Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions of a Graphic Designer

In anticipation of the New Year, those of us still working away this week have put together our top 10 list of resolutions. Enjoy!

10. Travel More. Move the printer to the far side of the studio.
9. Save Money. Buy fewer black turtlenecks.
8. Exercise More. Race through Photoshop tutorials at lunch.
7. Get Organized. Use more post-its. Everywhere.
6. Think Green. 60% Cyan 100% Yellow is nice.
5. Keep a Journal. When frustrated with brainstorming, throw in direction of an intern.
4. Be nicer. Hug an intern.
3. Eat Healthier. Cut back to 3 gallons of coffee a day.
2. Read More. 140 character twitter feeds don’t count.

and finally the #1 resolution for 2010...
1. Spend more time with the family. Have them bring a midnight snack to the studio.

A Trifecta of Holiday Blockbusters!

As the holiday season ends and the New Year begins, three of the most anticipated blockbusters of the season are continuing to dominate the box-office. The first is a 15 years in-the-making science fiction epic; the second, the long awaiting revival of a beloved detective; and the third, a rockin’ and rollin’ Squeakquel.

Written back in the mid-1990s but delayed until film technology was primed, James Cameron presents his first film since 1997’s Academy Award™ Winner Titanic. AVATAR transports us to a bleak future where the only hope for mankind is to mine the distant planet of Pandora, a vast world of jungles and forests home to ten-foot tall, blue humanoids called the Na’vi.

From a purely technical level, AVATAR is an astonishing achievement. The world of Pandora is immensely beautiful and completely immersive. When seeing the film in 3D (truly the best way to experience it) the viewer is pushed straight into the action. Cameron developed a special 3D camera to shoot the film, and the result is nothing short of a visual feast. Another achievement is in the detail of the CGI. While promoting the film Director James Cameron boasted that it would contain effects so believable that viewers would be unable to distinguish reality from the visual effects. Today’s sophisticated audience may not completely agree, but the movie certainly shows that the next great advancement in visual effects has hit mainstream. Pandora is unlike anything ever seen on film. The artistic direction that went into the creation of the world will blow your mind and surely worth an artist’s investment in an edition of the Art of Avatar.

With a relatively simple story told by James Cameron – the master of action, pace, and emotion – there is a wealth of cliché’s in the film, but Cameron presents them in the best possible way, never leaving the film feeling amateur. The performances are also fairly well done. Zoe Saldana is a major standout. Her motion captured performance of Netiryi packs an emotional punch that hasn’t been seen since the likes of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. Sigourney Weaver reunites with Cameron for the first time since Aliens to provide the role of Dr. Grace Augustine, creator of the “avatar” program and lead researcher on the Na’vi culture. Unfortunately, our hero Jake Sully (portrayed by Sam Worthington), is the most underwritten character in the film and many audience members may not find themselves connecting emotionally or rooting for our hero. The character seemingly acts without consideration to the consequences of his actions, which takes some of the drama away.

Despite these minor hiccups, AVATAR is a major, major achievement in film and with over $1 billion in gross revenue in a mere 2 weeks at the box-office. It’s a phenomenon no one could have predicted or should miss.

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Now, if you’re looking for something a little more down to earth, Sherlock Holmes is right up your alley. The first major film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary detective in over 20 years, Guy Ritchie’s update is a fast paced, deduction spewing adventure that doesn’t let up one second in its 134 minute runtime. Like AVATAR, Holmes has all the fine tuning of a rousing, entertaining, adventure of a movie and offers escapism into another, albeit former world. Add in the brilliant casting of Robert Downey, Jr. and Holmes is an elementary choice at the movies.

While the film is definitely a more modern take on the Holmes character, with a bit of amplified action, the film stays true to the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books. Holmes’ quirky, almost superhuman analytical and observational reasoning, his boxing and sword fighting skills, and his distinct lack of personal hygiene is truly the character at his roots. The charisma between Downey and Law is unmistakably great, so much so that they carry the film when the plot turns to mulch in the third act. While the plot for the film is well written and is quite witty at times, the overall payoff simply boils down to the villain’s desire to “take over the world” – seemingly a little generic for a film about the world’s greatest detective.

As with most action movies, the writing of the female character has been undervalued. Irene Adler is touted as the one person in the world that has outsmarted Holmes, but Rachel McAdams is underwritten in her character, unconvincing in her role and undeniably present to set up a sequel. Granted, Downey is so brilliant in the role that it’s nearly impossible to imagine anyone able to match him.

Visually, the audience becomes captivated by the deductive reasoning of our genius detective as they are literally thrown into the mind of Holmes through fascinating slow motion camera work and editing. Add to the brilliant cinematography the slick, Tim Burton“esque” production design complimented by Hans Zimmer’s score of bizarre banjos & violins, and Sherlock Holmes becomes one of the most distinct and memorable films of the year.

Finally, for us designers, be sure to stay around for the end credits. They are truly an artistic achievement! If you want to learn more about the process of the design on these end credits, click HERE.



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To round out our trifecta of blockbusters, if you’re looking for just a “little” escapism with your movie going experience, climb aboard with Alvin and the Chipmunks as they head back to school and into a whole new world of adventure and...you guessed it...love!

Through another inevitable series of pratfalls, misguided intentions and overactive imaginations, our lovable munks Alvin, Simon and Theodore wind up in the care of Dave Seville’s twenty-something nephew Toby (Zachary Levi). The boys soon after find themselves tasked with saving their school’s music program in a battle of the bands when they unexpectedly meet their match with The Chipettes... Hellooooo Ladies!

Although the audience doesn’t see much of Dave (Jason Lee) in this film, Zachary Levi fills the role of the newly-appointed caregiver quite charmingly. Toby let’s the boys pretty much run amuck until Alvin, Simon and Theodore teach him a few unsuspecting lessons in commitment, responsibility and love. David Cross returns as Ian Hawke in a performance truely fitting of his character’s surname! Reduced to residing on the rooftop of Jett Records in a robe and slippers, Hawke receives an unexpected visit from what promises to become the next pop sensation...The Chipettes. Against his first impulse to “jett”ison the girls off the building, Hawke eagerly sees dollar signs in his eyes again and assigns himself their manager.

The Squeakquel is definitely a film for the family! Kids will laugh at the antics and be singing during the ride home. For parents, it’s a fun-loving movie you can feel good about taking the youngsters to see. If you’re looking for an emotionally packed story, rich cinematography, and ground breaking special effects, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Alvin and the Chipmunks offers a low dose of cinematic ingenuity but a high dose of good clean fun.

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The New Year promises something for every film enthusiast! If you love action, thrills and an unbelievable visual experience catch AVATAR. If you like your action movies with a little more intellectual flavor, Sherlock Holmes is your man! And, if you’re looking for a couple hours of saccharine induced antics, Alvin and the Chipmunks are ready to spin you round, round like a record baby! Those of us movie lovers here at Menagerie, are rarely satisfied with seeing any film just once so next time you’re at catching one of these blockbusters, look around, you may just run into us at the popcorn bar – extra butter please!

Written by Jeff Butler and Cheryl Savala

A Holiday Gift Just for YOU!

As a way to say thank you and extend festive “greadings” to our valued and loyal blog followers, we would like to send YOU a set of 8 Novel Occasion “Greading Cards” Volume 1. Each card contains a detachable bookmark perfect for sliding in between the pages of a favorite book you want to share with a friend or loved one. Volume one covers a year’s worth of special occasions including New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays and more. Just be one of the first 10 readers to reply and comment to this post before January 1st 2010 and a complete set will be yours.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Tassels, punches, dies...oh my!

What’s the big “to do” about Teux deux?

If any of our readers are like me, you have lists for lists of tasks that need to be finished, appointments to be kept, birthdays to remember, then another set of lists for the things you WANT to do, places you want to see, books you want to read. I’ve been researching for several months to find just the right task listing software that works for my needs–one that moves seemlessly between my office mac, laptop and iphone and immediately makes my life simpler.

Enter Teux Deux.

I have just started using this online task master software, but I am already finding it a time saver. I used to write lists in journals, on buck slips and post it notes covering my desk and monitors – not to mention sending those ubiquitous reminder emails to myself when I’m completely away from the office. Teux deux makes that so much easier. Now, no matter where I am – home, office, at lunch with my mom or walking around Disneyland with my family, I can add to my list and rest assured everything will be there until I do it and/or remove it. Items are simply typed in a short statement (thank goodness for this on the iphone) then it’s added to a day, or even placed in the “someday” section if it’s something without a specific deadline.

Why is this a great tool for designers? How about when you are out with your friends or colleagues and someone mentions an amazing designer or resource worth investigating...Teux Deux it! How about when you’re attending a lecture at the latest AIGA event and a brilliant idea springs to your mind...Teux Deux it! My favorite is when I’m catching up on my google reader (usually at midnight) and I find something really incredible I want to share with my staff or students...Teux Deux it!

This browser based app is not nearly as sophisticated as google calenders, or other more robust software programs, but it is quick, clean and visually clear. Need even more incentive? It’s free!

This blog is not about pitching products, but since I started consistently using Teux Deux, and my tasks became much easier to “manage” I felt it was relevant and certainly worthy to share with our readers. No matter what you use to create your action lists, I recommend at the very least adding the investigation of this little wonderlist to your “to do” list.

Menagerie Blog hits the Alltop Design list

We are thrilled to announce that you, our audience, put us on the hot list for design at Alltop.com. Thank you everyone for your support! We promise to deliver even more insight into graphic design and other creative discoveries in the new year!

Do you have a sixth sense?

Did you ever watch films like Minority Report and wonder if you would ever drive a flying car, see the future or control a 3-D-hologram computer interface? Sixth Sense is a MIT experimental project; it's a mini-projector, camera and a cellphone which all act together as a computer controlled by hand gestures. In the age of information technologies, where everything is going online and mobile, this technology gives us a glimpse of what the future holds. Devices like this could revolutionize design as we know it. Advertisements such as signs, billboards and posters could literally be in the hands of the masses. There is a bold, new world waiting for us right around the corner — we can't wait to get our hands on it.

Night at the Museum Comes to Life!

In case our viewers haven’t already heard, Augmented Reality is the biggest buzz to hit Home Entertainment since Blu-ray knocked out HD. If you aren’t familiar with this latest technology you can catch up on a little history and background by visiting our previous post Augmented Reality — A New Era is Born!

Last Tuesday, Night At the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian hit stores and online retailers everywhere and as part of the excitement, an Augmented Reality site was produced. Menagerie Creative pitched implementing this technology nearly a year ago with part of our initial packaging exploration and was thrilled when it finally come to life! To activate the AR, you will need the DVD or Blu-ray package or the newspaper ad insert (also designed by Menagerie Creative). You can also download and print an image from www.nightatthemuseumcomestolife.com. To unlock the AR content, simply follow the instructions at www.nightatthemuseumcomestolife.com.

Okay, now go enjoy a fun film, monkey mayhem and little online mischief!

Gaga over Neutraface!

Here at the blog for Menagerie Creative it’s not normally our intention to post links or content from other creative sources, but in the case of this video, it just screamed to be shared with our audience. Enjoy a little light hearted humor and an ode to one of our favorite typographic House Industries fonts. Thank you Mark and Jason for sharing a brilliant moment!

Menagerie Creative Nominated for 4 International Press Academy Satellite Awards!

We are thrilled to announce that yesterday it was reported that 4 of our recent DVD packages have been nominated for an International Press Academy Satellite Award in New Media. Congratulations to everyone who contributed long hours and their incredible talent to these packages.
http://pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2009.shtml

CLASSIC DVD
Paul Newman – The Tribute Collection Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment/ MGM Home Ent.

DVD RELEASE OF A TV SHOW
Ally McBeal: The Complete Series Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

BEST OVERALL BLU-RAY DISC
Rocky: The Undisputed Collection – 7 Disc Blu-Ray Set Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment/ MGM Home Ent.)
South Pacific – 50th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment