Archive for the ‘Behind the scenes’ Category
Happy holidays from lynda.com!
Published by Chelsea Adams, managing editor | Sunday, December 25th, 2011Introducing the Ed Emberley Creative Inspirations
Published by David Niles White, producer, documentaries | Friday, December 23rd, 2011The lynda.com documentary team is pleased to share with you our newest Creative Inspirations installment on children’s book writer and illustrator, Ed Emberley. Earlier this year, we spent time with three generations of talented Emberleys in their 17th century home in beautiful Ipswich, Massachusetts. We filmed as he gave a drawing class to local second graders and traveled with him to Portland, Oregon to meet with his iPad/iPhone app developers, all not long after his 80th birthday (see a demo of Ed’s “Shake and Make” iPhone app). Many of the artists in Portland had never met Ed, but a number of them learned to draw with his books in grade school. Ed is truly a lifelong learner, continuing to absorb new technologies and apply them to his craft. Whether you have children or you still feel the spark of youth, you’ll enjoy this look into the mind, and heart, of this gifted artist.
Director Scott Erickson and Cameraperson/Editor Tracy Clarke setting up a shot with Ed Emberley on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
Cinematographer Mia Shimabuku at the Notre Dame Academy in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where Ed Emberley taught a drawing course.
Suggested courses to watch next:
• The full Creative Inspirations installment on Ed Emberley
• tokidoki, Character Illustrator
• Ron Crabb, Digital Illustrator
• Big Spaceship, Digital Creative Agency
• Bert Monroy, Digital Painter and Illustrator
Happy Halloween from lynda.com!
Published by Chelsea Adams, managing editor | Monday, October 31st, 2011
Bonus features: Mexopolis, Animation Studio
Published by David Niles White, producer, documentaries | Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
MAD magazine cartoonist Sergio Aragones and Jorge Gutirrez.
During the filming of the Creative Inspirations:Mexopolis, Animation Studio, artist Jorge Gutierrez told us a compelling story about one of his most important influences as a child, MAD magazine cartoonist Sergio Aragones. Not being able to speak English, Jorge fell in love with Sergio’s wordless cartoons and told his father that this is what he wanted to do when he grew up.
As fate would have it, Jorge’s father went to architecture school with Sergio. His father drove him from Tijuana to ComicCon in San Diego to have Sergio explain to the young Jorge the importance of attending college. And there the story begins.
Twenty-three years had elapsed since they had seen each other, but we were able to arrange an emotional reunion at a quiet spot near the lynda.com studios. Join us in this latest bonus feature as Sergio reflects on some of the life experiences that have made him one of the most beloved cartoonists of our time.
Creative Inspirations bonus feature: Stefan G. Bucher
Published by David Niles White, producer, documentaries | Friday, August 26th, 2011lynda.com’s documentary team is pleased to announce an addition to the Creative Inspirations series: bonus features. Starting this week, we’ll begin to roll out a series of extras that were produced to enhance the viewing experience of our flagship documentary series.
After release, we often screen our films for a theatre audience and bring the person featured in the documentary to the screening to be interviewed on camera. The topics discussed are frequently derived from feedback we receive from our members. These bonus features put you in the front row, and let you become inspired all over again.
After the screening, Stefan G. Bucher answered audience questions during his interview with Terry Lee Stone.
This summer, lynda.com had a special screening of Stefan G. Bucher, Designer, Illustrator, and Writer in the Ahmanson Theatre at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. After the lights came up, Stefan came up on stage to enthusiastic applause to be interviewed by Terry Lee Stone, a writer and creative strategist who teaches the business of design at Art Center. This lively discussion (which included audience Q&A) covers a wide range of topics and brings us up to date on Stefan’s most recent endeavors. Highlights include Stefan’s thoughts on choosing projects and (the question that’s on everyone’s mind) what’s next for the monsters! As usual, Stefan brought along his sharp wit and wonderful sense of humor.
The bonus feature can be found at the end of the table of contents on the documentary page: Stefan G. Bucher, Designer, Illustrator, and Writer.
Behind the scenes with Stefan G. Bucher
Published by David Niles White, producer, documentaries | Wednesday, July 6th, 2011From our most recent Creative Inspirations release, Stefan G. Bucher, Designer, Illustrator, and Writer, the documentary team is pleased to share some images from our location shooting. We covered a lot of ground with Stefan, from his workspace, to the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, to Skylight books for his book release celebration. As you’ll notice from the film, Stefan doesn’t exactly keep daylight hours. Other than our shoot at his alma mater (Art Center College of Design), we shot entirely at night, including wandering the streets of Pasadena at 3:00 a.m. in search of late-night groceries. The crew is still catching up on sleep. Enjoy!
Series director Scott Erickson with cinematographer Tony Cruz at Stefan’s workspace in Pasadena, California.
Scott and Tony moving through the ‘worm hole’ at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart. (Tony is not blurry, he’s time shifting).
Mmmmm. Bold mammothy flavor from the Time Travel Mart.
Cinematographer Mia Shimabuku at Skylight Books shooting the release party for Stefan’s latest book, You Deserve a Medal: Honors on the Path to True Love.
Douglas Kirkland and Gerd Ludwig discuss photography, business, and Chernobyl
Published by Jim Heid, content manager | photography | Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Photojournalist Gerd Ludwig at his home in Los Angeles (Jim Heid photo).
Successful photographers must combine their creative passion with the ability to evolve along with the industry—and the economy. That’s just one of the messages in our new course, Douglas Kirkland on Photography: A Conversation with Gerd Ludwig.
In this latest installment of his series, Douglas visits his friend Gerd Ludwig, a photojournalist best known for his work in National Geographic magazine. Ludwig has taken a special interest in Russia and the former Soviet Union—in particular, the people and stories surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Ludwig has photographed Chernobyl several times over the years. He wanted to return to document the conditions there today, but support from the traditional publishing industry wasn’t there. So he turned to the crowd—specifically, to Kickstarter.com, the crowdfunding website. He created a project proposal containing text and video descriptions of his project. He raised more than $23,000 from 435 backers and in March, he departed for Chernobyl.
Douglas visited with Ludwig in his home on the day before he left, and the course includes a tour of his gear and a look at how he packs for an expedition. When he returned, he and Douglas met in our studio to look at Ludwig’s photos and talk about Chernobyl today.
Capturing the conversation between Douglas Kirkland and Gerd Ludwig (Jim Heid photo).
On his latest trip, Ludwig also shot video in the depths of the poisoned reactor using a tiny video camera strapped to his protective helmet. As he says after he and Douglas watch the footage, video is “the new work of a photojournalist or documentary photographer.”
And Ludwig’s photos? They’re powerful and moving visual essays on the nightmare of Chernobyl and on how the area is being changed by residents who have moved back, and, incredibly, by tourists who visit to take photos.
Douglas Kirkland on Photography: A Conversation with Gerd Ludwig is a bit of a departure for us, a combination of instruction and inspiration. We hope you’ll watch and let us know what you think.
Creating an Effective Resume: A conversation with the author
Published by Bonnie Bills, content manager, business segment | Friday, April 22nd, 2011Today we’re pleased to announce the release of a new course designed to help our members market their job skills, Creating an Effective Resume. In the course, lynda.com author Mariann Siegert shares insider recommendations—based on her experience with her own resume service and her interviews with numerous recruiters and hiring managers—for creating a resume that stands out from the crowd. The course covers how to target your resume toward specific employers; how to write your resume so that employers will want to read it; how to choose from the different ways to organize your resume and format each section; how to write titles for online searches and upload to resume banks and job sites like Monster.com; how to write cover letters and thank-you notes; and much more.
In the following video, Mariann answers resume questions that blog readers sent in or posted as comments. As you’ll see, Mariann is passionate about helping people, a passion that is reflected in all the useful tips and techniques in this course. Please let us know what you think!
