sita: Warrior of Mithila, introducing a Sita we have not met before, interpreting Amish's engagement with language, material and gender in their interaction. What do Amish's Sita, Saiswaroopa's Abhaya and his Urvashi reveal? "Their strength, inner and outer. All these three characters have created spaces for themselves in the subtle worlds of our collective imagination. This is how women are strong individuals with deep compassion. This is how the need to be captured by writers. I wonder where the weak and wailing women we see on our screens come from. My women characters are a reflection of the women I see around me in my family, my friends, my colleagues, fellow writers, women I know and those I don't. Urvashi is only the first of my several explorations of strong women."

Join Chikermane in the Indic Chat to know more about his universe of the Mahabharata and other texts that shape his writing, reading and rereading.

Here is the original post:
Indic Chat With Gautam Chikermane - Swarajya

To benefit 8.3 crore students in 6.2 lakh government schools

HDFC Bank Ltd has launched the Zero Investment Innovations for Education Initiatives (ZIIEI) to transform education in government schools across India.

As part of this initiative, the bank will train 15 lakh school teachers across 12 states and union territories of India to improve the quality of education in 6.2 lakh government schools, thereby benefitting 8.3 crore students.

Education is one of the core focus areas of the bank's Corporate Social Responsibility, where the objective is to create sustainable communities.

In Rajasthan, HDFC Bank will train 2 lakh teachers in over 70,000 government schools that will benefit more than 81 lakh school students.

ZIIEI is an initiative to introduce innovation in school education at zero additional investment by training teachers, inviting ideas from them, and implementing the selected ideas in schools to improve the quality of education. The initiative will be implemented in partnership with Sri Aurobindo Society and state governments.

Through the initiative, the bank aims to achieve the following:* Improved education delivery in classrooms..* Reduced drop-out rate.* Creation of a conducive learning environment for girls and children with special needs.* Enhanced teacher, parent and community involvement in improving education quality.* Effective implementation of government programs like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

See the article here:
HDFC Bank to Train 15 lakh Government School Teachers in 12 States - BW Businessworld

Summary: The Delhi High Court on Saturday directed a private school located in south Delhi to maintain status quo with regard to the admission of a seven-year-old girl belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS) category.The petition, filed on behalf of the girl, contends that she had applied and was alloted the private south Delhi school by DoE through draw of lots.Subsequently, the school told the girl's parents that her admission to class I was liable to be cancelled in view of the DoE circular fixing the upper age limit for the entry level classes.The court issued the interim direction to maintain status quo as the girl's parents apprehended that her admission may be cancelled by Mother's International School run by the Sri Aurobindo Education Society, which also has been arrayed as a party in the matter.The court sought reply of the Directorate of Education (DoE) before the next date of hearing on September 20.

The Delhi High Court on Saturday directed a private school located in south Delhi to maintain status quo with regard to the admission of a seven-year-old girl belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS) category.Justice Indermeet Kaur issued the direction while issuing notice to the Delhi government and the school on the girl's plea to protect her admission as well as seeking correct implementation of the education department's order fixing upper age for entry into class I for EWS category. The court sought reply of the Directorate of Education (DoE) before the next date of hearing on September 20.The court issued the interim direction to maintain status quo as the girl's parents apprehended that her admission may be cancelled by Mother's International School run by the Sri Aurobindo Education Society, which also has been arrayed as a party in the matter.The petition, filed on behalf of the girl, contends that she had applied and was alloted the private south Delhi school by DoE through draw of lots. It was also contended, in the plea, that the DoE had undertaken the exercise without laying down the upper age limit for entry level classes.It has said that after several petitions were moved in the high court on behalf of EWS students, who were denied admission by private schools on the ground of being over-age, the DoE had come out with a circular laying down the upper age for preschool, pre-primary and class I.Subsequently, the school told the girl's parents that her admission to class I was liable to be cancelled in view of the DoE circular fixing the upper age limit for the entry level classes.As per the circular, the upper ages for admission in preschool, pre-primary and class I for EWS category students in private schools was fixed at 3-5 years, 4-6 years and 5-7 years, as on March 31, 2017, respectively.THE CIRCULAR , As Reported By DNAIndia.

According to the Newspaper,. . .

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-maintain-status-quo-on-girl-s-admission-says-hc-2540969

Continue reading here:
Maintain status quo on girl's admission, says HC | Delhi NYOOOZ - NYOOOZ

HDFC Bank Ltd., today launched Zero Investment Innovations for Education Initiatives (ZIIEI) to transform education in government schools across India. As part of this initiative, the bank will train 15 lakh school teachers across 12 states and union territories of India to improve the quality of education in 6.2 lakh government schools, thereby benefitting 8.3 crore students.

In Rajasthan, HDFC Bank will train 2 lakh teachers in over 70,000 government schools that will benefit more than 81 lakh school students.

At a function organized in the city, the initiative was launched by chief guest Shri VasudevDevnani, Minister of State for Education (Primary and Secondary), Govt. of Rajasthan, in the presence of Ms. NusratPathan, Head Corporate Social Responsibility, HDFC Bank; Ms. Smita Bhagat, Branch Banking Head North, HDFC Bank; Mr. Sambhrant, Director Education, Sri Aurobindo Society;Mr. Satyen Modi, Zonal Head Rajasthan, HDFC Bank; Mr. Mayank Agarwal, Head Operations, Sri Aurobindo Society; and other senior officials of the bank and Sri Aurobindo Society.

According to a report, some of the problems facing school education in India are poorly qualified teachers, very high student-teacher ratio, inadequate teaching materials, and out-moded teaching methods, leading to students lacking even rudimentary reading and writing skills.

As a socially responsible corporate citizen, HDFC Bank has started a movement to transform the quality of education in 12 states. We want to make education accessible, effective and bring it in tune with changing times. Who better than the teachers to bring about such a change in the temples of learning? This one-of-its-kind initiative is a part of the Banks sustained endeavour to create a positive impact in the lives of the local populace through its Corporate Social Responsibility programme, said Ms. Nusrat Pathan, Head Corporate Social Responsibility, HDFC Bank.

"If the Indian education system really wants to gear up its students for the global economy in the coming years, the only way forward is to find innovation at the grassroots and scale them up to improve the quality of education. ZIIEI is an answer to this call for action and its heroes are those teachers in every corner of the country who have come up with brilliant ideas solely thorough their individual efforts. This initiative is to recognise them, to bring their best practices alive in thousands of other schools, and create an ecosystem that facilitates sharing of knowledge and skills within the education fraternity," said Mr. Sambhrant Sharma, Director Education, Sri Aurobindo Society.

In the pilot phase of the project last year, HDFC Bank trained 5 lakh teachers in 1.75 lakh government schools in Uttar Pradesh, thereby improving quality of education for over 2 crore school students in the state.

Related: Whiz juniors 2017 discovers India's top 15 tech genius

Continued here:
HDFC Bank to train 15 lakh government school teachers in 12 states across India - Franchiseindia.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Auroville in February in connection with the golden jubilee celebrations of the universal township, founded five decades ago by Mirra Alfassa, or The Mother, to her legion of followers from across the world.

It is reliably learnt that the Prime Ministers Office has accorded in-principle to an invitation by Karan Singh, chairman of the Auroville Foundation, requesting the Prime Minister to associate with the golden jubilee event.

Auroville Foundation, which is an autonomous unit, has communicated this to its oversight body, the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

We have tentatively proposed February 24 and 25 as the likely dates for the Prime Minister to join us, said an Aurovilian. The weekend was preferred as the dates were likely to coincide with the Budget session of Parliament, he added.

Auroville, which celebrates its 50th anniversary of its founding in February 28, 1968, sees the occasion as presenting an unprecedented opportunity to honour the birth and vision of Auroville, to increase the recognition of its relevance for India and the world, to attract people of all ages from India and abroad to visit Auroville and participate in the events, and to document and share its journey of 50 years.

This four-fold purpose underpins the series of golden jubilee events which include diverse celebrations, conferences and outreach events that seek to engage the community.

According to a programme proposal submitted to the MHRD, the Auroville Foundation expects the line-up of golden jubilee events to reiterate the universal townships core commitment to the spiritual vision of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, and the raison detre of the creation of Auroville, serve an occasion to express gratitude to India, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and UNESCO for constant support and fortify collaboration with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, The Mothers centres in India and the Auroville International Centres around the world.

The proposed programmes feature a symbolic ceremony at the amphitheatre, Matrimandir, on the lines of the one held on inauguration day in 1968, involving the youth representing different states of India and countries abroad as well as pioneers from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry and Auroville.

Celebrations in Paris

Parallel celebrations are also planned at UNESCOs headquarters in Paris, which includes a round table conference, a cultural event and an exhibition.

Also on the anvil are an international conference on the theme, The relevance of Auroville India and the World, cultural events as well as afforestation projects.

The opening of a new building of the Auroville Sustainable Livelihood Institute, an ongoing collaboration between the Government of Tamil Nadu and Auroville, with a foresters seminar, week-long youth event, an Auroville fair and public art installations are also on the agenda.

Stamp, coin release

A postal stamp and commemorative coin is also part of the proposals.

In essence, the golden jubilee programmes seek to strengthen relationship with Aurovilles neighbouring villages and evolve a better understanding for common growth, document the evolutionary journey of 50 years, including challenges and successes, and establish a clearer projection of Aurovilles relevance to India and the world.

The golden jubilee celebration of Auroville is also intended to focus on youth, education, afforestation, waste management, and village empowerment.

Original post:
Modi may join Auroville's golden jubilee fete - The Hindu

The title sequence of the FX animated series Archer creates the artful illusion of a serious spy-related program. Designed as a direct homage to the Saul Bass cut-out style prevalent in the 1960s, the sequence focuses on a bouncing white dot, fired from main character Sterling Archers gun in the first title card. The cast is introduced one by one in a series of connected vignettes that relay character information while propelling the action forward.

Judy Greers heartbreaker secretary Cheryl Tunt is shown with a heart-shaped locket, Amber Nash as Pam Poovey is operating a dolphin puppet, demonstrating her characters commitment to anarchic references, Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell) fiddles impotently with his cell phone, and Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), Archers super-spy sometimes love interest, shoots her gun right at Archer himself. Arms raised and against the wall, the projectile prompts Archer to jump straight into his mother Mallorys drink. He emerges cleansed, striking a James Bond-esque stance and regarding silhouettes of women arranged in provocative poses. The sequence ends with both Archer and the women hes objectifying literally falling from their positions, as if the ground beneath their feet has given way.

Sterling Archer: The Spy Who Loved Himself

This title sequence tells us that Archer is, among other things, a deadly accurate takedown of entitled white American masculinity. Its satirical target is not so much an individual (or an individual nation), but the swaggering, narcissistic underbelly of white male privilege. His first pose emits quiet authority, but by the end of the sequence hes literally running for his life, away from the woman he claims to love and towards the most important woman in his life: his rapacious and abusive mother. Its only through the cleansing rinse of alcohol and maternal neglect that he can emerge at the sequences finale, a parody of a real man.

The original Archer title sequence (described above) opened the show for its first four seasons. Since then it has evolved along with the show to accommodate changes in theme, setting, and even casting, but the essential style and metaphors have remained. The sequence, in an original and daring way, sums up the tone of the show serious surroundings with deeply unserious characters and its most compelling theme: entitled white masculinity. As for Archer himself, his swaggering arrogance provides a perfect satirical target, and the opening sequence drives the point home with admirable visual storytelling economy.

A discussion with Producer/Art Director NEAL HOLMAN and Lead Motion Designer MARK PATERSON.

What was the original concept for the Archer opening title sequence?

Neal: My plan from the very start was to do an opening using silhouettes in some form or fashion. Saul Bass and some later Bass-esque opens, like Catch Me If You Can and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, were pretty heavy influences even the end sequence of The Incredibles. Anything that had that sort of deft blend of fun and action went into the pot.

I saw the mock Saul Bass Star Wars open around the time when we were working on our previous series, The Xtacles, and I loved it. Just the playfulness of it. It was simple, but really fun, so that prompted a lot of research into that style and who had done it before.

So once you had the Basss influence as the jumping off point, what were the next steps?

Neal: Originally, I had this idea that the silhouettes would be made of fire, moving over top of a burned or textured background. I loved the end titles of 300 the depth they achieved by zooming past elements to reveal the next scene in the sequence. The grungy textures in the back would be separated into various elements, so we could move past them or pan off of them, creating a 3D effect. We'd created mock-ups to test that look.

Image set: "Duchess" look test mock-ups

Neal: The mock-ups werent perfect, but the idea was there. At this time we were all starting to tire of grunge logos and effects, so ultimately we decided not to go that route. Another approach was to go for a more clean halftone effect. I liked it as a still frame, but it wasnt translating in motion.

Though it might be hard to tell, the last mock-up was the start of the opening sequence as we know it. Once Id found the typeface, the rest followed suit. Every time I finished another bit of the sequence, I would show it to the others there were only nine of us total and get feedback. Each of them, Archer creator Adam Reed especially, had an important hand in shaping the direction of the sequence.

The challenge was to do this entire opening sequence with as few new drawings as possible. By using silhouettes as our main character pieces, I could reuse every element we created for the pilot. I felt like simple shapes could be doable and effective given the incredibly short time frame we had. Also note that the show was titled Duchess up until around the last day or so of animating the sequence.

How long was production on first version of the opening?

Neal: I animated this sequence in about four days, just as we were wrapping production on the pilot. We added some bells and whistles once the series got the green light, just to finesse some of the background animations and improve some small timing issues. Overall, Im still pretty happy with it.

Image set: OriginalArcher title sequence element breakdown

So Mark, Archers now been on for seven seasons and the opening titles have evolved with the show. What's been the process for modifying the sequence for recent seasons?

Mark: After we returned to the original titles for season six, following the Archer: Vice switch up, Im sure only the most eagle-eyed viewer noticed that they werent the original titles at all, but a meticulous remake.

So why did we do that? The original title sequence was only intended to be a placeholder for the pilot episode, hastily constructed by Neal in a grueling week long After Effects session just in time for FXs submission deadline. After the show was picked up, Neal never found the time to go back and fix what he calls his sloppy mistakes, so it stayed untouched for four seasons.

Since early in the series Ive been tasked with creating the shows motion graphics. When Adam Reed decided that Archer: Vice, the shows fifth season, would have an 1980s slant, the task to re-skin the title sequence fell into my lap.

Archer's season one opening (top) versus the season six opening (bottom).

So did you start completely from scratch?

Mark: Rather than go back and patch up the existing sequence, I felt the most prudent path would be a complete do-over, before we even began the Vice treatment. My reasoning was to have something future proof, laying a solid foundation for re-skins and further modifications in the future. We had no idea how long Vice would run for, but I was wagering at some point the show would return to its origins and need the original titles again which it did for season six.

Neal and the producers were on board, leaping at the opportunity to address a laundry list of small notes wed all gathered over the years and tackle some bigger ones too such as replacing all the artwork and redoing the character animation with the latest body rigs. It was no small task.

How involved was Neal in all of this?

Mark: The Archer titles are Neals baby, so I was a little anxious about working under his direction to create a brand new, polished up interpretation of his original vision. So with a little trepidation and a deep breath in my lungs, I fired up After Effects and began the reconstruction work from the ground up. Far from being the backseat driver, he was very cool about it and pretty much just let me get on with it. No egos were harmed in the (re)making of this title sequence.

Neal: I'm a hack animator. I can do it, but I'm not Mark. Turning the titles over to he and the After Effects department was the easiest decision in the world. All I had to do was sit back and watch and maybe suggest a colour change here or there.

So structurally the sequence remained the same, but many of the details changed, like the new title card for the Archer: Vice season. Walk us through updating the sequence.

Mark: Once we had solid ground to work on, it became almost trivial to re-skin it year in and year out. The first re-skin was for Archer: Vice, which introduced a more pastel palette. The blocks of colour featured new background schematics, their edges take on a more hand cut feel, and a layer of real airbrush added a texture. Of course, the highlight of the Vice re-skin was the title card blowing away in a puff of cocaine, an inspired suggestion from Chad Hurd.

Archer: Vice (2014) title sequence

Mark: I tried to create the cocaine digitally, but it was too synthetic and just didnt look right. The only way to achieve the look we wanted was to shoot it as a real life practical effect. We got a stencil made, and after some experimentation I settled on double zero pizza flour and an electric air pump from an inflatable bed. Ideally youd do something that messy outdoors, but Atlantas humidity affected the flour. I volunteered to do it in my bathroom at home, and thirty takes later I had a thin coating of flour throughout my entire apartment. Im pretty sure thats how you get ants.

Shooting the title card stencil with fake cocaine

Mark: Back in the digital realm, I recoloured the word "Vice", which was shot separately, and went to work on making the practical effects integrate with the digital as seamlessly as possible. All the footage was hidden over the top of the digital artwork, retaining its clean lines until the last possible moment when the air blows across and breaks it apart.

So weve talked about seasons five and six, whats changed in the latest version of the sequence?

Mark: Season seven has seen another re-skin as the series moves to Los Angeles and into the private eye game.

Archer season seven (2016) title sequence

Mark: The blocks of colour shift to hotter LA-inspired hues, and the background schematics are replaced with appropriate P.I. imagery. For the first time we see a textured background, and the whole piece has the feel of a letterpress printed poster. LA landmarks replace New York skyscrapers, and I made use of the decorative Chinese Theater to hide two puzzle pieces for the ongoing Archer Scavenger Hunt. They go by so fast it took fans five episodes before they noticed them!

Is there a particular element of the sequence either past or present that you're most happy with?

Mark: Im really happy with how the Vice cocaine shoot turned out. The beauty of the unexpected is exponentially better than CGI. No matter how much you practice, you have very little say in how real world physics will react. From the way the powder breaks apart in clumps, to the organic motion as it blows away, to the vortex of air that whips it back into shot for a brief moment before we fade to black theres nothing like the real thing.

Neal: I love the Archer: Vice titles, with the cocaine blowing away at the end. Chad threw that idea out as a joke, but all of us instantly jumped on it. The new LA titles are just perfect. Really, I'm truly just happy to see the sequence evolve, much like the show has gotten bigger and more cinematic as the seasons have progressed. It still has the same heart, but there is a lot more to the sequence now and I believe it's the better for it.

What are some of your favourite title sequences, either classic or contemporary?

Neal: There are so, so many and most are on your site! My newest love is the title sequence for The Night Manager. It's just gorgeous and perfect.

By Any Means has a title sequence I adore, even though I've not actually seen the series. Simple as they are, I really love the titles for Samurai Champloo. And I know it was 80s schlock, but I have an undying love for the M.A.S.K. title sequence.

M.A.S.K. (1985) title sequence

Neal:Almost every work by Saul Bass was a heavy influence on Archer. Many people have pointed to the similarities to Cowboy Bebop, but honestly, that was more sub-conscious than conscious.

Mark: I was turned on to Bass in art school, and hes been an inspiration ever since. He was a true original whose style really defined an era. In Psycho, he set the unsettling tone of the movie using only text and simple lines. Amazing. North by Northwests transition from his grid lines into live action windows is right up there with Stanley Kubricks famous match cut from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Incredible stuff. The Archer titles are obviously influenced by Bass, and his style continues to endure.

SUPPLEMENTARY: Archer season seven (2016)teaser trailer

Art Director CHAD HURD details the creation of the Archer season seven teaser trailer.

What was the genesis of the Magnum, P.I.promo created for theseventh season?

Chad: The Magnum, P.I. promo was a joy to work on Every year we want to tease our fans with a fun promo to get them excited for the new season. The year before last it was the shot-for-shot remake of the Top Gun music video. This year we wanted to do something similar, but tease some elements we knew would reflect the upcoming season.

Adam Reed wanted to switch things up by moving the gang to Los Angeles where they would open a detective agency. Old cop shows like Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, and Magnum, P.I. were all referenced. In fact, Adam was such a fan of Magnum, P.I. he planned for Archer to have the same Ferrari. Once we knew the premise of season seven and that Archer would be driving Magnum's Ferrari, the decision to recreate the Magnum P.I. opening was easy, but the process was not.

What kind of challenges does making a shot-for-shot remake of a classic title sequence pose?

Chad: As I'm sure you've seen, the original Magnum, P.I. opening is filled with lots of action and movement, something we normally limit to just a few scenes in Archer. But in order for our Magnum, P.I. trailer to be a true homage it needed to precisely match the movement of the actors. Thankfully our talented animation directors Marcus Rosentrater and Megan Johnson were up to the challenge.

Magnum, P.I. (1980) title sequence

Chad:The animation and illustration teams studied the opening credits frontwards and backwards so we could get our version as close to the original as possible. Our EP's Matt Thompson and Casey Willis guided us towards which of our characters would be funniest replacing the Magnum actors. But really, the humour came from how closely we stayed true to the original title sequence. I'm extremely proud of the work our team put into recreating the opening. Not only does it look gorgeous, but it encapsulates the spirit of Archer season seven and adds a humorous twist to a classic television series.

Do have a favourite moment or shot from the teaser?

Chad: Pam dressed as the rodeo clown makes me laugh every time I see it. It's a great bit of design work and animation.

Was there a particular shot or scene that caused headaches for the team?

Chad: The shots of the helicopter riding along the cliffs was a very tricky thing to get right.Those shots took a lot of trial and error to get the depth we needed. We originally tried to create this totally in 3D, but it didn't look right. We finally settled on a combination of cliffs painted in Photoshop parallaxing with water animated in After Effects and a 3D animated helicopter. It was a challenging scene to create the same motion as the Magnum title sequence and keep it looking like it belonged in the Archer universe.

View the credits for this sequence

Seasons 1-4Art Director and Title Designer :Neal HolmanCharacter Animation: Mack Williams

Season 5Art Director: Neal HolmanAssociate Art Director: Chad HurdLead Motion Designer: Mark PatersonCharacter Animation: Bryan Fordney, Mark Paterson

Season 6Art Director: Neal HolmanAssociate Art Director: Chad HurdLead Motion Designer: Mark PatersonCharacter Animation: Bryan Fordney, Mark Paterson

Season 7Art Director: Chad HurdAssociate Art Director: Adam ToewsLead Motion Designer: Mark PatersonCharacter Animation: Bryan Fordney, Mark Paterson

Music:Scott Sims

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Archer (2009) Art of the Title

With all that working against you, a simultaneous orgasm may seem more myth than fact. But there are ways you can pump up the pleasure for both of you. Here are five ways to help you try to get a fabulous his and hers.

In a newstudypublished in the journalEmotion, a team of researchers made the case that happiness is hogging more than its fair share of the attention as the emotion most strongly connected to a healthier body. Rather, the study authors found, the ability to feel a wide range of positive emotions what they termed emotional diversity, or emodiversity may be the link to better health.

Non-attachment isnt dimming your fire or passion. It isnt denying how you feel. It is merely taking the steps necessary to discipline yourself to not stay IN one emotion, because were not meant to. Our natural state is neutral (no coincidence they are such similar words) and to remain balanced; and practicing non-attachment allows us to live a more balanced life.

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Are you getting the vitamin D you need to avoid cancer? And why isnt vitamin D promoted by the government as a cancer prevention? Dr. Mercola looks at these questions and more

Even the great spiritual leaders of our time have spoken of this joining together of science and spirituality which if you ask me holds the essence of one of the highest spiritual virtues behind it: unity. gRegardless of your spiritual beliefs, one thing that the worlds of science and spirituality can agree on is that they are getting closer the more each expands, and there is such beauty in that especially when we apply that on a personal level as well.

Non-attachment isnt dimming your fire or passion. It isnt denying how you feel. It is merely taking the steps necessary to discipline yourself to not stay IN one emotion, because were not meant to. Our natural state is neutral (no coincidence they are such similar words) and to remain balanced; and practicing non-attachment allows us to live a more balanced life.

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Consciousness is medium through and by which we live and experience ourselves and the surrounding world. Since we swim in it, we are unable to recognize it. Sensations, emotions and thoughts keep streaming into our Consciousness, and as we focus on these contents, we ignore the space itself, which is the container of the contents. This conscious space is our ultimate Self.

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In a newstudypublished in the journalEmotion, a team of researchers made the case that happiness is hogging more than its fair share of the attention as the emotion most strongly connected to a healthier body. Rather, the study authors found, the ability to feel a wide range of positive emotions what they termed emotional diversity, or emodiversity may be the link to better health.

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A renowned spinal surgeon Xiao Jianru at Shanghai Changzheng Hospital made the ground-breaking decision to remove cancer affected vertebrae and replace them with artificial ones. The doctors said that treating the cancer with conventional methods, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, would prove ineffective with this type of cancer and leave the young woman at risk of a relapse. Given the debilitating nature of her illness, they decided to act hard and fast.

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Even the great spiritual leaders of our time have spoken of this joining together of science and spirituality which if you ask me holds the essence of one of the highest spiritual virtues behind it: unity. gRegardless of your spiritual beliefs, one thing that the worlds of science and spirituality can agree on is that they are getting closer the more each expands, and there is such beauty in that especially when we apply that on a personal level as well.

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On the same day millions of Americans were thrilled to witness and equally distracted by a total solar eclipse, Donald Trump decided it was time to announce a dramatically different foreign policy plan for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Just how different is Trumps new plan? In reality, the new plan is simply more of the same failed policy of the past, one Trump promised to put an end to numerous times over the years prior to moving into the White House.

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Taylor Swift's new single, "Look What You Made Me Do," is a dark departure for the singerpretty much everyone seems to agree on that. Old Taylor might be dead, but she's died before (as Swift self-awarely alludes to in the song's lyrics); on each album, we've met a New Taylor. The new New Taylor just happens to be the starkest change we've seen so far.

Here's a look at how Taylor's sound has changed over the years and yet how, as an artist, she's definitively stayed the same.

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It's fitting that Taylor's debut album was self-titled because, more than anything else she released after, it conveyed a sense of authenticity. Taylor is a songwriter and a storyteller first and foremost, so it's not surprising that she gravitated to country music. And, considering she was 17 when the album was released, it's also not surprising that listening to it feels like reading someone's diary.

"Teardrops on My Guitar" established Taylor's willingness to not just draw from her life in songs, but to put in real details (like not changing names to protect the not-so-innocent).

In 2008, Taylor made her first big steps toward the pop world. Fearless was still considered a country album, but the big singles, "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me," were infused with pop. Here, we get a more cheerful Taylor. Whereas 2006 Taylor was a girl who felt like an outsider and who let sadness seep into her sound, 2008 Taylor was reborn as a, well, more fearless version of herself.

In 2006, a crush not liking her back meant teardrops on her guitar; in 2008, it was a chance to confidently declare that he was making the wrong decision if he wasn't with her.

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For 2010's Speak Now, Taylor made the conscious decision to write the entire album herself. The result is her most uniform album, sonically. Speak Now is folkier than Taylor's other albums and the songs are, musically, much more straightforward, which puts the lyrics (the heart and soul of all Swift songs) front and center.

A highlight of the album was "Back to December," which is unique in Taylor's catalogue in that it's a breakup ballad, but also an apology song. Writing a whole album solo seemed to lead Swift toward some very deep introspection.

Taylor might not have *officially* gone pop until 2014, but 2012's Red towed that line as much as it possibly could without totally stepping over it. Singles like "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" felt like beta tests for the Taylor that was to come, while tracks like "All Too Well" were firmly old school Swift.

What's notable about Red, aside from the sonic dissonance, is that it really served as an almost perfectly chronological record of the two years between Speak Now and its release. At this point, Taylor's private life was largely on the public record, and rather than fight against that, she used it as a framing device for the album.

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The Fascinating Evolution of Taylor Swift's Sound, from 2006 to Now - MarieClaire.com