The concept for the video was derived from that fun little pin art/impression toy that makes impressions of whatever you put to it. It’s a fun, adaptable toy (that can kill a lot of time in the office) and I felt that this would be a good representation of how this technology helps you no matter what the terrain around us is.

Figuring this one out truly challenged me in the best way possible. I learned a lot and am thankful for the team that came together for this project. Seriously, it wouldn’t have been possible without everyone involved and the patience from my wife and family.

GPS and GLONASS

Client: Qualcomm
- Executive Producer: Steve Sanders

Concept: StaticJoe Studio
- Director/Producer: Brian Jouan
- Associate Producer: Eileen Walgren
- Production Assistant: Anna Buzaitis

Production:
- Director: Steve Sanders, Brian Kim
- Director of Photography: Jorge Corrales
- Key Grip: Sean Hunter
- Lighting: Michael Kantrowitz
- DIT: Jeremy Sykes
- Production Assistant: John O’Brien

Post:
- Editor/Compositor: Brian Jouan
- 3D Artists/Animators: Brian Jouan, Birgar Olsen, Kevin Gabriel, Joachim Paul

Sound:
- Composer: Michael Raymond Russell
- Sound Design: Mark Dockery

Special Thanks:
- Vincent Perry

To see more on the projects featured in the new 2011 reel, take a look at my work page.

I’m really digging Beats Antique right now and went with it for the music. Not the usual fast paced electronic supersonic demo music but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Red Bull Sound Clash Design Frames

View all Design Frames

New Animation Project: Skifta

This was a super fun project and my first collaboration with mega designer Josh Boston. Skifta is really the only reason I would ever consider going Android. Imagine being able to control and share your media with dlna devices is a slick and easy way. Skifta does that.

I’m pretty sure this was also my first animation project which was completely designed by someone else. In the past, I have always been involved with the design process in some way. Thanks to Josh’s slick style, it was easy to have a designer provide all the assets which let me focus solely on animation.

Unfortunately, there was a very tough lesson I learned about this exercise and it really helped shape a part of who I am as a self employed person today:

Be convicted with your ideas enough to make them permanent.

I had a lot great reminders in this notepad to help me address business situations, all of them written in pencil. I only used pencil because I liked the subtle aesthetic of pencil on paper. The painful disadvantage of pencil is how easy these notes washed away in a washing machine after forgetting to pull the notepad out of my pocket before laundry day. Years of notes. Clean paper.

Lesson learned. Use a pen.

Here are a couple things that I stuck with to figure out what I posted.

• Don’t complicate it. If you can’t organize your work into three or four categories, consider trimming your content down.
• Have purpose for each project post. If you didn’t have fun the first time, don’t ask for it again. Maybe you have a great looking project but you were completely miserable creating it. Don’t post it.
• Get opinions. Ask your industry contacts for constructive criticism.

It’s not easy. It shouldn’t be easy. You want to have your best work posted. You want the omissions to be painful. At that point, you’ll have the best of your best work.

Below are a couple commercials that didn’t make the cut. These were two, two-part 15-second commercials I produced for Corky’s Pest Control in San Diego. I LOVED working on these spots and got to work with my sister, Mandy Jouan, to illustrate a couple characters. I also got to work with my good friend Brian Kim to help out with the animation. Although it would have been a blast to continue building this campaign for Corky’s, I just don’t think it fit with what I ultimately want to be creating.

Yep. It’s all that.

StaticJoe Studio is the office of Brian Jouan. I am a small production company with a focus on design and animation. As you might notice, aside from my involvement on each project, it’s a little hard to see a common thread between all the work on my site. Whether it’s an action figure design, a Times Square animated billboard, or a commercial for the best commercial real estate company in San Diego, I love to be a part of great projects.

It’s going to take a while to find my voice with this blog. I’ll post case studies, projects that painfully didn’t make the cut on my site, personal photos, or just my rambling on things I’ve learned about running my own business. Stick around and tell me how I can make it better.