Wet Paint
Personal project
My role in this project was the composites. I worked closely with the director Mike Dempsey and adapted his HD green screen footage into “painted” video. It was a tedious process but well worth the effort.
Wet paint won “Best in Fest” and “Audience Favorite” in the SCUFF Film Festival in New Haven, Connecticut in 2010.
MÍMIR 4 Video
MÍMIR
This video had been already written and presented in the form of a PowerPoint slideshow. I was asked to create a video from it that would have the potential for going viral online. The concept of MÍMIR can be a bit complicated but the video’s expressions show that its queries can be both modular and incredibly specific.
Artifact Skateshop Video Intro
Artifact Skateshop
This is an intro for a video trailer on which Artifact Skateshop was working on. After Effects 3D cameras were used extensively to follow the motion of the spotlights and to guide the viewer’s attention. The shadows of the text were made manually rather than using the built-in drop shadows from After Effects’ digital lights. The reason for this was to give me total control over their motion. The effect I was going for was one similar to shining a flashlight under your chin.
Corptax Website Concept
CorpTax
This was a website re-design concept for the tax software firm CorpTax. The idea was to use their company colors to re-vamp their current website. This concept has a similar layout to their current site but a whole new look.
Washing Wells
Personal project
This is a film and the trailer that I directed in early 2009 with the help of Sam Bode, Kalecia Flowers and Ian MacDonald. It was developed originally as a observational documentary, but it soon grew to include many experimental elements. Sequences of the film were shot on super-8 in an attempt to blend recent footage with archived footage from the subjects home city Phnom Penh, Cambodia (thanks to the Penn State Museum Archives). The film interviews two immigrant laundromat owners about their lives before coming to the United States, their reasons for immigrating and their post-immigration experiences.
The lower video is the entire film. Shot over four visits and three interviews with the subjects, the project came to fruition. The subjects, Ly and Cong Lim, the laundromat owners, had some original hesitation about helping with the project, but excited about the potential outcome, they kindly cooperated, and all of their help is greatly appreciated. There were some major issues with a set of wireless mics we attempted to use, but luckily, as a backup, Ian MacDonald recorded the audio on the camera mic as well. Most of the audio came from what was recorded on the camera, but additionally we were able to rescue some using Adobe Soundbooth.
Filbert the Flying Fish
Personal Project
Fabricated entirely in Apple Motion and Photoshop, Filbert was an idea where I thought it would be a good starting project because with fish you don’t have to compensate for gravity, so the motions look more natural than, for example, a clunky man walking around. The compilation of the clips after they were created in Motion was done very quickly in iMovie.
Molecular and Cell Biology
The University of Connecticut’s Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
This was a short promotional piece made for the MCB department at the University of Connecticut. It was the first project of its kind that I had worked on, and it was used by the department for graduate student recruiting, and last I heard, it still was.
DeadCOM
Personal project
DeadCOM was a personal audio editing project of mine. The goal was to film a quick, and slightly pointless, suspense video. I then sat down at a Protools editing station and worked to incorporate sounds that would develop atmosphere and propel the story forward. I ended up doing the first half of the filming (until the walk up the stairs), much of the audio editing, multiple sound effect recordings, and even some boom removal from the scene where they move the table. I found the project to be a great success and an incredibly valuable learning experience. The editing was done by Mike Bay at Southern Connecticut State University.
Barber Lower Third
Personal project
This lower third was fabricated in Photoshop and animated within Final Cut Pro. It was created for a short non-broadcast production entitled “Who is James Barber?.
Photographer, designer, and video specialist Alex Frank has worked in creative positions for his entire professional career. He's produced award winning videos and photographs and continues to bring his expert knowledge and unique concepts to every project. 
