Michael Widener's Multi-media

👆My "Itty-bitty" Blog👇

As of January 6th, 2025:
Pacific Standard Time:
(This is My "Itty-bitty" Blog.)

This year, I am addressing bad-faith customers who colluded to remain non-paying during the U.S. pandemic.

In addition to that, and other smaller infractions against my personal and business interests, I am also tackling a decades-old typographical omission in an overseas record. This omission was manipulated by a former business partner in an attempt to deny me the ability to prove that I am the rightful individual referenced in a patent document. That document not only underscores my talent in my field but also highlights the former partner's incompetence in representing his country’s integrity when dealing with a foreign investor.

This betrayal had significant consequences. His actions caused his country to lose the confidence of serious U.S. investors that year, a loss that continues to affect the nation over three decades later. Betraying a benevolent investor is short-sighted, especially when that investor was offering intellectual capital—not with the intention of humiliation but to foster growth. The bad actor’s goal, however, was precisely to humiliate, undermining any potential for collaboration or goodwill.

This year's quote from me: “Reading and seeing are still better than believing, except in religion, where believing in a higher power is the beginning of everything.”

(I genuinely feel sorry for atheists, as most Americans do.)

Here is the link to the patent document I mentioned: US7792705. Search for "www.gamescape.co.nz" within the document to find the citation I discussed.

You’ll notice that the country’s records fail to include my name. This omission stems from a letter the former business partner wrote, falsely claiming that he imported me as labor for his business and that I absconded with his value because I refused to work for him without pay. Essentially, he claimed I was his work-visa recipient and accused me of defrauding the Crown (the Queen of England) out of 800 overseas dollars—money he used to pay his child support.

This individual is a deadbeat dad and seems to believe I’ve forgotten about him. I haven’t.

Here is the URL to the patent document: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7792705

Search for "www.gamescape.co.nz" and you will find this entry: "Gamescape," Added to the Wayback machine on Mar. 27, 1997, [online], [retrieved on Jan. 10, 2006] Retrieved from the Internet URL:http://web.archive.org/web/19970327013415/http://www.gamescape.co.nz/.

This means that my site, in that country, was cited and permanently added to Amazon.com Services, LLC's patent document and included in the first filing which was began on September 12, 1997. To be cited as unique by Amazon.com's attorneys for my very first web-business, in nothing short of incredible. It also shows what has held me back all of these years – envy.

I have encountered it everywhere I have worked and it has run me out of all of my most promising roles. All recruiters need to be aware of this before ever attempting to work with me becuase envious employers attempt to steal skills from those who have skills they covet for their team or for themselves or their family. It is not at all arrogant. It is a real issue for professionals in the tech space in the United States and it is time that a major newspaper in the United Sates picked up this topic so I can tell this story, from hindsight, which is 20/20, to tell how it degrades the brilliance of a business person and their ideas until they are forgotten or stolen from someone on a better team that is free of that sin. Yes, it is a sin to harbor envy for another person's ability and success. This is why it's a sin. - Written by Michael T. Widener
- Copyright Creative Commons: BY ND.

👆Work History👇

This long and scrolling page, called a "funnel," lists a few of my favorite designs created using Adobe Creative Suite (all apps) and Apple Final Cut Pro (all versions).

2016 - Present

Self-employed:
Working Independently.

(Artwork Designed by the Author.)
2015 - 2016

Full Sail University:
Studied remotely.

(Artwork Designed by the Author.)
2011 - 2015

Sub-contracted independently &
via recruiter-placement.

(Artwork Designed by the Author.)
2003 - 2011

American University &
My 1st Undergraduate Degree

(Artwork Designed by the Author.)
1996 - 2000

Overseas Travel - Web Research

(Artwork Designed by the Author.)
1995 - 1996

Animation Trade School & PC Tech Support Trade Work

(Artwork Designed by the Author.)
1994 - 1995

Skywalker Ranch (Intern), George Lucas Educational Foundation (Intern Data-entry Clerk) &
Finding My Direction

Interned at Skywalker Ranch and found my direction after reading about the different roles behind-the-scenes in Star Wars movies. (Skywalker Ranch Main House Photograph Taken by a Photographer. Autograph in Page From George Lucas: The Creative Impulse Book Was Signed by George Lucas for Michael Thomas Widener.)
1989 - 1994

University of San Francisco (1994) Oakland Hills Fire (1991) Community College (1990) & Started DBA Phantom Records (1989)

(Artwork Designed by the Author.)
1988 - 1989

Image Graphics Co. (My First Design Job)

(Artwork Designed by the Author after training by my Supervisor, at this company.)
1984-1988

The College Preparatory School

Graduated and waited my turn to go to College.
See My
Favorite
Designs
👇

👆My Favorite Designs👇

See my favorite designs, and, click them, to see a panel appear stating more.

Lindsay Eythe
(Former Professor)

Poster Design

Lindsay Eythe
(Former Professor)

Stamp Design

Ross Nover
(Former Professor)

Ad Design

Brian Davis
(Former Professor)

Game Design

Randall Packer
(Former Professor)

DVD Menu & Video Editing

Kylos Brannon
(Former Professor)

Production Bumper Design

Glenmont UMC
(Former Client)

Website Design & Maintenance

Double O Technologies
(Former Client)

Website Design & Maintenance

Frag-tastic Travel
(Homework Assignment)

Website Design

Phantom Records
(Self-Employment)

Website Design & Maintenance

Phantom Records
(Self-Employment)

Web Application

Phantom Records
(Self-Employment)

Compact Disc Packaging Design

Phantom Records
(Self-Employment)

"Wild Wild West" DJ Mix

Phantom Records
(Self-Employment)

"My Love Is Your Love" DJ Mix

Phantom Records
(Self-Employment)

"Faithfully" DJ Mix

"Gabriella"
(Former Client)

Logo Design

"Glenn"
(Former Client)

Website, Business Cards, & VM Design

👆My Favorite Passions👇

Six things I do for fun:

1. Reading Software How-Tos,
2. Updating Old Graphics,
3. Playing PickelBall™,
4. Linking Social Media Accounts for Fun,
5. Eating Healthily,
6. Looking Like My Old Photographs.

The video below is another passion;
but it's password-protected because
it's Rated-16+. (I linked the definition here or here.)

Flash Animation

Step Stand Disarm

This text left here for die-hard animation fans. (Otherwise, it's too much information.) Michael created an interactive "mini game" animation to represent the "Peace Process" in an interesting way. He bought a dance pad with a USB cable connection. The dance pad is three feet by three feet wide. He then designed a "cover" for the pad. His "cover" was also three feet by three, designed in Adobe Photoshop and created at full print quality: 300DPI. That is an extremely large file and it was very time consuming to work with but Michael believes in quality and flexibility so he did it anyway. He had the "cover" printed at FedEx Office on to vinyl paper. The then "stuck" the "cover" on top of the dance pad so that his "pictures" precisely covered the dance pad's contact points. In other words, a dancer stepping on his "pictures" would activate the "hotspots" beneath the "cover" and send a signal into the "mini game" he created. The "mini game" was made in Adobe Flash, and he used a small Mac OS X utlitity to interpret the dance pad's "buttons" to send keyboard keystrokes depending on which one was "stepped on" or "pressed." The keystrokes were then mapped, within Flash, to activate certain animation sequences. During his design process, it was told to Michael that moving within Flash from one "Scene" to another the way Michael wanted was impossible. Michael searched Google for three days and found the same claim. So what did he do? He guessed. Based on the "syntax" of ActionScript, Michael created an original code sequence and it worked.
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS ANIMATION

Kinetic Type

"Kinetic Type" is a type of animation with moving text. Movies that have opening sequences with elaborate movements, such as the Spiderman movies, where the camera moves around the web hopping from one text phrase to another, are using "Kinetic Type" or "moving text." Michael used Adobe After Effects to create this animation. But with this one, he also used his DJ-skill to "time" the animation to the audio in the attached sound file. An author read their famous passage from "Lenore," and Michael animated the entire portion. This is only a portion, as the project was split between Michael and others. This is Michael's portion: Kinetic Type Animation.
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS WEB BANNERS & ADS

AARP Amimations

After creating hollywood quality animations for this project, Michael received feedback that he only had to make very simply, slow-moving animations because the senior customers viewing the animations were likely only interested in that, instead of something too fancy. Michael created these to accomodate the Client's request. These are very easy to make and fun to make in various colors or to make various alternatives such as ones that play normally and ones that play on holidays with different, festive animations. See one of them here. NOTE: The animation is very slow! You have to wait for it!
Where
I Learned
This
👇