Dear Thursday:

I love you. You are the last day of my work week. Most people give Friday all of the props and push you under the rug as just another day. At DDA though, you are the pinnacle day.

After 3 days of working hard programming websites, animating in 2D with flash, and/or animating and modeling in 3D with lightwave, you bring me a happy feeling. When 5 o’clock rolls around I know there is a beer with my name on it, thanks to you. Before I leave I also know that my paycheck will be given to me as well, thanks to you. When I’m driving home I get an awesome feeling knowing that I can stay up as late as I want, thanks to you. There is also the week’s best lineup of prime time shows on television at night, again, all thanks to you.

So my dear Thursday, I just wanted to let you know my feelings about you and that I appreciate all you do. Keep up the good work.

Your not so secret admirer,

Vinnie

PS: Same time next week. I’ll be waiting for you…

Back in the day, when someone asked what I did for a living, well, it was an easy answer, reporter.

Since joining Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), however, it’s not so easy. To say that I am a writer doesn’t exactly encompass everything I do and to say that I work for a digital advertising agency doesn’t either.

The truth is DDA isn’t that easy to explain in just a few words. I can describe us as a web development company, a video production studio, graphic design, programming, illustration, you name it. If it relates to anything design, digital, or technical, chances are, we can probably claim that name as well.

And then you have to consider our approach to projects. It’s not typically what you think of when you hear the words advertising or marketing. We take an entirely different approach than any other agency, or search engine marketing company, or marketing firm out there.

Ours is a holistic approach, a full-bodied solution in an age where our industry still remains so fragmented. A look at our Executive Summary gives a glimpse at what makes us different but it’s our work that speaks volumes. In all that we do, whether it’s website design and development, integrated video, search engine optimization, or even copywriting, DDA strives to bring innovative and unique solutions to fully meet the needs of our clients.

As expected, when you work for a company that is on the cutting-edge, your job is going to be a bit different as well. Working with so many services under one roof, I am constantly learning about different mediums and technologies and learning how to explain and describe those to my clients.

But perhaps my favorite part is in New Business Development where I get to see the ideas for this innovation just starting to form.

There’s a lot of complexities to DDA and in my job, but that’s OK. Now, I’ve learned that answering the “What do you do for a living?” question will require four more words than before, “Well, let me tell you.”

Over the last few weeks, I have become a bit of a conference call connoisseur and thanks to our live video feed, I’ve also been sharpening my on-camera skills.

What I’ve learned more than anything, is that the majority of projects — regardless if it’s video,website, animation or illustration — all begin in similar ways, an idea, a need, a void to be filled. Once that is discovered, it’s flushed out, mulled over, and eventually a way to fix, enhance, or fill it is discovered.

But what’s next? You have a project that you’re ready to take to the next level. Which steps will best help you go from concept to reality?

There’s a number of factors to consider — budget, timeframe, what you’re looking to achieve, the audience you are attempting to reach, the multiple options that exist within the medium you chose. It’s not an easy task and one that calls for significant consideration. Because what you are looking for and what you put as your top priorities will determine the company you choose.

At DDA, we get a lot of inquiries, some we know aren’t the right match for us from the beginning, others take a conference call or further e-mails to figure out. But that’s exactly what it is when you are looking for any kind of company, whether it’s full-service like ourselves, marketing or advertising agencies, or web development and design companies — a match.

During our initial conference call, we walk through the details of the project. If it’s video we discuss length, actors needed, animation, editing, etc. Brochures or other print work we go through dimensions, specs, illustrations, and so on. If a project is not right for us or vice versa, David will let the prospective client know.

So make sure when you are ready to take get your project started that you not only know what you would like to do –3D Modeling, Search Engine Optimization, Webcasting — but what it is you want to accomplish. Determine your goals, what’s of the utmost importance to you, whether you’re money, timeline, or detail driven and that will lead you to the company that’s best for you.

Something’s going around here at the office. First Laura gets sick, then Jake, then Vinnie and I. We’re dropping like flies here!

Yesterday, I had to call out sick so as not to transmit my deadly cold to anyone else. It’s always a bummer when you have to call out from work. Not only do you miss out on a day’s pay, but you really fall behind on projects you were working on.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising, we are always receiving new animation, 3D modeling,  programming, and interactive jobs. We need to be on top of our work every day to keep on schedule, within budget and on track. I think everyone working at DDA does a fantastic job of that, too. But when you’re sick, it can really take the wind out of your sails.

I’m better now, or at very least (I believe) past the point of contagion. Thankfully, I was ahead of schedule on most of my projects so I don’t have too much catching up to do. With that said, I better get back to it!

At DDA, we use many different software programs while working on our projects. Because of this we are provided with two monitor screens to enable us to work with speed and efficiency in yet another area.

When working on websites, I typically have Dreamweaver and a web browser open so I can easily refresh and view the changes without having to minimize or restore any windows. Two monitors is almost essential for efficient work in Flash when it is an actionscript heavy project. One window can have the main program with stage and timeline open, while the other window can have the actionscript window open. Then you can easily switch between different movie clips or frames that contain actionscript and not have to keep hiding the code window. You will also be able to have the code window at maximum size and still be able to see what movie clip or level you are on at any time.

Working in 3D with Lightwave also promotes the use of two monitors since it uses two applications. One application is for modeling and the other application is for the animation. Now we can work freely with both applications open.

I recommend getting another monitor for those working with only one. You will be amazed at the advantages it brings. I have never had two monitors until I started working at DDA and I now can’t imagine working without them.

Two days ago I was coding in ColdFusion and working in Flash. Yesterday I worked in Director. Today I will be doing some 3D modeling in Lightwave. Tomorrow who knows.

That is how I like it to be. DDA offers so many different services that I get to work in a number of different areas. I never have the thought of becoming bored with my job because everyday is different. It is more like having 10 different jobs and I don’t know which one I will be at during any day. Will I be a programmer today? Maybe I will be an animator and a 3D modeler. Maybe I will even be a web developer today.

Either way, the task at hand will never be stale because I always get a break from one area while I am working in another. It also helps to expand my skills in so many areas. Before I came here, I didn’t know ColdFusion and now I have a solid base in it. Director is my newest area and as I keep learning more I will only have more of a variety of jobs to do.

As they say, variety is the spice of life.

One thing that’s very interesting about working at DDA is just how fast the workday can go by. When I really get into my groove with an animation, a bit of code, or some 3d Modeling, the hours can just fly past. Most of the time it’s six before I know it!

Sometimes, though, you do need a little something to eliminate the tedium. For example, when I am swapping lip sync for an animation, it is really just a repetition of 4 keystrokes, repeated 200+ times depending  on the length of the animation. What do I do when I need to distract my mind from the fact that I am doing the same thing over and over for hours at a time? I listen to Podcasts.

Podcasts are really fantastic. There are hundreds of them out there on iTunes for perusal, most of which come absolutely free. Really what it amounts to is talk radio, but you can really specialize what you want to listen to. For instance, I like to listen to a lot of video game podcasts, as that is one of my major influences. You may be into cooking, however, or extreme sports. I’m sure you can find a podcast for any topic if you look hard enough.  There’s even one that exclusively discusses Starbuck’s Coffee!

So try it out, if you have something tedious to do and need to let your mind go on autopilot for a bit. You never know - you may even find something you’ll regularly listen to!

Like most kids, I grew up loving cartoons. Back then it was The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Rainbow Brite, The Transformers, Ninja Turtles (I could go one and on) that were on the television in my house. Growing up with an older sister that was very artistic and could draw anything you put in front of her, I wanted to be just like her and started to draw myself. And cartoons were my all time favorite!

The talented illustrators at DDA, a graphic design company, have created some of the most amazing hand drawn illustrations, technical illustrations and digital illustrations around. Illustrations were created of the DDA programmers, designers, search engine optimization specialists for our website.

At the Meet DDA section on our website that also displays our website design capabilities, photography services, 3d modeling and animation projects and much more, you can see a cartoon version of each of us. You can also read our daily blogs.

As I watch some of the cartoons that my kids watch today I find myself thinking, The Smurfs were still better than this!

When asked where I work there are two possible answers:

Dynamic Digital Advertising, a digital advertising agency.

OR

Dynamic Digital Advertising, an advertising agency that specializes in website design, catalog and brochure design, logo design, sell sheet and calendar design, trade show graphic and booth design, 3d modeling, animation, video production, search engine optimization and marketing, CD ROM and DVD replication and duplication, and the list goes on and on…

When I click through our website and see that we have so many services to offer under one roof, I wonder, why would anyone go anywhere else?

Being an animator, I find new tools to aid me in my work every day. The other day, I found a program for 3D modeling and animation called FaceGen. Basically this is a texture-mapping program for human faces. You can take a photograph of someone, designate the location of the eyes, mouth, nose and chin, and click a button. The program then recognizes the face and maps it onto a 3D mesh that matches the photograph pretty closely. From there, the user can tweak the model to his or her liking, adjusting things like eye size and position, nose length, mouth shape, or pretty much anything else you can think of.

Another great program for animators (traditional, flash or 3D) that I highly recommend is Magpie Pro. Magpie is a lip-syncing software that allows an animator to designate the mouth movements for their animation ahead of time, creating a reference sheet (called a “dope sheet”) to guide the animator when arranging said mouth movements in the animation. I had used the original Magpie throughout my time at school, as it was freeware and could be used without licensing. Now, however, they have taken down the freeware version and come out with Magpie Pro, which costs about $250 per license, but adds tons of new features that I didn’t even think were possible using software. For instance, one thing you can do with the new Magpie Pro is instruct the software to recognize audio and create a basic lip sync for you. From there the animator can tweak it, fixing any of the weird glitches that may arise. Another cool feature is the ability to import custom “actors,” so if you have a 3D model with mouth shapes already modeled in, you can put it in the program and preview the lip sync right there, on your model, without having to go plug it into your 3D program. The same also works for Flash, except instead of a model, you can import your actor as a .psd file, using layers for the different mouth movements. Then, you can export the animation you created into the animation program of your choice.

In the most recent project I have been working on, the Magpie Pro demo has been a great time-saver. I highly recommend either of these programs to anyone who has even a passing interest in animation, whether it be 3D animation, 2D traditional animation, 2D flash animation or even stop-motion.