There is always a question when writing about one's self that must be answered, “How much ME do I give them?” The safe answer is not much, instead, choosing to use third person narrative to appear objective. I'll refrain from such a conceit, and admit to being me. Hello I'm Mike Ortiz. It’s nice to meet you.

 

Dot Screen Studios is the collective home for my creative work, both professionally and personally.

 

If you are wondering where the name Dot Screen Studios came from, here is the complicated answer.

 

If not, here is the origin story.

 

It opens with a quiet suburban youth, harboring an over active imagination and a passion for art and stories, especially those that leaned toward the fantastic, with powerful visuals. Things like comic books, Star Wars, Star Trek, TV and movies. Things we call geeky today, but back then they were the stuff occupying the imaginations of awkward kids everywhere. Beyond the geeky youth, a strong work ethic and a penchant for standardized testing made for a solid academic career, including a stint designing, writing and editing the High School newspaper.

 

These interests in the arts, and communication would weave their way throughout my life both personally and professionally including a youth spent working in movie theaters and comic book stores, and a 20 year professional career working in entertainment and advertising. For the details of my career, you only need check out my resume, elsewhere on this site, and for examples of my work, pretty much everywhere else. I have tried my hand at various forms of creative expressions over the years, with varying degrees of success. Writing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, audio, video, and even a couple of stints in bands. In recent years I have hosted podcasts and a YouTube show, to keep my geek cred technologically relevant.

 

So far I have painted myself with a pretty right brain brush (with a left brain reference), but that’s only half a brain, and half the picture. I also value the analytical, and the youth spent studying art, paralleled a youth spent studying science & history. Sometimes I regret that I didn't pursue a career in science, but then I remember how much I hated the math. In the end, I was moved more by Jack Kirby & George Lucas than Carl Sagan & Albert Einstein. While a career in science didn't pan out, that analytical side remains a key part of me. I am endlessly fascinated by new technology. I'm often an early adopter. I love learning to use technology to communicate ideas, especially in a visual manner.

 

It may seem to be a contradiction, the synthesis of analytical and creative, art and science, instinct and intellect. But it is only a contradiction if you see them as opposites. I prefer to see them as part of the same thing. Analysis is the act of taking the world apart, creativity is how you put it all back together, It's how you connect the dots.

 

Dot Screen Studios is how I put it back together; it's where I connect all the dots.