A poster series and title / end credits for the short film What About Katie.
After completing the design of both the Cee Pod manual and the Tokstun Arms rifle manual, we were given the opportunity to create the props themselves. We set to gathering the materials we needed, trying to keep them as unconventional as possible. The challenge was to make these look like they could be produced somewhere other than Earth. After a few trips to Kinko's and Blick, we were ready to print and bind both books. The Pod manual needed a mechanical looking binding that would allow it to open and lay flat. We picked these pipe fasteners up at a hardware store, but ended up going with something a little less bulky that would allow the book to open all the way.
The book was divided into sections, and tabs were printed and weathered. The covers were printed on chip board to give it an aged and cracked look.
For the rifle manual, we needed to cover the staples used in the binding as they would be too recognizable as something you would see on earth, so we bought some spray paint and book binding tape to cover up the saddle stitch.
Then it was just a matter of aging the book. Luckily, we were able to get into the dismantled publishing arts building at school, and using greasy machine parts and weathering techniques gave the rifle manual a beating.
Here we are taking our beloved creations out for a celebratory drink.
And of course we had to take our props into the Pod and act out the scene for ourselves!
The folks at SHEP shop really loved the finished product, and we've been asked to make some more props for the film.
There are two main kanji in Prospect – an elegant ancient formal language and the machine type. Machine type is for digital displays and anything that the common folk would read. The formal language would be used in logos and unreadable by average citizens. Here are some of our typographic experimentations using the machine type and Photoshop.
The Mercenaries' Pod is Cee's only hope of escaping the Green Moon. The main cabin is a sphere made up of pentagons and the interior walls are covered in glittering gold Art Deco circuitry... or they will be when we're done with them.
Exterior of the Pod
Peeking through the set for the Interior of the Pod
Checking out the appropriate scale... 
Putting in 12 hour days, for the sake of the Pod! 
Another Work-in-Progress shot!
Finally, the triumph! (to be printed in gold leaf!)
In total, the project too approximately 40 hours and was turned around in 10 days.
Oh... and we're putting together our personal branded identities, our portfolios (together and separate) too!
Cee's Pod Manual Design
Cee’s Pod Manual Brief Proposal: (NOT APPROVED)
This is a rental vehicle, Damon isn’t familiar with it and has never piloted one before. It’s supposedly idiot-proof, instructions are functional and dense. The manual is as old as the vessel and has been updated over time by both the corporate rental office and renters who have added printed and hand-written hacks and fixes, annotating the book as original parts are replaced with improvised parts over time. The manual has been battered and coffee stained.
There might also be extra papers stuck inside, renter’s contract, receipts. A tabbing system similar to Nuclear Procedural Manuals helps the pilot or copilot quickly navigate to the section they need (“takeoff” / “landing” / “fueling” / “thruster repair”) and within those are decision trees.
The binding is either screw-post, bolted, or rubber band bound
Storage Pouch Dimensions: 12x16”
Tentative Manual Dimensions: 9x6” Vertical
Table of Contents
Detach launch sequence (as described by Zeek)
Assets:
Cylindrical Key
Gel package / epoxy gun
Operation Cartridge
Small screen w/ lens
Handwritten coordinates
Eye light aiming thrusters
Radio
Stabilizers
Proposed Covers:
Revision Rounds:
Final Approved:
Cee cleans her dad's rifle using the manual that came with it...Here are our proposals:
And the approved finals:
We're back and we have our last quarter and blog posts scheduled! 
Please enjoy these stickers created for Jack the Mercenary and Cee the teen Prospector that made the cut to get printed and hopefully get some screen time!
We finally wrapped on Werewolf...
behold, the posters & packaging: 
And now we're working 3 days / week at Green Moon Studio where they're producing a feature-length film based on this short:
https://vimeo.com/90049558
See more @ http://shepfilms.com/prospect
Some assorted collateral we've created:
Keep an eye on us, we're always learning and making new stuff!
360 live-action video
360 animated video
Augmented reality
Viewable through cardboard and VR headsets
Gaming
Educational / Training
Mixed Reality/ Extended Reality (XR)
Viewable through high-end headsets
Elements are interactive using hand controllers
Augmented Reality (AR)
VR Websites
Unity: C# or JavaScript
Unreal Engine: C++
Open Broadcaster Software for 360 livestreaming
360 Camera (recommend Nikon)
Smartphones that can link with 360 Camera + Augment
Cardboard headsets
High-end headsets (HTC VIVE/Oculus)
VR-ready PC
Future-thinking: Hololens
3-D modeling and animation using C4D
Augmented reality using Augment App
Interactivity using Unity
VR website using A-Frame
Filmmaking
360 live-action video into a headset
360 animated video into a headset
Interactive
Games
Narrative experiences
VR Websites
eCommerce experience
Portfolio / Online VR Advertisements
Reading Unity Virtual Reality Projects by Jonathan Linowes The VR Book Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality by Jason Jerald Ready Player One by Ernest Kline
Educational Videos VR Video w/ Premiere Tilt Brush 3D Game Art Pipeline VR Photography & Video Basics UX / Designing for VR Chris Milk: The birth of virtual reality as an art form Chris Milk: How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine Nightline Virtual Reality (1993) w/ Jaron Lanier and Frank Biocca VR and empathy
AR / VR Meetup + AR/VR Collective
That awkward moment when we both apply for an internship that we're not qualified and don't meet the basic eligibility requirements for...
We've been keeping an eye on the work happening at AutoDesk and have pulled down their 3D Software, Maya, (awesome FREE Educational software!) after noting that it's been used by greats like Encylopedia Pictura and Bjork (that last link is an amazing video, if you only watch one thing on the internet today, let it be the whole of that).
We scraped together CVs, cover letters, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and informal portfolios. Being neither CS majors, 4-year-degree earners, or only mid-way through school, it's unlikely they'll contact us but here's to hoping!
In the world of software exploration, we're also looking at Unreal over Unity. They offer insane in-world development where you can design in VR and switch from creator mode to player mode with one click – 100% realtime live updates. Watch this video, starting at the 1:00:00 mark.
Our meeting with Visual Vocal has been rescheduled indefinitely due to cataclysmic lightning snow storm and the traffic that ensued after a tanker truck flipped on I-5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igY8pqdDxmQ
Happily, we'll be meeting with Stephanie Hawn at HBO VR next Thursday.
How cool does this look?
In selecting what collateral to make for a rebrand of the Ark Lodge Cinema in Colombia City, I thought it would be fun (and on-brand) to produce promotional giveaway fridge magnets to the attendees of "Dark Lodge," a monthly late-night movie, usually a cult classic or B-film (think Rocky Horror or Clue). Using the Illustrator to draw the facade of the movie theater (a retrofitted freemason lodge and glove factory!), and then Rhino (the software used for rendering architecturally accurate buildings in EGD) to extrude the drawing and make it watertight for 3D printing with glow-in-the-dark filament. Rubber cement to adhere a magnetic backing and voila!
In our glee at finally wrapping on the video for Werewolf, we may have neglected to follow through with the original commitment that includes a suite of posters and packaging... Luckily, we were both born with tenacity (some would say, "stubborn") and we're powering through with some beautiful collaborative work that should be ready to share by next Monday.
One of our professors has put us in contact with a local film production company that needs graphic designers to help with a science fiction feature-length film. It sounds like they might have us work on fictional sci-fi corporation logos and some alien language fonts -- 100% in the HH wheelhouse and we're delighted to be meeting them at their studios in Fremont next Monday. Cross your fingers for us, if it seems like it'll come together, I can name names and link links.
Current timeline looking towards Spring Quarter:
We attended a VR Meetup, The Future of Virtual Reality- A Panel Discussion lead by Elizabeth Scallon of CoMotion Labs that was at the newly-rebranded MoPop (Museum of Pop Culture, formerly the Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum). The possibilities of using VR to generate empathy was discussed and it's fascinating.
https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_milk_how_virtual_reality_can_create_the_ultimate_empathy_machine
We also got the names of some local key-players and companies in the VR Space and hope to set up more informationals to hear what they're up to...
This afternoon we're meeting with Visual Vocal, a VR Collaboration Startup. We're fortunate enough to be meeting with the co-owners: Sean House, CTO, John SanGiovanni, CEO.
We've done our research and developed questions for them:
How many employees do you have? What departments / disciplines / separate functions live within Visual Vocal?
Please share the process for one specific client from start to finish.
Do you make 3D renderings or do your clients provide them?
What software do you use?
How does the cloud communication work? Is it realtime? How is it different from Slack or MS Project?
Is your platform exclusively for viewing information, or can it be used as a design environment?
What is the nature of the collaboration model? Can multiple people, each in their own VR environment, see what the other is doing in real time?
How open-ended versus closed are the experiences? That is, can people freely navigate and interact with elements, or is the intention to present highly constrained, scripted interactions?
How does Augment fit in to what you’re doing?
What percentages do you work in: Architecture Engineering Healthcare Urban Planning Aerospace Biotech Product Design
What’s your favorite area to work in and why? What’s are your biggest challenges?
This cloud-based collaboration sounded similar to a project that my friend at AutoDesk in SF is working on... the video here is dry, but well worth it.
Ironically, he and I had a meeting scheduled that I'd accidentally double-booked with Visual Vocal. We've rescheduled for Wednesday so that he can ask about my use of 3D Modeling software for cinema and architecture (go figure) and wanted to interview me about collaborative functionality.
More soon!
I'll leave you with Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood's finest cinematic moment (AND THE FUTURE OF VR...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNiZP2G-nEM
The campground scene was a success! After getting it running on the Vive, the next step was to make it interactive. After doing a little research on colliders and triggers in Unity, we got the marshmallow to light! https://vimeo.com/203404580
Next step might be to experiment with some elements in the background like waves moving or a boat animated against the horizon, but I think we’ll move on for now since we have so much we’d like to accomplish.
We’ve discovered something interesting that should really help with prototyping VR experience! ProntoVR is a browser based wireframing and prototyping tool for VR coming out very soon. We’ve signed up for early access and are awaiting launch.
After seeing what was possible with Medium on the Oculus Rift, we decided to explore the possibility of prototyping 3D assets in VR, and then exporting for the 3D printer. Being that we are working with the HTC Vive, we figured we could find similar pieces of software and make it work. We’ve tried PaintLab, Kodon, and the Google TiltBrush to no avail. TiltBrush is promising in it’s ability to export for VR development in Unity, but nothing has come close to what we’ve seen with Medium on the Oculus in terms of prototyping. Luckily, based on our recommendation, an Oculus Rift is on the way to the school as we speak! Not only will this increase our productivity in the VR lab, but it will broaden what is possible to experiment with during our short time left in the program. (THANKS MARC+ERIK!)
One of the amazing benefits of being involved in studying something so new is constantly discovering new and exciting ways to communicate. Holos is a cool social space we’ve found where VR designers and creators can come together and easily share content with each other, and consumers. We’ve joined their so far tiny Slack group, but it seems to be a growing community and we’re excited to see where it takes us. It’s really interesting to be on the forefront of this emerging field and watched as developers and designers reach out and try to meet like-minded individuals.
A few things are coming up for us in VR land. This week, we have the February Happy Hour at MoPop, which this month is “Virtual Reality and the Creative Industry.” From the FB page: “This month’s special guest, Elizabeth Scallon, will host a panel of leading VR experts. Together they will examine the current and future state of the VR/AR industry, the current opportunities to engage, and why creatives hold the power to revolutionize this technology to bring it to every sector of society.” Should be a good one.
Our next VR meetup is scheduled for March, where we’ll be headed to HBO for The Agony and the Ecstasy of Virtual Reality: the UX of VR w/ Ryan Wilkerson. We are really excited about this one. HBO would obviously be a great place to end up after school and we’re very interested to see what they have to say about VR and it’s place in the world currently.
As far as current projects, we have a few in the works, but have started planning our final deliverable / portfolio piece for the show. Before this whole adventure started, we both listened to the Ready Player One audio book. We absolutely loved it, and even labeled some of the equipment in the VR lab at school after aspects of the story. In the book, a major scene toward the beginning takes place in a VR version of an old D&D module from the 80’s titled the “Chamber of Horrors”. We’ve decided to create this scene from scratch and get it workin in the head set. The idea is for people to be able to experience the entire scene at this year’s portfolio show. This will require creating a materials guide we can both pull from, modelling in C4D, and creating a fully interactive scene in Unity. This also includes figuring out if we can get an old arcade emulator working, because the end of the scene has a joust cabinet we would like to be playable. We’re super stoked about this project and are probably going to get started on it sometime this quarter. It’s a lot of work! First step was to find the actual module online the scene in the book is based on, complete with map of the chamber and sketches for the DM.
Obviously, we’re having a good time. That’s it for now!!!
After wrapping on Werewolf, all that’s left is to produce some posters and the packaging. We should have those done within the next two weeks. Production on Night of the Hunter is continuing with character rigging tutorials and now that the script is done, we can move on to storyboarding the animation.
Gabe and AJ have their first video conference!
*Bathrobes sold separately.
We were contacted by the friend of an independent video production house, SHEP Films, based here in Seattle. They are currently producing their first full length feature film based on their short film Prospect, and looking for designers to help with some Type design and logo work. Given that we haven’t built our portfolio site yet, we spent the evening putting together an Instagram for H&H, filled with a mix personal work and things we’ve designed together over the course of the year, and made this!
Here's Prospect
https://vimeo.com/90049558
Hopefully we hear back soon!
What we’re currently reading: 
https://vimeo.com/202686885
Nearly done with the (epic) post-production on Werewolf. Learning new techniques to motion track and composite the 3D Wolf head from Cinema 4D into After Effects. Here are some short videos showing how it's done.
Also learning how to build a glitch effect and then distortion map it to a 3D element AND how to create a random opacity flicker with a custom expression and control sliders:
Work continues on Hunter with script revisions and the beginning stages of character and set design. It'll be great to wrap on Werewolf so we'll have more time to focus on what's next.
https://vimeo.com/202652946 The Camp has beautiful sounds and is almost ready for a live walk-through! Can't wait to make some s'mores!
Started a Unity tutorial to develop VR for Occulus. Perhaps not the smartest endeavor since we don’t have access to an Occulus yet, but I’m hoping that the basics I learn will apply to developing for VIVE even if I’m unable to show or use the finished product.
Ok, that didn’t work. You definitely need the Occulus plug-in to run in Unity and see live-feedback. Lesson learned.
Cool. Moving on…
How about Learn VR Dev School?
Excited to see that they have a Twitch channel where you can watch VR development live on Thursdays at 7:30PM PST. I know where I’ll be this Thursday evening!
https://www.twitch.tv/vrdevschool
Mid tutorial, the charming Lee Wasilenko mentions part of the Steam VR Prefabs includes a Camera that functions as “Ears” aka, the Audio Listener. I got excited thinking that this meant that the user could speak and the Ears would “hear,” only to google-discover that the ears are really speakers. I’m not sure about the terminology and hope I’m wrong.
https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/class-AudioListener.html
Tangential aside: discovered this fascinating discussion about SteamVR audio…
I’m curious about the writer who calls theirself “Cherry2000” (how cool would it be to befriend a developer who is this well spoken and might be my gender / age? or at least aware of pop culture androids that predate the year 2000?) alas, they have a private account.
The comments are also intriguing, just the personality and voice of people who are in this deep.
Another interesting distinction in the prefabs is the head camera HMD view vs window view from the Head.
Interestingly, I was offered an option for not including the Unity watermark intro ahem, the “splash screen” — I declined it against my better judgement … we’ll see how that goes.
It looks like I’ll definitely have to save this out as a package and try to load it up on the MSI to interact with it live while developing. Building on a remote Mac and then migrating to the MSI for feedback/interaction is not a great workflow. Developers should really have access to a permanent terminal connected to the system while they are working.
Fascinating information about creating experiences for standing (expanded play area) and sitting. The volume of space you take up varies on the Y axis accordingly and things need to be designed to those specs.
This baby is gonna have to wait until I can get my hands on the MSI:
Personal glossary additions:
HMD: Head-Mounted Display
GUI: Graphical User Interface (previously I’d been calling everything a HUD, Heads-Up Display)
Last but not least, Gabriel and I have both applied to be early adopters / developers for the HTC VIVE Tracker...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3dRGoD_EXQ
FINGERS CROSSED YOU GUYS!
And it looks like full-body tracking is on the way:
https://youtu.be/Khoer5DpQkE