Pure. Drifting. Awesomeness. I don’t even remember saying that.
Also… what Ryan Tuerck says in this trailer is SO right on. I am forever in debt to this crazy sport for all of the experiences and relationships with incredible people it has bestowed upon me. Real talk.
My excitement level went through the roof when Will and Josh sent me a link to the rough cut of this teaser! I could not wait to sink my teeth into some motion graphics for the piece. I was worried, however… that my schedule wasn’t going to free up to allow me the luxury. Lucky for me, it did! I was eager to try some new things, and help give the teaser a deservingly polished style with the graphics treatment. I am very pleased how they turned out, and cannot wait to work more with Will and Josh on the rest of the project! I am enthralled at the idea of expanding on what I did for this teaser and further developing it into something even stronger for the project.Hats off to Will and Josh for the shots/edit. I really cannot wait to see more!
Where do I even start with this trailer? When I first met Justin and Joe, I remember thinking “these guys have the right attitude”. In case you’re wondering what I mean by that… well… watch the trailer. It hits the nail on the head. This duo obviously loves what they are doing, make a point to have fun doing it, and best of all… don’t take themselves too seriously. Like anyone with a passion for what they do, they have developed their craft and come into their own. The style in this trailer is off the charts, and fun exudes it from every angle possible. It embodies the chaos and energy I love about this crazy sport, while offering a unique look at all if it through the eye and lens of these two. I am so proud of these dudes. SO proud. Needless to say… I cannot wait for this DVD to drop.I don’t think I ever posted this up… but back in April of 2011… I helped them out with an animated intro for their videos. Justin sent me the logo, which was hilariously fun to animate. I even played the riffs to try and make even more over-the-top. Definitely a blast to work on… and I would love a crack at animating their new t-shirt design!
It has been a while since I posted up one of Will’s videos… which is crazy considering he is one of the busiest people I know. Will is continually stepping things up with each project, and never fails to impress. He has been teaming up with DC Chavez and Skylar Smith, both SUPER-talented in their own right… making a veritable powerhouse of automotive film-making that is difficult to top. Throw Vaughn Gittin, Jr. in the mix behind the wheel of the RTR-X, and it is no wonder why I love this edit.
Growing up skating, there were always certain videos we would watch before a sesh. Videos that would get us all hyped up, amped, and ready to hurl our carcasses onto a handrail down a flight of stairs without a second thought. This video is right on par with that… but for drifting. It incites that same urge to do something ridiculously dangerous with little regard for consequence, and I CANNOT get enough of it!
* I did not edit this piece, only helped with some mograph muscle. Huge thanks to Andy Laputka (director/editor), Brian Casse, Mark Lenardon, and Chris Szczypala, Chris Boon, Hertrech Eugene, and Mike Vogt for their efforts shooting.
It’s about time, right? I nearly killed myself making this documentary… so it sure feels great to see this up there. I also found out recently that the retail release that nobody ever saw is up on Netflix as well. It would be interesting to know who got paid for that. Regardless, it is awesome that such a large audience has access to it like that.
Be sure to visit the Slide America IMDb page and give it a vote/review!
Back in November at Artistic Image, I was tasked with creating an animated book trailer for Thinking Small by Andrea Hiott about the history of the Volkswagen Beetle. Armed with photos from the book and a script… I tried to come up with a look that was remnant of the classic VW ad campaigns by DDB, while trying to take the viewer on a journey through some the history behind the car. I enjoyed utilizing some typographic muscle to try and pull all the moments together with a cohesive look by using various weights of the Volkswagen typeface.This project was right up my alley in so many ways… and was a lot of fun to work on! I learned so much about Volkswagen’s history in the process, and can’t wait to read the book!
Back in September, I was part of the team at Artistic Image that got to work on the player introduction for the Falcons Jumbotron. This piece plays at each game before the players leave the locker room and run onto the field. The player footage at the beginning is mocked in for placement where they shoot a live feed from the locker room/tunnel area. Ed Dye directed the piece, while Daniel Wiggins and Daniel Barnes handled the 3d animation. Lee Kordel and Jeff Ling did the texturing, shading, and lighting. Owen Chikazawa animated the mid-section with the rotoscoped player footage, while I was responsible for compositing/effects. I learned a TON putting these elements together and helping bring this piece to life. This was an awesome piece to work on, and it is definitely exciting to know that a stadium full of people see this every game!
The rivers will run red with the BLOOD of the non-believers. East coast drifting will never be the same after this video hitsTrust me.
*I didn’t edit this video. I only slung the plasma around for the titles.
Put on some sort of seatbelt before you watch this. Maybe even a helmet and any other protective gear you can find. Trust me.
Apparently this film is from 2009… but was perhaps never released? I can’t find it anywhere, but I spy a certain pack of wolfs..
I wanted to post an update to the Keep Drifting Fun Logo/PFD situation. After I made my initial blog post, it spread like wild-fire, and quickly reached the powers that be over at PFD. I was contacted by the president, Andrzej Witkowski, and while I won’t go into specifics, I will say that he was very apologetic, and agreed to stop making/selling the shirts.
Thanks to those that passed the post along through various social media outlets… especially Facebook (for which I do not have an account).
As a creative, I have been ripped off more times than I can count. I’m sure it happens to all creatives at some point. Sometimes the would-be thieves appropriate it in one way or another… altering it from what was originally created. Sometimes they take a slogan and create their own design around it, or just half-ass a rotten knockoff altogether. It happens all the time.You can imagine my surprise, when a kind fan from Poland e-mailed me inquiring about the usage validity of the Keep Drifting Fun logotype on t-shirts by the Polish Federation of Drift. Imitation is supposed to be the most sincere form of flattery. In this case, it is outright theft.
This is the original logotype I designed in 2009.
The “OR ELSE” was later dropped, so that Will Roegge and Joshua Herron could use it (with full rights/usage permission) for their grassroots documentary, aptly titled… you guessed it… KEEP DRIFTING FUN. Here, you can see Lieze in front of the KDF van with the guys (May 2010), sporting the first run of orange KDF tees. Look familiar?
Meanwhile, in Poland…
Out of all the times I have been ripped off as an artist… this instance infuriates me the most. It violates the entire ethos surrounding what the logo means, and I cannot for the life of me understand the lack of moral code involved to think that it is perfectly fine to plagiarize like this. They even went so far as to conveniently drop my Slide Style™ logo from the sleeve in lieu of their PFD logo.
In addition to printing the logo on shirts, they also chose the same shirt colors, and made printed collateral/pop-up displays to show off ‘their’ line? The internet has made the world infinitely smaller than it already is… and has made the drift community even smaller at that. I cannot fathom how someone would do this and think it would not make its way back to me. Had I been contacted me in advance, I would have been happy to work together to make something happen. Especially since the message is so important to me.This is not what KEEP DRIFTING FUN is about.
In this age of digital media, it is always rad to see your work in printed form. Ryan Tuerck was recently featured in the August issue of Inked Magazine wearing the American Steel Tee that I did for Drift Alliance.Just about every time I wear this shirt, someone says “great shirt… you ever seen them live?” I always reply “yeah, many times”… even though I’m talking about Drift Alliance, and they are talking about Judas Priest!
