It was Saturday. I was looking for the amusement only a cartoon provides. I wanted something familiar but there was nothing available. I came across a title that didn’t particularly stand out but I gave it a shot; “The Mighty B”. I won’t lie, I was hoping that this wasn’t some weak Nickelodeon show like “Doug”, “Rugrats”, “Hey Arnold” or the dreaded “Wild Thornberrys”. These shows spewed mediocrity and should have never left the creators skulls (no, I’m not biased). I was fantastically surprised. The writing is genius, the artwork is incredible. It’s like someone stole the torch from Tex Avery and shot for new heights. “The Mighty B” is reminiscent of “Ren and Stimpy”, “Spongebob Squarepants”, anything good from the 40’s and 50’s, and I want to say “Felix the Cat” for some reason. It is everything I could want and more. I seriously haven’t laughed harder in 15 years. What really caught my eye was the exaggerated poses and the wonderful contrast between vector graphics and color pencil backgrounds. Really great stuff. I love the effect that the rough cold press paper gives for the background; very organic. Do yourself a favor, check out the show and leave me a comment to tell me if I’m crazy or not for going on such a positive rant. This show should flourish among the Flash (Interactive) demographic where dry humor and appreciation for subtle genius runs rampant like an angry plague.

I started working out some experiments with dynamic video effects. This one in particular uses the activityLevel from the microphone. I hooked up a scaling effect along with some DisplacementMap video I created and exported from AfterEffects. Below is a video I created of one of my coworkers acting silly. Below that is the actual working file. You need to have a webcam installed for it to work. Let me know what you guys think.

DOWNLOAD SOURCE

I came across this today. These free icons can come in handy for future app development.

Animation, cartoons… where would I be without them today? Something about the whole concept of being able to bend reality, stretch solid objects, and put someone’s body thru tortuous contorting, yet he still bounces back within five frames resonates with my soul. Tex Avery is my hero. His was the turning point in animation history as he ushered in the ridiculousness of jaws dropping to the floor, tongue rolling out of the mouth about four feet, eyes literally jumping off the face. In one scene there is a chase between 2 characters, one makes a sharp turn, the other tries to change direction and but slides completely off of the screen movie reel. Such theories may not sound impressive these days, but everything before that was the Disney-esque ultra realitic mimic of everyday life, no bending the space-time continuum or the off the wall craziness that we have come to love and expect. So why the hell am I mentioning all of this? Cartoons have taught me timing, exaggeration, special effects. the list goes on and on. Thank God that Flash and interactive offer creative outlets that employ people like myself. The only reason I know that animations and transitions look aesthetically correct is because of teachers like Avery. Thank Tex.

This is a perfect example of how simple and effective Flash games can be. You hold the mouse down and move the cursor to shoot orbs. Why the hell are we so intrigued by such simple concepts? I could sit here for hours and play this without getting bored. If I’m having fun, I am going to pass this to all my friends to enjoy as well. Commercial and viral possibilities? HELL YEAH!!! I like the bitmap blurring effect that was added as well, its a nice touch.

VIEW CAMPAIGN LAYOUT

We worked with AMV-BBDO to produce the whole interactive side for Guinness Tipping and I must say that this presentation illustrates to the vastness of the campaign. A project can potentially be so large that a single slide cannot do it justice. We built everything that was internet related on this.

I’ve been taking advantage of this short slowed time period to increase my tech-knowledge (don’t ask where that term came from, I just made it up as I was writing). I know that Adobe has really been pushing Flex and AIR, so that would be my logical progression / extension from Flash AS3. I have blogged a lot about quoting hours accurately so I am taking it upon myself to write an AIR app to efficiently quote project hours. I’m hoping that by blogging about it now, I’ll be prodded forward to not leave it by the wayside. I’m calling it “Quote Right! (TM)”. Stay tuned, I will release it for free.

LAUNCH PROJECT

Another project, another crazy deadline. Hopefully the end result of this project brings a smile to everyone who encounters it, adults and children alike. Build a virtual Ice Cream Sundae and print out your creation! Fun for the whole family! Go to your local Friendly’s and tell Joe Friendly his old buddy Charlie sent ya. Lots of hard work went into this. Let me know what you guys think.

LAUNCH

Allow me to say that as much heart ache and pain doing these banners brought, this is one of the most amazing feats me and my team have ever accomplished in banner….dom. Props goes out to my friend and coworker Steve Cucinotta for soldiering thru this. I managed, oversaw, and did some portions of this project, but Steve really stepped up his game in taking the reigns on this one. I don’t know anyone with as much heart and hunger to learn and grow in Interactive than Steve. I am honored to have worked with him on this. I’ll give you guys a recap of what went into this beast (the banner) later.