Late 2011 Respect team-rider and travelling wilbury Simon Murphy went on a month long 4WD mission through Namibia on the search for ´THAT´ left and any other treats the mysto African nation had to offer. This clip is a short summary of some of the highlights recorded raw with a shitty handy-cam between Murph and his mate Matt and edited by Basque maestro Pablo Calvo.
Originally Contrast was a half hour film i made from my inherent Love for the unique individual art form of Bodyboarding, and my own country. Released originally on DVD to local enthusiasts, Now re edited into a shorter web Film. Take into account when viewing it is not Sponsored by any energy drink or any corporates. South Africans can’t live a normal life on an average salary like people in other countries which means cameras jet skis and standard travel and exploration is very difficult to make happen(unless u come here with better currency and companies). this has made me no profit, actually cost me much time and most of my savings. I often ask myself why did i not use my media ability to rather film mainstream extreme sports things that would bring me gain, cause therz enough of that and i don’t have a helicopter or a phantom cam & @ least it is not full of corporate branding which i feel is quite nice bla blah blaargh, one LOVE Thank YAHWEH and people who like this
I would love to get some comments from both sides of the field here.
I have been a designer for a fair amount of time and in all my years I have had almost no hassle free experiences submitting files and dealing with signwriters. Is it a South African problem (3rd world problem) where signwriters choose to use software like CorelDRAW due to it being less costly? I am specifically talking about smaller signwriting companies, the mom-&-pop type.
Is it possible that CorelDRAW is the only software that works with their vinyl cutting machines and printers (surely not)?
Why the issue with CorelDRAW?
When I started out I used CorelDRAW. In my opinion limited if you want to get serious about design. I use the Adobe Suite and it is generally considered the industry standard. I create press compliant PDF’s using said software and I understand how to create files that are vinyl cutter (and for that matter screen print) ready. And if you don’t know, see this excellent video on how to get your files ready for a vinyl cutter using Illustrator > Video Preparing Vector Art for a Vinyl Cutter. The problem comes in with file compatibility, which CorelDRAW has almost none of. The most irksome part of this process is that CorelDRAW can export PDF’s and open some PDF’s, but then others will fail to open (you will get a corrupted file message).
Why they want to open your file in an editing environment like CorelDRAW instead of printing it from PDF when you painstakingly set it up for them to size, ready to print, cut… whatever… I don’t know, I am missing a beat in their working process.
It is also often the case, it seems, that most small signwriting companies don’t have a DTP specialist or graphic designer on staff. Cant justify having a semi-professional / professional on the payroll? Surely the hours lost and botched jobs will offset the cost… and if you keep your bases covered (in other aspects of your business*) you will probably end up gaining a bucket load of new clients.
*Bases covered? The amount of times I had to follow-up emails with calls and having to resend files due to the email getting lost in the ether (or the black-hole known as Outlook – another assumption on my part) makes me wonder about this.Â
Rant justified? … or is it just a personal experience?
Anyone want to take me up on this and give me a hassle free professional service? My doors are wide open.