Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Saturday, December 22, 2012

OG Retro Air Jordan 1 High





The original J's set to release on January 4, 2013. I usually don't pay big money for J's but I'm a big fan of the classic high top. We'll see. #Realness

Monday, December 17, 2012

Batman intro (1966) IN LEGO



This is very tough and creative!!!!

Blackberry 10 smart phone. Blackberry's last chance for survival?


So it looks like Blackberry is tired of getting lost in the shuffle and is now throwing themselves into the "war of the smart phones" against Apple, Samsung, HTC etc. This new blackberry looks very similar to the shape of the iPhone 5. Most smart phones are going with bigger screens while other phones are going taller and slimmer. It all depends on the reason you use your smart phone, for business, personal, tablet/tech, etc. The Blackberry name will be enough for some loyal customers to return to the brand while it may take others to be convinced that Blackberry has what it takes to measure up. This phone may be Blackberry's last chance for survival.

Air Jordan XI "Bred" colorway

How do you keep people buying Jordan's?????? Keep re-releasing them in Chicago Bulls color ways. You can't go wrong with that formula. These J's are set to release December 21st, only four days away from Christmas. It's going to be nuts. Hopefully people will be safe because stick up kids will be watching closely smh.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figure Fanfic Coming Soon



This is the first promotional poster/art work for a new project that I am working on produced by Starforce Productions. I will be doing an action figure fanfic short film about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The concept and name will be revealed at a later date. I did the promotional poster/artwork from scratch, including the graphics for the names. I did them from scratch in Adobe Illustrator and then put everything together in Adobe Photoshop. The pictures of the action figures are the factory images of the 2002-2003 TMNT action figure toy line from Playmates that will be used in the short film. The NYC sewer photo was a random picture I found of a new york city manhole cover on Google. I also got the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1980'-90's logo from Google as well. I made the picture frame/bracket myself on Photoshop and then put it all together to make this promotional poster for the upcoming project. More artwork and promotional poster will be released coming soon. For more up to announcements and news on the project, follow Starforce Productions on Twitter @Starforceprod. All trademarks, images and rights reserved are owned by Nickeldeon, Viacom.

Vu Skateboard Shop



Here is a few things I grabbed on my latest visit to Vu Skateboard shop the other day. I grabbed a "Down 4(10) Life Vu Skateboard shop raglan tee, a black and orange Vu Skateboard shop snapback. I also grabbed the new Vu Skateboard shop "Baltimore Ravens" inspired 8.5 skateboard deck with Jessup grip tape and a couple of stickers. Once I get some other things situated, I'll be going back for more including to finish up putting my new board together. If you're in Baltimore, check out Vu Skateboard shop. If you don't think the shop is legit, just go to the berries.com and see what they have to say about it. #VuSkateboardShop #TRDABrand #TheRealness

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

DSLR Tutorial: How to get the Filmlook & what you're doing wrong!



For all you film makers and videographers out there, here's a tip on how to get the film look for your DSLR footage. These tutorials have helped me and hopefully you can take something from it. Enjoy.

Friday, December 7, 2012

New "Hottest Backpack in the Streets": A Backpack Love Affair


For anybody who's close to me knows that I used to have a Nike SB All-Access Lair backpack that I nicknamed "The Hottest Backpack in the Streets". I loved that backpack..........maybe a little too much. I used it so much and it wasn't that big but I ended up breaking the zipper glider smh. I was devastated. I did what I could to repair it, including taking it to a shoe repair shop where they repair zippers. I ended up losing it and was out of an "all-purpose" backpack. Let me begin with what I use it for. I'm always on the go and I'm a tech guy so I'm always carrying a series of gadgets in order to function. I'm a videographer, fashion designer, editor, street skater, multimedia journalist, entrepreneur, and many more things. I wear a lot of "hats", but anyways. One day I'll do a gadget bag photo to give you guys an illustration of what I'm talking about. Back to the story though............ so I need an all purpose  backpack that can house everything I need to work comfortably. I need my backpack to carry a 15" MacBook Pro (Aluminum), MacBook pro charger, iPad 2, iHome Headphones, iPod Video 30G, two external hard drives, iPhone charger, Pens, Skate tool, SD cards, drawing pad, USB drives, Sunglasses, video production book, video directing book, card reader, and maybe a folder or two with illustrations and notes etc. As you can see, its a rack of stuff that I usually travel with on a day to day basis. With all that being said, I needed a backpack that could house all these items. So once I had my grieving period of my broken Nike SB bag, I began to look around for a new backpack that would fit me and still carry all the stuff I use. So one day my brother Brian tells me that he could me one like he has for pretty cheap. I was down fareal and figured, "why not". He had a Targus backpack that carried the same stuff I carried everyday. So I go online to check it out and in my search I see this one Targus backpack and was like "yo, I gotta have that joint" lol. I clicked the picture and it was the Targus Voyager Backpack. This back pack has all the room, compartments, and gadget carrying space that I need and it's the only backpack that can make me forgot about my previous one. It had everything I could want and need and as much as I'm a Nike SB guy.......this bag is a better fit for me. The only thing that it doesn't do that my other bag could do is hold my board (skateboard for those who don't know). So I go online and figure it's time to grab me this bag until I saw that it's rarely sold in the U.S. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH SMH. So I'm looking all online and I'm only seeing it sold in Australia and Canada. Just like the Nike SB bag I had, its rare because it's older and not in production any longer. So of course it cost than it usually would cost but I figure hey......It's what i want and it's going to benefit me so I'll pay what they're asking for. So now in a little while I'll have a "New Hottest Backpack in the Streets" - The Real Dwayne Allen #REALNESS

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Messing Around on Photoshop



Just messin around on Photoshop. Trying some new things here and there.

The Decision: Samsung Galaxy Note II vs iPhone 4/4S


Ok so as you probably can already tell, I need to make a decision about whether I want the iPhone 4/4S or the Galaxy Note II. Spare me the obvious differences and technical specs. TRUST ME......its all been broken down for me (thanks to J. Gladden) smh lol. The decision comes within the use of the phone. I've had all the previous iPhones and honestly I'm comfortable with using this phone and its many incarnations. But after seeing the Galaxy note II in person and seeing what it can do in person? I must say that it has me thinking is it time for a change? Is it time to leave team iPhone? I don't want the iPhone 5 just yet because I'm not a fan of it quite yet so I was just going to grab an iPhone 4/4S strictly for phone use and nothing fancy. I'll be getting a new iPad in a few weeks so I don't need to run my life from my phone anymore because I'll have an iPad to organize everything. On the other hand, I do run two businesses and I'm working on a third and it would be good to have tablet capabilities on the go with a Galaxy Note II. Do I need it? Not really, but it would prove beneficial for myself. I plan to have my iPad with me as much as possible but there are times where I may not have it with me. Most people would say, "grab an ipad mini" but I'm going to pass on the mini for now. So with that being said.....a decision must be made. Decisions, decisions.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!!!!


Ok, not really but I am announcing that starting in January 2013 I plan to bring some consistency back to The Real Dwayne Allen.com!!!! Starting in January there will be a series segments that will be posted daily and weekly. I'll be bringing back, Word of the Day. Word of the Day was started back in 2010 when The Real Dwayne Allen first started. It's a segment with a biblical scripture and encouraging words to inspire people and give them hope and wisdom in there rough situations. I will also be starting The Wrestling Wrealm University: Wrestling term of the week. This will be a weekly segment with a wrestling term to educate those who may not understand the world of professional wrestling, so I have taken it upon myself to help educate the.....YOUR WELCOME. Another segment that will be showing up on The Real Dwayne Allen.com in 2013 will be Video Production/Video Directing: Tips and Tricks. This segment will be based off the books Television Production 15th ed. by Jim Owens and Gerald Millerson and Film Directing: Shot by Shot Visualization from the concept to screen by Steven D. Katz. Many people have ventured into video and film production but are often misguided or don't have the resources. So I have decided to share my knowledge about these various areas of video/film production for others. They may be others including some projects from Starforce Productions as well as updated news and information on TRDA Brand Clothing, but for now this is what you can expect for The Real Dwayne Allen.com in 2013.

Canon EOS Rebel T4i DSLR camera


This bad boy is the Canon EOS Rebel T4i DSLR camera. Clearly this is the upgrade from the Canon EOS Rebel T3i 600D. I haven't heard that there is much of a difference expect an upgrade in the HD video quality. I'm slowly but surely drifting into the world of photography. My grandmother was a photographer and I'm the closest grandson that is evolving into the male version of her. The real kicker is in the different lenses that you can use when taking photos or recording video. So If anybody wants to grab me one, feel free to. The price is very reasonable in regards to quality DSLR cameras and the HD video quality. Two thumbs up from me. I need this in my life. #STARFORCEPRODUCTIONS

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Workers prepare for Monument Lighting in Baltimore



My first video with The Baltimore Sun's Multimedia Department

Starforce Productions intro



New Starforce Productions video production intro.

TRDA Brand "Seattle Mariners" OG logo Fitted/Snapback


Obviously inspired by The Seattle Mariners, this is a basic TRDA OG logo fitted/snapback set to be released at a later date. I was scrolling through a few websites and I noticed that I didn't have a fitted or snapback in this color so i decided why not. #TRDA #THEREALNESS

TRDA Baseball Patch Emblem


This is just a new TRDA Brand baseball patch that will probably go a number of places. More colors to come but for right now, here goes this one. Enjoy. #TAKERESPECTDEFYADVERSITY

Sunday, December 2, 2012

The Real Dwayne Allen new logo!!!!



Inspired by the 1966 Batmobile of the Batman TV series starring Adam West. My first words as a kid were "Batman". Batman has always had some sort of influence in my life so I decided to design my new logo around it.