Sunday Morning.

These used to be my favorite mornings. For some reason I would not really sleep in, make a full-course breakfast with Papas con Huevo, tortillas, cinnamon rolls, sliced fruit, and a Folgers Breakfast Blend. Over the past couple years, I've been able to spend this time with Lyndsey here too. She never enjoyed breakfast as much as she does now. As you've read on this blog before, Sunday morning also meant browsing through the weekly Best Buy Ad. (best deal this week is Arrested Development Season 3 for $19.99, along with numerous other TV box sets on sale for $19.99, from Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm to Seinfeld and some others) I haven't been home on Sundays in quite a while due to my schedule changes at work.

On this particular Sunday; however, we are undergoing our annual storewide inventory check, usually an all-night process. Since I am an expert in our inventory process, after having participated each of the past two years, I have been invited to work the night shift. From 7pm-3am, I'll be helping out, which means only dealing with intellectual book worms who look down on me for being visual for about 2 hours before the inventory begins. So, I'm home on a Sunday morning, the family is taking their morning naps, and I'm hungry.

The best part of waking up....

On a quick side note regarding graduate projects, 4 projects complete, 3 projects ready for production, 2 close to it, , 5 I haven't started, and 10 that are in limbo waiting for the right idea to go the distance. And my first photo shoot is in 2 weeks.

Save River Oaks.

Just read this bit on IMDB and it was the first time I reacted to an IMDB blurb regarding my home state.

The poor River Oaks theatre in Houston just might get replaced with a Barnes & Noble. That's a sad, sad, thing. It's an independent film house in the Rice Village area, a vintage, majestic theatre. Now, I'm not sure how sales have been, but to be replaced by B&N is like getting rid of a '57 Chevy for a MINI. It just doesn't feel right.

How Texan Are You?

You are 67% REAL Texan!!

 

You're mostly texan. You know your Mexican food, state heritage and are probably slightly politically aware. You can probably pronounce Kukendall, Manchaca and Boerne correctly. Go you.

How Texan Are You?

Since 85% of my readership has a history in the state of Texas, I'm sure you all will love it. The guy who came up with this is from Austin, so it's no wonder a lot of the questions revolve around that city. Some of the questions are pretty tough.

Thanks to Lorena for the link.

Motion Picture One-Sheets

The Descent
Originally uploaded by jtpuck.

The thing about movie posters is that sometimes, there isn't much you can do when all a studio wants is a big picture of the star. I'll never forget when "Saving Private Ryan" came out. The poster was fantastic. A darkened grey skyline with a single soldier silhouette pacing over a hill right in the center, lower third of the frame. It said journey, war, and hope in one single image. Then around Oscar time and for the DVD release, a new poster was shed. Same original layers, except with images of the cast filling up the sky. All emotion blown off the mark.

It's a shame there aren't more great movie posters out there. Loved what they did with "The Da Vinci Code", the theatrical "V for Vendetta" poster, and the image of Superman drifting over Earth is a gorgeous shot for "Returns." I stood and analyzed this one for "The Descent" when I saw it posted at the Shallowford Regal. Stunning! A fresh execution of a typical concept. How often do you see the credits laid out around the border, or the rating at a 90 degree angle. It actually reflects crawling down and around a cave like the characters in the film! But was that part of the plan, I wonder? I wondered what Saul Bass would have done? I wondered why Movie Posters aren't more highly talked about amongst the design world. I guess they're only done in Hollywood, probably by designers at the studio, and then celebrated at some Key Art Awards show in L.A. Actually who does design movie posters?

I did 2 while at Portfolio Center, for "The Sandlot" and "Glengarry Glen Ross." I was pretty happy with my Sandlot poster, would be really great with a better photographer. GGR didn't turn out like it should have, but that was before I had a better understanding of poster design.

Film One-sheets are the best place to experiment with logotypes. Probably get to meet the director and flesh out concepts, maybe even see the film early, or visit the set. Hmph. And as long as there are movies, there will always be One-Sheets, so it sounds like there's good job stability.

I have this dream of a long hallway in my future house that connects the living and sleeping spaces. One side will be lined with my favorite movie posters, like a one-sheet museum. The oppostie side being a wall of windows that overlooks an outdoor terrace in the middle of our home. After waking up and getting ready for the day, as I walk down the hallway to head out for work, a refreshing sight of creativity will help start the days right.

What have been some of your favorite movie posters?

8th Quarter and a Baby.

And what do I have to show for it so far? A baby that is almost twice his birth weight, a list of 24 projects headed towards my portfolio, 5 of which I'll have to completely redo from scratch, and I just can't seem to get it together. I'd like to blame the high humidity and 90+ degree weather outside; but I was raised in South Texas, it's what I'm used to. I just havent' been able to master the art of simultaneous diaper changing and concept sketching.

I'll have to admit, being a stay-at-home-Dad is actually quite fun. I just seem to be snacking a little more than I used to. So much for losing that pregnancy weight.