Fast Company (approx 21 min B&W/Color)
This re-cap of the 1973 Grand Prix campaign shares many traits with another documentary we’ve reviewed, The Quick and the Dead. At 21 minutes long, Fast Company is obviously more compact and straight forward, but it does include some interesting bits that few will have seen before…
For designers, there are few things more daunting than sketching in silence. Most need some music, casual conversation or something else to fill the void around them. A few take this one step further, filling the void with something specific that sets the tone for their work. Enter the phenomenon of the background film — one that you watch out of the corner of your eye. Le Mans is one of these films.
I know what you’re thinking. What could I possibly say about Bullitt that hasn’t been said already by thousands millions of car nuts, moviegoers and journalists. And you’re right; this subject has been covered exhaustively. But then I learned that the majority of my students had not seen this film. I was shocked. Sure, some of them had seen the chase on the YouTubes, but almost none had seen the whole movie. So allow me to point out, for the next generation, why Bullitt is required CDF viewing…
The late John Frankenheimer directed all kinds of films. Some were resounding successes like The Manchurian Candidate and Ronin; others were abysmal failures like Reindeer Games and The Island of Dr. Moreau. Where Grand Prix falls in that wide spectrum depends on your point of view. If you’re a design student who’s looking for some inspiration while sketching, this film is a treasure trove. If you’re the kind of person who has a low threshold for melodrama, then you may want to look elsewhere…
The Quick and the Dead (approx 88 min B&W/Color)This notorious documentary borrows its title from the Apostles’ Creed. It’s meant to suggest there are two types of Grand Prix drivers. It may seem a cold, unfeeling distinction. But after watching the first few seconds of this film, you’ll find it all too apt. Indeed, there’s a reason why the re-release is rated R.
Autoline After Hours #50 | Pop-out Chat Window
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Our friends over at Autoline After Hours are hosting the CCS Chair of Transportation Design, Larry Erickson, on their show this evening. Erickson, former Chief Designer at Ford, will be discussing some of CCS’s successes, what the current state of Design is, and the battle between Design and fuel efficiency.
The show starts at 7PM EST.
This is an excellent 1981 documentary by Pennebaker Hegedus Films. Following John Z. DeLorean as he jets across the world from New Orleans to Belfast to Geneva and many places in between, we get an unvarnished, first-hand look at the incredible challenges that any new automobile venture must face.
One morning, Art Center graduate Tom Kellogg was awoken by an unexpected phone call. A voice on the other end said, “Theese eese Raymond Loewy. Would you like to design a sport car with me?” Not sure of what to say, Kellogg simply answered, “Yes.” And thus began one of the most interesting collaborations in auto design history. Birth of the Avanti takes an in-depth look at the design process and personalities that gave life to this timeless classic – through the eyes of one of its key contributors.
Somethings we haven’t been covering enough of are tutorials. In the specialized industry we are in, sketching and visualizing take precedence over other aspects of our work. And while there are already thousands of car rendering tutorials online, very few are actually any good.
CDF’s own Arvind has, via his Driven Mavens website, been posting sketch tutorials over the last two months on a few basics that people often miss when rendering. The video above, “How to Render a Car on Newsprint,” shows a great method for doing just what the title says. Newsprint is one of my personal favorite mediums to work with; the paper gives a natural, organic feel to any sketch, and provides just enough soak-up quality to make ink and markers pop out and bleed just right. And, when applying white-out or light paint, the images move from sketch to artwork rapidly.
Pick up a pencil, some newsprint, and watch the vid. You’ll have my job in no time.
Wow! Dali did such a fine job on the RoundAbout Show that they’ve decided to have us back! So once again, the show will feature 100% more CDF. This time, the RoundAbout crew will be subjected to the obscure knowledge of Jason White. Not sure if they’ll be game for discussing vintage Formula One or plastic sports cars, but either way, it should be fun. You can watch the episode live on Friday, March 19th at 6PM ET by clicking here. BTW, I will be wearing my blue velvet blazer for the occasion…
