I see another...review...

So another review came in. This time by Derrick Ferguson who runs a movie review blog - The Ferguson Theater.

Let's get straight to it...


Okay. Since I like to end on a upbeat note I'll get what I didn't like about ONE FOOT IN HELL out of the way first: where'd the second doll come from? Did the evil spirit of the first doll leave that body and jump into the body of the second doll? And if so, why did it go after Alice instead of Warwick? Because she was the one who nailed it down to be BBQ'ed? if so, that was a nice touch with the way the second doll nailed her down. But that part was unclear to me. As was the ending with Warwick mailing pieces of the doll to different people. Was it because he was afraid that the spirit would just jump into another doll's body and come after them again? Again, the wasn't clear to me.

And I realize there's only so much you can do in a short film but Charlie's death is a pretty big loose end hanging out there. Did Warwick and Alice go to the police with their wild story and found themselves charged with his murder?

Now to what I did like: you've got a very clean directorial style. I myself appreciate a director who trusts his actors and his story enough that he can let them do what supposed to do and not try a whole bunch of unnecessary camera tricks and angles just to show off. You didn't do that here. You put your camera down, put your actors in front ot the camera and let them work. I liked all three of your actors very much. They were quite natural and didn't come off as "trying to act" if you know what I mean.

And that stop-motion animation was simply great. I've a major fan of stop-motion animation and I heartily support anybody keeping it alive. In fact, stop-motion animation works better in a killer doll story such as this one as for me it's a lot creepier than CGI. And I liked how you got in a bit of humor with your horror when the killer doll is standing at the top of the stairs and gives Alice that cute little wave hello.

To sum up, I liked it. It's a respectable short movie that told a short, effective story. As i said, some of the motivations of Warwick and the doll confused me slightly there near the end but it didn't prevent my overall enjoyment of the film. You and your people should be rightfully proud of it and I hope to see more work from you in the future. I don't know if any of this helps but whether it does or not, you keep on making films. And definitely continue to use stop-motion! Can't ever get enough of that. 

Derrick

The first review...

So my understanding of how to get fortune and glory goes like this:-

1. Make/do something awesome;
2. Something happens;
3. Fortune and Glory!!

Now I'll all for stages 1 and 3, but it's part 2 that's still a bit hazy. Since completing One Foot I have been patiently waiting for stage 3, but I don't seem to be there yet. Then I had the idea (or just did what Bother Chris told me to do) and decided to contact a few horror themed blogs to tell them about my film.

And now reviews are starting to pour in.

The first comes from Ghost Hunting Theories; a blog by Sharon Day, a paranormal investigator and author from. You can find the review by clicking here.

So, we have our first review.

Surely I'm now well on my way to fortune and glory!

Release the Kraken...

Now if only I had a kraken.

So for now I will unleash One Foot From Hell.

Yes after 4 solid weekends of filming in October 2012, a year of editing, animating and compositing in 2013, and a finally year of successful film festivals (ok, not so successful. I need to work on marketing) the film is unleashed.

I can now point people in it's general direction. I can say, "I made a film. You can see it here!".

I can now be happy that people can finally watch the bloody thing instead of me keeping it locked up whilst I reject another festival as I don't have the funds for the entry fee.

So without going to crazy. For the first link of many; you can watch the film here:-

http://vimeo.com/79604811

Cheers

You know...for kids...

So I started this blog months ago, then left it mid sentence. A sentence that implies Batman & Robin is my favourite film...it's not. It's rubbish.

Anyway, I want to get this blog going again, and the quickest way was to actually post my thoughts on Batman.

Here we go...

We need to talk about Batman...

I like Batman. I may even go as far as saying I love Batman.

Being born in the early 80s I can only think that my first exposure would have been the Adam West 60's Batman through reruns on T.V. and the Movie. Going forward we then have Tim Burton's 1989 film which I distinctly remember wanted to see and being fed up that Brother Chris was allowed to go but I was not old enough.

Following this there was Batman That Animated Series and from then on I was hooked.

However this is all T.V. or film and we all know Batman began life in comic form. I did have a couple of books (book books not comic books) somewhere with early stories reprinted but it wouldn't be until after watching Batman TAS that I got into comics proper.

Anyway, long story short, due to issue numbers being so high I found it difficult jumping on. I collected a lot of key Batman collections and stand alone books (Long Halloween, Arkham Asylum etc) but despite not being a weekly collector my love for the character has always been there.

Why am I explaining all this to you dear reader? So that when I discuss the following, beloved story you will know that it comes from a fan. The story in question is The Dark Knight Returns.

Here goes.

So today I finally got around to watching the animated version of The Dark Knight Returns. I haven't actually read The Dark Knight Returns in a good few years so I could be off remembering the full story. Therefore the following is based on the animated adaptation (which in theory should be the same anyway).

I had heard a lot of good things about the film and was looking forward to watching it. However over the course of the film I stated to wonder about why this is considered by some a key book in the Batman Universe. Well maybe that's too broad. What I was thinking was how, going forward, it is still considered a key book. This thing came out in the eighties and completely redefined Batman. However when it came out all animated versions of the character were still based on Adam West. Therefore this thing comes out and shows a completely different side to the character, something for the kids that had grown up and now wanted something different. (I also understand that the comics had changed in the pre-ceding years and Adam West was no longer relevant).

My issue is that since the book was published it seems this has become the only view of the character. This was the problem that I had today. The thing I felt was missing was an element of fun.

There are rumours that they plan on using TDKR as inspiration for the relationship between Batman and Superman in the upcoming Batman Vs. Superman film. It got me thinking today that there is no easy access for younger fans. The bigger issue is the comics industry not giving a access point for younger readers, therefore if a child of 10 wants to get into Batman, The Dark Knight Returns is not necessarily a good jumping on point.

Alternatively if you've grown up on Adam West or Brave and the Bold and they want to see their hero in Live action, they have to sit through The Dark Knight?

At this point, remember that I love Batman so I'm not just moaning for the sake.

To look at the old rivalry and examine Marvel, their films are fun (they may also have fun comics but I'm a strict DC only reader). Looking at the recent Warner/DC reboot of Superman, Man of Steel, one of the main aspects it was missing was a sense of fun. It was it was all a bit too serious. I'm not saying never tell a serious story, but don't make that your main focus, especially in a reboot.

Batman's history does not a fun story make, however they managed it in the 50s/60s with Dick Sprang, Gerry Robinson and giant Typewriters.

I'm also not saying Batman & Robin was good but...

...and that's as far as I got. Since then I've calmed down a bit. Ben Affleck got cast and his 'hard as nails' picture released.

I do still love Batman, and I do still think there's room for fun. (He's even surrounded by side kicks - surely they can be the clowns).

Anyway that's enough of that.

I've been catching up on Kevin Smith's Fatman on Batman and recently listened to the Dean Trippe episode. After hearing his terrible childhood ordeal and learning of his autobiographical comic of how he came to terms with his past (with the help of our Caped Crusader), I had myself a read. I highly recommend it.

So go buy this. It's only $1 - Something Terrible - Dean Trippe

Next time I'll tell you about Screenwriting and what I've been learning.

Something wicked this way comes...

One Foot From Hell was completed on 17th November 2013.

I've been busy with other projects but haven't forgotten about this wonderful film. Recently I've got back into gear and started to send it to Festivals. 

If you want to be kept up to date it would be best to 'LIKE' the facebook page as most updates will be posted there:

https://www.facebook.com/OneFootFromHell

Thank you to all who have been involved with the making of this film. It took a while to get to the end but here we are. Now I prepare for the Fortune and Glory stage...that's next right?

Whilst I wait, enjoy some stills from the completed film.

I'm still here waiting....

I Shot Jenny Ringo...

Previously published (with pictures) on the blog Writer by Night!! Part 1 & Part 2

On the weekend of 13th/14th of April 2013 I shot Jenny Ringo!
 
Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spell book to be more specific.
 
Over two days we hoped to bring to life the most ambitious Jenny Ringo film yet. A film with dinosaurs, killer clowns, hellish landscapes, 'Tron' style in game escapades and bizarre monsters from other worlds...and so we did.
 
Director Chris Regan and Producer Andrea Regan had strategically planned everything down to a t so we could fit everything in, so I grabbed my camera, batteries and memory cards and dived into the car to get underway.
 
Day One - 13th April 2013
 
First stop, Under-cliff.
 
There were a number of scenes that took place outside and it looked as though we had been blessed on this bright and sunny Saturday morning in April.
 
This was the first issue I had. Having an inability to see properly I need the use of spectacles to see properly. Also suffering from migraines in bright sun, I had adapted these spectacles to "react" to the harsh UV rays, creating a darker lens protecting my eyes. Had I known that this combined with reflectivity of the LCD screen on the camera, would result in an inability to see what I was filming properly, along with a lot of guess work relating to the focus, I may have re-thought my previous eyeball solution.
 
Anyway, we managed to get through the first few scenes well enough. The bright weather was holding up and we were still on track.
 
We had one final shot to make in Brighton, overlooking Madeira Drive for a giant pizza. Unfortunately it was decided that the best place for me to film was next to a playground. Now I know I was there to film Jenny Ringo. Chris and the cast knew I was there to film Jenny Ringo. However I couldn't shake the feeling that anyone else passing by may have thought I was there to film children playing.
 
Luckily we got the shot we needed and moved down to Madeira Drive for close ups, and to prove to all those questioning onlookers that I was in fact making a Jenny Ringo film.
 
However someone still wasn't happy and the heavens began to open. With the first few drops of rain. Rain that would decide not to stop as originally forecast and later forces the well planned schedule to be reassessed and split into multiple shots.
 
So back to Worthing we went to continue the adventures of Jenny Ringo and to Lime Café to battle the evil clowns.
 
It's always a bit of a struggle on films with few crew members when faced with a room full of extras. You're trying to plan a shot but also make sure everyone knows what’s happening and will be ready when the director calls “Action”.
 
Saying that, on this occasion there wasn't really any major difficulty. Everyone who arrived seemed quite happy chatting until it was time to get transformed into clowny evil-ness.
I don't think I'll be forgetting anytime soon, having to film close up after close up of menacing clowns, especially when it seemed it was me they were after.
 
Unfortunately that was where day one ended. The rain continued to pour, light was beginning to fade and we still had a couple of exteriors left. These would have to be moved to the next day. A day of monsters, babies and sea foxes.
 
 
Day Two- 14th April 2013
 
Day Two began as any normal day on a Jenny Ringo shoot begins. There were bandages, fake blood and lights in tiny cramped spaces.
 
We started with a scene that was eventually cut for time. Time in the film, and lack of time to create the effects needed. However all I remember was sitting on the bathroom floor, squashed up against the wall trying my hardest not to break down into laughter. I failed. How unprofessional of me.
 
Despite my failings, the scene was shot, and after getting the feeling back in my legs we moved on to the monsters outside ready for their close ups.
 
Once again the sun had got his hat on. However lighting a dark, interior corridor when you're outside is a pain in the back side unless you are the proud owner of some massive bright lights. Unfortunately I am not.
 
However we managed to get a happy medium and grab the shots we needed. As soon as the monsters had finished it was time to film the babies.
 
How does one direct babies I hear you ask? Well simply put, you don't. Instead you wave lots of things around, blow bubbles and eventually turn the TV on in a hope to distract them long enough to get the shot we need. It eventually worked and resulted in a 10 minute out-take of pure cute anarchy.
 
The beach was next. Originally the script called for the beach discussion to be at night. However in case this didn't work, a back-up would be required. Day time beach...no issues here. It was sunny, we got the shots, we moved on. We would be back later for the night time which came with a few surprises.
 
No off to space to space for us to crank the F-stop.
 
Space was located in a barn. The result of a friend’s short who still had a set up for a couple of days. Now I'm new to filming things for myself and when told to crank the Fstop to make sure we had a smooth green screen, I couldn't help but stare blankly before nodding in agreement (something I've learned more about with more night shoots). However we managed to get the space we needed. Everything was in focus that needed to be and we packed up and left.
 
And then we had to wait....
...finally it was dark.  We could now reshoot the earlier beach scene but in darkness.
 
"But if it's dark, how are you going to film anything?"
 
We had a plan. A plan involving plastic folders, LED lights and camping lanterns. A plan that gave us the desired effect or a burning magic flame. A plan that came at a deadly cost. The cost of being attacked by millions of  bugs.
 
Evil beach dwelling creatures that crawled up out of the pebbles to attack their prey. Had I not been tired and grumpy, some of those bugs may have survived to tell the tale of how they saw the filming of Jenny Ringo 3. However, at times I am not a patient man. It was survival of the fittest. I won.
 
However had I had to face the sea fox alone, I'm sure I'd be telling a different tale. It's never a good sign, when your back is to the sea and everyone start looking over your shoulder at a "dog" coming out of the sea. Not a dog my friend, but a fox. A fox that each night rises from the briny depths to wander Worthing looking for easy prey. A Sea fox...I would guess.
 
Anyway, we got through the last location shoot. We each went our separate ways, back to the safety of our houses and beds, to dream of the adventures of sea foxes and beach bugs.
 
We still weren't finished. There was still animation that I had to complete, the construction of a monster and trying twice to get the perfect night time shot of Brighton Pier.
 
This is another tale for next time...

 

A whole host of randomness...

So what do I have to update?

I'd like to point you in the direction of the completed One Foot From Hell...but I can't.

I'd like to explain how my bonkers script is the most amazing un-produced film script ever...but I can't.

I'd like to also point out how I've completed all my half completed projects and how everything is going well and I'm on top of everything and got it all sorted...but I can't.

What I can tell you is that I've been to work, a lot. More than I'd like to to be honest. There are times when I find the day job really gets in the way. I sometimes wish that I could finish work early to do overtime on my film!

So in and around work I have managed to get some work on One Foot done. Darren completed the grade, which looked great. (Due to technical difficulty I had to make some adjustments myself and tweaked the colour ever so slightly).

I've now managed to start compositing the animation with the plates. There are 18 shots in total with 4 POV shots to amend. I have completed 8 out of 18.

I'm getting there.

In terms of all other projects I have going, they're all pretty much on hold. I really want to get back to writing but as highlighted above, time is stretched at the moment. Hopefully once One Foot is properly complete I'll get back into the script. For now it annoyingly has to be on hold.

You never know, it may resurface for Project 31!.

For now though, work on One Foot continues. You can "Like" the Facebook page at the link below where I post more often about the status of the film.

https://www.facebook.com/OneFootFromHell

I'm currently trying to turn this blog into more of a website about me with details of my films, behind the scenes stuff and links to Youtube and Vimeo. Somewhere I can point people towards and update easily. Note the new buttons at the top of the page.

I also have a podcast with Brother Chris. Website is below for direct MP3 downloads but you can also subscribe on iTunes. This also has a Facebook page to "Like".

https://www.facebook.com/ItWasOnlyAPound

http://www.itwasonlyapound.co.uk/

If you are already keeping up to date on Facebook, please spread the word. It's a little disheartening when I actually have more friends than I do Likes, but I guess it's direct evidence that you can't always please everyone.

To those loyal followers, I thank you!

So some stuff happened...

...and that's about that.

I felt the need to update the blog since it's been a while and I must has a lot to update. However checking the most recent post (before the Harryhausen obituary), I now realise I'm still pretty much in the same situation. However I do have a couple of updates.

Update No. 1 - Jenny Ringo and the Cabaret from Hell has been released online to those signed up to the mailing list. If you want to see how it goes down, sign up to the list here...

Update No. 2 - Jenny Ringo 3 is nearly complete I spent two very warm evenings staring at a PC monitor watching animation render frame by frame - a far more tedious process than animating itself. Especially when the video starts to drop frames.

However, render was complete and the animation sent off to Brother Chris for approval. Once the film is completed and goes live I will let you all know.

Update No. 3 - Animation complete for One Foot. Looking forward to finishing the film.

And I'm afraid that is all. One Foot is still at the Graders so no further progress. I've started work on the Bonkers Victorian script. I've even started to think what to work on next...depending on whether or not I convince myself that it is all worth it in the end.

But time is up, and back to work I must go.

Next time I hope to have more exciting news!

Cheers.

Ray Harryhausen (1920 - 2013)

A hero passed away yesterday, and with this the world lost some of it's magic.

Ray Harryhausen was a technician, a sculptor, an artist, an animator and most importantly, a filmmaker. I don't want to give you his life story here. I'm not the man for that. Plus there are plenty of books for you to go out and read.

What I do want to do is tell you is how much Ray's work and life meant to me.

Now I'm no one special. I'm a guy that works in an office in Brighton who happens to make films in his spare time. I have good days, and I have bad days, but I enjoy the hell out of this life. I enjoy the the fact that you can't stop me doing this. If I have an idea for a film with a killer doll, you may say it's stupid and you may tell me it's a waste of time; but ultimately you can't stop me.

That's pretty much how Ray started. He saw King Kong one day and was hooked on the magic of Cinema. With the help of this family and friends he went out and taught himself how to make animated films. And this was back in the 40s. Not like today when any office worker in Brighton can get their hands on a camera and make a film.

I can't remember the exact day when I was first introduced to the films of Ray Harryhausen. It feels like they've always been there. But way back in 2001 I was faced with a big decision. Do I go to University and If I do, what do I study?

I was good at two things; Graphics and Maths. However I was never that much of a fan of continuing Maths and ending up in a Economics office staring at numbers all day. So, with pile of prospectuses (prospectii?) in hand I sat down with Mum and started going through  to find something art based to follow.

Illustration was the way forward...then illustration and animation...then solely animation. "Hell, I love the Ray Harryhausen films. That's what I will become...an animator!"

Okay that's quite a tenuous link. However, whilst at the interview I had to present my minimal portfolio. I also had a long discussion with the lecturer and a couple of students, about Ray Harryhausen, and how animation can bring the imagination to life. I'm still convinced to this day, that this is why I was accepted into University. My love of film, animated monsters and Ray Harryhausen!

Very important side note to cement this:- Whilst at University, I had the chance to meet Ray at a talk in Bristol on 21st March 2004. A great exepereince and definite highlight of my undregrad life. I also got a copy of his book (quite a hefty and pricey item for a poor student) and queued to get it signed. Something I will always treasure.

So I continued my love for animation, especially the stop motion effects in films, not just Ray's credits, but such examples like Jack the Giant Killer, Puppet Master and of course King Kong (what do you mean which one? I ought to slap you. 1933 of course!)

In a roundabout way, without ever seeing Ray Harryhausen film, I wouldn't be who I am today. I probably wouldn't be working in an office in Brighton, I wouldn't be providing animation for Brother Chris' Jenny Ringo films or trying to control a killer doll.

So as I said, like many others, I grew up with these films. However I've seen a lot of tributes, including one I'm pasting below, that mention how much he meant to our childhood, and how a large part of our childhoods have now been lost. To me his films are more than this. Yes I watched them as a child. But I never stopped watching. I still watch today. I will always watch.  And I'm sure that one day, way when I have kids, or even Grand kids, I'm sure one day I'll be sitting them down to show them real magic.

So life goes on. I'll go back to work and sit in theoffice; and no one will mention how we lost a legend on Tuesday, how the world of film has lost a genius and how a shocking number of people are still unaware of the magic he created.

But I know; and the people I love know. And I'll carry on fighting killer dolls and chasing beach monsters and writing bizarre films set in Victorian London. I'll also continue to imagine more crazy ideas for films. Because that's what I do.

That's what Ray Harryhausen taught me. If you put your mind to it, no one can stop you bringing a skeletons back to life.

"Ray Harryhausen took a part of all our childhoods with him when he went.
Thankfully he remained with us long enough to realise how universally beloved his work was by so many. Thank you, Ray." - Joe Dante

Thank you Ray. Thank you.

Ray Harryhausen
1920 - 2013

Some stuff has happenend, a lot of stuff hasn't...

I've not updated on here for quite a while. Sorry about that. I have been busy though.

In terms of One Foot From Hell...I totally finished the trailer. Take a look...



This was also shown at the last Movie Bar we ran, but more on that later, back to One Foot.

The animation is half complete, the grade is with Darren to make it look all creepy and stuff...and that's where we are.

Still a lot to get done.

Our main current set backs include helping Brother Chris on Jenny Ringo 3 and more annoyingly, having to rework the animation doll as some of the latex has started to fall apart. We'll get there though. Hopefully be doing more animation over the next week. Once that's complete then it's full steam ahead getting sound and music sorted.

I've been bogged down with a lot of other things (namely Tomb Raider), but I'm slowly getting back up and running and can see the end. It's still quite a small dot on the horizon, but it's there.

So back to MovieBar, we held the last night on 1st April 2013 - no April fool's prank here. Movie Bar is over...until June 3rd where it continues under new management. It's been fun helping to run the night over the past couple of years but we felt it was time to pass it on to fresh meat. To take it further into it's 7 year run, and hopefully beyond.

So what else has stopped me making One Foot. I only gone and done a podcast. You can check it out on it's very own web page here.

The podcast is called It Was Only a Pound. Brother Chris and I watch films that have only cost £1 and discuss whether it was worth it. It's basically an excuse to go through the massive pile of films I've bought, but never gotten around to watching. We hope to get more social with it but I'll post links when available. At the moment we've only manage 2 episodes but as you can see on here, I've been busy.

So this finally brings us to Jenny Ringo 3. Brother Chris decided to bring Jenny back a third time in a shorter adventure. Once again I was asked to provide some animation, which so far is looking great. However this time, I was also given the opportunity to try my hand at being the DoP.

I'm going to post about this in the future to give a full account of how it went down. In short it was a great experience. For more information check out (and Like) their Facebook page and website.

So there we have it. I've been a busy bunny for the last couple of months. However as we head into the final school term, I'm more focused on what I need to do.

Crazy Feature script is still in my head, and I will start working on it soon. I've also starting thinking of many other projects to spend my time on when the existing projects have been completed. Granted, there's already a long list, but I don't mind making it longer.

So I'd better get back to it as I need to go and make a human hand (spoilers).

Project 30 is now over!

It's time for another update. This is a big one as we've now passed the Project 30 deadline. This also means I'm 30 now! Happy Birthday me!!

So where are we with Project 30. Did I complete all the projects? Did we fail so miserably that I will never try anything again?

Let's see:

Project 1: Complete the "Radio Play" Everyday Joe.
As we know I completed Project 1. There are now 31 wonderful people who have listened to it. I'm not even considering the fact that people may have listened multiple times. Still good on you, shame on everyone else.



Anyway, I blogged about this back in August. You can find the complete rundown here.


Project 2: Complete my first, "professional" short film.
This one I didn't quite finish, however...

Project 2a. Complete the filming for my first, "professional" short film.
If you read the blog last time I announced that I had completed the filming of One Foot From Hell and set up the Facebook page here!
Now due to the following bonus project, updates for One Foot have been few and far between. I can confirm that we've begun going through the footage, found a handful of outtakes and more importantly, we're locating the best takes to speed up the editing process. It therefore goes without saying that I haven't started editing yet, which means the animation has not started either. I would like to get it edited before the end of  the year, which should be possible, but Christmas does always get busy.

Watch this space, and the Facebook page for further updates.

Moving on...

Bonus Project: Music Video.
This one failed, but the idea we had was a good one so it will be resurrected in the new year.

Project 3: Complete the super secret script for a bonkers adventure film set in Victorian England.
Not entirely finished this one. Let's see how we got on with the sub-project.

3a. Complete the treatment for a bonkers adventure film set in Victorian England.
Yeah, not much further I'm afraid. I did try to get the treatment completed the night before my Birthday but got a little confused. I'm still working on it but have backtracked to working out a timeline first, then I can build this up to the treatment. A weird way to work I know but I've made the story a smidge complicated.

Project - Mass Effect 2
I completed this a while ago, which moved me to add...

Bonus Game Project: - Complete Mass Effect 3
Now I'm not crazy and originally set this to be completed by the end of the year. This was mainly so I could complete the whole Mass Effect Trilogy in 2012. However I have read that Mass Effect 4 is in talks, so this Trilogy project now seems a little redundant. It's good fun though, and pretty much all I've been doing with my week off.

Now do you see why I haven't edited!

So there we are. Project 30 has come to a close. It was a challenge. Probably too great looking at the time frame I set myself especially as I knew that a lot of my free time had already been assigned to other commitments. I think the deadline process does work, as long as it is realistic and as long as you believe in it. It at least gets yo motivated to do something. It also helps it is have a cool name. Project 30 was obvious. I was thinking of Operation 2013 for next year, but I may have to change it to Project Snakebite or Operation Tigerfist!

Anyway, despite not fully completing the short, I am proud that we managed to even film it in such  a short space of time. I've got a lot more work ahead of me, but doing this has taught me that I do enjoy keeping busy and being creative. Yes a lot of the time my ideas fall by the wayside but there are others that stick. 2013 is looking to be another busy year to finish off a number of small projects, along with finally finishing One Foot. I also realised that I spend far too much time playing video games, but that's not going to change anytime soon.

So I'll keep you updated on the One Foot progress, and if I manage to complete the bonkers script. For now I'm going to get on with the tattered remains of Project 30.

Also, a big thank you to anyone who reads this blog regularly. Hopefully it's the same 31 cool people who listened to Everyday Joe. You truly are awesome!

An update of sorts....

So I'm just checking in. I really should be talking about the short film I'm making, but I wanted to do a massive update on that with pictures and things.

So I could talk about the making of Jenny Ringo, but that's still in it's early stages and not much to say other than I'm editing it.

I could talk about the recent draft of a script I've been working on with Brother Chris. Except I can't actually talk about that.

I could possibly talk about another ESting I'm working on for the annual competition at E4. Not much to say at the moment. Brother Tim will hopefully be involved, and it will feature E4. That's all I dare say for now.

I guess I'd better stop talking about all this and actually get on and do something.

Catch you later when I'm not so busy.

I think it's best if I hide...

I've finally started editing the behind the scenes footage of Jenny Ringo. It's cool how it's taking me back to the time spent making the film, and all the memories connected with it. Also how hot it was over those few weeks. Granted, it also helps that it's rather warm outside today. Strange for April.

It's good to see how we all worked together and I was wondering if I am missing out on a lot of experiences by making a animated short, on my own, using my friends for voice cast (a conscious production decision).

I was thinking that, until I see the footage when the camera was turned on me. The uncomfortable mumbles I make when answering questions; the long stares at nothing in particular as I avoid the camera eye contact. Nope, it isn't for me. I'm purely a behind the scenes guy.

And so, with the doubts I had about animation cast aside, I continue to set forth on a journey to finish something I started 6 years ago...that is if I can actually get the cast recording done.

So what was this blog actually about?

100 posts = 100 things to talk about...

So here’s how it was...

I started the blog about just under 3 years ago. On Thursday 14th August 2008 to be exact I’m not particularly sure of the reasons off hand. I was going to mention that according to my original post it was because of this...but I don't seem to have given a reason. I think I started it, as Brother Chris said, so that I can look back on what I was moaning about months ago. That, and people will want to know how it went down.

It’s always been difficult continuing to blog when you can count your readership on your fingers, and see most of them in real life regularly. I have managed to keep it up over time though.

So over the last couple of years I’ve talked about things that annoy me, things that excite me, things I’ve been working on and a lot of complaining. I also gave up at one point, only posting occasional musings.

Fun fact time, whilst this blog has existed I’ve lived in four houses/flats, 3 towns and had 4 jobs, included a period of unemployment.

I’d just finished a making of, completed a shorter making of, made a 2nd E4 ESting and a music video. I’ve seen a number of bands, seen a load of films and mused a lot of random musings.

So that’s basically how it went down...

...and here’s how it is.

So right here in the present I'm still busy. I'm still working, which yes is good because I get money, but it does take up a hell of a lot of time, and is a bit annoying. I've lived in my current house for over 6 months which is looking good. And I'm still playing games. Got my hands on a PS3 now thank to the Girlfriend's gaming madness. Uncharted is amazing by the way.

So with all the above going on I'm still busy with the creativity. I wrote a list recently of all the things I have to work on and there were about 10 items on there, and they're all in different stages. Some are more urgent than other, some are writing based, some making of based. 1 is a whole animated film. Not feature length of course, but long-ish. I am quite confident to announce, over the next year or so I will be working on:-

Lost in 5 Towns: A Tale of an Everyday Joe.

Did I juts break a rule and announce a project... oh crap. I wont divulge too much information, just that it's a film close to my own heart, set in good old Stoke-on-Trent. Now, if you never hear of this again, I will have learned my lesson about announcements on blogs.

Still I've still got the secret writings I've got going with Brother Chris which will hopefully come to fruition in the near future. And on that note, you're all up to speed.

So here’s how it will be...

Some stuff I guess.

Here's to the next 100 posts.

Some stuff happened...

So yeah, some stuff happened.

Fine, I'll elaborate a little. Yesterday Brother Chris and I had a meeting regarding said script that was co-written and moaned about previously.

I'#m not sure exactly how much can be revealed at this stage in case, in a fit of rage, we destroy all memory of said script, only to be remembered as a fun anecdote in those winter nights of the future.

"Remember when we wrote a script?" Brother Pete excitedly declared. "Yes." replied Brother Chris.

Saying all that it went pretty well. Brother Chris is continuing to redraft form the plethora of notes given and hopefully we can successfully complete Level 2. So enough of that for now.

However, that is not the end of this story. I have also been resurrecting an old script I had originally sent to Screen West Midlands, only to be told that it was "Visually, narratively and stylistically a mess."

So a little disheartened was I until I realised that they knew nothing. Especially as I wasn't making a two people in a room film about the death of the world, juxtapositioned with the lack of Wheatabix left in the box on a Monday morning.

so I'm pulling the script out or retirement and moving ahead. Basically, I had written a short introduction to said project, but until I'm actually ready to go, I think I'll save the announcement until a few blogs later.




But it is coming...

Long time no see...

...or write.

Ok, I've neglected this blog in recent times. I'll be honest. I'm lazy, and didn't have much to say. Actually I did have things to say, but I was likely to go off on a rant, therefore taking up time that could best be spen on other activities.

So way back in October I was plannign something. At that time I thought this was best represented by quoting Back to the Future, click here to remind yourselves >>>

Ok so that was supposed to be the start of something big. And then it got too big, and I didn't move forward at all and it slowly became simply a blog post with a Back to the Future quote.

However, I'm getting back onto the proverbial horse. I will release bits of information regarding whatever projects I'm working on.

This is also due to the fact that I have, at this time 7 projects on the go in some state or another. 8 projects actually as I'm going to drag another out from the past.

This means that things are going to get more interesting on here, but also equally as vague as I still believe in the idea of not giving too much away.

Just think if I'd announced the project back in October, and still no closer to actually showing anything. Damn. I should have actually said it was just a Back to the future quote. Now if I had a DeLorean I could go back and change what I said. Actually I suppose I could just scroll to the top and remove it.

It's been said now. I suppose I'll just leave it for future generations to see. People will want to see how it went down.

And I suppose that's the point of the blog. In years to come the Future Men and Women will look back at this blog. Wonder what happened in the gaps but ultimately will see how it all went down.

That is if my career mirrors Bill and Ted and at some point I'll have to fight a future robot version of myself and save the world with film.

Be excellent to each other and party on dudes!

Jenny Ringo Needs you...

Well it needed me actually. Here's my account of workignonf Jenny Ringo and the Monkey's Paw.

So there I was minding my own business when Brother Chris suddenly announced it, “I’m making a short film and I need you to do some animation.”

With nothing better to do I jumped at the chance...


...Ok so it didn’t really go exactly like this. Well actually, pretty much. This was before the exact details had all been worked out. You see it started as me filming 20 seconds of Animation, tops. Then it stretched to me becoming half of the art department. This naturally led me onto the Prop handler/wrangler and finally settling on general dogsbody, including a bit of Fake Shempery.



But I still jumped at the chance. If Chris could pull it off, this film would be mental, and prove that all short films didn’t need to be about two people arguing in the director’s living room.
Here be my experience on Jenny Ringo and the Monkey’s Paw.

I’ll split this into 3 separate sections due to the different jobs I worked on.

Animation

So my initial task was to use my animation skills to animate (obviously). There were two short sections. Now I don’t want to give too much away with any of this so I’ll be brief. I needed to animate a Monkey, which I can say, as monkeys clearly play a large part in the story. This was just a ten second clip to visualise a monkey doing stuff. (I’m good at hiding the spoilers).


For this I used my tried and tested technique:-storyboard the clip, film it to get timing right, start drawing on paper, frame by frame. I then scanned the pictures and composited the whole thing together on the PC. This sounds simple, and relatively is, but takes time. I think the drawing, scanning and compositing only took about three days max. After an evening of tweaking, the first scene was complete.

The next scene once again needed to visualise some stuff. I had a chance to elaborate a little with this though and managed to come up with a cool little scenario for a famed Russian playwright/Star ship navigator. Somehow this one didn’t take as long. Well, I say that, but when I finished this one it was the early hours of the morning. This scene ended up being about 15 seconds long.

There’s nothing too complicated with these scenes. But hopefully they help to take the film that extra level to show what can be done with low budget independent shorts.

Art Department/Props

None of this is chronological by the way. I didn’t animate until after principal photography had finished. Before that I was given the task of Art Department along with Charlotte my girlfriend, and we dived straight in. There were 4 major areas. The living room, kitchen, hallway and one bedroom.


We basically had to make Brother Chris’ flat not look like his flat but like someone else’s flat. With the living room we needed to make it look as though we hadn’t just added a load of cool looking things on the shelves but that someone actually lived there. This was fun to go round and collect what we already owned and buy a few odd looking objects to fill the spaces. Here are some of my favourites:

The Creepy Doll – Strangely I felt safer with this after I bloodied it up.



The Brain – You always need a brain.



With the Kitchen, we were tasked to mess it up. Not just mess it up, it needed to look like it had never been cleaned. As if no one had ever even thought of cleaning it. As if no one would dare clean it. The trick for this is canned goods. Beans, macaroni and cheese and the slightly worrying meal in a can. I think we chose the all day breakfast as we couldn’t find the one with the omelette in.

Messing up a kitchen is easy. Lay a few unwashed dishes around, leftovers from lunch, add more dishes for effect and cover with beans and so on. Please note this will create an unpleasant smell and a sight you hope never to witness in the real world.


Once the scene was complete we got to tidy the Kitchen up. Lucky Us.

The hallway and bedroom was simply a case of dressing doors or walls with stuff that the characters might have decorated with, whilst subtly revealing a bit of their character in the decoration. Jenny was always going to be spooky, gothy and halloweeny. Gavin was never really explored deeply. Just a slacker type so we opted for an assortment of posters torn from music magazines.

Fake Shemp and Everything Else

I also appear in the film in a couple of Fake Shemp roles. 1 looking terribly like the ghost from Carnival of Souls and another, well let’s just say I got the role because apparently I look smarter in a suit.


Further to all the above, I was generally there for most of the filming. Helping out where I could. Whether this was as a drinks wrangler, monkey wrangler, sound wrangler or safety pin wrangler; I was always happy to help out.


Yes the days were long, and there were a couple of occasions where I had to sit in a room on my own until snacks/drinks were needed; but this is all part of the fun; because at the end of the day, I was part of something truly original.

I just hope the curse never catches up with me when I cut of the monkey’s paw in the first place.



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You can see more of Pete's awesome animations on his YouTube channel here and keep up to date with what he's working on next at his blog here (which you should follow to encourage him to update it more often!).

This is heavy!

If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit.

It's like The Wrestler...

...except it isn't at all.

I've stopepd blogging. I know. I had a brief burst of energy and work time to blgo in, then work time got taken up with actual work so I stopped once again.

Just as a taster I've been workign on a short film - Jenny Ringo and the Monkey's Paw for Brother Chris.

See here for great detail -> Jenny Ringo

I've been a set wrangler, a prop wrangler, an animation wrangler, a food wrangler, a sound wrangler, a camera wrangler, and acting wrangle and sometimes a people wrangler.

Based on this wide range of task I've been involved in during the making of the film, in a similar blog to Brother Chris, I plan to write my own behind the scenes experiences of the life of a crew man.

For now, I'm to bed.

PS the final Scott Pilgrim book come out this week. I'll blog about the series as a whole at some point too.

A little normality here please...

Ok, so nobody said moving flats was simple but I never anticipated on it being this complicated/annoying/hazardous/idiotic/stupidic and most of all toatally stressfull. And I've kind of done the main part.

Anyway I've been trying to get back to normal for a while now without the slightest bit of luck. For a short time it was working, begining with character sheets for a new script I'll be workign of with Brother Chris'. However with his impending wedding and writing hiatus I may go it alone for a while.

Then things got stressful once again and I lost the ability to write (this wasn't really due to the stresses of life more the joys of life when I replaced my TV/Monitor with a larger TV which I temporarily use as a monitor so any prolonged exposure to slowly burns out my already damaged retinas.

Anyway the latest adventure of normality I had was showing the music video I finished before Christmas, Bitter Ruin's Soldier, at Son of Moviebar last night. The crowds seem to be dwindling, which is a pity as the nights are always interesting but the film went down really well. I managed to spit out a few sentences this time around and was excited to find out that someone in the audience knew the story of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, on which the video was based. So finally a small victory it would seem.

Anyway, I'm cutting this short as I need to do some "proper" work. Breaks over guys.

However, before I go, without further ado, the most excellent Scott Pilgrim trailer:-


It really is awesome.