Tufuga of Graphics

New Website

2009-06-16T00:00:00.001-10:00

I appologize for the lack of posts here, but I've been working on creating a website to replace this blog. The good news is...its done! Go check it out at www.tufuga.net.

Hope you continue to read and enjoy!

Business Card

2009-05-20T21:00:00.003-10:00

I had a need to create some business cards for a recent trip I took with the BYU–Hawaii SIFE team. We went to Washington DC and Philly. Didn't end up giving many of these out, but it was fun to finally make a good business card!

Samoan Club 2009

2009-03-21T23:45:00.005-10:00

Heres a fun project! I created this for the Samoan club to preceed our performance at the BYU Hawaii culture night. The videos purpose was to show that no matter where you are from, you can be a part of the Samoan club. We also hoped to inspire people to join the Samoan club. Finally, we just wanted to blow people's minds away and get the crowd going before we came on stage! It seemed that such was the case last night!

This was shot using a Sony Z1 Camera. I edited it using Final Cut Pro and used After Effects for special effects and compositing.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this, especially Aljay. Aljay did a great job choreographing the dances also, and he alone should take credit for a great performance. The crowd loved the entire show!

Quick Logo

2009-02-24T23:42:00.003-10:00

I made this logo real quick for a friend who was entering a business contest. It wasn't real complex, but I had to do it quick. I probably spent just over an hour on it after revisions and stuff. The lines on the globe actually represent a Chinese character which stands for language and culture. The company's proposal was to assist companies in globalizing and then localizing their company to specific markets, primarily Asia.

Arbinger Web Layout Concept #1

2009-02-24T17:37:00.003-10:00

This is a concept interface design for a web based training program I am getting involved in at school. This concept didn't fly so well with them, they want a more "organic" feel, but thats the purpose of these drafts is to help people figure out what they want.

I know its simple, but I felt it was still worth throwing up here since I haven't posted in a while.

The Arbinger program seeks to help people view one another in ways which promote strong relationships. You can learn more about their programs here. They are quite involved with BYU Hawaii because of my professor, Dr Chad Ford, so this is the reason they came to us for assistance in this program.

Signature animation

2009-01-15T21:50:00.004-10:00

I created this to test out my new Wacom tablet that I got for Christmas, as well as play with After Effects again...its been a while! Its nothing amazing, but I thought I'd throw it up here anyway.

To view the larger HD version on youtube click here.

Laie Point Photo

2008-11-12T10:44:00.005-10:00

I added this photo to my personal blog, but it got good enough feedback I decided to throw it up here also. I took this at the Laie Point, Oahu. The time was around 6:45 am. This is the view that I see from my house. I can see most of this panorama sitting on the couch in my front room, while looking out the door! This was a beautiful sunrise.

Laughing Samoans video

2008-10-14T15:49:00.002-10:00

This is the video I created for the Laughing Samoans when they came to Honolulu. I didn't realize I was going to be editing this, but it was pretty fun. They are including it on their DVD coming out soon, later this month hopefully, as a special feature. I got paid just a little. Hopefully I get some exposure with it. The video has been hit quite a few times on Youtube. Much more than any other video I have on there!

PCC Villiage Demo Video Intro

2008-09-29T18:01:00.004-10:00

I was asked very last minute to come up with this intro video. As you can see, I took still photos and gave them a 3d perspective look, which is not easy. It involves countless hours in photoshop erasing around objects and then using the clone tool to fill the gap. But, I like how it turned out. The full length clips of each of the 3 photos is really cool. It really has a 3d look to it!

Now its time to hurry and get the next project out!

LPoint Productions Logo

2008-09-05T17:31:00.001-10:00

I have recently become a part of LPoint Productions LLC, a company that does video production for clientele ranging from bands, to sports teams, to corporations, to weddings. At this point, we dont really have an identity, so I am working on coming up with one. This is our first step: a logo.

We still may revise this, so please comment!

Salsa Orchestra Intro

2008-08-21T17:25:00.008-10:00

The Kauai documentary is close to being finished. I guess, more accurately it should be called the documentary of the Salsa Orchestra/Brass Quintet tour in Kauai. This is just a few opening seconds. I was involved in filming this project, am responsible for the editing and distribution, and also graphics. There is a cool title sequence at the end of this one, so be patient through the beginning.

I had a near catastrophe with this video. It was edited on a 1 terabyte external hard drive, until one day I smelled something burning in the area of the hard drive. Sure enough, my hard drive seemed to be burning. To make a long story short, we thought all was lost and that I was going to have to start over. Fortunately, a very helpful fellow over at the TV studio was able to salvage the files, and I am actually now using the hard drive, now converted to an internal drive, to finish the edit.

This all after a long wait for follow up work to be done on the video, including interviews, script writing, etc. Its been a pretty long turnaround, but sometimes that happens here at the school.

Second Website Design

2008-08-08T15:21:00.004-10:00

I had some time to work on this because the hard drive with my Kauai documentary burned...literally. Here is my second ever website draft. I like this better than the first one I did.

Click for a larger view.

Web Site Design

2008-08-05T16:22:00.004-10:00

This is my first ever attempt at designing a website (PS. CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A BETTER LOOK). The creative team I work on was asked to come up with some prototypes for a new look and feel by creating a website, pamphlet, or something else. I chose to do a website. I was somewhat restricted in what I could do, considering the fact that it is a university site, but I was fairly pleased with the result. It took me 1 1/2 working days to complete. Its nothing groundbreaking or new, but it works for what it was designed for.

Here is the current webpage for the school.

Web Video Intro

2008-07-25T18:36:00.007-10:00

Here's what I've been working on the last 2 days. This is a header video that (hopefully) will be put before all the webvideos we have on our newsroom site. The video will set an identity indicating the video is from BYU Hawaii, especially if these videos are reached from outside links and not our newsroom site.

Since this is a video is a "look and feel" piece, it will likely go through an approval process from several people. This could result in a number of changes.

Generic DVD Labels - BYU Hawaii

2008-07-16T15:58:00.002-10:00

I was asked by a producer here to create some disc labels, in my spare time, to be used for printing on a multitude of discs - CD's and DVD's - which are sent out from the school. These are basically templates. The person creating the disc can then print a title on the available space. I was asked to utilize the middle only to save on ink and print time, rather than make full color discs. I anticipate making more of these in the future.

This is just a general campus disc. It features a Samoan tattoo design and a sort of photo to graphic element.
This one is used for things produced from or for the PCC.
This has a sort of spiritual, alumni, fulfill your destiny approach. This one is still in progress (there are some spotty areas still), and I'm not sure yet where it will be used.

A few people from different departments have seen these and are taking interest in having some more produced to meet their needs including full color labels and right half only or left half only designs. Again, this is a free time assignment for now!

All images copyright of BYU Hawaii and PCC

Scat Wallpaper

2008-07-05T01:48:00.004-10:00

My roommate, Scat, asked me to help him resize this photo that was taken of him while he was dancing canoe show at the PCC. I kind of got carried away. I re-sized it, plus did just a bit more! This only took about 30 minutes or so. I kind of copied my blog header just a bit, but its fitting since Scat is Samoan. People call Scat "the rock" because he looks a lot like the Rock (Duane Johnson, WWF wrestler - Google him). This photo may help you see the similarity. Malo lava le fai maka uso!

Circle Island Tour CD Design

2008-06-22T14:02:00.004-10:00

A few people from school commissioned me to make a CD cover for their company which just produced an audio tour of Hawaii. Its pretty cool from what I have heard. Good info about different locations.

At first I made a sort of collage design with a grunge background but they told me they liked the design I did for the choir tour, so I abandoned that track and did another sunset type design. So, let me know. But here are the designs.

The map was a bit challenging. It was hard to make a large map and fit all the directions on. I still need to add some things they want on.

Another BYUH Desktop Wallpaper

2008-06-02T18:41:00.005-10:00

Today I didn't have too many projects going on so I took a creative holiday and made a new wallpaper for my computer...long overdue. I may play more with this later. I like the design, but the large amount of white on the ship is a little distracting with a lot of icons on the computer. It was fun though. I think I'm going to try doing one that's a little lighter next time. Any suggestions?

Sea Side Story - Motion Graphics

2008-06-02T09:06:00.009-10:00

This was a fun little side project. Ryan Dean, another worker here at BYU Hawaii, directed and produced and edited a short film for a film festival here on campus. He asked me to help make a cool title sequence. So, I opened up After Effects and tried to have a little fun with the little time I had. This was the result (I start the video just before the graphics, so dont be confused if you dont know whats going on).

I also ended up filming part of this documentary. You can watch the whole thing on youtube here. Its a funny mockumentary about dance gangs at BYU Hawaii. Rather entertaining, and worth watching. It was awarded first place at the schools film festival (based solely on the graphics...ha ha, just kidding! Ryan did a good job!)

Ryan also made a commercial for a whale watching company. I helped to film it, but was swamped with finals and work the week we needed to edit, so I wasn't able to do much more than just log tapes. So I did have a part in this, but credit goes to Ryan. Click here to watch the Whale watching documentary.

Harmony with Aloha

2008-06-01T12:21:00.007-10:00

One of the first projects that I was assigned to was the BYU Hawaii choir tour in China. There are many products of this project. The first was an audio cd which featured all the songs the choir sang on their tour in China and Mongolia. I was asked to create the CD cover and label. What you see is the finished product. It was printed on hundreds of CDs and distributed.

I have also been involved in making motion graphics for the video documentary. If you click here, you can see a segment of what I produced. It is an animated title sequence. It starts just over 1/3 of the way through the clip and is the only animation, so its easy to pick out. I also made some lower third titles that show the names of people as they are interviewed for this film. I will probably show these later when the show is finished.

BYU Hawaii Desktop Wallpaper

2008-05-31T23:30:00.005-10:00

I was actually working on a video project using this type of design. When we decided that we werent going to use that video, I didn't want to waste the design, so I turned it into a computer desktop wallpaper for BYU Hawaii. I use it on many computers I use daily to show some school pride. I think its time to do another one too!

First T-Shirt Design

2008-05-31T23:24:00.005-10:00

I was asked to create a T-shirt design for a ward here in the BYU-H 1st Stake. Although it wasn't chosen (I think it was too complex for the budget, plus, I'm not actually in the ward), I still thought it was a fun project.

I felt like their ward had really good unity and were a perfect example of a ward family. I liked the slogan from Cheers "where everybody knows your name", so I made the text to look similar to the Cheers logo. Obviously, there is a bit of style goin on too!

Devotional Attitude

2008-05-31T18:36:00.007-10:00

This was one of my first projects at BYU Hawaii. I was asked to create an entire campaign for promoting devotionals, which kind of expanded into just promotion of devotion.

After researched I narrowed down the reasons to attend devotionals into 3 main categories: Spiritual, community, and leadership. I talked with Bill Wallace, known as Uncle Bill, and he helped me select some symbols to represent the three themes. I didn't do much with this for a while, until my boss, Duane, came and said one day at about 3, "I need poster designs to show at Presidents council tomorrow".

So I whipped these up in a few hours. They haven't made it to print, but the Hawaiian theme will likely be kept. Someone else is doing most of the project now.

My Online Portfolio

2008-05-31T02:45:00.003-10:00

First posts are always monumental. This is no exception!

Recently, a BYU professor and some students visited BYU Hawaii campus and put on some animation workshops. I was assigned to set up and document this event. I also learned some things from this group. One suggestion they made to artists of every kind was to have a blog dedicated to showing works in progress. I decided I wanted to try that too. Today I finally settled on doing it and got moving right away. I plan to put in progress works on here so that people can comment and add suggestions.

This blog is going to be my first example of my work. I have designed the layout and the banner of course. I was kinda hoping to not use a Samoan word in the title, but I just like the idea too much. Tufuga is a very meaningful word (see definition in sidebar). I hope that I could after all be considered a tufuga in the fields of motion graphics, print, and art.

My video demo reel is already posted on the sidebar, with photos to follow. I hope to start posting my projects very soon. Please comment so I can get feedback.