Thanks for the Memories

Dear Classmates:

To bring to conclusion my Class Blog assignment, I wanted to write a few words about the class experience. Wow! You guys really kicked my butt--both fellow students and instructors. Thank you for a challenging and often intimidating classroom experience. I never wanted to come to class unprepared or, at least, without a damn good effort. Getting good feedback was always a hard won effort. This class reminded me that design can be fun, can be collaborative, and can be meaningful. I appreciate getting to know all of you and hope to have you as fellow conspirators in many classes to come!

My Anniversary is just around the corner, so why not post anothr fun shot!

Our Hero in Trouble!

Okay, now I'm getting worried.
Will I finish...Will I get this printed!
Tune in tommorow at 9:30 on Saturday for the exciting conclusion!

In the Lab: Printer Not Working

Why are we smiling?
I don't know...Dave is not picking up his cellphone.
Its Friday..we are the survivors.
We will survive Words and Images.

Class Perv

Um, when did this become official?

How to make an 8 Step Process into 10 Steps --in only 6 Steps!

ONE
Panic and Call Dave Patchke
Its Friday and you are at work. You have never made a booklet. Your pages are in spreads in InDesign. Google Dave and find his number on the UBalt website. Explain to Dave who you are. Dave will tell you about the InBooklet feature. Thank Dave and plan to give him a hug at school tommorow.

TWO
InBooklet Feature
Use the feature and print.

THREE
Asssemble Booklet and Panic Again
Notice you have blank pages. Notice you can't get your pages in the right order. Notice this whole situation of figuring which page should go with which takes way to much brain power.

FOUR
Go to the Graphics Lab
Run into Jill Blum at the Lab who tells you that your pages need to in multiples of four.

FIVE
Final Panic
You will need to redesign 2 pages and writie copy very fast.

SIX
Print your Booklet
With 10 pages, your booklet has all the right pages. Proceed home to cut, spray and staple. Plan to make major revisions for Phase Four.

Hollywood Snarky

Bert Bender’s
How to Open a Summer Blockbuster Film in 8 Easy Steps:

ONE
Source Material
Find out what’s hot in the book clubs. Don’t underestimate the blue hairs when choosing suitable material. Try the New York Times bestseller list although tricky--steer clear of material considered elitist, or too intellectual for a big tub of popcorn family. Scour the canon of classic children’s books. Bite-size plots and instant audience recognition make these gems an easy sell. Old movies, ripe for a remake, are a goldmine. Many old B&W’s and are in desperate need of COLOR and CG to bring them to a hyper PlayStation generation. Once you select your source material, securing the rights is a pure business transaction. Prepare a 2-3-sentence pitch and bring lots of cash.

TWO
Hire the Writers
Writing the screenplay is best done by committee. Do not make the mistake of hiring a single writer. Your movie is not an Oscar contender--you are not looking to challenge and/or inspire your audience with pithy prose. Committees cater to the lowest common denominator. They do not offer ”a vision”, or have grandiose ideas of artistic expression, and/or panic attacks. Committees are used to compromise and will reach their deadlines. A successful screenplay should include snappy one-liners for the trailer and the poster. The plot should move quickly and allow the bulk of the film to be told in explosions and sex.

THREE
Book the Talent
Laughingly referred to within the industry as “The Talent”, your director and actors are in fact tools--tools of the trade. When hiring a director, look for a hungry, young, up-and-comer. Pick someone who has cut his teeth on commercials and music videos and is desperate to break into the movies. Be sure to yank the chain a few times—make sure your ‘director’ knows who is really calling the shots. Hire actors with marquee value that you can get at a cut rate. “Just over the hill” or an eager “next hot thing” are often good bets. The combination of aging action hero, stud-ly comic buddy and hot young chickadee ready to get naked at the drop of a hat is a winning combination in any film formula.


FOUR
Marketing Campaign
Marketing is tasked with creating a need. That need is your film. And, like a great strip tease, the final product is best revealed in provocative, building increments. Start with the teaser trailer, sweepstakes emails, and a high on form, low on content “coming-soon” website. The best campaigns start at least one year before release date—plan ahead. Be sure to secure corporate partnerships. Tie-ins will make or break your picture in the marketplace. Saturate the field. Align your film with big-dog fast food chains, car companies, breakfast cereals etc. A thick, inescapable fog of coverage including TV, radio, print, and give-away chotkis should descend over your target audience beginning 6 weeks before release.


FIVE
Shoot The Film
Move quickly. All problems can be solved in post.
For more information refer to Bert Bender’s Bestselling Sequel, “How to Shoot a Summer Blockbuster in 3 Easy Steps”


SIX
The Preview Screening
The preview screening is like a good wash and press. This is where the final wrinkles and pesky subtitles still screwing with your picture will be ironed out. Assemble a preview audience using call-in radio give-aways that simultaneously build hype and excitement and promote your feature. Hire a local marketing firm to run the screening and poll the audience. Find out what is working: Is the music carrying the plot? Are buttons being pushed? Does the audience audibly cheer when the hero kicks enemy in the groin? Is it loud enough when the tanker rams the flaming gasoline factory?
Collect comment cards and edit film accordingly.

SEVEN
Intensify Marketing Campaign
The Nazis had a word for it – Blitzkrieg! Lightning Warfare. Attack the audience with your message. Hit ‘em hard and fast and with mind numbing repetition. A numb mind is a receptive mind. You should have a stash of one-liners to use in the copy of your posters, postcards, t-shirts, key chains, hats, coffee mugs etc. Begin booking your “hot” actors on morning, day and late night talk shows. Rehearse the talent to repeat the one-liners at will. Trailers, TV spots, radio, print, billboards, plastic figurines, and toilet paper. Make it so they can’t breath, think, ingest food or expel waste without clearing their schedules for your opening weekend.

EIGHT
Open Film
Sit, back and wait for the numbers! Watch your film open on multiple screens in every multi-plex, shopping mall, or strip mall theatre from sea to shining sea. Big numbers on opening weekend are the key to securing your film franchise for another two pictures, additional cross promotion including DVD and video game sales, and overseas box office success. Make quick “congratulatory” phone calls to director and actors. Ignore the reviews.

Process: The Movie Business

Bubbles in the Face

It just slipped out. This is stupid, so stupid. Wash your mouth out. Who does that? It’s like a medieval torture. Why not leaches or the rack, Mom? She can’t be serious. Forget it, I’m not doing it.

I’m old enough to say whatever I want. Ms. Langley deserved it. I was only trying to help. Mom grabbed my arm and shouted for me to be quiet. She wanted to know where I heard the word. I’m in fifth grade, stupid. Everybody says it and worse stuff too. I’ve even heard Mom say it. It’s not fair. Why doesn’t she come up here and wash hr mouth out. Cause it sucks, that’s why.

Peter forgot his homework, and I let him copy. So. No biggie. Ms. Langley made such a big deal. Why did she have to call Mom at work? I was trying to be the good guy. That’s a joke. I hate Peter. I hate Mom. I hate Ms. Langely,

Maybe if I just get the bar wet. Mom won’t know. What, is she gonna check my tongue? Probably. I’ve never seen her so mad. Who cares? Nobody cares about me, nobody. This is worse than Ms. Langely, a mouth full of bubbles fucking sucks.

Process: Huh?

Found this on Clinic of Cultural Collision site...in reaction to the every increasing restrictions of passenger rights on airplanes. Plus its kinda pervy.

Definition: Wash Your Mouth Out

How cool! When I published to the blog it turned my project this neutrogena orange. I love it! The hard copy is blue with blue bubble-but this looks much better--thanks blogspot.

Plus, thanks to fabulous Jill I was able to find measurements for the soap box recreate in InDesign. I was so proud of myself...

Phase Four: IMove...decisions

Phase four on my IMovie was tricky. I thought I had alot that was working, but it bothered me that the first image of the house looked unlived-in and even not quite built! So, I looked for another image of a suburban house in a cul de sac with spooky lighting--or at the very least at dawn. Hmmm, tall order. Plus, the house would ideally have ventian blinds, two bedroom windows, and an air conditiner in the window. AAAAAAAHHHHH!

Needless to say, I could't find an exact image--so. Here are the top running choices.
Picture one, is a prfect surburban house. The lighting is right. The windows are not quite right. But it had a great look and feel.
Picture two, the whole neightborhood of houses. This is interesting...I eliminate the need to duplicat the house directly. We dn't zoom into the bedroom window persay, and we get this great surburban zoombie cul-de-sac from aerial view.

Decisions, decisions...

Bang Art

Our group, after finally moving on from a particulary stupid idea involving a bathtub (oh, I think that was mine), landed on the story of a kid who blows a really BIG bubble, lifts off the ground, is attacked by a bird, and lands in a bubble puddle. I especially liked the the passing of time. The clouds would move across the page.

Still Image Narration with Style

The IMovie assignment--to say the least--has been challenging.
In preparation, my husband pointed out several effective montages in award-winning films which use sequences of still images, set to music, to tell a story. In particular the opening sequence in SOYLENT GREEN and the middle bridge in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. Well, such great examples are something to strive for, anyway.

Official Citation

How does your garden grow?...with revisions

With a difference a clean sans serif makes.

Words I like from the list of 1001 frequently mispelled words A-H

apocalypse
avocado
calico
dandelion
chauffeur
carburetor
dipthong
galactic
gubernatorial
hippopotamus
filament
coyote
florescent

This past week I was caught up in performing my civic duty. Yes, a resident of Baltimore City is seemes that I called for jury duty every year. Despite the "hurry-up-and-wait" pace of the proceedings and graphic nature of the trial itself, this blogger must admit that the experience was a profound one. Forgive the cliche, but is an amazing system that invites 12 strangers to deliberate the fate of another. It was an adventure, which this weary student, hopes only comes along once-in-a lifetime.

Classification: The Language of Flowers

Flowers are the ultimate calling-card.

Delicate, fragment missives, flowers articulate the sweet and, sometimes less-than-sweet, sentiments of countless lovers with a broad and clear vocabulary. Wildly in vogue during the Victorian era, the language of flowers was silently spoken in parlor-rooms across Europe and America and its secrets were universally acknowledged through the best-selling folio, “Les Language of Flours,” first published in Paris in 1819. Its author, Charlotte de La Tour, meticulously recorded the flower vernacular and armed her readers with the tools to respond in kind. The bashful peony, the contented snapdragon, the reddest roses for passion.

Consider the elegance and potency of the language of flowers when choosing your next bouquet. Our abbreviated glossary of terms includes the appropriate posies for passion, gratitude, love, and sympathy.

Passion

1. Roses
The workhorse of Valentine’s Day, the red rose is a touchstone for passion, mutual attraction and sexual desire.

2. Orchids
An exotic and decadent flower, the orchid is a daring overture. To give an orchid is to allure your lover with the promise of an extravagant seduction.

Gratitude

1. Hydrangea
A perennial flower, hydrangea will thrive with hearty, colorful blooms in the most challenging climates. A symbol of lasting friendship and an expression of gratitude for understanding.

2. Gerber Daises
The roots and leaves of the daisy were used in the Middle Ages to treat illness and injury. To receive daisies is to know you are appreciated for your thoughtfulness, care and attention to detail.

Love

1. Stargazer Lilies
The lover who receives lilies can expect both tender affection and a commitment of fidelity. A valiant flower, its strong scent is a reminder of the lover’s fondness.

2. Tulips
A bold statement, Tulips say “You are my perfect lover”. A luxury item during the Victorian period, the tulip remains a symbol of social status and strength of commitment.

Sympathy

1. Calla Lilies
Symbols of purity and the return of happiness, Calla Lilies express a desire for renewed spirit and wellness.

2. Hyacinth
A flower named from Greek mythology, its petals were stained blue with the tears of Apollo. An assertive, elegant flower, the Hyacinth conveys remembrance and eternal love.

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else.
Georgia O’Keefe, Portrait of an Artist

Classification: Language of Flowers

Flowers express a wealth of feelings. Some flowers express love, others can express regret, passion, or remembrance.

Star Trek Apparel: The Enterprise Collection

Celebrating 40 years since Star Trek launched its inaugural voyage, the creators of the groundbreaking series are proud to introduce Trek Apparel, the Enterprise Collection.

These jeans boldly go where no pants have gone before.

Produced in limited quantities, each pair is custom packaged in an official Starfleet Academy collector’s duffel, and hand-stitched with original Star Trek insignia and Special Edition authenticity patch signed by the legend William Shatner, who originated the role of full-speed-ahead commander.

Main Bridge
Whether barreling through hyperspace or taking time off in the holodeck, Enterprise Collection denim will keep fans at warp nine with riveted 5-pocket styling and an easy, expandable button fly.

Engineering
Available in premium Starfleet regulated wash, Enterprise Collection denim is the logical wardrobe choice for the most discerning and fashion-conscious fans.

TurboLift
Fitted at the waist and generously proportioned through the captain’s seat and thigh, Enterprise Collection denim will maintain control and flexibility through the worst tumbles with Klingon enemies or long hours cruising the convention floor.

Be assimilated.

Since it has been so heavily reported in the news, I thought to create an ad campaign which promotes a Air Passenger Bill og Rights. My first instinct was to use ads from 50s and 60s. Real live the good old days of air travel...for example. harken back to when air travel was spacious, a luxury, and something filled with little customer service extras.

Description: Wine Tasting Notes

From Mondovi Napa Valley – Tasting 2002

Robert Mondavi 2002 Napa Valley Fumé Blanc displays bright citrus, pineapple, lemon grass, floral and mineral notes that enliven the aromas and cascade across the palate. Barrel-fermentation and gentle stirring during aging in French oak barrels enhanced the elegant, spicy finish.

From Coppola Wines—Tasting Notes 2002

Rubicon 2002 has saturated ruby-purple color signaling ripe fruit and high extractions. The aroma expresses Classic Estate Cabernet character of black cherries tinged with violets. The palate reveals an opulent texture with sweet ripe fruit scented with vanilla, and toasty notes from aging in 100% New French oak barrels. Framing the lavish texture are chocolate, sweet tart fruits, and black licorice that linger on the long finish
characteristics of the vintage which also produced impressive, powerful tannins that will soften with time tin the bottle.

Lovely Rita. A Spread for Vanity Fair

Discovered at the age of eighteen, Rita Tushingham was all eyes. She was not tall, nor shapely, nor particularly pretty. Yet her look, both fresh and nostalgic, would make her the poster pin-up of 60s British New Wave cinema. Director Tony Richardson, who would give Rita her film debut in A Taste of Honey (1961), observed Rita had “a face saved from the commonplace by a pair of enormous eyes.”

Rita grew up in Liverpool during the late 1940s. The war was over but to these victors went few spoils. London was a black and white world of rations and rationalizations. Not the sharp edged, glossy Hollywood image, but the black and white of a faded snapshot. And then, an explosion. Four young men from a sleepy seaport town take not only their country but the world by storm. The swinging 60s had begun, and before they would devolve into the violence of assassinations and Altamont, there was a brief and shining moment not to be forgot - even better than Camelot.

Mod London energized youth culture and revived working-class leisure and social optimism. Micro mini skirts roared with the pop art prints of Carnaby Street, and the driving pulse of the Kinks, The Who and The Beatles poured over the radios and exploded onto the big screen. In 1965, Rita starred in Richard Lester’s celebrated romp The Knack and How to Get It, a picture with, “the anarchic quality modish today and at all times appealing to a new generation understandably bent on overturning the ideas which have hardened in the minds of their elders,” wrote critic Dilys Powell. The film won Lester the Palm D’or at the Cannes Film Festival and signaled to the world that the Mod movement had arrived, crowning Rita its cinema sweetheart.

Rita’s iconic status grew with her film credits including The Leather Boys (1962), Girl With Green Eyes (1963), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Smashing Time (1967). She perfected a new kind of girl-next-door; vunerable, direct, and saucy. In a 2003 interview for the BBC, Rita remarked, “I love film. I absolutely love every single thing about it. Not just the acting part, but everything that goes on the floor. It’s fascinating, and was from the day I started. Tony Richardson, the most wonderful director in the world to work with, made me interested in how everything worked.” Perhaps in her most nuanced performance, Rita was cast as a mute woman in Sidney Hayer’s The Trap (1966). Without a word of dialogue, she lit up the screen with her soulful eyes.

Throughout the 1970's and early 1980's, her film career slowed, as did the British filmmaking industry. Rita continued to perform in films throughout Europe and Canada, and appeared at International Film Festivals to promote her own work and that of fledging independent filmmakers. When the National Film Theatre launched its revival season of Mod Sixties cinema in 2003, Rita Tushingham became an immediate marquee attraction. “How do you feel to be the face of the Swinging 60s?” she was asked in an interview. Rita laughed, “I guess it means we made our mark. When you look at the roles women had in the 50s, and then suddenly, in the 60s, there were these tough roles that young women were playing…that’s what made the mark. It wasn’t just us, or our faces, it was the roles we were playing and the stories we told.”

Carnaby Sharp. A Spread for Esquire

The sharp crack of a snare drum, the purring of a Vespa, and the click click of high heel boots on hard pavement. It’s the Swingin 60s in London, baby, and what’s old is new and what’s cool is Mod. The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Carnaby Street, Julie Christie, and David Hemmings. Are you a Mod or a Rocker? Or as Ringo famously said in A Hard Days Night, when asked to pick sides, “I’m a mocker.” Whether at the job or “on the job”, the fashions of the smart, eclectic hipster never fade.

For many, their introduction to the universe of swinging London came from that international man of mystery, Austin Powers. Why do you think Mike Myers created his own James Bond/Derek Flint hero? The threads are totally shag-adelic. Fitted mid and max-length overcoats, dramatically belted, remains a staple of the hepcat’s wardrobe. Modern updates on the classic ready-made suit include mohair, cashmere, and wool jackets with pants cut with a flair for a rock-and-roll finish. “You think you are clever, Mr. Smarty, Mr. Tight-Tight Trousers,” cries doll-baby Rita Tushingham in the 1965 sex romp The Knack and How to Get It.” Long purple coats, highwayman high colors, and Union Jack jackets can put a rocket in your pocket, make you feel like you are on leapers, and you know you are the AceFace.

Why are we still bobbing to the Mersybeat? Why do 40 year old fashions seem so fresh? Is it merely nostalgia, a harkening back to what we may, mistakenly, take for a “simpler time? Just boomers refusing to give it up and go gentle into that good night? Could be. But one look at the sharp sleek lines, the bold colors, the eye-popping pop art sensibility and we are sold. Both of a time and place, and totally timeless.

SHOW and TELL: 2.10.07

Thinking of Compare and Contrast reminded me of this commercial and ad campiagn. Is you brain on drugs like an egg in a frying pan? This was certainly an effective campaign to make the cover of TIME. And it reminds me so vividly of a time and place--this ad was provocative and simple.

The mod sixties in swingin London. Cellar clubs, shiny suits, and a knack for anti-social coolness. A fashion spread for men and women with examples from hipsters in cinema and the news.

feb 6.2007

Champagne in a can comes with a straw attached like Capris Sun's I had in grade school. It's a girly drink--pink, portable and fizzy. I bought a six-pack for my sister's birthday. Stylishly, we got silly and watched Lost in Translation.