nicholas latkovic

“I don’t like to be categorized because I think that I am an instrument, and if you play me, I’ll make whatever particular sound is supposed to come out for that color. And so, in the overall spectrum of things, I’m just trying to be true to my — what I feel my mission is.”

-Donna Summer, singer, emphasizing her range of sound for the project at hand

Related:

Disco queen Donna Summer dies at 63. CNN. 18 May 2012.

Beverage expert Derek Brown shows how to make three cocktails from the early 20th century at his Washington, D.C. bar, Columbia Room.

Smithsonian, 2010.

Related:

Fromson, Daniel. “A Conversation With Derek Brown, Bartender and ‘Booze Nerd’”. The Atlantic. 29 Mar. 2011.

Felten, Eric. “A Master of Mixological Science”. The Wall Street Journal. 4 Dec. 2010.

Sintumuang, Kevin. “The 25 Best Cocktail Bars in America”. GQ. Oct. 2010.

Director Miranda July demonstrates a smart solution for all who find themselves distracted with the everyday.

The Future. Wri. and dir. by Miranda July. Pro. Gina Kwon, Roman Paul, Gerhard Meixner. Perf. Miranda July, Hamish Linklater. Roadside Attractions, 2011.

“The ‘rule of three’ is a staple in our racket. In monologues, three seems to be the maximum number of jokes that can be done on a topic before an audience gets restless. And many jokes have three parts. How often have you heard about the priest, the rabbi and the minister?”

- Raymond Siller, comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

This short pays homage to the following designers and their titles:

Georges Méliès – Un Voyage Dans La Lune (1902)
Saul Bass – Psycho (1960)
Maurice Binder – Dr. No (1962)
Stephen Frankfurt – To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Pablo Ferro – Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Richard Greenberg – Alien (1979)
Kyle Cooper – Seven (1995)
Danny Yount – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Featured music:

Jackson, Michael. “Billie Jean”. Thriller. Epic, 1982.

“I had a day off — or what they call a ‘hole’ — meaning, unless I’m called into work, I’m not likely to go into work. And I was hanging out with some friends, some of the older kids — the bad boys in the neighborhood — and they were experimenting with a little cannabis. I didn’t want to be left out of the crowd, so — under severe peer pressure — I tried this.

Just as things were kicking in, sure enough, the phone rings and they need me at the set right away. They got a setup and they want me in the scene.

I wasn’t familiar with the effects of weed. I found out it has a side effect for some people, of which I’m one. And that’s called, ‘paranoia’. The slate is slapped, and I hear, ‘Action!’ and I almost froze.

So now I’m trying to do the safest performance I can muster — even that didn’t work very well.”

-Barry Williams, actor

“Law and Disorder”. By Sherwood Schwartz and Elroy Schwartz. The Brady Bunch. ABC, Los Angeles. 12 Jan. 1973.

“A designer knows that he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer and aviator

“Artistry can redeem any subject matter — that’s why I’ve always been opposed to censorship. I don’t believe any subject matter should be off base. The question is: What does the artist do with it? How does he look at it? How does he put it through his art in order to make a statement about it?”

- Roger Ebert, film critic

“Women In Danger”. By Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Sneak Previews. PBS, Chicago. 23 Oct. 1980.

From his first piano lessons to decades of hits, The Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek discusses his path to immortality in Break It Down, a series of interviews with renown musicians and their contributions to the music world. View the entire 10-minute interview here.

Bonus clips:

Those in industrial design were introduced to his work as prime examples of automotive rendering. Graphic designers and illustrators have come across a piece or two in their search for all things ephemeral.

When Pontiac introduced their new “Wide Track” vehicles in 1959, Art Fitzpatrick was brought in to execute the artwork for the new campaign. Over the next 12 years, Art would develop a healthy relationship with Pontiac creating 285 illustrations. Each reflected the shift in automotive design as cars shed excess chrome and flair for clean lines that exuded formality and refinement.

To produce his famous “wide” look, Fitzpatrick traced photos of the new car, cut the tracings into pieces, then “stretched” the car into bolder proportions. “We wanted pictures that were different,” Fitzpatrick says. “Impact is the name of the game, so we went with predominately front views—even cropping the cars so they looked too big for the page.”

Van Kaufman (a former illustrator for Disney) created exotic backdrops and a spectrum of weather conditions that Fitzpatrick would balance out in the reflective surfaces of the car. Working together, the two not only crafted advertisements, but visual stories that communicated Pontiac’s first complete brand image.