I'm still here.. whew!

So I did what I never thought I could do: back to back projects with the second one having an accelerated deadline.

The first project I took on was a song titled "Nobody's Sad on a Saturday Night" by country star of 90's fame Uncle Kracker.



It's been awhile since I've actually done a lyric video, my last being Camryn which was at the beginning of Summer. I've been preoccupied with my job and internship to tackle on anything as demanding as a project as this. I decided to give a hand at creating basic vector shapes since I'm slowly starting to move away from vectors I find online. I feel when I create them myself I learn more and I'm able to communicate a similar style amongst the graphics I create. I saw a preview for a tutorial on AE Tuts+ which inspired me to try out a similar style in morphing vectors.



I really wanted to learn how they did it, but unfortunately only premium members get access to the tutorial so I just ripped the video off YouTube and studied it frame by frame. It's amazing what little tricks animators due to create the illusion of a seamless morph. Thank you AE Tuts+ for the inspiration.

During my work for Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records for Uncle Kracker, I was thrown another job offer to work for a Christian Pop Singer named Britt Nicole under the Christian music division of EMI. I agreed to work on the project right after Uncle Kracker with the usual turn around time of 2 weeks. The morning I finally submitted the final version of "Nobody's Sad on a Saturday Night", I get a message from my contact at EMI requesting a 1 week turn around for the project. At the time, I haven't slept for over 24 hours, was hopped up on caffeine, and still on a creative high from my previous project.

I've never attempted to finish a project like that under such short notice. I recall taking 2 months to finish my first kinetic type video, and eventually narrowed down the process to 2 weeks. I must have felt really crazy that morning, but I was leaning towards taking the job. 3 cups of coffee later and a couple of hours I decide to take on Britt Nicole's "Gold" in 1 week. I was still on a creative fervor and decided to use it to hit the ground running for this project. I wanted to really push myself to see what I could really do. I remember reading a quote somewhere which said something along the lines of "The only way to improve yourself is to do something you thought you could never do before". One of my fears is that I reach an apex early in my life so I decided to go forward and test myself to the best of my abilities.



I definitely wish I had more time to work on this because I had so many more great ideas to implement but time would not permit me, but I'm happy that I was even able to work a lyric video like this in 3D space in 1 weeks since 3D projects generally take me a bit longer.  Overall, I'm happy with the project. I just really want people to feel good after seeing the video. I'm not into Christian Pop music, but the song has good message. Generally, when I work on projects, I excel creatively when the project is something I truly believe in.



Well, once again I apologize for the lack of updates, but I come bearing 2 gifts in return. I'm still planing out my personal project. I have an idea in mind, but with my senior thesis project shooting days around the corner, I feel I'll have to wait a little bit longer.. That's fine though, because I feel having more time to think things out really help me translate my ideas in my head better onto pixels.




Time to smoke a fat one and be lazy, because with senior thesis looming closer, this is just the calm before the storm..

Memento

Always remember that the reason you got into this was to make people feel emotions.

Starting Off the Day Right

 Flying Lotus' "Until the Quiet Comes".

 Amazing visuals, hypnotic beat, and dreamlike in quality. I especially love the constant flickering light effect. Very reminiscent of Gaspar Noë's "Enter the Void".

Bad Habit of Never Updating Things

I'm starting to notice the pattern of my posts being a month apart. I'll be for real and say that I haven't had the push lately to update on this blog. Maybe it's just laziness, a lack of inspiration, bad time management skills, but I feel the urge to post today because I feel whenever I write down my ideas, thoughts, or anything related to my career path it seems to allow my mind to keep from wandering and keep me obsessing over the things that matter. I want to keep obsessing.

I'm quite unsure of the status of my recent projects I have discussed. Things come and go, and the best way I like to put it is "Ya' win some, ya' dim sum". I also like to think about another quote from my girlfriend's mom "If you can't laugh about it, what can you do about it?". 

I've decided to take on a personal project again. No secrets and misunderstandings of proposals this time, I swear! I decided to take this on to keep the juices flowing and to help me manage my time better. I know I talk about how I never have time, but it seems like when I do I seem to be wasteful with it. I haven't thought of what exactly to do yet, but I'm really aiming to finish this before the year ends.

Time to continue the stream of conscious that I have blanked out for the past couple of months. As usual, here's some inspirational stuff.

Japanese electronica/hip-hop duo group_inou's "HEART" is without a doubt, one of the weirdest music videos I've ever seen. The animation style is unlike anything I've seen done before, and wouldn't be surprised if whoever is reading this is actually disgusted by it. There's something about this style that I really enjoy because it's so different. It's obvious the animators could do something much more aesthetically pleasing, but their choice to do the complete opposite is actually quite interesting. I've known about this music video for awhile but just recently came across the english translation of the character's narration in the bottom. Something about despite the loss of his love and his decision to continue his passion while behing wishful to the woman who shot him down really struck a chord with me.



Post rock band Toe's music video for "Goodbye". Good, clean, stop motion. Totally did not expect the animation to go as "far" as it did, and I can clearly see the hard work put into this project. Sorry I couldn't find a better quality video, but tracking down one seems to be hard without knowing some Japanese.


Here's a few videos that I've really admired from a motion graphic stand point.







All share a common theme of giving visuals to such heavy instrumental songs. Sight to what can only be heard. I enjoy these even more because I'm familiar with how each project was executed in After Effects and contain a lot of "Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that?" moments. I sometimes feel I get insecure when I see work that is better than mine, but due to a recent book I've read, I've decided to take criticism better instead of shoving it to the side with my arms crossed and my head full of steam. I'm hoping to do something similar to this with my side project.


I'm writing this post on a whim cause I'm getting ready and typing this at the same time, but here's some of the work I've done recently that I've never posted up.



"NYPD REMIX" is a short editing project I did last semester. We had to cut up some footage from the TV show NYPD Blue and my professor instructed us to "use whatever material we wanted" to edit with. I decided to do a music video-esque tribute to the show to Daft Punk's song "High Life" with footage that was given to me for the project and scenes from season one of the show.




"Project Camryn" in its completion. My latest kinetic type video. I hope to get more of these because I have the most fun with them and learn something each time I finish up a project.


I'll be updating more. I REALLY PROMISE THIS TIME.

















(...really!)

Upcoming Semester

I've been fleshing out my schedule for the past couple of days trying to see what's ahead of me of what could possibly be my busiest semester ever. Despite senior thesis approaching, I've decided to tack on a freelance job and an internship. My schedule mainly consists of me being out of my house a little before 7am and coming home no earlier than 6pm Monday through Friday. I laid out my work days and set up the semester for about 30 hours of work a week on top of academics, something I haven't done before. I only have 2 semesters left until I'm launched into the real world with a piece of paper and the lessons from the mistakes I've made in the past 22 years of my life.

I want to get used to organizing my time like this. I know it's not the world's busiest schedule, but this is something I haven't really done before. I remind myself that I need to adjust to a schedule like this and that things won't get easier. I've been feeling a bit more driven lately, especially after taking a hiatus from freelancing. I'm hungry for work and yearn to improve. I feel I've come to a point in my life where building my career has taken a very high priority. It makes me feel nostalgic thinking about this, but I've come to terms that those days where all I had to worry about was fitting in socially and plotting my next attempts to be under the influence have passed me.

The project I've picked up is working on an online commercial for an upcoming classical album compilation from EMI Records from author E L James of "Fifty Shades of Grey" fame. I'll be working on a kinetic typography type of animation with quotes from the book. The interesting part of the project  is that I have no recorded dialogue to follow, just classical music and excerpts from the novel. This will be fun because I can basically set the pace of the quotes and tinker with the speech and mood within the animations.

I was lucky enough to stay in contact with one of my university friends who graduated not too long ago who referred me to a job opening doing composite and roto work for a visual effects company called Almost Human. I applied, but they were looking to fill full time positions but was offered an intern/apprenticeship. There wasn't any bad blood from not getting the job, instead I was excited to just even be in a visual effects studio and to be offered a position that allows me to learn outside of a classroom. When I went into their conference room, I was already psyched by seeing all these props and creatures used in television and movies like The Crazies, Buffy, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I start tomorrow, and I'm splurging in excitement to be working on projects that will actually be shown to larger audiences.

On my search to improve my involvement with my career, I've also signed up to a site called The IdeaLists which is a community you gain membership into by submitting your portfolio which grants you access to job listings from everything to annual, part/full time jobs, and freelance work. They cover everything from design, film production, non profit, fine art, fashion and so much more. I appealed to join a project recommended by Jabari and I look over for interesting jobs from time to time. It's basically a very well organized creative job listings site with limited access. Since you have to be approved to become a member, it prevents employers from being swamped with applications allowing you to not compete with the hordes, BUT this also means that the people you're competing with to land the project/job are experienced veterans with favorable reels/portfolios/resumes. Despite that, I feel any lead to some work is always a good lead, and that one should constantly be on the search.

As the end of my academic career nears, I've come to appreciate the 6 years it's taken me to finish college. When I submitted my graduation application, I couldn't imagine a world that was no longer bound to an academic schedule. I still can't grasp that I'll be moving onto a new stage of life soon. I'm happy I took this path of jack knifing my way through college. All the failures and mistakes I've accumulated helped me discover who I am. I think the big joke about college isn't necessarily about learning your major, but learning about yourself.

I've come to a point where I feel that my identity is no longer about the clothes I wear, the style of my hair, or the people I surround myself with, but by my skills that define me as an individual. 

Do what you love to do, and find a way to get paid for it.

Fleeting Inspiration

http://helpmebefuckingcreative.com/

Returner

That was a needed break from doing freelance work. I've been focusing on my job lately and just taking it easy. I helped start a new mini series for my school's Student Marketing & Communications Department called off the clock and covered a "super secret" design studio hidden in our art department. Once it's gotten the green light, I'll post it up here. I've gotten a lot of time to spend with friends to enjoy what is going to be my last summer because from here on there won't be that refreshing sun soaked summer where I get several months off.

I'm heading towards the end of my summer and beginning the long hard journey of my senior thesis project. I'm excited to be working on a large scale operation, but also preparing myself mentally for the grey hairs that are about to come. I was chosen to do sound on several proposed scripts and I feel I can fully execute my role in post production, but feel mediocre when it comes to doing live mixes. I'll probably be dabbling more with mixers during our preproduction stage to prepare myself. I honestly feel that doing sound isn't my thing, and I'm completely puzzled to this day as to why my school has put me in that skill set, but I'm still going to give it my all despite doing a role I don't feel too passionate about.

I'm coming towards the end of my undergraduate career and I honestly feel I'm not ready to compete with the bigger head honchos out in the world. I honestly feel that my school hasn't prepared a lot of us to tackle what's really to come once we leave. I've felt that they mostly assigned us projects and left it up to ourselves to figure the details along the way. I'm for experience being a an excellent way of teaching, yet I feel nothing compares to the wisdom and passion of a battle hardened professor who's returned back from the industry to give helpful advice that they wished they knew when they were young and bright eyed like the rest of my cohort. Regardless, I'm willing to tackle the graduate life with what I already know.

The learning doesn't stop when I get the diploma. I've decided, for sure, to take some more classes at Gnomon to play catchup with the other motion graphic artists and to really get into compositing. I know there's tutorials all over the internet, but I've always enjoyed the classroom setting where I'm surrounded by like minded individuals and have the luxury to raise my hand and have any question be answered. I also like the classroom setting because of that feel of competition in the air against my peers.

I'm also in the talks for a possible new freelance job. I'll keep everyone posted on my upcoming project.

Oh, and here's my reel that I've cooked up really quick. Still don't know why Vimeo won't make it into HD, but I'm tired of waiting in line for it to get processed so, enjoy!



Joe Humpay Reel 2012 from Joe Humpay on Vimeo.

It's Been a Month!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I recently just completed another kinetic typography project for an independent record label company that I'll show you guys in a bit. I've been adjusting to work at my school's Student Marketing & Communications department. I'm basically working on the video editing aspects and it feels damn good to get paid for what you love to do. Working consistent day shifts tire me out, and I can understand why so many people just want to sit on their butts when they get home from their 9 to 5.

I've recently decided to take a break from working on projects because I want to enjoy my summer. My current job allows for a steady paycheck, so I don't need to take up freelance jobs as often. I want to sit back and relax a little because ever since the beginning of last semester, I've been consistently working on side projects. I need some time to wind down. I've slowed down the physical aspect of my life since my cycling accident, but I'm trying to get back into being outdoors more. I don't know if I have enough time to train for this, but I plan to tour on bike PCH from Santa Barbara back to LA.

I've also decided to release some of my unreleased work, namely the 2 Bobby V. projects I was just working on. I need to finish up the initial version because it was halted during the bridge section. Hopefully within this week I'll get around to it.

I'm going to use this summer for some personal time, because now that I think about it, this will be my last summer as an undergrad.

Inspiration

Found this on Motionographer.com, one of my regular places to visit for motion graphics related news and inspiration. This song is by Lost Lander titled "Wonderful World" and I really like the Flaming Lips vibe this track gives off.

 I find it beautiful because of its simple idea executed so well and the style of the blended layers and motion that give it such a natural feel. I believe that subtlety can go a long way, and looking at the small things done to give the natural feel of motion sell the realness of this project in a sort of microscopic kind of way. Everything from the slight inertia applied to the objects and the heart beat like glows.. simply amazing!

Update

So now that I have some downtime, I can finally update on what's been going on.

I just recently got into a cycling accident last Wednesday which threw off my schedule off by a couple of days. Had to push back some important dates because my back and shoulder bothered me a lot the first couple of days. I'm just lucky I didn't suffer any head injuries. Definitely buying a helmet soon.

I'm currently working on an appeal video for a Kickstarter, which is website designed to help raise funds for independent projects. It'll have some kinetic typography, but will be largely based on motion graphics and visual editing. Finishing this project will be my official start to my Summer.

Things are picking up a bit at work. For the past couple of weeks, I've been mainly doing easy data work, but now that things are getting readjusted for the Summer, and now I'm currently just shooting b-roll for future projects. I get to go out and shoot graduation commencements and it feels nice having media passes to get around. I try to travel with light gear though because of my shoulder and lower back. I had Jess be my camera assistant today and we managed to get into really good spots at the graduation.

Since I have a stable job now, I'm not too worried about my next freelance gig, and I can focus on relaxing and doing personal projects. Hopefully my body heals up soon and I can get a new bike so I can do some cycling this summer.

Connection Problems

Here's a student film I helped out on. I did sound on set, and did visual effects for post production. This is the first project where I've used Mocha's planar tracking, and I've absolutely fallen in love with it. Definitely a huge step up from the point tracking system on After Effects. Still need to understand masking in Mocha, and I mostly just rotoed my way through this project because I'm stubborn.

I did some screen replacements for the tv, laptops, and iMac and created a mock iPhone interface with a little ode to Final Fantasy 3 (the best Final Fantasy! [and yes, I know 3 is really 6 in Japan, but I grew up with calling it 3 and I was born and raised in the best country in the world, Amerikkkka!])

Also love the song choice for the moment the two characters have. It's "Fold Air" by Sora, a Japanese producer who likes to mess with glitchy effects and organic sounds.

Hope you guys enjoy "Connection Problems".




Jess, can you spot the easter egg?

Joe's Classics - In Honor of MCA

MCA, a member of the rap group The Beastie Boys, passed away today after his battle against cancer. I haven't done one of my music video recaps in awhile, but I was meaning to getting around to talking about the all time classic 90's music video "Sabotage".



Directed by Spike Jonze, this music video is one of the best genre parodies done to date. Based on the hood sliding and thick mustache stereotypes of the cop shows of the 70's and 80's, "Sabotage" is executed  beautifully with absolute mayhem without reason. Accompanied with rhythmic editing that carries on a constant chase scene and dozens of wide angle over the shoulder "intense" type feel shots, "Sabotage" doesn't disappoint but translates this song beautifully into a film medium.

Rest in peace, one of the only rappers to do it right.

Project Updates/Title Design

I haven't posted in awhile since I've been busy with both my social life and work. Just to do a quick recap, I've just about finished the Tinie Tempah project. We took a different turn in the lower thirds but I'll get to that when I have more time to write a solid entry about it. I'm currently working on a student film titled "Bright Quiet" doing some screen replacements and designing a mock iPhone app interface for the short. And last, but not least, I got a job working at my school doing motion graphics and social media.

I'm pretty excited for my job since I'll be getting paid to do what I love to do and I get some perks such as press passes and such to cover events on campus like concerts and big events. I'll be hitting the hay early for my first day of work tomorrow, so excuse me for the brief entry.

To make up for a lack of content, here's a video I got linked to me from my friend Jabari about title design. I just wish they covered the subject much more, but it's a good taste of the subject and talks briefly of one of my biggest inspirations for titles, Saul Bass.

Project Tempah Update

I've been messing with lower thirds for the documentary and have so far developed two, and have polished one for review.

On of my concepts was Tinie Tempah's teacup logo splashing down and leaking out the interviewee's names and jumping down a hole to exit. The background of the "puddle" was pictures of different nebulae that flashed in succession behind the text.

My other concept was a geometric design based off Tinie Tempah's Disc-overy album cover. A pair of triangles come in and spread apart to reveal the lower third and the animation is reversed for the exit.

I'm still working on the title sequence and haven't quite fleshed it out yet, but here's some progress so far.

My due date is the 25th, and I'm making some good leaps.

This song I got from my friend Erwin this weekend has been stuck in my head and is currently what's on replay for this project. It's called "Disaronno Brain Feed" by Betamaxx. Really loving this whole glow-fi/chillwave genre thats becoming more apparent.

I'll be busy all weekend with me doing some on location sound mixing Friday and Saturday for a short student film which I'll also be doing some compositing work for. It feels good to be keeping myself busy with all this work.

Update

Just recently came back from an amazing fromNew York City. I love traveling because of the inspiration I get from being away, exploring, and the culture I encounter. I managed to visit a couple of museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, and the Natural History Museum. The MET won best in show for me. It is one of the biggest museums I've ever seen in my life. During my visit I didn't even get to see everything. I definitely need to go back and explore for a whole day.

I've definitely fallen in love with the city. NY gives me a different vibe than being in any other city. So much energy in the streets, indoors, and underground. It seems like you're constantly on the move when you're in Manhattan, as if there's never enough time to do anything. On top of that, you're constantly surrounded by a skyline of buildings that make you can't help but look up.

I'm seriously planning on living there for a period in my life. It's truly an experience being in one of the largest cities in the world. The culture, the food, the city, the lifestyle. I've definitely fallen in love.

Anyways, as for updates, I'm still awaiting final notes for the Bobby V. project. It's all fixed and ready to go but I can't post it up until I get the green light that everything is perfect for the client.

In other news, I've begun working on the titles for the documentary I was hired to do for Tinie Tempah. I've made some mock titles for interviews and I'll be presenting them around Monday or Tuesday.

In school, I'm helping out other students for some of their films and I'm doing some compositing work. I'll be doing some simple composites like an iPhone screen replacement, creating a mock interface for the iPhone, a monitor replacement, and maybe some titling work.

I'm going to take the rest of the week easy though since it's Easter, spend some time with the loved ones and watch Titanic in 3D.

Off for Vacation

I'll be flying to New York City and will be out of town from March 30th to April 3. Happy Spring Break, everyone! I'll be back with updates on Project Bob and maybe some new personal projects.

Quote

A reblog from "The Joe's Journal Blog".

"The ideas of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have also influenced many genre theorists. Like Taine, both psychiatrists believed that art is a reflection of underlying structures of meaning, that it satisfies certain subconscious needs in both the artists and his audience. For Freud, art was a form of daydreaming and wish fulfillment, vicariously resolving urgent impluses and desires that can't be satisifed in reality. Pornographic films are perhaps the most obvious example of how anxieties can be assuaged in this indirect manner, and in fact Freud believed that most neuroses were sexually based. He thought that art was a by-product of neurosis, though essentially a socially beneficial one. Like neurosis, art is characterized by a repetition compulsion, the need to go over the same stories and rituals in order to reenact and temporarly resolve certain psychic conflicts, which are rooted in childhood traumas."
-Schulsteiss

Project Bob Update

Currently near completion of the project. I need to work on the bridge and doing some final touch ups. The project should be ready by this weekend. It's interesting to see how much faster I'm getting at this. It's crazy to think I'm already near completion when exactly 7 days ago I had nothing to work with and could only imagine how many late nights were ahead of me.

I feel good about this project because I started creating my own graphics in After Effects. It opens up a wider range of things I can do now.

I'm currently feeling a bit uninspired. I think I'm going to take a break from work. 24 hours should do me good.

Seriously thinking of going to Gnomon after CSUN. I feel I'm not learning much there.

Project Bob Update

Here's some screen shots of what I've done so far.

The theme of this version is comic books. The camera follows panel to panel following texts in the style of modern day comics.

I've been practicing more with creating my own graphics. I'm proud to say that this project contains vectors all made by me (so far). I'm paying some homage to Lichtenstein and his pop art style, so some of his similar works are modified and put into this project. I'm also using some famous super hero logos and motifs.

I should be done with this project around the end of next week. I'm reusing the chorus again, so after finishing it, I'll be up past the 2 minute mark with the 2nd verse, and bridge left to do. I'm thinking of reusing my 2nd verse from my initial version of this project to help cut down some time. We'll see how this all pans out.

Update: Project Bob

So there's a change in plans for this project. I've basically completed the project, but they want to dump the current concept and go with a new idea. They want a theme that appeals more to their demographic, which for them is teenage girls.

Personally, I don't mind doing the project again, and doing things like this should help me with working on different variations of a project, which will likely happen in the industry. I just wished communication was better between the client and I. At least I got another job, back to back, this way. I don't start until this Monday, and I'm currently in a creative drain. That's another thing I need to prepare for; squeezing out every ounce of creativity when moving from project to project.

I plan to release my initial version on my Vimeo, so I guess two lyric videos will be floating around the internet. I should be done 2 weeks from this coming Monday.

I'll just keep thinking positive and learning from every project I get.

24 hour Break

And just like with everything I work on, I progressively get tired of anything I create. I'm taking Jess' advice and taking 24 hours off this project. I'm ahead of schedule by 4 days. I've completed everything except the bridge. I'm probably going to go back and fix a few things here and there, but a full days worth of not staring at the After Effects interface should clear my mind and bring in fresh ideas.

I recall watching a Ted Talks about a company using a similar strategy when creating a new product. They give their employees a vacation with the only catch is that they're not to think or work on the project at all. In response, employees felt refreshed and contributed new ideas to the project that they probably wouldn't have otherwise.

I'll see you in 24 hours, After Effects! Until then, I'll be looking at the Avid interface instead.

Currently On Repeat/Update Project Bob

I like to play one song on repeat while doing a new project. It keeps me in a steady pace because of the repetitiveness. I'm currently stuck on "Feather" by Little Dragon.



As for the project, I've finished the chorus not to long ago. I'm currently working on the first verse of the song. Hopefully by tonight I'll finish that section and then I can move onto the second verse and then the bridge and I'll be done.

Update: Project Bob

Spending the night laying out the chorus for the project before I go in and animate it tomorrow morning. I've decided to repeat the chorus for this typography which would take a bulk out of what I have to work on.

The chorus/hook gets repeated about 4 times in this song with 2 verses (one of them being a rap verse) and 1 bridge. The chorus runs for about 30 seconds so that should take around half the song (3:36) when I complete that section, which should be around this weekend.


Here's a screenshot of the chorus. I'm messing around with lines and perspective. Had a little trouble with the text but after fiddling around with the mystery that is the "collapse transformations" switch, I was able to fix a small issue I had with the text moving in 3D space with precomps.

Title Sequence

A title sequence I made for a short film titled "Just Desserts" towards the end of last year.

Project Bob

Just got signed on to do a kinetic typography for an unreleased single by Bobby V. featuring Wale.

My due date is 2 weeks, so check back to see some updates. I have a couple of other projects to work on on top of this, so I'm excited to see how well I've gotten at balancing workloads.



Thank God I got a coffee maker from Jess' mom.

Double Post: Joe's Classics/Inspirational

This song doesn't need much introduction. Pitchfork.com sums it up best "Pure unfiltered nostalgia".




Here's a graphic that caught my eye from my friend Jeff's Tumblr.

I definitely feel this way right now, and I'm willing to hold up for as long as it takes.

Unproductive Day

Basically spent the whole day playing Starcraft 2, so I'll post up some stuff I was doodling with on After Effects yesterday.

Yesterday I wanted to practice another animated title sequence but ended up losing interest in the idea. I wanted to mess with that "3D" analglyph style that's pretty popular right now but felt uninspired to finish the project the whole way through. Here's a screen shot though of the progress I had so far.

Unofficial Title Sequence "The Adventures of Tintin"

This is the unofficial title sequence by James Curran, who created this title sequence in homage of the Tintin series.

I was reading up that Curran got attention for creating the title sequence and Steven Spielberg even took notice and invited him to the premiere in London. On top of that he received tons of job offers and now sits on a Art Director position at Partizan, a production company.

Hmm.. note to self: practice unofficial title sequences..

P.S. - I've noticed I've been much more apparent to updating this blog. I got to keep my mind thinking about this stuff constantly. Y'know, like the rules of attraction.

Joe's Classics

Everlong is probably the Foo Fighter's definitive song coming from their number one selling album "The Colours and the Shape". Michel Gondry signs on to direct this single and it's apparent with some of his reoccurring themes of dreams, oversized objects, stop motion, creative transitions, and its surreal and fantastic feeling.

This music video will be forever branded into my brain from my childhood when my older cousins used to watch MTV and The Box after coming to my house after school. As a child, I of course never tuned to those channels regularly, but I'm glad I got exposed to such great imagery.

Gondry is a master of the film medium. His interpretation of dreams are bizarre and surreal. He captures the oddity of dreams and his use of transitions almost describe perfectly the dream world. If there's anyone that has gotten close to translating dreams into a medium, it is Michel Gondry with celluloid.

X-Men: First Class Title Sequence

Stumbled across this on YouTube. An extra from the Xmen: First Class Blu-ray DVD with interviews from the creators of the title sequence and their preproduction process.



I seriously need to watch this movie again. I'm sure when I first saw it in theaters I was blown away by the intro, but damn I forgot how good this title sequence was.

Title Practice.

Yesterday I was practicing an abstract logo for myself. Our final project in our editing class is to create a logo for ourselves on Avid Media Composer. The people who know how to use After Effects can use it but must explain how they did it to the class.



I decided to spend some time using the "Beam" effect in AE. I animated a group of 5 beams streaking across the circle and duplicated it to form the animation. I had it stutter between 2 to 6 frames to the plucking of the guitar with a simple glow effect. The 3 "beam squares" are actually all on the same "Z" space (meaning they're all just as far away from each other in distance) but I've added the "Lens Blur" effect to simulate depth of field.

My circle was created using the "Ellipse" Tool and keyframed to slow down at a certain point and drag on out slowly before fading/blurring away to give that organic feel of water droplets. I also added a mask to half the circles when going beyond the main circle.

The "Gaussian Blur" Effect was added to unsharpen the logo to blend better with the grain and light leak overlay. Not to long ago, I had a client who supplied me with a pack of film grain, scratches, and light leaks. I simply set their blending mode to "Hard Light", set a base grain, and 3 light leaks for beginning, middle, and end. I think I over did it on the grain and leaks, but hey, I'm just having fun with it.

I also added a solid on top of the final comp with a radial "Ramp" effect on top with a yellow in the center to black on the edges. It's not so apparent with the grain on, but it adds some slight detail to the texture of the logo. Finally, I added the Video Copilot preset for "AfterShake" to simulate the juttering of the gate of an old camera. I need to work on that since I just slapped on the preset and did minor tweaks to its controllers.




This is the first time I've ever messed with something like this on my leisure. Hopefully, I can make one of these every 2 weeks or so just to keep experimenting with new ideas. I believe having this passion to create something and aspiration to keep learning new things about the trade and medium are essential to becoming an amazing artist. Plus lots of coffee, and getting frustrated for 2 hours on what colors to choose.


P.S. Vimeo redesigned their web page lay out and I must say, for once, I'm actually much more pleased with this design than their previous one. This doesn't happen too often for me (Facebook) when pages I visit a lot change their layout and I initially enjoy it.

Some Rest

Finally, I can rest for a little bit before my next big project. I just finished editing some title and credits work and just delivered my NYPD Blue Daft Punk mix to the editing bay.

I've basically just cut the project to match the music, but I wanted to do more with it in After Effects and I just don't have the time. I'm planning to work on it when I have free time and turn it from an academic to a personal project. My professor is also cautious of us using the copyrighted material he provides so I'm going to lay low for awhile and post it later.

Currently brainstorming more ideas for my next motion personal project. I think at the rate school is going, I'd have to start during break.

Stumbling Around

Stumbled across this website called 9-eyes which is a collection of interesting photos caught by the Google team when capturing images on the road for Google Maps.

I love seeing how they caught such interesting moments while on the road and how the Google Maps system is spreading worldwide.

Also, I'm currently stuck on this song by Japanese band Toe called "Two Moons". Gotta love when that acoustic guitar kicks in.

Trying to get back into the groove of working on my NYPD Blue Project. Another cup of coffee should get be back into a creative flurry.

Motion

I can't wait to get some free time. I've been plotting on doing some motion graphic works that doesn't include any fonts. I don't feel like becoming a one trick pony.

I want to do an abstract interpretation to the song "Just a Few Minutes" by Akira Kosemura off his "Grasslands" album. The song is minimalistic but contains elements of both organic and non organic sound in which I wanted to interpret in motion through natural (curves) and unnatural shapes (angles, sharp edges).

I stumbled across this video "London Falling" by Fulgeance, and I love how it flows and uses basic shapes that are choreographed perfectly to the music.

NYPD Remix

Just had a long stride working on Avid Media Composer for the creative half of my advanced editing class project. So far, so good. I thought it would tak me a lot longer, but I've managed to cover 1/3rd of what I wanted to do in one session.

Started to customize my interface and keyboard shortcuts of Media Composer. I'm surprised the "Edit In" command doesn't have its own shortcut. It's basically the same function as the "Blade Tool" in Final Cut Pro in which it splits a piece of media in your timeline where your scrubber stands. That sort of function has been part of my workflow in editing since forever and ever since I've remapped and customized my keys/shortcuts I've been editing faster.


Here's a music video I've enjoyed because of it's sci fi feel. Hooray for the Earth's "True Loves" music video stands out to me with its nicely done visual effects and some good cinematography. What I probably loved the most about it was the "Planet of the Apes" type of style and vintagey space suit which seems to pay homage to those of the 60's.



Also, the "jumping" from place to place reminds me of when you're dreaming and you're suddenly transported somewhere else in an almost unnoticeable and seamless fashion.

Avid Media Composer

Just finished my first project ever on Avid Media Composer 5. Interesting transition from using Final Cut Pro to Media Composer. I still feel I work faster on Final Cut, but maybe I just need to warm up to the workflow of Media Composer.

Our first project in our Advanced Editing class was to cut several consecutive scenes from the 90's ABC TV show" N.Y.P.D. Blue". We have to do 2 cuts. The first is a more Hollywood style type of edit where we would cut the scenes as if we were cutting them for the actual show. The second cut is a creative, no limits (besides hard drive space),  cut using any external footage we want.

I've finished the first cut, and I've been getting footage for the second part. I should be done within the next couple of weeks because I plan to spend some quality time working on the creative cut. How often do I get a class project that has essentially no real guidelines or boundaries besides my imagination?

By the way, speaking of N.Y., I'll be heading to New York this Spring Break with Jess. I can't wait to visit what people call today the modern day Rome!

VFX Breakdown

Here's some VFX breakdowns from one of the most expensive blockbusters in history from AE+Tuts. I love seeing scenes get torn down like this because it's amazing to see the creativity it requires build such an illusion. Also, it's great to see what top notch compositors and modelers do underneath it all.

Harry Potter

Pirates of the Caribbean

King Kong


X Men First Class


I love seeing how bare a scene originally is and how it becomes transformed into a totally different world. People complain about VFX ruining films nowadays. It seems more people are inclined to look at the negative rather than to praise. Let's not forget those moments when you've seen a good movie that's transported you to another world and not for one moment did you see the wireframes and green screen, but instead you were fooled into believing that what was on screen was real.

Movies are basically one big illusion anyways.

This is one of the reasons I love film is because that clash of technology and art that makes it such a unique medium. 

Joe's Classics

One of my all time favorites, Weezer's "Buddy Holly" is probably one of the best nerd anthems out there. Directed by Spike Jonze, "Buddy Holly" stands out  due to its concept, editing and special effects. Compositing the band and Fonzie into the familiar setting of Arnold's Drive-In was almost seamless. Jonze even used a double of Fonzie to further deepen the illusion of the blending of both worlds.




Someone on YouTube mentioned this, but think about it: You're in 2012, watching a 90's music video about a 70's TV show about the 50's.

Joe's Classics

One of my all time favorite music videos. The Smashing Pumpkin's "Tonight, Tonight". I love this music video because its turn-of-the-century feel they give. Something about that early 20th century style of technology meets the old world gives the music video such a grander feel to it. I just also love the whole adventure from airship, to moon, to under the sea.

A random fact from Wikipedia "...crew initially had problems locating costumes for the video because the movie Titanic was being shot at the same time in Los Angeles. Titanic director James Cameron rented nearly every turn-of-the-century prop and costume in the city, leaving the "Tonight, Tonight" production crew little to work with. Directors Dayton and Faris compromised by renting the leftover costumes and hiring designers to remake them into the elaborate period clothing seen in the video."




Also, you gotta love that double classic acoustic guitar prop they made.

Fly Me To The Moon

Music video for VERSIS' "Fly Me T' The Moon".
Some amazing typography work here. Definitely plan to get to this level someday in my life when it comes to motion graphics.

I haven't been updating much lately because I wanted to take a rest from working any of my side jobs. Currently about to finish a small (really really small) intro and end credit job. School is also coming back around the corner, and I'm excited because I'm taking some fun classes this semester like a location sound class, Pro Tools class, and aiding in an advanced Avid editing class (which I plan to sit down and learn too).

I've also been researching in fxphd, an online training resource for programs like Nuke, Cinema4D, and After Effects. I've heard a lot of good things about them, and will probably save up and do classes during the Summer or Fall. They even provide VPN keys along with the tuition!

I've also managed to order a Wacom Bamboo Connect graphics tablet. It's the basic of the basic, but then again, all I really do in After Effects is trace shapes or do some minor rotoscoping. Plus, I'm not sure if I want to commit to something like Wacom's Intous just yet. I'm excited to use it because I've been in a much more ergonomic mood lately. I've even cut the legs of my desk shorter to better suit me and my aching wrist. It's currently on its way in the mail and I should be expecting it sometime next week.

And in other technological news, I've upgraded my current workhorse (a 21.5" iMac mid 2011 2.5 Intel i5) from 4gb's to 16 for around $99 (shipping and handling included)! Thank you Other Worldly Computing.

I'm ready for this semester. I feel it's gonna be a tough one, but I haven't even grown a grey hair yet, so that means I haven't even been on the edge of frustration and difficulty.

Come at me, bro!

Avril 14th

Pretty touching music video.




Original version is by Aphex Twin. I also love that this song was sampled by Kanye West's "Blame Game".



Currently working on some titling work. Hoping to get a Wacom pen soon so masking things in AE won't hurt my wrists so much.