Plastic Spider: News

Tracking experiment

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:17:49 -0500

HCI Names Tracking Test from Max Shuster on Vimeo.

Milktacular

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:02:46 -0500

Work portfolio

Sun, 04 May 2008 00:38:43 -0500

Here are a few pieces from work that I can finally show.

Oooh, a post.

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:40:54 -0600

Hey all. It's been a while since I posted and here's why.

Work is going great in the sense that there is plenty of it. Unfortunately my last few projects (going back a month now) have been very time consuming. So much so that the 55 hour work week has become the rule not the exception.

When I'm not at work I am enjoying the home life. We're still buying stuff for the apartment, still bringing stuff from our previous residences, and still unpacking. This can be a little frustrating at times because it means that when Nady and I get home, we eat and then have to spend our leisure time getting settled in. We're both perpetually exhausted and so there's never an opportunity to get alot done because by 10 or 11 we start falling asleep and it's time for bed. I'm hoping that we'll finally be unpacked within the next two weeks and then the next month will be spent getting art and infusing some personality into the place. On a related note, I still haven't found a toothbrush holder and soapdish I like.

In recent news, the black friday sale at Fry's proved to be fruitful. I was able to buy all the computer parts that I planned on getting. Soon Anton will put together a new computer for me which will replace my little shuttle. The new pc should serve me well for the next 4 or 5 years much like the shuttle has until now. In the mean time, the little shuttle will be relegated to the media machine role. That's pretty exciting news on its own because we don't have TV and it's a hassle watch TV using the TV tuner and switching the display to the television set.

As for the ph7 part of my life, happy birthday to all the birthday people. We played a few gigs recently but now are back in the magical land of not doing jack. So instead of playing live we're once again recording. It's pretty cool with the new sound card that's almost as big as the old mixer. The recording session last week was very successful. We managed to record two songs with everyone except for Steph. History teaches us that the Steph part will take a little while, but hey, you can't rush genius. Nick should know, he went to genius school.

I think that's a solid recap of the last month or so of my life. I wish I could put up some art but unfortunately the only projects I've been doing lately have been for work which means that I can't put anything up; not for a while anyways.

Good times

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:08:01 -0500

My freelancing days at Hamagami are coming to an end. Mainly because starting next week I'm gonna be a full time employee! :D

Back to logos

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:04:27 -0500

Here's one I did for Anton's video.

Catch up

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:04:23 -0500

Haven't posted anything lately.

First, a summary. I go to work every day and do something I love. The drawback to doing design for a studio is that I can't post any of the work I do, which means that design posts will be few and far between. Then I hang out with Nady and with ph7 on the weekend. All is headed in the right direction. Soon Nady and I will be moving in together so that'll be a lot of fun. Maybe I'll learn how to cook, or microwave efficiently.

Next, a thought. I'm watching this movie right now where two people in a relationship decide not to speak to each other. Instead they write notes on a pad of paper. I think it'd be cool if every person was born with a pen and however much ink they have in that pen decides how long they can communicate. Once the ink runs out, that's it. No more talking, writing, singing, etc.

Last, a resolution to post more often. We'll see how that goes.

Real Estate

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:49:35 -0500

Everything is right out there in front. That's how most people know the world around them. Well, we live a little bit to the right. Maybe it's to the left; I guess that depends on who you talk to. You see, there's this space that's not much thicker than an eyelash. If someone ever looks in there, they can see our home. The best way to explain it is to bring up that feeling people get when they catch something out of the corner of their eye, but when they turn their head, there's nothing there. Me and others like me are what people miss if they try to look straight at us and what they see when they don't look at all.

It's strange to think that just a few glimpses into our world and people have music, and paints, and those beautiful glass ornaments no one ever really buys at the souvenir shops. It's fine though, I'm not resentful. That's just the way it's always been, so there's really no reason to change things now. Besides, it's the creeps that live behind us that we need to be concerned with.

The panic and the fear have a much larger world and they just come and go as they please. Good thing they're behind so no one really sees what they're up to. People just feel them in the back of their necks. That's real estate for you. They get the great space, but we have the best location.

Moving On

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:36:24 -0500

Graduation was great. The time went by a lot faster than I expected and now I finally have a placeholder for a diploma in my hands. Huge thanks to everyone for coming. It was very cool to see you guys there. Also thanks to anyone who said they would've come had I invited them, but of course everyone's invited and the info was online. Okay, that last one was just me funnin' with Dan.

The last order of school related work was wrapped up yesterday. I went to the Student Key Art Awards at FIDM. First I'd like to say that there was some amazing work there. Schools like SCAD and Cal State Fullerton just knocked my socks off. There were a few other schools the names of which I don't remember but had amazing work. I didn't win, and that's okay considering the incredibly beatiful posters that I was up against. Unfortunately, the piece that beat me out was by some girl from FIDM (suprise!).

That poster was just the title of the movie, as provided in the eps file with the rest of the collateral. Below that was a black and white picture of Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, and then the billing. Good god, what the hell!? Alright, technically there's nothing wrong with that poster, but it wasn't creative, it didn't take any effort, and it said nothing about the movie other than the fact that Joaquin Phoenix is involved. There were much better choices out there from other schools so this really pisses me off.

Similar situation with the AV people who submitted trailers. The last one chosen, while not from FIDM, was completely wrong. The type choice was questionable, nothing was kerned, there was some cheesy sparkle effect (for Pirates of the Caribean) and the names of the characters were rotating on a 3D plane for no apparent reason.

And there we go. That is my rant. Except for the minor stuff like returning the cap n gown, and getting my actual diploma, the school stuff is over. The rest of my time this summer will be spent on interviewing. I left my schedule wide open so that I could easily accomodate the studio's schedules. Hopefully I'll get something. If not, I'll just send out more stuff to other studios.

Now I am off to get me an interview.

Learning From The Past, Moving Towards The Future

Tue, 29 May 2007 05:00:31 -0500

My graduation ceremony will take place Wednesday, May 30 at 6:30pm on the lawn in front of the Oviatt Library. Refreshments will be served at 5:00pm.

My honors ceremony will take place Tuesday, May 29 at 6:00pm on the lawn in front of the Oviatt Library. Seating will start at 5:00pm. There will be free parking in lots B1, B2, B3, and B5. The entrace to those is on Darby off of Nordhoff.

For Googling purposes, the school's address is
18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge, CA, 91330

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