Jai's Laboratory

VFS ALUMNI

I stumbled across this today. It’s made by a fellow Vancouver Film School alumni. I think he was in sound design, or maybe 3D. Anyway, the video is amazing, and the sound is great! I want to be a character in one of these vids. If anyone does it, I’ll promote the hell out of it like never before. I’m talkin’ posters, hand-bills, podcasts, multiple blog posts on multiple blogs…. MAN… I just can’t express how much I dig it.

I WILl say, tho, that the more time I spend as a grad, the more I am impressed with the skill and talent of the people that come out of the same school I went to.

MONDAYS ARE FUNDAYS

Whew. Man does it feel good to be back and updating regularly. I have missed having a place to just type things that are more than 140 characters long, or done with only my thumbs while waiting for food to get to me.

Some of you may already know, the last 3 months have been complete mayhem for me. As I am sure from my posting schedule it’s clear that I haven’t had a lot of time to just write things, but I hope this new approach (less formal, more topical) might work better. Not that this is going to become so much of a journal, but just perhaps more conversational.

As I promised, I am going to post all about my trip to France, my work, and the fun times I had there, but I think that is going to have to take up more time writing than I currently have. I was going to write more tonight, but I got sucked in to watching The Incredible Hulk, with Edward Norton & Liv Tyler. Let me just digress here a bit and talk about my thoughts on the movie.
*AHEM*
Over all, it was on par, if not a bit better than the first one. The pluses were that the actual appearance of The Hulk was much more convincing, and the treatment of the characters and their motivations was more on par for what I was hoping from a Hulk movie. The effects were good, and the fight scene at the University was pretty well done. Now, the negative parts… were Edward Norton and Liv Tyler. Their chemistry was fine, but they just didn’t hold me in belief that Ed was Bruce, and Liv was Betty. In fact, the only time I liked Edward, was at the end in the cabin… and that was just for a second. I never believed that he was a missing scientist, and I never believed that Liv was a love-lorn professional who had moved on. In fact, Colonel Ross was the only guy I bought as a genuine character. Well, maybe Mr. Blue. Anyway, I am not sad that Mr. Norton isn’t reprising the role. Eric Bana was good, but not good enough. let’s hope that Mark Ruffalo can run this role all the way to the end zone in the Avengers movie that’s coming out.

…moving on! (& speaking about comics)

A large chunk of my office went to Comic-Con in San Diego this past week. I was really jealous that I didn’t get to go, but was stoked that they were confident enough in my skills not only to leave me in a mock Art Director’s position, but also to leave me in charge of some serious projects for the company that had a very tight deadline. I have to give credit, tho. The Creative Director, Denis, did a fantastic job of priming it all for me before he went on vacation in the Bahamas. That being said, I put in some really long hours and really made sure that the work I was producing was the absolute best that I could under the circumstances & time limitations.

When the crew came back today, the Boss / President of the company, Matt was really happy with the results of my hard work. Enough so, that he brought it up at the morning meeting a couple times. Also, later in the day when the Boss’s Boss came in today and saw my work, he liked it enough to come over and personally thank me himself. Talk about a wave of awesome! I have never been so proud, and yet so humbled in a day. I really love this company.

Also, while on the topic of loving the company, When they came back from Comic-Con, they brought me back all kinds of goodies! I had been hoping for one of the limited edition Tron collectibles that were on the trade floor, but I knew it was a shot int he dark, and didn’t really get my hopes up. What I got instead was fantastic tho! Check it out!

So, I have a kick ass Comic-Con souvenir bag (“Batman:Brave & the bold” on the back), a pair of Dr Shroud vampire teeth which are totally cheap and awesome (…because real vampires don’t whine, don’t sparkle, and puncture human flesh. That’s right Edward, I’m lookin’ at you, ya damned fraud!), and a kick ass “Brain Power” shirt from the “I Love Guts” company.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: my work is awesome and so are the people there!

BRAAAAAAAAINS….

Looks like this site is back from the dead!

In the coming weeks, I’ll have a slew of updates. Everything from my trip to the Cannes Film Festival in France, my new amazing position at http://Zeros2Heroes.com , some new projects I’ve been working on, my trip to Tofino, BBQs, Art Gallery openings, nights I barely remember, and all the way to a new DJ mix I JUST finished. Hot damn!

Also, I think things are going to get a bit loose here on the site. Lots of formality dropped and some fun is about to be had.
For now…. chew on my new avatar. Yes… after almost 5 years with long hair…I got it cut WAY back. I personally love it.

Cheers,

J

LATE POST TODAY

I won’t be able to get to a new post until after work today. So, sorry about that. I have a couple more guest columns to go up from some very cool local designers, as well as a couple posts about my time in France. I’m also almost done sorting through the 500+ pictures I took while I was over there, and getting them all segmented in to groups of “what I thought people would want to see, but I’m not sure why”, “people I met”, “people I don’t remember meeting”, “places that looked cool”, & “I’m sure there was a reason I took this picture”.

Check back later tonight for a full installment.

Cheers,

Jai

A FREELANCER WITHOUT A NAME

Guest Column by Bashar Alaeddin

So I’m 29 years old and I’m about to start my life. After graduating from three schools, gained three years of work experience; I’ve decided to open my own business. And oh my God is it ridiculous-ly insane. Putting all the logistics aside and un-necessary details, what I’m here to talk about is the process of coming up with a name and logo for your own start-up. To put things in context for you, my main line of work is photography (all kinds, studio, portraits, behind-the-scenes, fashion, location, interior, products, you name it). My second line of work is motion-graphics, so naturally my business is a digital studio comprised of Photography & Motion. It’s creative; it’s digital, its fresh, new and all other classic keywords used by any client.

Now the thing is, since one of my degrees is a Digital Design diploma from Vancouver Film School, naturally I should design my own brand right? Well… it’s harder than you may think, at least in my experience. The cliché’ line of “You are your own worst client” is as true as drunk dialing. I’ve been researching name’s, logo’s, inspiration for the last two months and I can’t seem to stick with one. It’s become so hard to make a decision because I believe I’ve become so inspired and obsessed with the top brands and those awesome negative space elements that I can’t focus on what my target audience would connect with. From names such as “Exposure” to “Chroma” and from “ShootMe” to “LightInk”, I slowly began to realize that I should have paid more attention in Branding class. But seriously, I think all those books out there only maybe try to guide you in the right direction though it’s only long-term personal experience that can get you what you’re looking for. I made a list of the top 20 or so amazing logos of various industries and I’ve found out that the people who designed 90% of those are over 50yrs old.

So what chance did I have to achieve a similar standard with my start-up? I showed some logo options to friends, to some of my old teachers, some gave me negative feedback, some positive and of course most were contradictory. Yet here I am, with an office space, with equipment, with mostly everything to start operations but no name! It’s kind of ironic really, usually people have a name and an idea but no finances or drive to get up and do it, yet in my case, I have an office space, I have equipment and I have a few clients for when I was free-lancing but no name or logo! So I started thinking, how important is your name? Was my drive to start my own business more important than having a name? I just didn’t want to work from home anymore.  So what now? Well, I’m still working, still taking on jobs but as my personal name not as a company.  By the way, I live in the Middle-East, in Jordan. In this part of the world, you’re known by your work ethic and personality more than your company’s “brand and identity”. It’s bit disorienting sometimes to have a western education and taught the ways of process and correct design thinking and then trying to apply that in a region where clients most of the time pay for the final product and don’t care much about how long it took you to do it or what method’s were used.

So anyway, I kept researching names, phonetics of letters, the meaning of vowels in human society and I got lost in all that philosophical crap. And now I’m seriously considering paying someone who specialized in brands and identities to do it for me. I figured that to be the best way because here’s how I see it, paying someone an amount I can reasonably afford to do all the thinking for me yet at the same time being extremely helpful with my feedback [since I do have a degree in Design remember?] and criticism, I’m hoping to get a great result. That way, I can get back to my photography and motion graphics and, with anticipation, in due time I will make the evolution from a “freelancer with an office space” to “an established well respected new digital agency”. Now the question is… where do I find that person?

Bio : Bashar is a visual artist, maybe a designer [he’s not sure yet] based in Amman, Jordan. He loves color and photographs, minimal designs and dreams one day of being the editor-in-chief of National Geographic. You can check out his stuff at www.balaeddin.comfor now till he finds a name for his studio.

(all photos courtesy of Bashar’s talented lens)

JAILBROKEN : the CS5, the flash, and the iPhone

Guest Column By Alex Noble

It was no secret that Adobe was building an IPhone packager which would be included with the release of CS5. This packager would allow developers to create their as3 flash projects into native iPhone apps. What?! Yes, that simple. The idea behind the iPhone packager was to provide developers with a tool that would allow them to publish to a number of different platforms. However Apple does not seem to like that and has banned all Apps built with 3rd party API’s, including the iPhone packager.  What does this mean? in short terms control & business for Apple and A very cool tool that is pretty much useless for Developers now. Apple will never allow you to upload your App to the App Store. no distribution, no cash.

I was especially bummed out when i heard about this. Not only are they basically turning off my web content for the iPad/iPhone (I usually use Flash in one way or another in my projects), they kick Mr. Chen’s door down (gizmodo’s prototype showdown.) , and now I’m “banned” for using the iPhone packager.

I had been stopped before I even began. However it soon became brighter, I heard of an alternative, something that could make things better. Apparently there are a lot of developers and people, who are against how Apple has been managing the AppStore and its contents. So they have created their alternative to the AppStore, its called Cydia. Cydia offers a wide variety of apps which were banned from the App Store. Some of these apps are very useful and conflict with Apple’s interests. This would be the case of GV Mobile(allowing one to make free phone calls were Wi-Fi is available), Cycorder (record Video with iPhone, a feature that does not exist in the iPhone), among many others. The library also includes Adult Apps, but more importantly now we will see a range of apps created by 3rd party API’s. more variety, more solutions, more concepts, more approaches.

To install Apps offered from Cydia, one must Jailbreak their iPod, iPhone or iPad, with third party software (Spirit, QuickPwn, etc)  Jailbreaking allows you to access both Cydia and the App Store without problems. Jailbreaking sounds risky, but it is not. its something good that’ll let you have cool features.

It is still very much in the horizon, but we can only imagine what will end up happening with this situation. It has all the pieces to unfold into a very interesting scenario, with rogue phones and all.  Whatever it might be, I feel good about Cydia’s future and what is represents. its an open free-market for a “device” that wants it closed.

lets see what happens, but for the time being,  Adobe’s tool has made me a very happy man.

Alex Noble
“Unfortunately not a developer. but a designer. A designer who likes stuff that moves and interacts sometimes.
graphic&interactive designer from Mexico City. recently graduated in Vancouver, a really nice place in the the Northwest.”

noble@portalpachun.com
www.portalpachun.com

THE WENDY-LADY

Well, it’s Mother’s day. I have to say, that my mother is better than all of your mothers put together. Even if they locked in together like Voltron, or maybe even Devastator. Nope, my mom would smote them all, and leave the crater smelling lemon-fresh.  She is a continual source of inspiration and wisdom for me. When things are tough, she is there to give me the encouragement and support to make those big leaps in life. She works amazingly hard, has a smile that brightens anywhere near her, and laughs like it’s coming from a never-ending well.

There are some things that stick out in my mind. Some of the things that mom repeated in my childhood still stick with me. Things like “I hope you have 9 kids, and they ALL behave JUST LIKE YOU!” as well as “Jai, I am your goddamned mother. I brought you in to this world, and I can damned sure take you out of it!” and most memorably “I love you“. She would read me Robert Munsch books, take me to summer classes, and always encouraged me to be creative and to think outside the box. She instilled a passion for expression and a desire to have earnest communication with other people. Her firm but gentile parenting style continues to influence me in the most positive ways to this very day.

Us kids (my 2 sisters and I) have put her through her paces, that’s for sure. I will never forget the first time I made my mom cry. I was about 3 or 4, and I was watching TV one morning. In the house I grew up in, the livingroom was wall-to-wall swamp green shag airlifted right out of a 70’s sitcom set. Mom never let us eat food away from the dining room table. Even at that stage, she was bent on instilling civility in to we heathens. Well, on this particular day, I wanted a PB+J sammich (Panda Bear & Juniper berries). Reluctantly, after much convincing on my part that I wasn’t going to make a mess, she let me eat it in front of the TV, on the shag haven.

Not 2 minutes after sitting down, the top-heavy, open-faced sandwich fell out of my hand, and landed gooey-side down just as mom was rounding the corner from the kitchen. She just burst in to tears and went in to the bathroom and cried. There was obviously other things going on in life to have pushed her to the point that some panda brisket on the carpet would set her off like that… but it cemented itself in my mind. In retrospect, it was probably because Panda was getting harder and harder to get, and the ones in the cages in the basement had gone all tough and gamey. Damn you chewy bastards. Why do you have to be so delicious??

Since then, I have done everything I could to make sure my mom never cries a sad tear again. This year, Mom pulled out all the stops for me. She put a lot on the line to help make sure I reach my goals and see my dreams come true. For that, I can never thank her enough. I am just leaving the house to get on the plane to Cannes, but needed to tell the world how amazing this woman is. Wendy Johnston is my friend, my confidant, and my rock. And as much as I say that I would step over her to get to see Daft Punk play in Cannes(Sorry mom), I wouldn’t hesitate to jump in the path of a bullet for her, or let her sit on the handle bar of my bike even if the road home was up hill.  I love you, Mom. You’re the best.

“Mother is the name for God on the lips, and hearts of all children”

Mom taught me everything. See? She even taught me how to make the best bed-head on Christmas mornings.

Happy Mothers’ Day, Mom!

I WANT YOU TO GET MAD!

Holy crap today has been hectic. I start my new job tomorrow at Zeros 2 Heroes as their Front-End Web Developer, & I couldn’t be more excited. The people there seem like a great mixture of professionalism and camaraderie. I’ll be working on a small in-house project for the next couple weeks. They really have been understanding and supportive about my trip to Cannes, which is fantastic. Also tomorrow, I get my passport back from the Government office.

Everything is just chugging along nicely.

The British election is coming up. In fact, they vote 3 days before my flight will be stopping in the UK on the way to France. With all the attention being paid to the people being stranded in the UK because of the volcano eruption, I was interested in the UK politics, and found a great project I had tucked away, that was dying to get finished.

If you remember WAY back last year, I blogged about a personal project that I had been working on. At the time, I was encountering problems with the vectors. namely, the font I was using was from DaFont.com, and contained incomplete paths, leading me to get an error for every damned word that I had typed out. How many you ask? over a hundred. That’s right, over 100 pop-up error windows when I tried to place the .ai file in a new comp. Talk about frustrating, since I had barely any idea what could be causing it. Anyway, I started work at Sequence shortly after, and it got shelved for the last 6 months.

When I came back to it, I reduced the stroke of the map of the UK, and then converted the text to outlines. Surprise, surprise; no more error messages. The animation was quick and dirty, feverish, and rambling as much as the words being said. I played around with using the Union Jack in there somehow, but there was nothing quite like the stark, straight, and impacting nature of white on black. A series of typographical lights in the darkness as each word is constantly underlined as unpredictable and deliberate as the message being delivered. I loved this speech when it was just being delivered by Peter Finch (which won him one of the 4 Academy Awards for the film). Here is the original, which is quite a bit longer, and mentions things like “The Russians” which fall out of context now that we’re no longer in 1976.

In any case, I hope you like it. I could talk forever about my process, and my thoughts on the choices, but I won’t bore you with the gritty details.

Alright, with the new job starting bright and early, I should get going so I can iron my shirt, polish my cuff links, and brush-out my toupee. Gotta be fresh!

JF

EXCELLENT END TO THE NIGHT