Collin, TGS looks great
Someone tell Collin that the TGS design looks fantastic, fun, funtastic, and fun.
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I may have left, but I never left you, or... no that is not right- what is the saying? Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that my latest project, thisMoment just launched. If you have a moment (cough - cough) please check it out. I've even made a few game, film and tv moments, who can forget Tales Of The Gold Monkey?!
http://www.thismoment.com/moment/view/5253/tales-of-the-gold-monkey
Parting Banner Tips
There are a few golden rules to making a good banner. As I've made far more of these for the sites than I can count, I've got a few words of advice for any banner makers out there. I point out examples below not to ridicule but to educate, after all, we all want beautiful banners!
1- make sure you can read the text that overlays on top of the banner image. After all the banner is to support the page title, not obscure or hide it. If any rule should be followed it is this one.
a few major criminals:Adventures of Robin Hood
Collateral
solaris
2- there are better ways to achieve rule number 1 than a dark cloud of death fade to black- and if you do fade out- go naturally.
bad fade to black:usual suspects
resident evil
natural:pan's labyrinth
e.t.-note how it fades to a similar color not just black.
alternative:seven samurai - uses supportive imagery to create a speration between focal image and dark background.
3-composition. find a focal point, focal image. don't just drop in random images, unless they are orgonzed in a collage. Also cropping can be good, but it can also be real dirty.
bad composition (two equal size focal images, not integrated, evenly spaced, no focus:
spirited away
the big lebowski- sometmes, less is more, but sometimes, you don't have a good focal image to work with, then you need to collage it up...
good collage:
serenity-good use of the old "photo-trick", soemthing I used far too often I admit when in a pinch:grease
bad cropping:rescue dawn
license to wed
good close up cropping: the good, the bad, and the ugly
finding nemo
closer
bourne ultimatum
underworld- can't go wrong with a good cropping of the eyes, just avoid showing the nostols, too much face and it looks uncomfortable.
4- contrast. A simple adjustment of contrast can make dull images more powerful and professional.
5- source image quality. If the image isn't good, don;'t use it. banners are to enhance.
criminal:back to the future
surf's up- this is an animated film there are tons of clear images to choose from.
6- sometimes a good screen is your best friend ...(to make up for bad source images)being john malkovich
Now these banners are not easy to make, hopefully these tenets will help any would be banner makers out there interested in the business. Good luck, and good banner making!
1- make sure you can read the text that overlays on top of the banner image. After all the banner is to support the page title, not obscure or hide it. If any rule should be followed it is this one.
a few major criminals:Adventures of Robin Hood
Collateral
solaris
2- there are better ways to achieve rule number 1 than a dark cloud of death fade to black- and if you do fade out- go naturally.
bad fade to black:usual suspects
resident evil
natural:pan's labyrinth
e.t.-note how it fades to a similar color not just black.
alternative:seven samurai - uses supportive imagery to create a speration between focal image and dark background.
3-composition. find a focal point, focal image. don't just drop in random images, unless they are orgonzed in a collage. Also cropping can be good, but it can also be real dirty.
bad composition (two equal size focal images, not integrated, evenly spaced, no focus:
spirited away
the big lebowski- sometmes, less is more, but sometimes, you don't have a good focal image to work with, then you need to collage it up...
good collage:
serenity-good use of the old "photo-trick", soemthing I used far too often I admit when in a pinch:grease
bad cropping:rescue dawn
license to wed
good close up cropping: the good, the bad, and the ugly
finding nemo
closer
bourne ultimatum
underworld- can't go wrong with a good cropping of the eyes, just avoid showing the nostols, too much face and it looks uncomfortable.
4- contrast. A simple adjustment of contrast can make dull images more powerful and professional.
5- source image quality. If the image isn't good, don;'t use it. banners are to enhance.
criminal:back to the future
surf's up- this is an animated film there are tons of clear images to choose from.
6- sometimes a good screen is your best friend ...(to make up for bad source images)being john malkovich
Now these banners are not easy to make, hopefully these tenets will help any would be banner makers out there interested in the business. Good luck, and good banner making!
Exit Stage Left
As many of you may already know by now, and even many more who likely don't, I have recently resigned my position at CNET Entertainment. This was a very, very difficult decision to make. Leaving here was not a celebration by any means. My three plus years here have been some of the finest of my life. It's been quite a ride. I have put far more blood sweat and tears into my work than is probably healthy, but that's just me, and that's the level of passion we have for our work. I slept on the office floor a few times, and let me say to any would be office decorators out there that shag carpeting could be a nice touch to office decor, this tight loop industrial stuff does wonderful damage to the cheek bones. I love these sites, they have been a huge part of my life, and they feel like my children. But even more than the work, I have had the pleasure of working with a whole soccer league of talented and exceptional people all the way around, and I miss them very much already. Now, how does this affect you? Well, I still get many requests for images and banners and such for game-spaces, show-spaces, person spaces, film-spaces, etc. Please forward all these to the appropriate mods per site- they'll look after you, they are all quality peeps. It's been my pleasure working with you all.
I'm sorry DS, I never knew!
I was wrong. So so wrong. When the DS and the PSP came out, I was a big boo-hoo on the DS. The PSP just seemed too slick, too dreamy, too powerful. One year later, my PSP is in an unknown junk drawer somewhere. On Sunday, I bough a DS along with "New Super Mario Bros." - already one day in, I'm having more fun than I ever had on the PSP. It's no new BMW like some people I know bought on the very same day, but it's pretty spiffy.
Recent Reviews
Wow, I was already a fan, but now after hearing these audio tracks, I am rabid. Miss Laura hess continues to break new ground in Opera. Ditching the viking garb for a polar bear suit, Hess sends a message to the Opera world that cannot be ignored: Opera is dangerous, and can withstand sub zero temperatures.
posted July 2, 2006 at 07:25:56 PM
Ballgame's Baller's first effort took the nation by storm. Like a zillion killer bees, the buzz swept across the dusty dead deserts of New Mexico across the great plains, swam the Great Salt Lake, jumped the Grand Canyon, flew over the rocky mountains, around Mt.t Rushmore and into the waxy ear drums of countless shoeless hillbilly children and cat lovers alike.
posted April 5, 2006 at 02:35:18 PM
Listening to Bobby Gaza for the first time, was like finding Jesus. even without his voice, (which is like a symphony of songbirds on a quiet early morning in the woods), Bobby gaza is an inspiration. His sense of style is trendsetting, from his fresh cut hair to his bone white sneakers, I am constantly in awe of how he puts it all together. But he is more than his look, he's got the goods on the inside. His blood: 100% pure cool grade AAAA - that's quaduple grade, pure stiff, street value in the zillions. Simply put, Bobby Gaza is my hero. He's my super-hero. He's my super-duper-bad guy beatin', lady killin', code wizard.
posted April 1, 2006 at 08:07:41 PM
I saw the swizzle b's live in San Francisco, and it changed my life. Socks blown off my feet across the street by the sonic heat, it was real neat, an expierence i hope to repeat, from my feet to my seat, I repeat, they are sweet.
The lead singer was smokin, I don't mean tokin', I aint jokin, this fellow was not chokin', he's a token of skills, that fills the bills with thrills and chills, without the spills.
The lead singer was smokin, I don't mean tokin', I aint jokin, this fellow was not chokin', he's a token of skills, that fills the bills with thrills and chills, without the spills.
posted March 30, 2006 at 11:26:10 PM
This is one of the best cover songs around as it does what most cover songs don't do: it sounds different than the original. That this song can be presented in such a drastically different way, sounding unique and exceptional, proves the quality of both writer and performer. A selection of songs are nearly impossible to cover- and I thought Sabbath Bloody Sabbth would have been one- until now. For comparison, listen to that crappy Boys of summer cover by The Ataris.
posted January 14, 2005 at 12:00:27 PM
