Blog—Random Web-Related Ramblings

Welcome to the blog. Here you can find a plethora of web design & graphic design-related articles, tutorials & resources. Dig in and enjoy!

10 Outstanding TV Series Title Sequences

This week, we’re looking at 10 outstanding and uniquely styled TV series title sequences.

Many people refer to the title sequence as the opening credits even though they are not really the same. However, I’ll be using the two terms interchangeably in this post.

The title sequence / opening credits is usually accompanied by visuals and sound that set the mood for the series. This usually includes the theme music for the series (if any).

Previously, I showcased a couple of title sequences from other shows that use specific effects, such as Poirot and Dollhouse. Since I’ve already featured them here on the Blog, I’m not going to include them in this list.

The title sequences chosen for this post are ones I feel are particularly memorable or out of the ordinary.

Human Target (Season 1, FOX)

The opening credits for Human Target immediately made me take notice.

The title sequence makes great use of a grunge/watercolor effect. It borrows a bit from the Bond movies, but everything works well together and fits the theme of the series.

I also like the tilting and suddenly jerk effects (for lack of better terms). This gives the sequence a more ‘real’ and less digital feel, which goes well with the watercolor and grunge effects.

Murphy’s Law (Series 3, 4 and 5, BBC)

Murphy’s Law as a series changed quite a bit from the beginning of season 1.

Season 5’s title sequence was a big departure from the opening credits of the previous seasons but fits with the shift in the subject matter of that season.

My favorite part is the way the Murphy’s Law text/logo appears to be painted onto shards of glass which move toward the viewer at the end.

I couldn’t find the opening credits for just season 5 by itself, so the video below contains the intros for seasons 3, 4 and 5.

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Stay Organized With Thunderbird 3

It’s only been a couple weeks since the newest version of Mozilla Thunderbird–Thunderbird 3–was officially released.

This new version of Thunderbird includes several new features.

Let’s look at 4 features in Thunderbird 3 that can help you stay more organized and work more efficiently:

  1. Sync all your email accounts
  2. Better Gmail integration
  3. Better Email Search
  4. Manage tasks, calendars, Google Wave, webmail and more within Thunderbird 3 with content tabs

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Inkscape is my vector editor of choice for several reasons.

  • Handles AI, EPS, PDF, SVG and a slew of other vector and raster formats
  • It’s open source and free
  • Runs on all major operating systems–Windows, Mac OS X and Linux

Last week, Inkscape’s newest version, 0.47, was released.

What’s new in Inkscapes latest version? Lots.

What’s New in Inkscape 0.47?

Improved UI and Desktop Integration

inkscape-0.47-photorealism_thumb

So you want to know what the new version of Inkscape looks like?

It’s not a radical departure from the previous version, but it has some streamlining and small tweaks that’s been given it. Mainly, it seems to integrate better with whatever OS it’s installed.

You can view some screenshots of the new Inkscape interface and examples of what’s possible on the Screenshots gallery page.

Above: Obligatory Megan Fox vector illustration

Additions and Improvements

Here’s just a brief list of additions and improvements. You can read the full list of changes on Inkscape.org.

Read on for new Inkscape features…

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Technorati Code

Claiming the blog on Technorati.

Here’s the claim code: DFGXTHDG96RW

Now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

exploring-blog-audio-comments-hd

In a previous post, I wrote about 10 creative ways to use Drop.io. Drop.io is a free online file sharing/collaboration service.

One of the ideas was using Drop.io’s voicemail as a way to let visitors leave audio comments.

Audio Blog Comments—A New Idea?

sound wavesShort answer, no.

The idea of audio comments isn’t new.

Paul Boag, of the excellent Boagworld, allows (or allowed–can’t seem to find it now) visitors to post audio comments. Paul also has posted audio responses to text comments on some of his posts (via AudioBoo).

This is logical because of the podcasts they publish. Audio comments could be used in future podcasts.

People could record a message to MP3 and then save it to their computer. Boagworld gave visitors an option to upload the saved MP3 file to their site right from the comments section.

This is a nice idea, but unless you’re really motivated, you’re probably not going to go through the hassle of doing all this just to leave a comment.

Easier Audio Comments By Phone With Drop.io

So far, I haven’t really found any sites implementing audio comments on their site besides Boagworld (though I’m almost certain to be proved wrong ;) ).

How could you make it easier for visitors to leave audio comments on your blog?

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