My blog has moved
January 5th, 2009To see my lastest posts please go to Visual Editors
The rss feed is:
http://visualeditors.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=2kb7vu139fltm&xn_auth=no
Hope to see you there!
A shout-out to my colleagues
December 19th, 2008
I got to work on some great projects this year. The following are are just a few. Please look at the credits, because each were a large team effort. Good multimedia takes time and a group people with different kinds of skills (writing, video, audio, photography, editing, design, etc… .) I’m glad the Times let us do these kinds of projects and it was pleasure to work with all these folks. My job was to make them look pretty, everyone else did the hard work.
Testing grounds: Drugs are expensive. Life is cheap.
The latest industry being outsourced to India is clinical drug trials. And any number of tragic things can happen on the way to your medicine cabinet.
Winter’s tale
The sea spit out the dying baby dolphin, cast her into a strange new world. That was the end of one thing, and the miraculous beginning of another.
The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
Right by Miles
Two teenage boys are in a car chase with a reckless, sexually perverted Polk County sheriff’s deputy. The boys crash, killing Miles White, 16. But the sheriff’s office does not investigate its deputy’s involvement. Why?
The girl in the window
Three years ago detectives and a social worker arrived at a dilapidated house in Plant City and made a heartbreaking discovery: A tiny girl living in a dark closet.
Holiday gift wish list: What could help you with your design career?
December 15th, 2008My family makes holiday gift wish lists after Thanksgiving. This way we receive presents we can use and don’t end up with more stuff we just don’t need. If your family does this too, what about putting some items on your gift wish list that could help with your career? Here’s a few ideas:
The Kid Stays in the Picture: A documentary on Robert Evans who was the producer of Chinatown, The Godfather, Love Story, Rosemary’s Baby and more. The creative use of Adobe After Effects animation in this film is the reason to see it.
0.70 to $7.50 used at Amazon
O’Reilly books: The Pocket Reference books (for HTML, CSS, Flash Actionscript and more) are great and only cost $9 to $12 and can also be found at Barnes & Nobel and Borders books.
Extremes & Inbetweens: A Life In Animation Chuck Jones: Classic animation from the animator of the How the Grinch Stole Christmas and much more. Used and new $12 to $14 at Amazon.
Helvetica: A Film: For all you font fans: a documentary film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. $19 at Amazon.
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art: It’s about so much more than cartoons. It’s a insightful look at art, design and the way people deal with visual languages in general. A wonderful book and only $16.
Peachpit Books: Peachpit publishes great technology books. I like the ones on Final Cut Pro and SoundTrack. $30 to $60. Can also be found at Barnes & Nobel and Borders books.
The Push Pin Graphic: A Quarter Century of Innovative Design and Illustration: Part design and illustration studio, part pop culture think tank, Push Pin Studios made a phenomenal impact on visual culture from the 1950s to the 1980s.
New York Times’ writer David Pogue’s Missing Manuals are great. $20 and up. Can also be found at Barnes & Nobel and Borders books.
Soundslides: The best beginners multimedia program (it was created by a news photographer.) At only $69.95, it’s a steal! Get Audacity audio software and the LAME MP3 encoder (both free!) to go with it.
Lynda.com training multimedia CD-ROMs: $49 to $200
Lynda.com online training: $25 per month or $250 per year.
Please suggest more good career improving gifts that you plan to give (or would like to get). Happy Holidays!
Storytellng: Once upon a time…
November 23rd, 2008
This is a video that I find so charming and very funny. The storyteller looks a lot like my niece so I maybe I am biased. However, I think it’s storytelling at the very surreal, pure, basic best. The storyteller is earnest and does not hide the most important details (the baby monkeys were gone!) and at such a young age she knows how to work in front of a camera. She’s influenced by A. A. Milne and C. S. Lewis, but I think with age, she’ll find her own voice.
It made me laugh out loud, so I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Once upon a time… A breathtaking story by Capucine. Starring baby monkeys lost in frightening trees, a witch, crocodiles, a tiger, a “popotamus” and a lion, and even a “tremendously very bad mammoth”. There are also magic powers and an orange ring, but sometimes, “something goes amiss”.
Bring your popcorn and enjoy the show.
More good Google ranking/SEO advice
November 17th, 2008Here’s some more good advice on helping the readers find your work online:
10 things every newspaper and magazine website must do
Type “newspaper industry” into Google News and there’s nothing but bad news. Everything from falling profits and job losses to trying to figure out their footing in the new media world.
How Newspapers Can Increase Their Google Juice
Online marketing specialist Mitch Joel knows how to get Google hits. Dubbed the “rock star of digital marketing” by Marketing magazine, he is an expert at helping websites get a bigger hit of Google juice, i.e.: making the website attractive to the search engine and therefore bringing in more traffic.
SEO Guide for Designers
This is an SEO guide for designers who want to learn about making it easier for websites or blogs to be found by search engines.
Inspiration
November 14th, 2008
Gosh, I had one of “those” weeks. I think I need some inspiration.
In that spirit, I’m sharing some older Web sites that I still find wonderful:
Pine Lake Films — Beautiful HD videos by Steven Dempsey
The blackheart gang’s The Tale of How — Dark animation with an operatic soundtrack. Really!
Made in Montreal — A city tourist Web site with the best search ever! Great videos too.
Jonathan Yuen — An award winning animated portfolo.
Do you have any inspirational sites to share?
