2013 Calendars

It's the new year soon, so it is time for my new calendars. This year there are 4 editions so far, all with the same images, but different layouts. You can find them all HERE.

I hope you like the calendars, and as usual, if you are familiar with my work and would like to see a different image-month pairing, please let me know. This year, unfortunately, such custom calendars will be more expensive on Lulu, since the base price of calendar printing has been recently raised, but I can look at other sites for custom requests as well.  

UPDATE:
For the Black Friday promotion there is a 51%off discount code, which will activate on Nov. 23rd and expire on Nov. 27: coupon code DELIRITAS

The Black Friday deal has expired, but you can find the currently active discounts here:
http://www.lulu.com/current_specials

Also, unlike last year, my own copies show that the quality of colors is better for the smaller calendar (Standard). Even though the images are the same for both Standard and Pro editions, the actual printed quality can vary based on the printers used. Last year the colors were better in the Pro edition, and this year it looks like the Standard is better.

News Digest for the first 4 month of 2012 so far.

So far 2012 has been quite interesting, and in the past 4 months I

• won 2 more contests, and got second place in the third (will update the post below with links to the winning images); 
• did production design for another Columbia University MFA thesis project "Rub", written and directed by Raymond Yeung and produced by Jie Chen, Joelle Joseph and Ale Vivas;
• art directed 2 extremely fun photo shoots with amazing models -- Rachel Lu and Li Muravieva,  and great photographers -- Max Noy and Elina Akselrud & Sergey Levitan. 

Directing photo shoots was a new experience for me, but I loved every aspect of it -- from creating character concepts to each shot direction. Working in a creative collaboration with Li Muravieva as the make-up artist was another very rewarding aspect of this experience.  

On a related note, the first weekend of May marked the premiere of my last year's project "Breakway" during the Columbia University Film Festival. Some details are available in this article: "Lincoln Center will welcome student filmmakers"

Best [Learning] Experience of 2011.

November of 2011 was an interesting month for me, and the main reason for it was "Breakaway" a short film production by a group of Columbia University MFA students. I was hired to do the Production Design and the experience I gained from it was invaluable.

The short was written and directed by Ivan Bukta and produced by Demond Robertson.

Many things were new for me in that production. First of all, it was the first project where I was hired from an ad on the web (as opposed to personal connections) – a total stranger to everyone involved. Second – I was brought into the project a week before shooting, and the sets had to be significantly altered for production. Third – it was the first project for me where the sets were interiors and their initial state had nothing to do with the project's story or characters, so I had both the freedom and the challenge to make those sets look as I saw fit based on my understanding of the director's vision and the story. And as challenging as all that was, it was fun!

Looking back at it I am also amazed at how much we accomplished at such a short period of time. During the pre-production, only the producer and the director were available to help me with preparations, and their availability was very limited, as they had both classes and work to attend to as well. Yet, we had a chance to

• shoot family photos with the actors, edit them for aging effects, print and frame,
• go costume shopping with the actress, and, more amazingly, get them all in one evening,
• visit the set locations several times,
• build special effects props,
• shop for all the props and set dressings, and, again, to my great amazement, get all the things I wanted to have there.

I also had considerable freedom and support from the director and producer and I am very grateful to both of them for that.

The production itself lasted for 3 days. It was swift and hectic, and got tangled into a blur in my memory. But it also had a wonderful atmosphere of sincere enthusiastic collaboration, dedication and commitment from all people involved, many of whom met on the set for the first time.

I learned more in those 10 days than in all of my previous projects, and I have carefully filed those lessons into my mind for future use.

You can visit the "Breakaway" production blog for more information about the project and some production and behind the scenes stills.