In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida, Baby

Whether it’s with words or images, The Santa Barbara Independent loves to keep its readers entertained. The stunning (in more ways than one) 3-D production of this year’s Best Of issue and the logo designed by Gabby Dimaranan (back row, second from right) reach above and beyond the flat, two-dimensional newspaper. Alongside Gabby stand the Ladies of AdPro — (from left) Marianne Kuga and Rachel Gantz and (right) ad production maestra Megan Packard Hillegas — who leapt technical hurdles to accomplish this week’s mesmerizing effects. Emerging from his usual habitat of cool, nocturnal picture palaces, film reviewer and arts writer D.J. Palladino (front, left) dons major red/blue glasses (“I’ll bet I look super-cool like this, too. Not geeky at all.”) to help elaborate some backstory behind the readers’ prime picks in this epic story, a tale enhanced multidimensionally by the multitalented Paul Wellman, whose camera accompanied Trixie through dog kennels, teeth exams, pianos, bars, window washing, and more to capture the Best of Santa Barbara®.