video editing… woah.

My mind has always been geared towards graphic design for web or print. I love creating images or graphics that make you look at them a little longer than normal, and I feel the same about any photography I’m a part of. So I have never really been compelled to dabble in video editing as it is not really an evident parallel to the love of one single image catching your eye, til now.

I’ve always thought some videos, music videos in particular, were stunning and really enjoyable and inventive. Never have I considered trying it out for myself. Its a foreign world to me. The music in the video that has caught my attention caught me by surprise the most. In hindsight, this song by Blake called ‘What I Like’, is not a song I would have cared about or even noticed if it was playing in the background somewhere. Just not my taste at all. With the imagery and genius editing, this video couldn’t have had a more perfect song, and I enjoy it thoroughly.

Check it out and tell me what you think. Who knows, maybe I’ll post a pathetic video of some kind in my attempt to tap into that creative way of thinking.

KNUCKLES | BLAKE – WHAT I LIKE from Paul Bryan on Vimeo.

Janelle Monae – Many Moons

I am blown away that I have not heard of this artist or come across this video sooner. In fact it depresses me that there are not more people aware of her music by now. She is an amazing singer, dancer, and obviously from this video, and amazing performer. Enjoy and go get her album right now. Its sure to give you something new.

Zenék Slant Design

So I have officially rebranded my design business and am pretty stoked about it. Zenék Slant Design is the new and improved former “Bench Design” (which I have never really been happy with in the first place. I got the name from my studies of the Hungarian language. The word “zenék” is the plural form of the word “zene” which simply means “music”. And “slant” is referring to its english meaning “point of view”.

I have always been visually inspired by the music I’m hearing, so I thought it only fitting that the design work I will be doing for others should be labeled as coming from a music minded person’s point of view. Music can create a feeling, mood, and theme, just as a visual can and I’ve always felt that they should stay connected.

We’ll see how getting any work goes. I’ve got a little for now, but feel free to spread the word. I’m willing to branch out and do different types of design work besides the typical logos, business cards, and fliers, (though i prefer that for now) so send them all my way. The worst that can happen is that I’ll say “oh, I cant sorry”. All I’m asking for is to be the first contact before you go to someone else. Come on folks! I need to build my portfolio, and I’d love to do it by working for you! And believe me…. I have ridiculously fair prices.

R.I.P. ‘Bench Design’

New beginnings are fun.

Here I Am

Well, I am STILL awaiting the recording session that will 100% complete this creation… BUT it already sounds great and I would love for you to hear it. With the beatboxing of Frank Aguilar (Auto*Byonix), the acoustic guitar of Will Bermudez sent all the way from his home in Indonesia, and a little encouragement from Auto*Byonix to get a little fresh with my lyrics (ha!), we’ve come up with yet another overly dramatic yet sweeeeeet composition. With the underestimated power of simple Garage Band and all our heads put together, we’ve ended up so proud of this.

Well I better stop talking it up so much ’cause you may end up hating it. Not sure I would even care if you did hate it, at least I still get to enjoy it whenever I want.  ;)

Check it out.

Here I Am by MrMelodist

So the journey begins…

So I bought a car. An awesome car. After a very long drawn out process of car shopping, (which is HORRIBLY annoying with a mere $3000 budget) I came across a very simple and uninteresting Craigslist post titled “71 Squareback”.  No price, no description, thats it. So I clicked on it and found a diamond in the rough. “Rough” being old Honda Civics with three different colored panels, and “project” cars that don’t have engines. So I called up the dude (good ol’ Steve) and found out that it was being sold for $2800 and he lives in Lakewood, which is near Long Beach…. yikes.

I went on a frantic phone call fit and found that two close friends were surprisingly available the next day. We met at Peets of course and headed out to check out this big fat maybe of a car.

When we showed up, I had a little moment of weird giddy kid joy seeing that the car was in MUCH better condition than the first Squareback I had checked out, AND it was an automatic transmission!  Which is great for a lame guy like me who has never learned. So after a nice lengthly test drive, and a ridiculous amount of questions, AND meeting his pregnant wife AND his brother AND hangin out at their house for a little bit… I decided to buy it.

We had a blast coming back home even grubbing at  The Cheesecake Factory in Thousand Oaks before our final leg back to Ventura. I’m so stoked that Frank and Liz joined me! So fun. It was a great day.

I’ve named my Squareback “Butler”, named for how he reminds me of a fancy old car that a house servant would take their masters back and fourth in back in the day. It had a short lived name of Albertus, which was the name of the street he used to live on. I wasn’t a fan too much.

So check in to this blog thing if you want to follow along with my first attempt at being any sort of mechanic, as Butler is already having some hick-ups here and there. He’s an old one, but a fixable one… I hope.

Finally Flickr

So I’ve finally started uploading my images to Flickr.com. Its certainly a much more user friendly site to use rather than Virb.com so I will be able to update more often. Man, I’m such a newbie to all this website stuff.

So you should go to the photo set titled “Long Ago” to view the latest series from Liz and I. Had so much fun wandering around the beautiful Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura. Got some great shots.

Frilly Ghosts

So yet again, another victory with an impromptu photo shoot in the later hours of the evening. All we needed was a secret spot, a view of part of the city, moving cars and a strategically precise setting input into the camera, and ska’doosh…   great pictures. One of these days I should actually learn what the heck Liz is even doing with the camera during the setup so I can know what is going on.

Santa Barbara Art Museum

Yet another successful endeavor with Elizabeth to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. As you can see above, there were a wide range of pieces throughout, and it kept us thoroughly entertained and even provided us with an unexpected photo shoot opportunity. There was an amazing section with two displays by Diana Thater that everyone should go see.  Very unique and thought provoking. If you live in the area and are able to get excited about all sorts of art, then you should certainly take a trip out there.  And besides, there’s a Peet’s Coffee & Tea right across the street!

The Heinn Specialty Co…

…is the maker of a wonderful photo album I came across in an antique mall that was going out of business. I can’t seem to figure out when it was made based on the font used on the cover or the design of it.  And the pictures inside it (very few in fact) don’t really scream out any one decade either.  I absolutely love the stains and filth that have accumulated over the years. That appearance almost always shows an object’s history and makes me wonder whose hands have held it, or who it is in the pictures.  All I really know is that some pictures are from Illinois and some are from Ontario, CA and who made the album itself. It’s got some great photos of old houses, kids, and random structures, and then a little handful of some, what now look like, very minimalist nature shots.  I’ll be able to use these in something for sure. Anyway, great find. I’ll be filling the rest of the album with photos of my own.

Photoshoot!

The title is exclaimed because that is pretty much what has entered my mind when the perfect moment for some photo taking has occurred.  I’ve been spending time with the beautiful and talented Elizabeth Estrada with her wonderful trusty Canon. Our adventures together have allowed us to experience running about rooftops, exploring many no trespassing areas, eating straight from the strawberry fields, picking wild walnut trees, staring down evil cows, narrowly escaping large spiders, building robots, finding an unnecessary obsession with rubber stamps, finding and wearing cool jackets, discovering great unknown locations in our own city, and finding out that Tab tastes just like Pepsi. Through all of this, many great photos have happened. Be sure to go to virb.com/bench to check out the newly posted photos.