I recently started the personal project of developing my brand, a personal brand completely distinct from Arcadian Entertainment.
Freehand sketches
JS logo sketch 1
This is the JS initials I’ve used for years to sign my painting and artwork. I think it’s too simplistic for a brand logo, but it’s a good starting point.
JS logo sketch 2
To modify the logo, I made the J into a single line and lined up the bottom line of the J with the top line of the S. Still too simple, but starting to look a little more dynamic.
JS logo sketches 3
First I tried a circle around the logo to make it pop from the background. The next sketch made the letters thicker and added additional lines and dashes. Part of me liked this design, but I decided that it was just a little too abstract and busy.
JS logo sketch 4
This last design uses a parallelogram behind the letters. Although the sketch is messy, I decided to move forward with this design.
Adobe Illustrator designs
The next step of my design process was to create basic line shapes in Adobe Illustrator
JS logo design 1
The design has energy, but needs more depth and precision.
JS logo design 2
The second version feels good to me. I changed the line weights, refined the angles, and made the letters a bit smoother with curved corners and rounded ends. I feel like it’s a clean design, but maybe it could be pushed further.
Feedback and critiques are welcome. Just leave a comment below!
I created this motivational image with a free photo by Foundry Co from Pixabay.
It’s on my laptops’s background to remind myself that when times get tough you have to keep moving forward no matter what. I tried to think of something clever to add, but those three words pretty neatly sum up my philosophy since driving though the fire in Paradise.
Every day on this new path, the distant haze gets a little clearer. The future is still a great mystery, but at least I can travel towards it with confidence.
The second step to develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN) is to establish or update your LinkedIn account. I’ve had an account for many years, but I also hadn’t updated it since the fire.
My LinkedIn profile is now more in line with my Mastery path of Motion Design and Education.
This post is the first related to my Personal Learning Network. A PLN is a culmination of resources and connections that expands your network both personally and professionally. In week 3 of the Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership course from Full Sail University, we are starting our PLN with a Feedly account.
The screencap above show the first few blogs that I added to a “Design” feed. Feedly makes it easy to get updates on websites and blogs I already followed, as well as finding new sources of design info.
Over the summer break, I’m taking several courses from Adobe Education Exchange https://edex.adobe.com/
The first class is PODCASTING.
I’ve used Adobe Audition for many years along with Photoshop, Premiere, and After Effects. I currently teach Podcasting as part of my curriculum and plan to use the skills and resources from this workshop to improve the class and help my students start their own podcasts.
Even though I don’t have the best gear since losing everything in the Camp Fire, this workshop should help me show students that you don’t need high-end microphones and a recording studio to produce a podcast.
My Introduction assignment was recorded on my phone, edited in Audition, and uploaded to SoundCloud.
Podcast Workshop Intro Mixdown
Thoughts on the Introduction assignment.
The audio quality of the WAV file I recorded on my Android phone was better than I expected. There was some drop-off in the higher frequencies and some background noise.
I used the Noise Reduction (process) filter and Dynamic Processing to set a noise gate. This eliminated all unwanted background noise. Next I used the Parametric Equalizer filter to give a high frequency boost and attenuate some of the muddiness in the 175-250Hz range.
The background music is comprised of two loops from the Adobe Loopology collection.
Having used Audition for several years, this assignment was a pretty basic exercise but it was good practice for recording and cleaning up a voiceover track.
Thoughts on the second workshop assignment.
For this assignment I created a fictional podcast called “All Things Nerdy” about geek culture.
All Things Nerdy podcast intro on SoundCloud
All Things Nerdy podcast intro
In the intro, I used lightsaber and Godzilla sounds (easily identified by true nerds) mixed with General03-Funk-Mast-30.wav from the Adobe Loopology collection. Setting the background music to -28dB worked well.
Adobe Audition podcast multitrack project
I recorded the host voiceover with my Android phone as a WAV in mono. The phone’s mic drops off most higher frequencies and has noticeable background noise. Fortunately, the first assignment helped me find a good workflow for improving audio recorded on my phone.
First I used the Noise Reduction (process) filter and Dynamic Processing to set a noise gate and eliminate the background noise. Next I used the Parametric Equalizer filter to give a high frequency boost and attenuate some of the muddiness in the 175-250Hz range.
For the guest voice track, I borrowed an MP3 from a friend’s podcast that I helped edit. I purposely chose an audio clip that was recorded over the phone with a less than ideal microphone, as many podcast interviews are recorded this way. Cleaning up the audio was a challenge when I first edited the podcast, and I wanted a chance to improve it more.
The DeEsser and Notch Filter fixed most of the troublesome sibilance in the clip. Next I used the Parametric Equalizer to give a high and mid frequency boost and create a High Pass (HP) filter to remove low frequencies not in the guest’s vocal range.
Parametric Equalizer settings
Finally, I like to put a Hard Limiter on the Master track to keep everything below -3dB.
Final Thoughts
This was my first course in Adobe Education Exchange. Overall, it was a fun and enlightening endeavor. I definitely learned a few things that I can pass along to my students. Next semester we’ll record a short podcast in class, making the lecture more hands-on.
After the unexpected success of “Bloodwood Cannibals,” I wrote a few more screenplays and tried to sell them or get funding to produce them locally with my production company Arcadian Entertainment.
A Midsummer Nightmare
One of those screenplays, “A Midsummer Nightmare”, generated a lot of interest due to its dark take on Shakespeare. I decided to make a prequel short film to help sell the story.
A Midsummer Nightmare – The Betrayal
ToXin
During the long post-production phase of “A Midsummer Nightmare,” I wanted to do another quickie action short like my earlier film “DASH”. So I teamed up with my friend and frequent collaborator L. Jeffery Moore to make “ToXin”.
Toxin
Dream Raiders – Mission Zero
For several years, I worked on the story and conceptual art for a sci-fi series called “Dream Raiders”. The short “Mission Zero” was meant to introduce the series in an exciting way. Looking back, it was one of my weaker films because I was too focused on creating visual spectacle and not on telling a good story.
Dead Drunk
I was itching to make a comedy film, so when actress Cat Campbell pitched the concept of “drunks vs zombies”, I could’t resist. We wrote the script in an afternoon (while drunk) and filmed it in one day (with drunk actors). Fortunately, a sober crew kept things moving smoother than you’d expect.
Dead Drunk
Terminal Glitch
I was writing articles and reviews for Videomaker Magazine, and for one review they loaned me a high-end 4k camera (the exact model escapes me). I wanted to film something a little more interesting than the usual test footage, so I called up some friends for a quick weekend shoot of one of my short sci-fi stories.
Terminal Glitch
What’s next…
“Terminal Glitch” was the last short I directed before getting engaged and teaching at Butte College. In 2018, I was working on a dark comedy called “The Petsitter”, but then the Camp Fire struck.
Although I love making movies, my focus is now on Design and earning my Media Design MFA.
“Go in the
direction of what you love doing because people take notice of passionate
people and of people who work hard.” Andrew Kramer, 2014
When I first
starting using Adobe After Effects, I watched every online tutorial I could
find. Some of the best came from a website called Video Copilot. Andrew Kramer imparted
technical knowledge with wit and humor, educating and entertaining a generation
of indie fx artists and motion designers.
Kramer’s skills
and passion for his craft soon caught the attention of filmmaker J.J. Abrams,
who commissioned Kramer to create titles for Star Trek and other Bad Robot
productions.
Andrew Kramer was
the keynote speaker at the 2014 AE World Conference. I found his speech to be
both inspirational and entertaining.
After moving to Northern California, I spent many days hiking in the beautiful forests and mountains. I had the rough idea for a survival horror film, and over time I found several locations that were perfect for the story.
“Bloodwood” was about the disappearance of a documentary film crew, so we made a few online episodes of “Hunting the Unknown” to introduce the characters.
Hunting the Unknown
Hunting the Unknown – episode 1 – Hunting the Chupacabra
Hunting the Unknown – episode 2 – Hunting the Garberville Ghosts
Hunting the Unknown – episode 1 – Hunting the Jersey Devil
Hunting the Unknown – Dave vs the Electric Fence
With a borrowed camera and a minimal cast / crew (most people had multiple roles), we started production on “Bloodwood”.
Just Add Cannibals
It wasn’t the most original idea… just a fun, goofy horror that I expected almost nobody to see. Bloodwood was meant to be practice and a chance to grow as a filmmaker. But after screening at a few horror film festivals, it was picked up for distribution by Eagle One Media.
Their only change was the addition of “Cannibals” to the title, so audiences would know what the movie’s about. Bloodwood Cannibals was sold on DVD across the world and later online.
Bloodwood Cannibals trailer
In 2014, Bloodwood Cannibals was picked up by “Masters of Horror”. It now has almost four million views on Youtube, though I’m pretty sure not everyone watched it all the way through.
Bloodwood Cannibals full length horror movie
After Bloodwood
Many of the people I met on Bloodwood (I still think of it by that title) became frequent collaborators in the next phase of my film-making life. We spent many days covered in dirt, sweat, and fake blood… and we had a blast doing it.
Most of my early home movies were lost in the fire, but fortunately most of my video shorts survive on Youtube.
This first post contains the short films I made while living in LA from 1999-2005.
The Cypher
This is the first short I wrote and directed after college. At the time I was acting but felt typecast in “nerd” roles. I thought the role of Danny, an autistic code-breaker, would help me break out of the mold.
Youtube had a 10 minute time limit for videos when I first uploaded The Cypher, so it had to be divided into three parts.
The Cypher, part 1
The Cypher part 2
The Cypher part 3
AKIRA: The Fan Trailer
Halfway through making The Cypher, I met filmmaker Juan Avilez. We are both huge anime fans, so we decided to collaborate on a live action fan film to honor AKIRA.
AKIRA live action fan trailer
Fallen Sky
Fallen Sky was an ambitious fantasy script inspired by my fiction and artwork. We shot several scenes but I was unable to finish the short after losing access to one of the key locations. It was a huge learning experience, and I used the footage to create a trailer for the unfinished film.
Fallen Sky preview
DASH
I wrote DASH because I wanted to direct an action short that could be completed in a few days. It’s the first of three short films that feature a protagonist racing against a deadline… what I call my “Running Man trilogy”.
DASH
After LA
I left Los Angeles in 2005 to teach English in Thailand and tour southeast Asia. When I returned to the United States in 2006, I settled in the town of Paradise in Northern California.
While working as Media Specialist for the Butte College Foundation, I continued acting in local theater and started planning my first feature film.
Joshua Siegel's Mastery Journal 