AstroBrandMedia | Mike Matamala
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Astro Thoughts

Design Blog 

BIG DESIGN

8/9/2019

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I got to work on a great project! It was a huge digital sign. It was a 10 second video that looped. It was fun to see the design on the Vegas Strip. It was for a tradeshow and it drove traffic to the booth for a Yeti cooler give away. Below are a couple of photos:
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Coronado Island

4/3/2019

 
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One of my favorite places to shoot is Colorado Island in San Diego.  You get an insane view of down town. I got a new lens for my camera and I was testing out some accessories. Here are a couple of photos & videos of the trip.
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I purchased a Movo, it is a motorized pan head for time lapse. As your time-lapse goes, it gives you a great panning sweep and gives you a great cinematic look. Below is what I captured. I am really excited about using it more.

Typography in Vegas!

3/21/2017

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Last year I attended Photoshop World and it was a really cool event. I learned a handful of new techniques and it also showed me I know alot more than I thought. It reinforced what I already knew. Since I had my camera, I decided I would take photos of the typography around me. Here are a couple of that really caught my eye. The inner geek got the best of me. 
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No trip is complete without Batman!
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Tradeshow Hijinx! 

3/16/2017

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​Last week was pretty interesting, my company hosted a hospitality suite at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. What is really fun about these events, is seeing the months of hard work pay off. We did product displays, posters, window signs, invites and video. The way I see it, I have to arm my sales people with the tools they can use to help them make the sale. Here are some photos of the event.
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Over the Bridge, Not Over the Hill

3/9/2017

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Last weekend I went out with Neil Brouillette, took my Canon Rebel and GoPro out, drove over the Coronado Bridge and shot some footage capturing the sunrise of down town San Diego. Here are some of the photos and videos I took.   

Canon Rebel T5

Downtown San Diego
I used the Panoramic tool in Photoshop but still needed to mask and make adjustments to the image.
​I was incredible to see the sky light up and dance as the sun rose. I shot with the Canon. Below are more of my shots.

GoPro Hero 4

I Love, LOVE MY GoPro. I love how it bends time and space. I allows me to really experiment with angles and lines, bending the horizon to my will. Well at least that's how it feels. I am fascinated with the timelapse 4K features. It's really fun! Below is some more of my work.
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Here we go! First Blog!

3/2/2017

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I've been wanting  to start a blog for a couple of years. In that time I've  been exposed to so much. My latest geek out is on social media. It is fascinating to see it grow and evolve.

Long story short, Social Media is not new media, it is 
THE MEDIA. Throughout my career I have seen the transition from print to web, from still pictures (photography) to moving pictures (video) and from television to online media. All of these are one way broadcast tools. Social Media tells the a story in the one of the most authentic and interesting way possible with an immediate feedback loop. Social Media allows for conversation and real time analytic proof, showing what  your content, story or message is doing. I love it. 


Origin Story
My career started in the Bronx when I was 18, I charged $20 for a water color painting of 11" x 17" super hero illustrations. Wolverine, Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, anything, you name it. I studied at the High School of Art and Design and I used those skills to make extra money. Not being able afford the tuition college tuition of The School of Visual Arts, I was convinced by my parents to take business courses at Baruch College. Taking Economics was fascinating but was not as fulfilling as the feel of a pencil on paper, or feeling the texture of my croquil pen on bristol board. In search of adventure I joined the Marine Corps at the age of 21.

​Forgetting my passion for illustration, I gave the Marine Corps 100%  of my effort and I saw 10 countries including a couple in the  Middle East. I was stationed in Japan, and was later deployed on a Navy ship and eventually was deployed to Egypt and Kuwait. It was in Kuwait where I picked up a pen and pad again. Using the pad my brother John  sent, I started storyboarding a comic book where I eventually developed the characters and wrote the story in college. After the Marines, I wanted to harness my new found electronic communications skills into the business world without any luck. I found an employment ad for the night shift in print production at Kinkos, I figured I could use my electronics training in the print world. After several applications, attempts, begging and pleading sessions, they hired me with no experience but the willingness to learn. I excelled. The lead designer started to teach me Photoshop, it was the bridge between the analog and digital world. When I say HOOKED, I mean it. I slept, ate and drank Photoshop, Illustrator and In-Design. I was consumed with typography, color and layout.  ​

Experience (More Design/ Half Social)
I got my formal training at The Art Institute of San Diego California. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and Advertising. I worked as a production manager at a small print shop where I cultivated my leadership/decision making skills and tested my design skills in the real world, designing projects for real customers. I later designed graphics for other companies eventually becoming the creative director at a boutique digital design agency. It was there where I learned the power of social. I designed websites, print advertising and social media/post/ads in fully integrated campaigns. I saw we would get more interaction from our social campaigns. Print was on the decline so we needed to adopt more of a digital strategy. I currently work in an In-House Marketing Department for a national brand where we heavily develop social media campaigns and content marketing tools. I was later recruited by the San Diego American Marketing Association to be the VP of Social and Earned Media last summer. I have always created content but in this position, I can see what it does first hand, I can manipulate the creative so it performs better, track video performance to the second  to make edits improving viewership and cultivate the community. We have had significant growth. All organically.

That's me! 
I'll be experimenting with video, social media and design. I'll be bring you my findings.
​It is going to be fun.



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    Mike Matamala

    Mike Matamala

    Creative Director,
    Digital Designer,
    ​Content Creator, Marketer

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  • Design Work
    • Holdrite Design
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    • SAS Apparel
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