Sunday, April 28, 2002

Once in a while I enjoy a good dose of Japanese anime. I was quite lucky as there was only one copy of Metropolis at the video store. The story is about a robot girl who thought she was a human, but soon finds out that her sole purpose was to control the world with this really high tech throne. Her disllusion made her to take revenge on her creators. It's set in a retro-futuristic megalopolis (inspired by Fritz Lang's original Metropolis)
This is one of the most beautifully crafted anime I've seen in a long while. Way better than Pixar produced Monster's inc or even Shrek. The plot was kind of flat, but the finale was incredible. A visual splendor!! Go rent this one.♥

posted by piperboy 9:15pm EST

Saturday, April 27, 2002

Last Thursday night a bunch of designers from work headed up to Oakville (some place far far away!!) to attend the Sheridan college's new media grad show. This was the first year I went, so from hearing all the good things about the school, I was really excited in seeing the students' work. I have to say I was really underwhelmed with the show itself. Nevertheless, there were some really great work from a couple of students. My favrorite sites are as follows in no particular order:Alicia Chang, Jason Hyde, Mark Larkin, Carlson Yu, and Matt Mcglynn ♥

posted by piperboy 1:07am EST

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

This site is almost ready, doing some QA testing. I still have to do a flash showreel of my work. Hope it will be completed by the end of the month. I'm pretty happy with the results so far♥

posted by piperboy 12:34am EST

Wednesday, April 17, 2002

Ever since Adcritic went down, I've been yearning for a site that showcases creative ads and videos. I found boardsmag through a link from a design news portal stereotypography. It's an industry mag about the "business of commercial production" There are quite a bit of cool ads, videos, and even short films. There are a couple of really beautiful ads but one that stood out was Aphex Twin's drukqs directed by Chris Cunningham. This video was so disturbing that it was banned in Britain! This has got to the the most beautifully twisted piece of work I've ever seen, it's so intriging that I can't stop watching the 10 sec spot.
"It's a little darker and more twisted than your typical Ibiza TV ad that we are seeing a lot of at the moment," says Warp Records Greg Eden. "The BACC wouldn't approve it on the grounds that it would cause offence and was therefore unacceptable."

posted by piperboy 8:53pm EST

Monday, April 15, 2002

Spent some time on the weekend creating ane-invite for my friend Chris and her bf. They are both leaving HK, she's gonna work in Geneva. I'm happy for her about the new job, she was kind of depressed for a while. They are having a farewell party, but I probably won't be able to go. Since I am about 3000+ miles away.

I just came back from the movies, went to see The Panic Room. It's somewhat of a departure from The Fight Club and Se7en. Instead of the fast past action of his other 2 previous films, this was more like a hithcock thriller, a slow paced and suspenseful psychological thriller. David Fincher's opening credits are always visually impressive, this one is no different. It's very static and calm feeling with text hovering over Manhattan's skyline.

posted by piperboy 12:14am EST

Monday, April 8, 2002

I left work early friday, went to the video store on my way home, and picked up Donnie Darko. It's been out on video for a couple of weeks now. Of course one of the reasons I picked it up was the amazing website designed by my fav web shop hi-res. I first discovered this site before Christmas. Anyway,I didn't know what to expect, since I've heard mixed reviews about the film, and the fact that Drew Barrywhore is in it doesn't say much either.
Well, I found it enjoyable, dark and a bit cliche. Jake Gylenhaal's performance as a young person with schizophrenia was pretty impressive. Some of the characters in this movie could have been left out, or were put there for dramatic/shocking effects. There were so plot similarities between this film and A Requirem for a Dream (which I found to be far superior especially with an outstanding performance by Ellen Burstyn).
Another movie I wanted to pick up wasThe Center of the World I have heard nothing about this film but the site is stunning. I asked the clerk whether he'd seen it, but couldn't get anything from him. So I'll wait.

posted by piperboy 11:14pm EST

Friday, April 5, 2002

Bazarro world!! This morning I arrived at work early and my boss came over to chat. He started asking me if I was helping Karyn(my CD on a project) and I told him yes. Then he started complementing my designs, saying that he really liked it and has a lot of potential. For a moment I had thought I stepped into a parallel universe where people were opposites. It was like someone implanted a sensitivity chip into his brain. Whatever.

posted by piperboy 8:54pm EST

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

This week is kind of depressing, 2 of our Creative Directors are leaving on Thursday and Friday, and another person from content is also leaving next week. It's all because of our boss, basically he's an ASSHOLE! that's an understatement. I've worked with him on a few occasions and I found him to be arrogant, unorganized, and full of shit. I've never heard him say thank you to any of his staff, or anything complimentary to anyone.
Rumour has it, he's having an affair with one of the PM's. I hope his wife reads my entry. Anyway, as for the 2 CDs, even though I haven't work with them too long, they were funny and good at there job. It's too bad that one person so strongly affects our team spirit.

posted by piperboy 9:52pm EST

Tuesday, April 2, 2002

I was off for about 5 days, including the big Easter holiday. It's nice to have free time to pursue my own adventures. People often wonder if I ever work, in deed I do but not as hard as I should. Anyway, while surfing late one night, I stumbled upon a site which features one of my favorite art period of all time, russian avante garde art I am in awe with the bold graphical images and the messages they convey. A while back I actually wrote a history essay on the art of Propaganda. Moma art mini sites are always very well designed and full of great information.

posted by piperboy 6:12pm EST