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Roland SOLJET Printer/Cutter Makes Movie Magic for “Miami Vice”
By Martin T. Charles, SagaBoy Productions, for Miami Vice Productions
After 12 years of living in New York where
I acquired a BA in communication design from Pratt Institute,
I moved to Los Angeles in 1990 where I began my film career
as a graphic designer in Hollywood. It was the perfect
move because the inception of graphic design in film had just
started, and I was there to begin the journey. To date I have
done over 40 films, and graphic design has moved to the forefront
of film making. I now bridge the gap between the old school
of film making and the computerized generation.
To me, I have the best job in Hollywood because I have a great
passion for my work, and I am always searching for new ways
to communicate visual graphic design. The research and imagination
that goes into a film is hinged, I believe, on the visual communication
of the past and present – and also the future as in “AI” and “MINORITY
REPORT,” two of my recent films.
This past year, I had the opportunity to work on the “MIAMI
VICE” movie as the film’s graphic designer. Graphic
design is ultra important to Michael Mann, the film’s
producer/director. The challenges of replicating today’s
visual communications are greater than ever before. And this
film presented unique challenges because of the breadth of
graphics required – including vehicle graphics, tiles,
floor graphics, wallpaper, illuminated signs and billboards.
These and other items all needed to be produced and applied
almost immediately, under extremely tight deadlines. So
I needed a printer to assist me with that challenge.
If there was a “one-and-only must-have” printer
for a designer, the Roland SOLJET 54” printer/cutter is that printer. It is far superior to the competition in its
ability to print beautiful images on almost any material quickly,
and the cutting technology is unmatched.
The types of signage I produced for “MIAMI VICE” ranged
from simple police car vinyl to wallpaper, winner’s circle
banners and restaurant café signs. The most unusual
graphic I produced was not really a graphic, but a near identical
match to an exotic wood veneer. We needed a precision
match because we were replacing a panel in a very expensive
condo set. The largest application was a 15-foot giant
mural for the set.
In terms of media, the adhesive-backed vinyl products are
among my favorites, in particular a matt adhesive-backed vinyl
I purchased directly from Roland.
Perhaps the most important thing for me is the stability of
the printed image on the media. ECO-SOL
MAX inks provided
that stability, creating images that did not need any special
treatment such as lamination or sealant. In addition,
I have found Roland VersaWorks to be very intuitive and user-friendly.
These and other features make the SOLJET the ultimate high-performance
production printer. Roland SOLJET technology delivered
the exceptional quality graphics required by some of the most
prominent film makers in Hollywood, and working with it greatly
enhanced the film making experience for me.
In summary, the
Roland SOLJET is right at home in the fast-pace world of film-making. I
look forward to my next project.
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