The League of Moveable Type

The League of Moveable Type has a few nice, free typography offerings. I particularly like Chunk but I won’t lie, the first thing I though was “Rocky Road?”

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Amon Tobin, visually wonderful

I love this pieces, especially when it gets drum and bass heavy about halfway through. Nicely treated 3D elements that fit into the environment tightly.

Visual Music – Amon Tobin music video from 12FRAMES on Vimeo.

Rollip, online polaroid generator

Enjoy a brief whim of easy nostalgia with Rollip, and online converter of digital images into a Polaroid version of itself. I pulled my images from the 2009 Production Pig Roast. I think the Polaroid effect adds to the Southern charm of roasting a 200 lb. pig.

Before:
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After, version 1:
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After, version 2:
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There are a handful of different looks to try.

Digital Bible Journal

I frequently rave about Evernote. Amidst the plethora of computer based applications out there it’s one of my favorite services that exists. It’s billed as an “anti social application,” or something like that. In a world of Google Docs and Twitter where everything is meant to be public Evernote is structured to be internal. It’s a place for all of your information, easily accessible, easily searchable.

Here’s how I use it for my quiet time journal. I use this from my iPhone, a paper Bible, from my laptop, or from another computer.

Benefits of this workflow:
- Access to your journal (both input and output) everywhere
- Search. Ever think “what was that verse I read on anger?” Now you can find it.
- Backup. Because it’s stored at Evernote, you won’t misplace your journal.

Typically I use YouVersion.com as my Bible. I occasionally use a hard copy Bible (especially if I’m journaling from my iPhone).

In Evernote, I create a notebook called “Journal.” Each month, I create a new note called “July 2009 notes,” changing according to the date. This way I have a grouping of notes by month.

For each day, I create the entry like this:
“date” – “scripture for the day” (ie. 7/17 – Psalm 73). This way I have the date referenced, and regardless which Bible I pick up I have my place marked. This gives me flexibility in my routine.

How you notate is up to you. I keep all my notes in plain text (no Bold, italics, etc.). I do this primarily because the iPhone only lets you append info to the end of a note with that has formatting (you can’t edit into the middle of the note). I typically quote scriptures, and include verses referenced like (3) or (v4-10) so I can figure out what I was referring to later on, then add the thoughts that God shows me in and around the scripture clippings.

I’ve been using this technique since fall of last year and have really stuck to it. For me I’ve always struggled with paper based journaling. Doing it this way allows me to stay with a workflow I’m already using with everything elsee. Sidenote: I also use this “Journal” notebook for any sermon notes or conference notes I take. That way this information is all in the same location and easily retrievable.

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Ben Thomas story

This week I had the privilege to work on a story that was both personal and a technical challenge. Ben Thomas is a close friend and one of the Godliest men I know. I enjoyed the opportunity to edit and composite his story.

As for the technical challenge, we chose to shoot this piece green screen. B-roll, stock footage (bet you didn’t know the train at the 0:43 mark was really a toy), and real photos and articles from the accident were layered in to add a second time line of backdrop. Stylistically I’m really happy with how it turned out. To make it extra personal I created the soundtrack myself with Reason. It’s nothing flashy, but I wanted something pretty specific and I think it fits well.

Ben Thomas interview from Ken Wilson on Vimeo.

You can watch the final version here.

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Thanks Adam for providing brainstorm and camera support.

They say the secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. I’m not so good at that… give credit where credit is due. This piece was inspired both in vision and tone by the PC3 “One Word” series. Great work, guys, and great inspiration.

Make something new

If you’re a designer with an hour or two to spare might I suggest, instead of watching youtube videos or reading twitter, you consider making something. I like to take an image that inspires me (pictured below) and try to recreate an animated version of it in After Effects.

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The result of 1 hour of work. (view here)

The benefits are several. First, it’s not a tutorial. You’re not studying the same technique that every single animator is learning at the exact same time. It’s constructive to push yourself in a unique way.

Second, you learn to problem solve. Working backwards from a result (the example picture) helps to hone more creative ways to process. In turn, the next time you’re faced with a project you have a new tool in your arsenal.

Third, because the project you create doesn’t have a home you can file it away for the right time. Keep that *.aep for future use. I’m sure at some point you’ll wish you had it.

Evernote for color grading ideas

Yesterday we talked about using Evernote to catalog inspiration and images. Here’s another use I’ve found much along the same lines. As our department grows I find it is useful for me to have visual examples at my fingertips for various things. If I’m looking for a particular look and feel (ie. color grading) in a video piece rather than say “oh, you know, I like the dark tones with a hint of purple and some glows in the red channel and some grain but not too much,” I would rather have a visible example to work from.

Enter Evernote.

Step one, use yesterday’s technique and create an note called “Grading” in your “Ideas” notebook.

Every time you come across an image in your web browsing that catches your attention drag it into that notebook. Done, saved, references are always available. You could get advanced and starting creating various notebooks for different moods, “Grading – cool,” “Grading – warm,” “Grading – sepias,” you get the idea.

And just for fun, here’s a cool way to implement this color grading technique into Photoshop. There’s no easy way to do this in After Effects, but you could render a JPEG sequence and create an automated action to process each frame. Or you could just learn to master color grading in AE to get a similar look.

The Match Color tool can be used to treat one image to look like the colors from another image. This tutorial explains how it works. Where we add to the technique is that you can literally drag a photo out of Evernote and directly into Photoshop making it available for the Match Color tool to use.

Evernote for creative filing

It’s no secret that I love Evernote. Here’s a new use I’ve found for it. If you’re a designer or involved in the visual brainstorm process you will likely find this useful.

The problem I’ve faced is that though I’m good at looking at a lot of inspiration over the course of a month I struggle with a way to catalog the things that inspire me. I regularly use Bloglines to read material. It provides a way to “keep post as new” or clip an article but I rarely make it back to those files, and it’s cumbersome to browse them.

I also find myself on different computers when I have the free time to browse. I use a desktop to edit on at work (where I rarely have spare time), I carry a laptop, I use my home computer on occasion, and I use my iPhone for blog reading about 50% of the time. I needed a system for filing and amassing digital images (primarily JPEGs) from all of these sources. The images also need to be viewable from anywhere.

Enter Evernote.

I created a notebook called “Ideas.” About every week or two I create a new post within that note called “Inspire #,” incrementally increasing that number just to keep track of things.

With the Evernote Desktop client I can literally drag a JPEG directly from the web browser directly into that Inspire note. Drag. Drop. Evernote automatically syncs everything.

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A few alternative variations are required to make this solution fully ubiquitous. First, on the iPhone there isn’t a drag and drop.

1. Click and hold your finger on an image for about 2 seconds, you’ll be asked to Save the image.
2. Launch Evernote. You from the title screen choose Saved Photo Note.
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3. Save it to your “Ideas” notebook.
4. When back in the Evernote desktop application select your Inspire note and the newly uploaded image note. Do this by selecting the first note and either Command-clicking (Mac)or Control-clicking (PC) the image. Right click either of the selected notes and choose the last option, “Merge Notes.”

If you are on a computer that does not have the Evernote desktop application on it (like my poor OS X 10.4 machine at the house) just save the image to your desktop. Then using the online version of Evernote attach the images to the Inspire note.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about another use for this image archiving technique.

Rokkaboy reel 2009

The Rokkaboy Reality 2009 reel. It’s hot.

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Chuck Anderson interview

I’m a huge fan of Chuck Anderson’s work and therefore recommend ths interview with with from PSD Tuts.

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Apple App Wall

At the WWDC this year you can see this, Apple’s app wall. It shows in near real time (supposedly) movement at the purchase of an app from the iTunes app store. Pretty dang cool.

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God is… series open

Series open for God is…

Terra Travel | Fubiz™

File this under things I’m currently loving, these Terra Travel ads. (via Fubiz™) – translated.

Art vs. Design

On Thursday morning @376matt and I were meeting for breakfast and this topic came up, Art vs Design. I thought it apt to twitter and discuss.

We as a creative staff occasionally feel the need to define these two things and draw a distinction between them. What I was looking for was a good quote / mantra to post and live by. This is the discussion you guys put out there.

@scopley
while both require sound aesthetics, design has the extra function of communicating subjective/objective content clearly
form vs. function…both share these elements, in art, function only can = propaganda; in design, form only, can = missed purpose

@megodbike
With a camera I am an artist… with a keyboard and mouse I am a designer

@jfuhlbruck
art is a presentation, maybe not to be understood just observed. Design is a tool, functionality where clear communication is key.

@jonack
Art and Design hold hands, bad art often is bad design

@GQmacguy
I like to think that it is Art + Design. I think my opinions on that will fill more than 140 characters…

@farneman
design art is expression to create emotion. design is communication to create action. traditionally. the lines are blurry though.

@timscholz
used to think there was diff between art & design. starting to realize that when done right a good design is art

@Jtsternberg
art = madness; design = method to the madness. Both are necessary!

@kbolton
pondering @avclub’s art vs design discussion question….and life….

@376matt
…art is a communication from the artist, design is the communication of the purpose

@chriswhill
artists create, designers arrange

@JoshuaFleming
Design is Art with a process. Art is a design with no said process. What do you think?

@NealPrinceArch
being in architecture, that poses a very good thought.
or rather provokes some good thought. Art as the aesthetic and design as the function? Maybe?

@chrissmith4
design to me is planning out how you want things to look & art is the finished project.

Didn’t get to twitter your response? You have a comment field below.

Wax Stag – And How

This is rad (via Ben Coleman)

Wax Stag – And How from Clem Stamation on Vimeo.

Type I’m in love with

Here are some type links I came across that I currently adore.

One, Two, Three, Four.

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Now What counter

Enjoy this sampling of the Now What counter. Personally, I like it even better than the opener. In case you were wondering, the type is a black video / white type projected directly on the road. The image you see is a direct recording from the camera with some color grading. The comping was done in camera, and it was shot in a 5:00.00 continuous run. No cameramen fell out of the truck while shooting.

Now What counter from Ken Wilson on Vimeo.

And as promised, here are a few behind the scenes shots of our high end mobile rig.

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Now What? series open

Now What series open from Ken Wilson on Vimeo.

For this piece our goal was to communicate the idea that we as a church have been on a journey over the past several months. Through the past four series Perry (and others) have been teaching through the Sermon on the Mount. As this teaching arc ends, this next series asks the question “Now What?”

Where do we go from here? We’re still on the journey, but we’re stalled.

We wanted to convey the journey, and represent that the journey has been through our previous teaching series.

Technical notes:
To achieve the desires effect of speed, travel, and images projected on the road we first looked at motion tracking and After Effects. It took about 2 minutes to realize that our time would be better served strapping a 5,000 lumen projector to the back of Dad’s truck with a gas powered generator, wait for dark, and have some fun driving around.

I’ll have some pictures up later this week so you can see just how insane my team really is.

Live concert visuals – Basement Jaxx – Jump and Shout

These live visuals are played behind Basement Jaxx’s “Jump and Shout” and the serve to tell me we could go A LOT more abrasive on some of our live song visuals. Man, that would be intense spread across a big stage.

Basement Jaxx – Jump and Shout – Live Visuals

Compression reel

What happens when compression artifacts go wrong… and oh so right.

Compression Reel from David OReilly on Vimeo.