Hilton & Hyland Agent Profile Video

Very excited to launch our first agent profile video done in-house for Hilton & Hyland featuring Zach Goldsmith. This will be an ongoing series of videos pairing specific agents with various luxury real estate markets in Los Angeles. I handled most of the directing, shooting and editing on this one and I'm very proud of the outcome.

Forget Heavy Metal; Lemmy was the King of Rock & Roll

Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister was a man that lived with a purpose, and that purpose was to bring us rock & roll. He was a product of an era that championed consistency rather than experimentation. His heroes were Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. He was a no bullshit, straight shooter and his music reflected that, whether it be with the hard-hitting anthems of Motörhead or the rockabilly covers of The Head Cat.

It's easy to get caught up in the wild stories of sex, drugs and rock & roll (an essential part of the music as well), but to really understand what made Lemmy tick, one has to dig deeper. As Motörhead moved past their classic lineup, Lemmy took more risks with his writing. Through the late 80's and early 90's, he began exploring themes of religion, war, child abuse and even true love. After the 90's, it's hard to find too many party anthems. Lemmy was focused on politics, philosophy, integrity and death.

With his passing, it’s easy to feel that rock & roll has died with him, but it will live on.

The king of rock & roll is dead. Long live the king.

Here are 10 videos that prove this statement is not mere hyperbole: 

*I'm leaving out the obvious, early, title-track choices (Ace of Spades, Overkill, Bomber, Iron Fist, etc.) as those have been highlighted (deservedly so) by pretty much every article I've read so far

1.) Motörhead - Going to Brazil (Live in Germany - 2004)

Stage Fright DVD - 2005

“Going to Brazil” was Lemmy’s self-proclaimed favorite song to play live. Famously, he fired a producer for trying to add tambourines and claves to this bare-bones rocker.

2.) Motörhead ft. The Late Night Band - Let it Rock (Chuck Berry cover) 

Late Night with David Letterman - 1991

Lemmy has never shied away from his love of Chuck Berry. He would often joke that their talk show performances usually did Motörhead no good. One such appearance actually lead to a decline in sales. Can’t please everyone I guess.

3.) Lemmy, Dave Grohl & Wino - Shake Your Blood 

Music Video - 2004

"Fuck Keith Richards, fuck all those dudes who survived the sixties. Flying around in private jets, living up their gunslinger reputations as they fuck supermodels in the most expensive hotels in Paris. You know what Lemmy's doing? He's probably drinking Jack'N'Cokes and writing another record!"
- Dave Grohl

4.) Motörhead - Stay Clean

Promo video - 1979

 

A prime example of Lemmy's knack for penning anthems of integrity:

"So you see, the only proof,

Of what you are, is in the way you hear the truth.

Don't be scared, live to win,

Although they're always gonna tell you it's a sin.

In the end, you're on your own,

And there is no one that can stop you bein' alone.

Stay Clean."

5.) Motörhead - Just Cos You Got the Power (That Don’t Mean You Got the Right)

(Live in Germany - 2004)  

Stage Fright DVD - 2005

"A slow beautiful, sensitive song about fat, bastard businessmen who are stealing your money right now. So cheer up you know what I mean?" - Lemmy

6.) The Head Cat - Good Rockin Tonight (Elvis Cover) 

Rockin' the Cat Club DVD - 2006

"This is the first music that meant something to me. I never liked jazz or anything else. Early rock 'n' roll – that was music to me. Everything else was boring. Elvis was the first [rock & roller] I really liked, then there was Billy Haley." - Lemmy

7.) Motörhead - Bass Solo + You Better Run (Live at Brixton Academy)

25 & Alive: Boneshaker DVD - 2000

"My idol on bass was always John Entwistle from the Who. If you remember, he had the same tone—maybe a little deeper. The Who was one of the best bands I’ve ever heard in my life. I don’t like to be mumbling away in the background; like a guitar player, I want to be heard. After all, I am a front man—I didn’t get into this thing to not be noticed." - Lemmy

8.) Motörhead - Whorehouse Blues

Music Video - 2004

 

A rare acoustic track with probably the best music video of Motörhead's career. Lemmy and the gang sing the country blues to a bunch of celebrity look-a-likes in a seedy strip club.

9.) Lemmy Interview at The Rainbow Bar & Grill - Los Angeles

A Headbanger's Journey - 2005

"Lemmy was a highly cultured and well-read man - yet to see him glued to a fruit machine most of a night in the Rainbow Bar and Grill on the Sunset Strip you would never have guessed it.  In fact, that hallowed place, steeped in Rock and Roll history, will always bear his spiritual mark." - Brian May of Queen

10.) Lemmy Interview with The Quietus

The Quietus - 2010

"Finally, Lemmy talks about how the new, twentieth Motörhead album is shaped by the current political climate, and his anger at the BP oil spill. 'You can love the individual, but you can't love the race... we're arrogant bastards. We're like a dose of crabs', and adds that human cooperation could learn from our smaller fellows on this spinning planet: 'Talk to the ants, they've got communism working.'"- The Quietus

Rest in Peace Lemmy. You'll be sorely missed.

Written by Andrew Ledwedge - 2016

Action & Emotion: A Supercut

I've always wanted to try a supercut after being inspired by Joel Walden's "The Works" series. After spending way too many hours on this, I can safely say I'll never make another one of these again until I've got my movie collection backed up on a hard drive! I am however very satisfied with the results and have learned quite a lot about editing in the process. Cheers.

Full list of films in their order of appearance here.

Hacienda de la Paz | An Estate of Peace

This was a great project to tackle because it meant stepping outside my comfort zone of graphics and stepping into the world of directing. I'm immensely proud of this vid, and I really enjoyed my time at the property with John and, of course, my good friend Jason Almendinger. On to the next one.

Video by Jason Almendinger and myself for Hilton & Hyland.

THE HACKER WARS

I was recently approached to quickly generate a poster for the upcoming hacktivist documentary The Hacker Wars by filmmaker Vivien Lesnik Weisman. The concept plays off the popular Nyan Cat gif, a symbol the hackers used to troll federal and corporate websites, being cornered by a SWAT team (the feds). The graphic creates a downward arrow, mirroring download buttons on browsers, to help lead you down the rabbit hole as Morpheus would say. 

The Hacker Wars will open theatrically in New York October 17th, 2014 at the Village East Cinema. It is under consideration for the 2015 Academy Awards for Best Documentary.

NY Times Ad | Huffington Post Review | Trailer | Facebook | Tickets

COPPER AGE

I started Copper Age the same time as HOME but it got pushed back due to HOME being accepted into the Hollywood Film Fest. Copper Age is a neolithic action adventure short film by my friend Richard Perry. Rick successfully ran a Kickstarter and brought me on to do the design for the film. The goal of this logo was to remain true to the period while maintaining readability. A very difficult task indeed.

1st Round Sketches

Rick wasn't happy with these and neither was I. I had to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate my approach. Finding this chart of Vincan symbols helped break the creative block.

Vincan symbols

I went back and utilized only symbols and single stroke marks to spell the name. I also mixed up my mark making and tried blades, pastels, charcoal sticks, and finger paints.

2nd Round Sketches

We both saw potential in the middle sketch and chose to clean it up. I improved the readability and inverted it to it's actual onscreen presentation.

Final Comp

A difficult journey, but a rewarding final outcome. Check out Copper Age on Kickstarter to follow the post production process. More to come.

Ghost Rider Fake Criterion cover

Fake Criterion's tumblr is no longer with us, but since I was recently featured in Film.com's 40 Best Fake Criterion Covers I figured I'd do another one. Here's my redesign for 2007's Ghost Rider starring Nic Cage.

HOME the Short Film

Final Logo

HOME is an experimental sci-fi short directed by Richard H. Perry. These pieces aimed to give the film a mysterious and alien quality that also tied into the film's themes of duality and perception. For more information visit www.facebook.com/HomeTheShortMovie.

Flyer Sketches

Final Flyer (Front & Back)

End Credit Stills

Facebook Page

HOME - logo sketches

Some logo sketches for a sci-fi short film titled HOME. These concepts play with the idea of home as a crystal prison/terrarium, and the idea that the term home can have hidden meanings.

Opeth Gig Poster - The Roxy - April 2013

Details:

Sufferin' Moses CD Sleeve

The Sufferin' Moses Blues Band's new CD sleeve featuring my logo. Check out their music here!

Valley View Clothing T-Shirt Design

This design was commissioned as a part of a series that typographically represents different small towns in Ohio. 922 is the phone exchange for Ulrichsville, Ohio and the local population has a reputation for being a swarthy bunch.

Copy by David Flynn Design. 
Type Treatment by Andrew Ledwedge.

They Live! Fake Criterion Cover

My design of the They Live DVD cover. It was featured on the excellent Fake Criterions tumblr.

Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. - rebranding / visual identity

The Thirsty Dog Brewing Company is a small brewery in Akron, Ohio that specializes in award-winning ales, porters and stouts with rich flavors. The brews are named with various, playful canine names.  This visual identity aims to emulate the sophisticated, yet quirky, nature of the brand.

Hevy Devy Records - rebranding

Hevy Devy Records is the personal home of recording artist Devin Townsend. His music ranges from extreme metal to soothing ambient, and everything in between. This brand identity aimed to focus in on Devin's apparent synesthesia (the phenomenon of seeing colors in association to sounds) and love of nature.

Hatchet Creek - branding

Hatchet Creek is a self developed brand of historically accurate tents. The branding and advertising are meant to conjure up images of the mountain men of the fur trade: rugged, brave, and strong.

Unite! Columbus, OH - Short North - Print Series + Window Displays

 

The Unite! campaign is about bringing together the different subcultures of Columbus through their equal appreciation of the Short North district. 

The Short North hosts the most diverse selection of retail, dining and night life in the city. These designs aim to celebrate this diversity by shouting out the specific hot spots for each group with bold typography, while maintaining the campaign's current colors of orange and purple to unify the different designs. 

NOISE Exhibit Designs for CCAD (Columbus College of Art & Design)

The theme of this gallery exhibition was noise. I decided to use to the element of scintillation to add noise to a simple image of an exclamation point. These designs were printed as posters, used as banner ads, and displayed on LCD screens around campus.

Social Awareness campaign for IPEC (International Program to Eliminate Child Labor)

70% of the world's cocoa is child harvested in the country of Ivory Coast. This campaign is designed to run during Halloween to increase awareness of the cause. It would make use of print ads, banner ads, and t-shirts.

Gig Posters for PromoWest Productions

These are some of my posters I designed while working for PromoWest Productions in Columbus, OH.

Brave Words + Bloody Knuckles Magazine Redesign

BWBK is one of my favorite metal publications, but due to their low budget, they don't place much emphasis on aesthetics. The objective was to keep the hard-edged, black and white aesthetic of the magazine, with a bold new logo and layout. 

AMC 'Future of Classic' Print Ads

This concept plays on the viewer being out of the loop. I've always found that one of the easiest ways to motivate someone to watch a film, is by using the old 'How have you never seen that!?' method.

Columbus Zoo - Multipage Ad / Banner Ad

This ad concept came about after a survey study my group and I conducted revealed that the zoo was one of the highest scoring options on a list of possible first date locations. These designs reveal that sentiment by not showing the zoo at all, but by showing photos of bad, generic first dates (of which I was also the model for). The images are to be used on consecutive pages of a magazine or newspaper, or a slideshow flash banner.