Can’t Stop the Serenity
One of the many cool projects I’ve gotten to work on lately is an event poster for Pittsburgh’s Can’t Stop the Serenity event. You can find out a little bit more about the event on the City Creative blog, as they’ve been nice enough to give us some publicity.
You can also read my write-up of last year’s event. We’ve been to quite a few of these things, and it’s really a lot of fun. This year, you only need to purchase a ticket for the screening itself. So if you’re interested in checking out the marketplace, games, or awesome costumes, you can stop by for free. Proceeds from the tickets, and some other purchase-able items (including the event poster), benefit Equality Now.
Respect the Piece
For some reason, the guys love these alternate jerseys from the LA Kings. I’ve long maintained that it’s the ugliest jersey in the NHL, but they’re into it. They’ve decided to print up jerseys with this color scheme, and of course, they need a shiny new logo for it. So I put together a few sketches:
My parents are so proud.
Pre-order for Serenity Poster
You guys remember that Firefly poster series I’m working on?
Edit: The store is up and running! Posters are $15, and you can buy one at the Moore Store (they’re also on Etsy, take your pick). If you want to get on the list, and be alerted when new designs hit the shop, you can sign up here.
15 Seconds
There were a lot of things that I took away from last weekend’s WMC Fest. One thing that really struck a chord with me was the importance of doing your own personal projects. I’ve always been pretty active about doing my own thing, sometimes as an excuse to try new skills, sometimes just because I have what I think is a pretty cool idea. I’ve kept the boys in crazy hockey logos, made a 5′ wide mural, did this word art project, and am working on a Firefly poster series. It’s something that I never put a lot of thought into, but have always done. And I’ve gotten a ton of work based on doing these side projects. Hell, I even had a bride book me to shoot her wedding based on photos of my husband’s mustache.
I talked to a few people at the Fest about this 15-Second Film that I did. Some years ago, American Express and Tribeca Film Festival teamed up to do this 15-Second Film competition. The website is long gone, but I did find this write-up on it. I found out about the contest the day before the due date, and I almost didn’t do it. But I thought it would be fun, and who cares if I didn’t get anything out of it. I watched a few of the entries, and a lot of them were just 15 seconds of a sunset, or their kid, or whatever. I thought that was pretty boring, and lazy, so I thought I’d do a narrative. In 15 seconds. Because I’m a chronic overachiever, is why, okay? John suggested that I have army men attack the vacuum, and then I stayed up all night making this:
Is it my crowning achievement as a filmmaker? Not really. But I had a blast doing it, and, as it turns out, I was a finalist in the competition. I won an iPod, and Martin Scorsese looked at something that I made (I imagine him nodding with approval). I got hired at an agency because of this video. Trying to tell a story in 15 seconds is a challenge, and one I’m glad that I attempted. Later, in graduate school, we had to do a 45-second film. And I said, “45 seconds? Piece of cake.”
Side projects, kids.
WMC Fest ’11
I’ve seen a lot of people posting that they feel like they’ve just come home from summer camp. And it’s kind of like that. Except now I have new Twitter friends, instead of a list of addresses to send postcards to. If you missed this year’s Weapons of Mass Creation Fest, you missed out on some amazing speakers, and bands, and artwork. Everyone that I met was just profoundly nice, and I’m thrilled that I got to be involved with the whole thing. A lot of the advice reminded me of Conan’s “If you work really hard and are kind, amazing things will happen.” It’s the truth.
I volunteered to take some photos and video over the weekend. Largely because I think it’s a great event, and I want to see it succeed. Also because my mother raised me to volunteer for shit. I spent most of my time in the auditorium, but I managed to make it out to the gallery for a bit, and to the Happy Dog to check out some of the bands. So here are some of the people that I met, and the things that I learned…
From Jeff Finley, I learned the power of community. You earned that parade, my friend.
From Jacob Edwards, I learned every conceivable way there is to print up a shirt.
From Quite Strong, I learned that ladies can work together, and that Cheez-its are a good way to make friends.
From William Beachy & Steve Knerem, I learned that I should really spend more time drawing.
From Ken Hejduk, I learned that if you’re not for good design, you’re against it.
From Mig Reyes, I learned to try new shit (also something about the police…)
From Dan Cassaro, I learned that you need style and substance.
From Alex Cornell, I learned to be a mental pack-rat.
From Paul Sobota, I learned about photo trickery.
From David Gensler, I learned that talent doesn’t equal professionalism (I also learned that I don’t know anything about luxury clothing, but I mean… y’all saw what I was wearing).
From Todd Saperstein, I learned that there’s no reason you can’t have a presentation and a concert on the same stage (I have, by the way, named these guys The Todd Saperstein Experience).
From Dan Christofferson, I learned about polygamy and the Death Guild.
From Oliver Barrett & Aaron Sechrist, I learned that nobody likes a crybaby, and that you work WITH your client, not FOR them.
From Ken & Jenn Visocky O’Grady, I learned that in your life, as in your fridge, if it smells bad, it is bad.
From John Paul Walton, I learned how to do location based gaming right.
From Jessi Arrington, I learned that life is better with a little color (and that when you’re that cute, you can get an auditorium of people to do just about anything).
From Joseph Hughes, I learned to be reflective.
From Mikey Burton, I learned the secret to success (Be passionate, make stuff, repeat!)
And from Aaron Draplin, I learned how to make an entrance.
You can see more photos on the WMC Fest Flickr pool, or on my Facebook. Tag yourself, send ‘em to your friends, do what you gotta do. Use them for your own devices, with my blessing. Big thanks go out to everyone involved in making this shindig happen, and I already can’t wait for next year.
Ride the Lightning
We spent a week on vacation in Deep Creek, Maryland. While we were there, we got a pretty gnarly storm. A reasonable person would keep their ass in the house during such a storm. But my brother says to me, “You can’t photograph lightning.” So now I’m standing on the deck, in the rain, like a jagoff, and yes, Luke, you can photograph lightning.
Random Start: C’est La Vie
This is the best video I’ve seen in a long time. Great concept, beautifully executed. I really can’t wait until these guys start touring for this album.
Taking Care of Business. Cards.
I have a ton of business cards for the Hear Me project. I have a ton of business cards for my wedding photography. With Weapons of Mass Creation Fest looming, I realized I had zero business cards with the link to my design work. So with a little help from Moo, I whipped these up. Now when I meet awesome people, they’ll know where to find me later.
Cassette and Crossbones
So I’ve been tasked with a few t-shirt designs lately, but I also wanted to make one for myself. I whined on Twitter that I didn’t have a decent solution for printing one-off shirts, and through the magic of the internet, Dan Rock from Commonwealth Press hooked me up. I picked up my shirt last night, and met the Dans. We laughed, we cried, we had milkshakes (well, one of us had milkshake). They’re cool dudes that do great work, and what more can you ask for?
I had hoped John would reprise his role as t-shirt model for me, but he said something about his guns stretching out the sleeves, so I had to do it myself.
