Your video is boring

I really hate it when bands I like make crap music videos.  I REALLY like both of the songs in the videos below, but the videos are just incredibly boring. 

First off, we have Surface by Imperative Reaction.  Nothing says lazy and boring like a video that is nothing but the band miming playing instruments.  The shots are too tight and the background is boring.  It honestly makes it look like they are practicing in their mom's basement. 

director: Chad Michael Ward 

Next up is Inhuman by Aesthetic Perfection.  While not quite as bad as the first video, it's still rather boring.  The location is a bit more interesting, and we no longer have the instrument miming, but we do get Daniel Graves in emo nerd glasses lip synching to someone's bored girlfriend.  It could really tell a story, but it just kind of gives up and focuses on Daniel being a rock star.  I really dig Aesthetic Perfection, but you have to wonder about a guy that sells t-shirts with his own face on them.

Directed by Max Nadolny
Camera and Editing by Garth von Glehn   

Something you don't think about

A lot of folks I know do event photography.  They do weddings, birthdays, and other such boring events.  On a good day, they might get to do a concert or festival.  The problem is, a lot of folks who shoot such events forget a major part of the event.  The people.  When shooting a festival or concert, most photographers focus on the band.  Granted, the band is important, but the crowd can be so much more interesting.  I used to have a professor who told me that if you want great reaction shots, go to a pro wrestling event.  Don't shoot the wrestlers, shoot people in the crowd.

I started thinking about this after coming across a really great set of photos from last year's Kinetik festival.  I was at this concert, and this series does an amazing job of capturing the atmosphere of the event.  Here's a link to the photo series on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/neonyme/6262319927/in/set-72157627935224606/lightbox/ 

Here's my favorite photo from the series:

Catchphrases and typography

I find video game catch phrases to be incredibly annoying.  I really don't care much about what a character has to say, and it's usually repetitive.  I do like the idea of turning those phrases into experimental typography.  Here are a couple of posters created using only type and simple graphics: http://nerdwire.co/post/17661045265/the-full-series-of-ten-prints-are-available-in-the

This is probably my favorite:

Simple

I really like Japanese city logos.  They are simple and effective.  I really wish more designs would be this clean. 

There are some that aren't quite as good.  At times the simplification goes so far that the shape loses any kind of meaning.  For example, the logo of Osaka.

The first logo is for Fujiyoshida, the area where Mt. Fuji is located.  It's obvious and it works.  Osaka's logo, on the other hand, doesn't really really look like much of anything.  It's boring and rather uninspired.

To see more, go here: http://pinktentacle.com/2010/04/50-japanese-town-logos-with-kanji/

A waste of money

Every semester, when I start talking about business cards, my students start bringing up all the wacky stuff that they have come across on the internet.  There are a million gimmicks out there for business cards right now, and they are all useless.  One of the most important things to remember with a business card is that it needs to be cheap to produce so you can hand them out like candy.  If you spend a lot of money on a business card, you will be less likely to hand them out.  If only the "important people" get your card, then you are shooting yourself in the foot.

Below are some of the stupid ideas people have used for business cards:

Overly die-cut card is overly die-cut.  Imagine trying to pull this out of your wallet. 

Metal cards are cool looking, but waaay too expensive

Business card made of meat.  Not useful at all.  I can't imagine eating it.

You're doing it wrong

This video is pretty old, but I still love it.  This guy is a complete moron and he does every single thing that you can do to ruin a business card. 

Incorrect sizing - CHECK!
Overly gimmicky - CHECK!
Expensive - CHECK!
Lack of information - CHECK!

You, sir, fail at life.  If you did this for my class, you would get a nice big F.  

It wouldn't work over here

Below is one of my favorite commercials from when I was living in Japan.  It's a station bump for Space Shower TV, a music television station.  I love the idea and the execution, but it would never work in the States.  Even though it's promoting a message of peace, it is quite violent.  Strangely enough I think the peaceful bit at the end is what most would object to.  It seems like most American commercials only can focus on one thing.  It's either edgy or cute, never both.  It's a dancing baby or the apocalypse, but never a baby dancing in the apocalypse.  The question is, why?

DIRECTOR : 丹下　紘希（YELLOW BRAIN）
PRODUCER : 小島　章敬（SPACE SHOWER TV）
COMPOSITOR : 二階堂　正美（NTT MEDIA LAB）
ANIMATOR /CHARACTER DESIGN : 浦上　悠平（YELLOW BRAIN）
SOUND DESIGN : 久保田　敏之（NTT MEDIA LAB）
PRODUCTION COMPANY : YELLOW BRAIN Co.,Ltd.
TOOLS : AVID XPRESS PV、INFERNO、ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 6.5

Gateway to the soul

New series of work I've been fooling with.  Trying to create interesting expressions without eyes.  It's amazing how the removal of eyes can take something that seems cheery to something very dark.

 

Transion

second_reality

Stupor Bowl

Seems like every one is freaking out about Super Bowl ads.  I don't get the hype.  Over the past few years there really hasn't been much worth mentioning.  Some companies, like Doritos, have given up hope on the design world and have chosen to go with user created ads.  While I don't have problem with this per se, I do have an issue with laziness in the design field.  This is a time where designers and creative directors can put something together that really shines.  Instead we get lame jokes and bad visual effects.  Keep in mind this rant is coming before watching any of the ads for this year.  I just remember being so disappointed with last year's batch of ads that I wanted to crack some skulls in the design firms that made them. 

At least now I can watch the ads online.  Back in the day I had to keep the TV muted during derp ball while I waited for the commercials...

Soviet Propaganda

I really dig Soviet era propaganda.  Most of it is based around simple illustrations that have almost a vector look to them.  Obviously, they were created long before Illustrator was around, but you can still see the influence on contemporary design.

 

Design Firm of the day

Graphic Therapy is a firm that I cam across while doing some research on typography.  You've probably seen some of their work around.  As I've mentioned before, I'm always shocked when I find a design firm that has created several different designs or campaigns that I'm familiar with. 

Graphic Therapy has had some pretty big clients.  Disney, Converse, Sony, ZooYork, and a host of others have had work created by them. 

 

Moby - Go, The Very Best of Moby

 

ZooYork - Skateboard and Illustration

I will say that I don't care much for their web design.  I find their portfolio site to be too slow and most of the web sites in their portfolio seem like print pieces rather than web pieces.  To see what I am talking about, you can see their site here: http://graphictherapy.com