Wow, it’s been a busy couple months. I haven’t posted in a while so this may be a long post.
Been working on some animation for a while. I’ve got 2 done, but I’m waiting on the client to free up his schedule to come in and work on the other 10 or so animations for his website. The client has a foundation repair business and needs a way of illustrating how foundations can be damaged due to heavy rains. I created the scene in Cinema 4D and then brought it into After Effects. Using Trapcode Particular allowed me to simulate water.
I also worked on additional graphics for The Andrew Young Foundation. The next show is focused on Nigeria. They requested several maps to show specific areas that the show was focused on.
Another client needed a new logo for a company that he was starting up. He had apparently gone to one of those online logo design sites and was unhappy with the results. He was very pleased with what I came up with. I was able to listen to his specific needs and came up with a logo that he was very happy with. I was also asked to design his business cards. I wish John much success with his new company, Pristine Water Technologies.
Earlier this month I was hired to to some training at the GA Dome. They have recently been upgrading the production control room to HD. I was brought in to train some of the operators on the Avid Deko Graphics System. It was a really great time, as I knew one of the operators and found out that another used to work at the same place I did, but at different times. We were able to catch up and talk about the good old day. It’s amazing that the Deko software hasn’t changed in several years. The latest 5.0 version has some minor interface tweaks, that greatly improves it’s capabilities. Some of the new features I even stumbled across by accident.
Another update for those of you interested in Velvet Peanut Butter, there will be a Crunchy version soon. I worked up a new label and production will start soon and hit will be hitting the store shelves in the Detroit area.
Another project has been ongoing for several weeks. I’ve been going around down photographing restaurants, clubs and similar establishments for an online directory. The site is still in beta and they are working out the kinks. There will also be an iPhone App available in the future. This was an easy task, but it was great to walk around different areas of the city and taking note of various restaurants and clubs that I never knew were there. There are a lot of new restaurants, but unfortunately there were also a lot that had gone out of business due to the economic climate.
Speaking of photography, it’s always been something that I’ve been interested in pursuing. Lately, it’s been something that I’ve really been concentrating on as a business. I’ve created a new site to showcase my photography. I found that my MoGfx Design site was geared more toward my motion graphic design and that anyone seeking a photographer would probably not seriously look at the portfolio there. I launched DaveM Photography at the end of June. I created the site entirely in Flash, but also wanted to make sure I could fairly easily update the portfolio. I made the portfolio load images dynamically and would only require a minimal amount of Action Script coding to update the number of images.
I also started another blog specifically on my photography. I’m discussing my photo shoots and any other photography related subjects. I recently attended Zack Arias Photo 101 Workshop and shared my experience on the blog. That’s a pretty lengthy post, but worth the read if you’re considering photography as a career. Zack also teaches a lighting workshop, that maybe I’ll attend next year. In the meantime, I’ve got his One Light DVD. I’m also learning Lightroom for processing my images. Anyway head on over to davemphotography.com to look over my portfolio or davemphotography.blogspot.com to catch up on the blog. Feel free to contact me if you ever need a photographer.
