The problem with key art for independent films is there is often a low budget involved when they are first released. This usually affects the quality of the key art. So, often even quality films shown at top festivals can’t be sold because the presentation is poor.
A distributor in Hollywood asked me to create fresh key art for their DVDs to help them to sell. Here is the first one I created for The Minority.
The DVD package for the independent film, Moving In has been printed. I worked on the opening titles for the short film. It went well, so filmmaker Chase Gordon asked me to created the DVD package. Stories On Film needed a package quickly so they could send it out to film festivals.
This project happened during the summer. I’m now allowed to chat about it.
While Mike Binder was working on the script for his next feature film project, he asked me to start designing key art to help flesh out the look and feel of the movie. No Talent Jones is a musical comedy set in Detroit. Mike was trying to sign Leon Jackson to star. Jackson was the winner of The X Factor, Britain’s version of American Idol.
Mike liked the retro Blue Note Jazz look of one of my early comps and wanted to explore that direction further. I used one of Jackson’s music videos as a resource. I presented these three designs in horizontal format that would be used for both outdoor and online.
Mike liked the top one with Jackson’s arm extended. I created a web page with the lock-up that will promote the concert accompanying the screening in selected cities.
The project was due to be shot this winter but is being delayed for six to nine months. Leon Jackson has agreed to do the project.
Working with Mike Binder was great. He’s really funny, works hard, and understands entertainment.
Mike wants to produce a national TV show after the JokeyPhone brand is established. It would be a strip comedy show version of JokeyPhone. (America’s Funniest Home Videos meets Make Me Laugh meets American Idol, meets Deal Or No Deal.) It would feature the best jokes of the site.
I created TV Guide ads to show how we would extend the look and feel to print. The show would be hosted by celebrities. I did a version for the spanish show and JokeyPhone Kids as well.
Hollywood writer, director and actor Mike Binder called me about working with him to come up with branding ideas for his new comedy web platform, JokeyPhone.
JokeyPhone is a tool to help people tell, hear, remember, and pass on great jokes. It’s a website and a phone app that allows you to access hundreds of jokes from thousands of categories in lightning quick video files.
The key to all this is the unique teleprompter which can be accessed from your webcam or phone camera.
An ad agency in New York City designed the JokeyPhone site, but Mike wanted to extend the brand. This is the JokeyPhone homepage:
An obvious way to extend the brand was to have JokeyPhone in Spanish. Another way was JokeyPhone Kids, where kids could tell jokes with the help of their parents. Here are the homepages I designed:
The versions are color coded. The JokeyPhone Kids version includes banner ads I designed for target advertisers Nickelodeon and FAO Schwarz. The spanish site has a banner ad I designed for the spanish version of Mike’s next film project, No Talent Jones.
You can check out the beta version JokeyPhone here. It’s fun!
I’ll be posting more JokeyPhone branding soon.
Before Double Down decided on their primary logo, my client John Kozan was torn between two directions. So, when he decided start a swing record label, he asked if I could tweak the comp that I presented to make it the primary logo for the company. Kozan always liked the masculine feel of the logo below.
John Kozan, the bandleader from Double Down sent me a photo today from their recent gig at Swing 46 in New York City. I designed their band logo a few months ago and recently had it applied to their drum set.
Here’s the photo with drummer Jay Lepley sitting at the drums with the new logo applied. John really loves how it turned out. I think it really pops. Especially in a dark jazz club.
Warner Brothers in Burbank hired me to design a logo for Warner Bothers India. Now That’s Hollywood is going to be a WB channel in India that shows classic Hollywood films.
Their primary concern was that it would read at 2 inches square. I presented about 12 tight, digital black & white sketches. They seriously considered these three before picking the middle version to have color added. I wanted the logo to be reminiscent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but I didn’t want it to be a literal interpretation of it. I also went with warm colors to give it a slight old Hollywood feel.
I have worked on several movie title projects, making storyboard sketches and art directing an AfterEffects artist. But, I was eager to get more hands on. So I studied up on After Effects through Lynda.com. When filmmaker Chase Gordon asked if I would design the title sequence for his independent film, Moving In, I jumped at the chance.
Moving In is a quirky film is about a young couple who decide to take the big step and move in together. I promised Chase that I wouldn’t be a spoiler and share much more about the film. But I can tell you the title design was created to convey a sense of excitement and fear about the couple’s new commitment.
click PLAY button to start
Green Galactic is a marketing and production media company specializing in youth culture. They create public relations and events for musicians, indie artists and filmmakers. They asked me to create a new logo on spec and I agreed. All that they asked was that the logo remain green and that it include the reflected Gs of their current logo. Here’s their original logo.
I presented one logo that was intended to look youthful and active. I wanted it to be dynamic and convey a sense of driving towards a hub.
I used more than one color of green and included a flourescent color that would work well with their guerrilla marketing efforts. Here is what was presented.
Time will tell whether they choose this logo to represent their new identity.
