Update : Radium/Reel FX has released this before & after version of the AMC Coke ‘Chairs’ thetrical opening.
Earlier interview with Reel FX Matte Artist/Illustrator, Erin McGuire
Blog//
AMC Coke ‘Chairs’: Before & After
February 2nd, 2010Prologue Films : Sherlock Holmes End Credits//
January 6th, 2010
While motion graphics has matured to the point that one new style (or technique) will no longer dominate the way it has in the past, Danny Yount, Creative Director at Prologue, keeps us entertained & in our seats as the end credits roll for Sherlock Holmes by breathing new life into a tried & true creative technique.
Prologue’s main-on-end title work for Sherlock Holmes is a blend of serenity & intensity reminding us why Main Title Design can still inspire even the most jaded designer already hooked on gymnastic but not-so-memorable animated sequences. Using an a combination of an ink/oil/stain animation to sweep layer over layer from one scene to the next, Danny + Co. add a sophisticated touch (& color palette) to the mix by freeze-framing etched-shaded Sherlock Holmes characters to create a classic & painterly look and feel driven by Guy Ritchie’s moody timeline.
Grab a cup of joe & enjoy-
Sherlock Holmes (+ Danny Yount interview)
Also see Jahvi (strong work w/ a similar animation style by Patricio Zincke — a student & friend from Chile)
National Geographic Channel : Live Curious.//
November 30th, 2009
New tagline & branding for National Geographic Channel : Live Curious.
Two commercials from ‘Best of 00’s’ : Swear Jar & Making of : Phillips Carousel//
November 30th, 2009
Vote for Best commercials of the 00’s
-Update .. Budlight Swear Jar beat out Phillips Carousel by a total of three votes//
“What do you do?” : Mark Coleran post question//
November 25th, 2009
Mark Coleran is a visual designer mainly know for his screen & interface designs. He’s created interfaces for the films The Bourne Ultimatum, Tomb Raider, Mission Impossible 3, The Island and Mr and Mrs Smith. Recently he wrapped up a project for GridIron Software creating the user experience and interface for a next generation creative workflow application; Flow.
Mark posted a question today on his blog & on Twitter asking designers “What do you do?”
It’s a good question – Instead of writing a book I kept my answer short:
We search for the emotional core of our project(s) using our own life experiences, our own attitudes about life & our innate vision to see what isn’t there in order personify that project visually.
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace//
November 23rd, 2009
The book title says it all. Big on heart & story, short on theory, Gordon MacKenzie’s free spirited guide on how to stay creative in a red tape/corporate environment while avoiding being sucked into the giant hairball.
(Gordon’s definition of “hairball”: the bureaucracy that companies create through endless rules, policies, procedures, management layers and practices. Each “rule” is like a little hair that gets connected or knotted to other hairs, and the result is a giant hairball).
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace (Hardcover at Amazon)
Nick Campbell Interview (GREYSCALEGORRILLA)//
November 20th, 2009
It’s an amazing amount of work that goes into turning talent into a skill. Sometimes that process feels like carrying a ton of bricks – that said, there’s not a shortage of people in the design and post-production community providing tutorials to either help people build those skills or promote themselves one way or another.
Meet Nick Campbell — his blog, GreyscaleGorrilla stands out from that crowd for several reasons: his tutorials are unscripted, in-depth and he stretches the definition of going “above and beyond” by helping and inspiring designers to ‘up their skills’ to become creative problem solvers themselves. Not to mention his blogs/podcast are actually a good time.
Nick works in Chicago and prior to switching to working fulltime on his creative process at his main site, GreyscaleGorrilla, he was as a designer & animator at Digital Kitchen (see projects below). At Greyscale he shares his process & experience for “Making Cool Shit” : a combination of creating graphics, reviews/critiques, career training & tutorials. Besides GSG he also post at two of his other blogs/podcast sites : makecoolshit.com & keyframe.tv (with Timmy Allen & Pasquale D’Silva).
Nick’s also a photographer and an iPhone app designer and educator. In October, CNN.com featured Shake It Photo, his first iphone app, in their ‘Tech’ section. (see article here: CNN Tech). He’s not only gone out of his way giving advice on how to find and work with app developers and programmer’s, but he’s also shared the number iPhone’s app’s he’s sold (including the income they’ve generated). He’s also shared the direction he took to promote and market his app and his experience(s) working with Apple to get ‘Shake It Photo’ through the infamous stages of Apple’s approval process.
In the end, GSG’s about building up the design community, helping everyone to create their best work & helping people get to where they want to be.
Cheers to GSG//Nick Campbell-
GSG presentation : How to be creative and get paid
Nick’s portfolio : Creamy Orange
Milo Motion Control Basics//
November 17th, 2009
A good example of the hardware used for recreating exact & precise camera movements take-after-take.
I had worked with a crew in Houston that used a Milo (rented out of Nashville) on a Debeers Diamond shoot for the Y2K-Millenium campaign in 1999 (the Youtube spot’s went MIA ). The amazing part about the equipment is that you set up the keyframes for the Milo rig & mechanized dolly’s movements the same way you can with software – including velocity control(s). Also, Milo’s camera data can be exported so that an identical virtual camera move can be reproduced in a 3D app (which locks in plates & keyeable footage for synch’ing CG).
~Not exactly sure what this guy is saying about the rig(?), fortunately the Milo Motion Control rig is diagrammed (eg Madden style).
VFX breakdown of the ‘Mnet Magic Studios’ TV commercial // 3D camera projection, mapping, extensions, re-modelling, motion tracking & massive amounts of roto by Craig Parker & Matthew Stephen
Produced by Orijin.
Pearl Jam : Austin City Limits TV Taping / Time Lapse//
November 14th, 2009
Pearl Jam on Austin City limits airs 11/21
From Jonathan Jackson’s Vimeo channel : “This is a time-lapse of Pearl Jam performing KLRU’s “Austin City Limits” (ACL) PBS concert series taping on October 3rd, 2009.
This time-lapse was created from photographs taken every 6 seconds from 9:09AM – 11:29PM. Over 10,000 images we’re taken.
If you notice Eddie Vedder performing on stage before they seem to begin the actual show, that is during rehearsal. Yes, that is Ben Harper with him.”
jonathonjackson.com // Jonathan’s site has a lot of all-things-very-cool going on in & around the Austin scene.
Salt Lick Texas BBQ // (this might be the first place I go the next time I’m in Texas)
Jim Carrey.com//
November 13th, 2009
jimcarrey.com (It’s been a while since I’ve seen a flash site really worth bragging about ..this one’s definitely it)
Jim Carrey on Twitter is also good stuff : http://twitter.com/JimCarrey
” i’m sure at the very least humans play an important part in the scheme of creation but i’ve gotta go watch the ’steelers’ on tivo, now. 
} “