The Archimedia STAR© program is an innovation, two years in development,  that allows us to utilize the same strategies, solutions and technologies that our company has been successfully providing to the film and music industries for the past 30 years but now being offered, for the first time, to independent artists at a cost they can afford.

The music landscape continues to get more crowded. Labels, in todays music Reality TV world, are looking for artists that have, essentially,  already proven themselves and their profit potential. The continued expansion of the “free music”  markets are making it increasingly difficult for the independent artist to produce any revenue. In a crowded market many artists are now being forced to play in local venues for just tips. Not to mention the many music industry “sharks” that are patrolling the waters preying on the vulnerability of the independent artist. The odds are against today’s artist, unless the artist can “differentiate and separate”  themselves from the  competition.

Archimedia Studios is searching for that one artist or band that wants to “STand Above the Rest!”  We will soon be announcing a contest with the winner filling our last Phase 1 opening in the Archimedia STAR© program at no cost!!!

The contest details and entry information will soon be announced on our Facebook Fan Page. “Like” us and check back often!

Adding sparkle to faceted gems… A light tent provides nice soft lighting for jewelry and makes for a pleasing image. However, the light tent may not provide the direct lighting necessary to “light up” faceted gemstones.  Faceted gemstones like diamonds need to be illuminated by a light source that is positioned at nearly the same place as the camera. Don’t use the on-camera flash does not lead to good jewelry photos.  Not only is the camera’s flash too bright at such a close distance, but it is probably in the wrong position to actually light up the jewelry properly.  On camera flash will also create harsh and distracting shadows.

1. Two lights are normally positioned to sides of the Light tent, which diffuses the light and eliminates glare. These lights provide the main lights for the piece of jewelry. We prefer daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs for lighting .
2. The third light, “the sparkler” light is positioned to shine directly into the gemstone to illuminate the stone. Because this light is not diffused by the light tent, it needs to be a weaker light than the side lights. You will need to move this light until you see the gem light up. Then move the light stand to keep the light in that position.  (Make sure you are looking through the camera’s viewfinder when positioning the sparkler light).  The “sparkler” light is the third  light, and the key to having properly lit faceted gemstone jewelry. This light must be positioned so that you see the stones sparkle
3. Good jewelry photography needs sharp, crisp focus. It is worth getting out your camera’s manual  to find out how to put the camera in “spot focus” mode.  The normal focus mode of digital cameras is some sort of average focus mode.  That means that the camera will look at a wide area of a scene and base the focus on that area.
4. Another key to a sharp image is a tripod.  It is essential to use a good sturdy  tripod or similar camera support when shooting jewelry.

• Our favorite lens is the 50MM lens no matter whether it is a close up or wide shot. This lens makes you analyze your shot and makes you physically move to frame the shot. (at times we also use a 24MM 2.8)
• Research your location either the day before or two hours prior to the photo shoot to make sure there are both no surprises and to foster creative inspiration.
• Before you take the shot, assemble in your head what you envision the end product is going to look like.
• Lighting - Start with one light (key light) – yes, one light! –  and play around with it to see where shadows falls. Remember, mood is created with shadows.
• Play around with your exposure. Look at your meter, when it tells you that you have  the correct exposure, try stepping your exposure down or up. The results may pleasantly surprise you.
• Take plenty of shots! Remember, you are never judged on the shots that you throw away, only on the ones that you keep.

Don’t want to wait  until Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 5)? Here are some sneak peaks of this year’s Super Bowl Commercials.

Branding is an especially powerful marketing tool for creative artists because having a brand is about knowing your authentic unique gift and communicating that gift to the people you want to attract.

In short, a brand is your vision of who you are and what you do for your audiences. It encompasses:

• a message  that expresses what makes you unique and memorable  and distinguishes you from your competition  so that your target audience connects with you emotionally and wants to work with you.

How does branding apply to professional musicians and artists?

Think of all the wonderfully talented musicians and artists out there. If you perceive yourself as just one of hundreds of talented musicians, it is easy to feel discouraged from pursuing the career of your dreams. This is where having a brand can help turn your career around. Once you see yourself as unique, it reduces the pressures of competition because you know that you have something special to offer. It is the start of trusting your gift. The same holds true when you know why are you are the ideal person to satisfy the needs of your target audience. If you truly believe that you are the best person for that audience, it reinforces your uniqueness.

How can having a brand help boost your professional artistic career?

Having a brand also helps you work smarter, not harder, because your efforts are focused on the specific audiences you want to attract.

Your branding goal is to strive for  ”Differentiation”, it is then that will acheive “Separation” from your competition.

If you value  connectedness, abundance and authenticity, your brand is a powerful manifestation of those values. And the more you are aligned with your values, the more motivated and inspired you will be to pursue your goals.

As an artist, having a brand is a profound way to connect with your music and your audience, and a major step in taking your career to a new level. This is the mission of Archimedia STAR© – (Stand Above the Rest)

• Theora (.ogg, .ogv) – The free and open source container format from the Xiph.org foundation, for the open source Theora codec. Results in lower quality than H.264 and uses the application/ogg MIME type and the video/ogg video attribute type
• MP4/ H.268 (.m4v) – The compressed container format for the H.264 codec, with high definition support and uses video/mpeg MIME type and the video/mp4 video attribute type
• WebM (.webm) – Open source container format supported by Mozilla, Opera, Adobe, and Google., compressed by VP8 codec and uses the video/webm MIME type and the video/webm video attribute type

A standard video format has not yet emerged.   Thus, it is important to know what video formats the various web browsers handle in order that as many users as possible can see your content.

Here is a chart of what browsers support what file formats:

Source devcurry.com

This year, 6,100 entries were submitted, and today, Doritos revealed the five finalist videos that will compete for consumer votes. This is the sixth year that Doritos has run the contest, with winning videos generally providing much of the buzz for the Internet for the weeks following the game.

This year, just like last, a $1 million cash prize is on the line if a consumer-created video scores the number one spot on the USA Today Ad Meter. The stakes are a little big higher this time around–the maker of the ad that actually makes it to the Super Bowl will get a guaranteed job working on a Doritos brand project with The Lonely Island, the Andy Samberg-helmed comedy group.

Wich is your favorite video?

Follow our Fan page on Facebook, there will be much more information forthcoming on Archimedia STAR© and all the happenings within Archimedia Studios!  Glad to have you all with us in 2012!   Vince Spagnolo, President of Archimedia Studios

Below are the iPad apps that we feel every designer with an iPad should have in their repertoire. These are apps that we actually use in the work place, not just the traditional blog reviews that are done by techies who almost always have never used the products they are reviewing in a production environment. iMockups

iMockups for iPad is a premiere mobile wireframing and mockup app for your web, iPhone and iPad projects.
“iMockups is a must have tool for web designers, iPhone developers and really anyone looking to design a UI starting with a good wireframe mock up.” – iPadInCanada.ca noterize

An amazing multi functional “all-in-one” type productivity app.

Take notes, make rough sketches, record your ideas or meetings, share to the cloud or social networks. palettes pro

Create a color palette anywhere at anytime. Grab colors from a photograph, a website, or add colors using any one of 5 color models. Quickly find matching colors with support for many different color schemes. Pick colors from a variety of sources.

Export pallets to Photoshop! animation desk

create hand-drawn animations anytime, anywhere. taskmatrix

An easy and efficient way for designers to create and maintain their task list…seeing the big picture was never easier. idraw

The closest app to Adobe Illustrator that you will find procreate

We have tried many painting and sketching by we always come back to this one. clip sketch

Has a number of uses but we primarily find it useful for rough sketching storyboard script ideas for videos that we are shooting. Sketches can also be Emailed or saved as a pdf, png, or svg. penultimate

The best-selling handwriting app for iPad for over a year. You’ll get the fast, tactile gratification of writing on paper, with digital power and flexibility. Take notes, keep sketches, or share your next breakthrough idea — in the office, on the go, or home on the sofa. Skitch Express yourself with fewer words, emails and meetings…with Skitch for iPad! Use shapes, arrows, sketches and text annotation to get your point across fast. Mark up photos, screenshots, maps, and webpages then share them with anyone you like. Home Design 3D Create, Layout, Design, perfect for interior designers! Time Master

The best, most powerful, comprehensive, easy to use time keeping app we have seen. Keep track of hours worked on projects, as well as billable hours. ]]> http://www.archimediastudios.com/corporate/2011/12/our-2011-picks-must-have-ipad-apps-for-designers/feed/ 0 http://www.archimediastudios.com/corporate/2011/12/our-2011-pick-for-come-on-guys/ http://www.archimediastudios.com/corporate/2011/12/our-2011-pick-for-come-on-guys/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:57:07 +0000 archimedia http://www.archimediastudios.com/corporate/?p=2389 There has been many Photoshop disasters in 2011 by agencies. Some of them we have highlighted in a recent blog post. At the professional level there should be no excuse for bad cutouts, missing limbs, disproportionate body parts and over done digital makeup.

However, this Levis ad takes the inexcusable to a whole new level; notice the reflection. This is an error that you may expect from a teenager just learning Photoshop but certainly not at the professional level.

Come on Guys!

Have you forgotten the design process ?

• Receive requirement
• Sketch out rough
• Get approval
• Create artwork
• Review
• Create finished artwork
• Preflight and proof
• Print
• Notice reflection is upside-down*