My friend Tyler Cyrenne has regularly showcased my videos on his blog and I thought it was about time I returned the favor and showcased a few of his. With an equally passionate view of filmmaking, Tyler and I have often challenged each other and used competition to improve our projects. Film school saw many 3am meetings at Mac's to discuss how our assignments were unfolding.
In addition to the several shorts that he's helped me with (Buick to the Future Series, We Two Kings) he responded to be part of the 2nd issue of my column, Cinematic Acrobatic. His interview can be read here. Without a doubt, getting to know Tyler through film school resulted in a lot of good memories and projects that we still joke about today.
Check out his blog, Don't Make Charlie Angry and view a few of my favorite Angry Charlie videos below.
In the midst of developing my portfolio site there was a lot of additional work that went specifically into how I was going to promote it. At work I spent a lot of my breaks writing out descriptions and phrases that I thought would fit into a promotional video or as part of posts here. The portfolio site is now up and running (although I'm still tweaking a few pages) but I thought it would be interesting to share one of the rough notes I'd written about the site during its early stages.
I'm finding that a lot of my new approach is as much a lesson in marketing as it is about actually producing videos. No surprises there, but for those doing the same thing I thought I'd share some of my own thought process and rough ideas. And yes, a promo video for the new site is in the works. I'm finding I'm in competition with my previous achievements, using them as a marker for how I can one up myself. This mindset is clear in my note below and a lot of the promo stuff I share.
This month effectively marks 13 years since Fandrix Productions was established. I'll downplay all this by also saying that I was only 12 years old when this happened - a feat still worth celebrating however (at least I think so) as keeping an arbitrary name from childhood into adulthood is likely easier said than done.
What's actually significant about this milestone is that I'm bringing back some familiar branding to open my videos. The very first logo for Fandrix was a stylized old TV with rabbit ears (see below). This evolved over the years, never really going away, but from project to project it was the name (and not the logo) that stayed the same.
ORIGINAL FANDRIX PRODUCTIONS LOGO
In 2006, with a high-end HDV camera in hand, I decided it was time to reinvent my TV logo - this time using a real one. I went to a local pawn shop and picked up a white rabbit eared television and as the very first project I ever shot with my Sony HDR-FX1, created a new introduction. While the intro itself was never used, elements of that footage ended up in numerous promos that I've cut over the last few years including,I'm Luke I'm Fandrixand my Editor Profile. If you've watched any of my promos you've probably noticed this footage used several times, and that the location the intro was shot at was also the rooftop I've used for much of my Editing Luke branding. The brand new 2010 logo is part of a renewed commitment from me to have my work as easily recognizable as possible while also reinvesting in an image for Fandrix that I've spent years playing with. The old TV is back, and the screen shot below shows the simple new design. The video intro has yet to appear on anything new, but the clean look of the brand makes it ideal for a number of applications - a business card, tag, letter head, whatever I might decide is necessary.
NEW 2010 FANDRIX PRODUCTIONS LOGO
Things are continuing to evolve in rather exciting ways, and while 13 doesn't mean much by itself, if this idea I call Fandrix were a child you could bet a lot of growing up would be happening right now - all of which is very true in how I view my identity surrounding this. Who knew I'd still be so invested in this at 25? One point to me for dedication, haha. Editor Profile
