DIGITAL L.A. : TECHNOLOGY BEHIND BJORK VIDEO TAKES MEDIUM INTO NEW REALM.

Byline: David Bloom

In this age of post-music MTV, one seldom looks to music videos for compelling visuals. But based on what has been shown at a couple of primo special-effects gatherings, one good place to look for cutting-edge special effects is the work of Bjork, the quirky Icelandic sylph of a singer.

Her ``All Is Full of Love'' video, which languorously ends in a lesbian robot embrace, was one of about 50 computer-generated shorts showcased at the SIGGRAPH convention.

Bjork's face was superimposed seamlessly onto the head of one robot, moving sinuously through the futuristic scene.

And Bjork's ``Hunter'' video, showing her head twitchingly transforming into a cyberbear, was one of the more striking tidbits that special-effects wizards showed at a recent American Film Institute salon.

The ``Hunter'' shoot was a major headache for the visual-effects gurus from Digital Domain (James Cameron's firm) who created it. Bjork insisted that a) she would appear bald and b) that she wouldn't shave her hair.

Makeup couldn't hide the forehead seam left by the skin cap she wore, especially given the close-up shots and her snakily moving head.

Instead, they had to digitally erase the problem in every single frame of video during post-production. It took weeks to clean up footage that only lasts a few minutes. But the results are fabulous.

Net notes

Among the many companies launching a splashy new enterprise on Thursday's 9/9/99 date is Spike Radio, the latest creation of one of the Net's more intriguing companies.

``We're taking the view that, in the youth-oriented space we're targeting, we need to be trend-setting, taste-making. And the live component is crucial,'' said Spike CEO Chris O'Hanlon. ``Actions that are provoked by on-air content, the ability to communicate live with the audience, these are paradigms that haven't been explored by the new media.''

What O'Hanlon - a blunt, blocky Australian with an entertaining take on the Web - means is that most Internet ``radio'' is either human-free digital music (think Spinner.com) or a straight feed of what's playing on some broadcast station (say, KCRW-FM).

Spike tries to be more like broadcast, but freed of over-the-air limitations. The station's prime attraction is its 27 DJs (O'Hanlon calls them ``iJays''), drawn from Los Angeles' techno scene, with guest jocks from London and elsewhere.

``We think not enough attention is paid to the live experience in the Internet experience,'' O'Hanlon said. ``The unpredictability, the surprise is something even the best Web site can't produce.''

The DJs play a lot of stuff you won't hear elsewhere (except maybe in those clubs), some of it with language and attitudes you'll never hear on broadcast.

``I don't think anyone would argue that the best DJs aren't performers,'' O'Hanlon said. ``They're really able to perform in many ways like they are in clubs. When it's at its best, it has the immersive experience of the Web but also has the best of the club feeling.''

In listening to the site over several evenings, I've found it wonderfully challenging and engaging. That's particularly so because sometimes what the DJs choose just doesn't work, as O'Hanlon freely admits.

Spike's first stab at a stand-alone player has flaws, but O'Hanlon promises it will be replaced on Launch Day with a more robust application that allows chat, access to archives and more. You can also listen by pointing your browser to www.spike.com.

Landmark Theaters is celebrating its 25th anniversary with an online poll of people's favorite foreign films at www.LandmarkTheaters.com.

Pick through a list of 600 films (plus any write-ins) that were not made in the United States or in the English language.

It has way too many worthy films to make choosing just five submissions easy, especially given my own weaknesses for Kurosawa, Kieslowski, Godard, and Claude Berri's magnificent ``Jean de Florette'' and ``Manon of the Spring.''

But if you want a quick primer on the best the world has to offer, take the list to a site such as the All-Movie Guide (www.allmovies.com) and start studying up.

Scott Duffy, himself a quadriplegic, has set up a terrific Web site to help the disabled and elderly find home health-care workers and vice versa. Both the workers and the employer can place their ads for free on the site (at www.pca-hha.com), which emphasizes that it exists to help connect people.

Mothers Day. Fathers Day. Secretaries Day. National Techies Day?

Doesn't quite roll off the tongue, but CNET, techies.com, FedEx, Compaq and others want to honor our favorite technofreaks with a day of their own.

``This national event ... is intended not only to recognize the important contributions tech professionals make to all of our lives, but to bring attention to the pressing need for educational programs that interest young people in seeking tech jobs and offer them the specialized training they need to prepare for tech careers,'' wrote CNET CEO Halsey Minor in an e-mail.

Set aside Oct. 5 to get in touch with your inner geek, and surf to www.techiesday.org for activity packs to get your company and city involved.