Mantle Progress: Actual Results

The hearth is finally done. For almost a year my to-do list has included, 'select granite'. The wooden hearth panels have been in place with no cap. As the rest of the fireplace nears completion, I finally completed the task.

Building a Jake the Pirate Sword

I had been planning to make my son a Jake the Pirate sword of the Neverland Pirates fame (it's a kids show). After he told me out of the blue he wanted a Jake sword, I decided to get to work.

I drew a template in Google Sketchup to get proportions correct.

Breaking Bad Photo Shoot

I'm a fan of Breaking Bad. I had wanted to do a photo shoot tribute to the show, and after finding a location with an RV... it was time, yo!

Enjoy, and feel free to share.

Photo Shoot Teaser

Just a teaser of a photo shoot to come. Do you know who is going to knock at your door...yo?

 And this isn't even the best part.

Fireplace Mantle in a Weekend

It was actually two weekends, and it still needs paint.
For those of you that read the blog, this is not my mantle. I designed and built this mantle, and as a result designed and built myself a mantle.

I do have a tendency to improve the portions of my home that I improve for others.

This mantle fell victim to my nine month wood working hiatus as a result of my injuries sustained from working on my mantle. After two weekends of work, it's ready for paint.

The design is modern, something you would see on a home improvement show.

Logo & Sign Design

I was recently commissioned to design a sign for an upstart business.

The client had sketched out an idea of what was wanted and referenced my previous work as a basis.

This is the design.  I designed it so that it would fit on a business card as well.  I didn't want to design something that only worked as a sign and couldn't be transferred.

Graphic Design: Bright Leaf Brew Fest Poster

This contest was to design a poster for the Bright Leaf Brew Fest. It's a beer convention. I immediately had two ideas.  One was more diagrammatic, communicating community, celebration, and enjoyment.The second idea depicts the victory of a beer after a long day.

My entry 'Victory Beer' garnered first place, and 'Cheers!' tied for third. I will receive a cash prize, event tickets, and my entry will be used to promote the event

Victory Beer

Cheers!

Video: Smiling Jack Always Laughs Last

Chances are you saw my previous post where I discussed pre-production of Smiling Jack Always Laughs Last.  Here is the video

Three hours of filming, one hour of video review, about an hour on music, and three hours to edit.

I wish I could have gotten a better mob together, but I'm really pleased with how the scene came out considering I only had two actors in that scene. I also really like the soundtrack queues.

The rough cut of edits was 17 minutes long. The finished video is 5:30.

A big thanks to everyone that helped.

How to Build a Camera Mount

Hand held filming can be bouncy and jarring. You could spend a lot of money on different set ups or you could build the equivalent of a Fig Rig for $16.

Designed by director Mike Figgis, the Fig Rig helps produce steady shots.  Your arms absorb the shock of walking without transferring those movements directly to the camera.

The Fig Rig camera mount.