monitored situation

A couple months ago I posted some stills of this project, but I finally have edited and posted a video of some work I did for the CW series "One Tree Hill" last season. In the show, a character who is supposedly living on borrowed time is the host of a talk show. The art director contacted me about creating an animation of the show logo as well as cycling keyword animations to match the content. The design was made to be intentionally conventional and typical of a medium to low budget talk show, and because script changes or production setups could change at the last minute, we designed a couple formats that could be turned around quickly. While I had seen sketches of what the set would look like, I never saw the monitors in use during production, so I was happy that one feature ended up working exactly as I had hoped: One of the formats features the larger dark word, with a bright duplicate word in the foreground. When shot from a distance, the dark background word becomes prominent and easily read while the foreground word almost disappears; but when the same graphic is shot closer, the bright foreground word is easily read while the larger dark word falls into the background. You can see what I mean in the shots of the monitors that say "truth." Just one of those details that I was glad to see work out. Check out the video montage of them on the updated recent work page of my website here:

jonberrydesign: recent work

textural

a few more textural shots from the Six Flags visit last week; got a little overwhelmed with stuff today (yes I'm blaming you, Verizon. ugh. But I'll try to keep that bitching to my Twitter stream), so this is basically a gallery post in order to delay what I was gonna post today for one more day later...

ride on

Last Monday I joined my pals Alan and Jon for a day off at Magic Mountain. It turned out to be a pretty great day with perfect weather and mostly short lines, but our age must be catching up to us, because we wiped ourselves out and wrapped up the day before the park even closed. Still we did manage to catch most everything and have a good all around time. A good break from the usual routine.

usawwww

Another day at OB's in El Porto for the USA World Cup game yesterday. Given the magnitude of the game and it being on a weekend, we expected a big crowd. That in addition to the fact that it was an official LA Galaxy viewing party. I had only realized the day before that my head made the perfect canvas for painting, so I had to get up early enough to attempt that. Not bad for a first try. My friend Michele and I got there early enough to get the last available booth and gradually the place filled up until it was packed by 11am and bloody marys switched over to beer. My friends Heith and Walter joined us, and we inevitably made friends with a few others nearby. Of course, the game didn't exactly go our way, but it was a fun and exciting time, especially when the USA scored (video below). Its kind of a new experience for me to hear "USA" chanted in a way that isn't the typical ignorant ugly-Sarah-Palin-hate-the-world kind of way. Its a nice change. Undoubtedly Michele and I will be at OB's for many more World Cup games, so if you ever wanna catch one, come join in.

video of the USA goal reaction at OB's Manhattan Beach

an offer

The #promaxbda conference, a conference surrounding people who do what I do - mainly those who design for television, as well as the areas of writing and producing promos for television, is wrapping up today in Downtown LA. So I've decided to make an offer to anyone in town for it - since you could be only seeing one of many sides of LA if staying downtown (especially in the suburban-mall-themed area known as LA Live): come to the beach! The weather this week has been absolutely perfect for it, and if you'd like to stop by anytime this week or next, I'll buy you a beer. Simple as that. Drop me an email, and we'll make it happen. And if not, watch my tweets for tips to enjoy the local side of Downtown LA as well. LA is such a sprawling mass that its easy to have a bad time or only see the shiny surface, if I can help you to see some of the local flavor as well, all the better. Hope you've enjoyed the conference!

a cup full

I've been getting up pretty early (especially for me) for World Cup matches the last couple weeks. OB's, a fav local bar a few blocks away, has been opening for every game (which meant 4:30am openings during the first rounds!). My friend Michelle who also lives nearby has become the nudge (via Twitter) to get me out the door and to the bar to enjoy the games with others instead of just watching on the couch. Stumbling TO the bar in the morning is definitely a new experience. Its always fun just to see who shows up sometimes. Generally its a fairly small crowd, but the USA games have been a full house. Today was great fun (of course, it almost wasn't) with such an amazing goal and win. I've had more bloody marys and breakfasts the last two weeks than ever in my life. If you wanna come catch a match by the beach, let me know and join in the fun.

another update

Yet another update to the recent work section on my website, and this one is getting closer to the point of actually being recent work. If you were following the blog in February, then its nothing you haven't seen before, but I finally cut together a reel of work done while on-site in Vancouver for NBC's Olympics coverage as a part of their design team. The overall NBC Olympics look was designed by Dave Barton and art directed by John Schleef. Just another project or two to go after this posting, and I will actually have this section of the site up to date.

jonberrydesign.com: recent work

feeds the soul

I realized I had some pics of Pann's that I hadn't posted from the last time my friend was here and we went on some hunts for Googie architecture. We had been here before (and I posted pics then), but after further searching, we realized just how well preserved (or restored) everything about this place is. Pann's was designed by architects Armét and Davis in 1958, and as Alan Hess says in his book Googie Redux, is typical of their designs that feature "a bold roof, integrated sign, glass walls and lush planting," creating an ultra-modern indoor patio both surrounded by and protected from swirling traffic on all sides. Little if anything about Pann's is run-down or threadbare. Business always seems brisk and the staff is always friendly - in a surly but flirtatious wink and nod kinda way. Plenty to warm the heart. And the eye. And the belly.

errands

just a gallery of some sights along the route of some errands today...

sampler

Tuesday is Food Truck day! This week's LAX Food Truck Lot brought some new trucks to our hood. While I was excited about the return of @DerbsGourmet, who serves the same Killer Shrimp from the former restaurants of the same name, but I was also anxious to try the @VizziTruck. I mistakenly thought Vizzi served Southern food, but their menu looked different and exciting anyway. Their piadinas were tempting, but they had a slider combo option - and I'm always gonna go with the option that gives me the largest sample of tastes. Of the sliders, the Organic Chickpea slider had a great taste - probably and surprisingly the best of the bunch, but the texture took a little getting used to. The Balsamic BBQ Braised Waygu Beef slider was really great - almost strangely like a taste of pulled pork, but in a very good way. The Jidori Chicken slider was good too, but seemed bland after the first two - maybe I just ate 'em in the wrong order. They were served with Pimento spiced Yakima Salt Popcorn, which was also full of flavor and a nice inventive side. My pal Alan also had their take on gazpacho, which was unusual and tasty. Laura also reported good things about her pulled pork barbecue from @BarbiesQ. The owner of Derb's had sold out when we stopped by later (always a good thing) but he said he'd probably be back next week. Wonder what other choices I'll have to struggle with then.

grunion are runnin

Every two weeks from March to August, little fish called Grunion spawn on beaches along Central and Southern California. Grunion spawn out of water and lay their eggs in the sand, where they stay until they hatch at the next high tide a couple weeks later and are washed to the sea. The schedule is published online (to the hour!) and the strangest part (to me, at least) is how accurate the schedule can often be. I walked down with my neighbor Laura last night to see if they were indeed out, and sure enough, they were. Her dog, Yogi, who already loves a rare run on the beach was beside himself as he discovered all these silver creatures flopping around. I was worried he was going to try to bite or eat one, but he seemed thrilled just in sniffing and bouncing from one to another as he chased the waves. After a little while and a soaked and sand-covered dog, we left the Grunion be to do their thing. It's always amazing to see nature on display right in your front yard.

Wikipedia: Grunion