VCS-001
Pomodoro
Introducing Pomodoro
Pomodoro is a resurrected iPod Video that was stripped down, rebuilt and loaded with a bespoke library for a single purpose: creative focus. No apps, notifications or rabbit holes. Just ambient sound, Pomodoro timers, and the kind of music that makes it easier to write something worth keeping.
What’s Inside
iPod Video with custom storage and a refreshed battery
Curated audio library consisting of ambience playlists from the fantasy world of Cretia, with custom album artwork based on the Cretian region
Rockbox firmware with a custom paper-and-ink Writing Desk theme
Curated Pomodoro timer and ambience video library designed to enhance focus and inspire joy
Album Artwork
Each ambience playlist finds its source of inspiration from a region of Cretia, with custom album artwork to match.
Libertalia
Kurs be Werda
Vhekadla Shonar
Due to this being a Studio Artifact and for internal use and exploration only, AI was used in the generation of this imagery
There’s a certain joy of seeing a lofi video on a small iPod screen
Why?
It shouldn’t take going through the hero’s journey to start listening to music and sitting down to write, yet it does. A new tab, an algorithmic distraction, and you’re down a rabbit hole. By the time you’ve gotten the right music or ambience video playing, your creative impulse has abandoned you.
Pomodoro exists because that friction isn’t a requirement. We loaded one device with ambience videos, Pomodoro timers, the sort of lofi music that reminds you it’s good to write about a brighter world, and closed the door on everything else.
The Making
After discovering an old iPod through the process of spring cleaning, we immediately saw what this retro technology could become. A single-purpose device dedicated to helping us create art.
The idea was simple: strip away all distractions and load a content library full of the ambience, lofi, and pomodoro focus videos we use daily on YouTube. What started as a simple idea developed into a two iPod salvage operation with a slew of new internals and custom scripts for getting the device just right.
After a month of work, the Pomodoro iPod was born and now acts as a tool of inspiration and focus for making every Artifact at the Cove.
Resources from the Harbor
iPod Video Toolkit
Scripts for downloading and converting YouTube videos, Music metadata population, and a url library for focus playlists
Acquire Pomodoro
Pomodoro is a Studio Artifact. Made once for the work. It won’t be available in the Catalog. Tools to build your own Pomodoro can be found here.