Here’s a look at a quick poster I designed for THE TEXT.  A submission for the “Comedy Poster for Amazon Studios” Talenthouse contest. In the end, I didn’t win…but it was a ton of fun and I’m really happy with the way it came together.  Look for it in it’s permanent home under my portfolio section sometime soon.

This year I was lucky enough to participate in the 2010 SXSW/AIGA Austin Film  poster awards. This was the second year of this contest. Now apart of the SXSW Film Design Awards, which has awards for both “Excellence in Title Design” and “Excellence in Poster Design.”

While I didn’t win, I feel so inspired by all the amazing design that was part of the show. It is truly amazing to see the quality of work being created for the independent film scene.

Here are the winners:

Winner: Feeder
Designer: Joseph Ernst

Runner Up: Amer
Designer: Gilles Vranckx

Audience Award Winner: Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission
Designer: Michael Anderson

Special Jury Award: Equestrian Sexual Response
Designers: Martim Vian & Zeke Hawkins Curator

David Horridge posted most of  the 77 submissions on his flickr page. Please take a minute to check them all out.

For the first time in a while  I found myself back in director’s chair yesterday and it felt great. (I posted a few snapshots I took up on Flickr)   I got wind of a contest that Amazon was having about a week and half ago and thought it would be a great opportunity to shoot another spec for my director’s reel.  Last Monday I came up w/ a slick concept and pitched it to the gang over at Get-Kinetic, who I’d been in talks with about collaborating on another spec idea.  They loved the concept and off we went.

In order for the spot to work, three key elements had to come together in a weeks time. Actors, location and motion control.  Now, with a budget, these things wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but on a no-budget project, and less than a week prep, they became make or break.  Fortunately, much to the credit of producer Paul Irwin and casting director Ann Gillette, casting and locations came together without a hitch.  Paul found us a killer space over at Memphis Flats in Fishtown and Ann pulled together a solid group of actors.  The last piece of the puzzle was finding a motion control rig, and thankfully, Abad Rosa (of Gato Inc.) and his rig were available and he was ready, willing and able to lend a hand.

I don’t want to spoil the concept, so I’ll just say that the day on set went better than could have been expected and I’m crazy excited to see the ad come together.  Now it’s in the hands of Get-Kinetic’s editor/FX guru Daniel Gauthier and we hope to be finished with post this week.  The deadline for the contest is July 31st, and I think we’ll definitely turn some heads, so keep checking back for updates….and wish us luck.

Update: Check out the latest news on this project!