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

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...

 

Let me keep you updated....

One Foot From Hell will soon be upon us.

I say soon but there’s still a bit to do. Well a lot to be honest. In terms of structure the edit is now locked. In terms of grade, just needs a slight brightness/contrast tweak when I’ve swapped all the footage for the high quality alternative (it’s a complicated task when your PC doesn’t want to help with editing). Also I do need to try to tweak the animation but due to said unhelpful PC it’s not longer rendering out the animation so for now I‘m forced to be happy with what I have.

So where do we stand?

In short, sound. In more depth, I’m mixing the dialogue, then will start to get Axel Foley and get that all mixed in. Whilst this is going on I’ll be on the hunt for composers to score the film. Then there’s just a few final flourishes to complete the film, such as credits. Well, mainly credits.

If I get on top of it all I it should be ready for a Halloween release and then ready for festivals the of 2014. This I think is the most taxing part and I need to stay positive through. I'm a creative at heart, and mixing the sound, at least at this stage, is more a job that needs doing more than anything else. Foley will be a bit more interesting, but until then I need to make sure I get mixing and I keep motivated.


But in other news, you may have seen a few extra buttons appear at the top of this page. Due to lack of organisation and webskills I’m basically turning this ‘ere blog into a main site where you can access information about my work. For the time being, my showreel , and behind the scenes info for One Foot. Ok, so there's nothing in the behind the scenes yet, but there will be.

I hope to continue to fill it with more and more information to give a more rounded study on the making of the short. I can then start directing people here to find out about me and the film.

But for now I’d better get back to sound editing.

Oh by the way, we now have a poster that I need to post up here when we're closer to finished.

To keep up to date about the progress of One Foot, you can like the Facebook fan page here!

Project 30 threatened by people...or lack thereof.

So I've been in various mood swings over the past week or so. This has been caused by trying to get a short film off the ground. However, it seems, if you haven't already got a small loyal crew set up, it's a bit of a pain getting a new team together. Even in Brighton it seems, where everyone is making some kind of film at some point.

As you've guessed it, this has become a complaint post.

So I was getting a little worried as November was looming, but I reckoned I still had loads of time. I emailed a friend interested in filming and he gave me his rough schedule.

Unfortunately it was discovered that he couldn't help out until 6th October. Great I thought. The weekend  Brother Chris and family are away so I borrow their flat as a location.

However this was the only weekend her could do until November.

So I thought...and thought...and was advised November made more sense. I did fear that Project 30 wouldn't happen though. However I decided, November would give more time for preparation, so I changed my mind. We will shoot in November!

Then I checked a calendar! "Oops!" I thought as I stared at my busy month of birth.

So it turns out, when trying to schedule, make sure you know what your plans are first.

Ok, back to the drawing board and back to October. This was now pretty much the best time I had to film. So I dived in and signed up to Shooting People, Talent Circle, posted on Moviebar and a couple of other places.

So we're off. Putting a crew together. So far, as if you couldn't work this out, responses have been disappointing.

I got a few responses from Shooting People, from some interesting people, it's just they were mainly based in London, and that may be more of an inconvenience. Not just the expenses for train travel, but general time it takes to travel.

From Talent Circle I had exactly 1 response.

From MovieBar, nothing!

From the other website that will remain unnamed, I got a rude comment back. Not sweary bum rude just a not very polite. So I'm not going back there.
Plus, to make matters worse for myself, I have decided they are Mr. Potter to my George Bailey and I need to show that people don't have to go to Mr Potter to get films made.

So, that's pretty much where I'm at. I start filming in 3 weeks tomorrow and I have some lights, a few helpers and a doll.

This film is going to be ace!

This weekend I start casting. Let's hope there are more actors in Brighton than there are DPs.

Here's to independent film making!!


Oh, by the way, if and readers are members of Shooting People, can you vote for Jenny Ringo in the September Film of the Month. We'd like get into the final please.

https://shootingpeople.org/watch/111251/jenny-ringo-and-the-monkey-s-paw

What the hell have you been doing?

Hi,

So yeah, what the hell have I been doing?

I'll give you an updated

Mass Effect 2 - not much. Should really at least get this finished by my birthday.

Project 3: Bonkers adventure film set in Victorian England.

I have completed exactly none of this. I've thought about it but haven't sat done to actually write anything. Which isn't entirely true as I did have some thing written earlier.

Anyway, at this early stage this is the one that looks likely to be my downfall. Which means...


Project 2: Complete my first, "professional" short film.

I do feel the need to clarify, that by "professional" I don't mean I'm being paid to make this film. I just mean that I'm not going up to Knypersley Lake with a camcorder and "mucking about with mates"

This is coming along, slowly, but I'm getting there. I did get stuck looking for a doll. Thinking I needed a load, then I realised I'm making a film. Therefore I don't need fifty dolls, I need one, and a shit load of creative ways to shoot around this.

Oops, spoilers. There's a doll in it.

Anyway, trying to get effects stuff sorted to get the to test stage. Very long winded this process, especially when you're having to bui....

I'm saying too much. In short lots to do, but we're getting there.

So that leaves us with...


Project 1: Complete the "Radio Play" Everyday Joe.

This requires it's own post...

...and I'll leave that to you to decide what that means.


So everything's coming along. I've got loads of time left, it's not like it August?

Right?

HOLY CRAP IT'S AUGUST NEXT WEEK!!!!

I'm getting there...

Just wanted to do a quick update whilst the system is down at work.


1. Everyday Joe - I managed to get things sorted editing the voice work only to come back to mix it properly and find that there are a number of holes. Back to re-editing, trying to mix as I go. It is nearly there, but I do keep falling out of favour with it. I never realised how moany it is. However, hopefully, with a proper mix and a few songs here and there it should be a pretty enjoyable listen.

2. After rewriting the script, and then getting stuck looking at dolls (it is related, I'm not mental) I seem to be finally making some progress. The next stage I'm working on is to get the shot list sorted. This may seem too early, seeing as though I have no cast or crew, but it's the best way to get a layout of locations and which scenes need to be animated! (spoiler).

3. I have done nothing for the bonkers adventure film set in Victorian England.


Regarding Mass Effect 2, I'm still plugging away but nothing too great to announce on that front. I'm not sure it's an improvement on the first game. Seems a hell of a lot more linear. "Recruit crew mate, get mission from crew mate, they become loyal...and repeat"

I'm still enjoying it, just trying to find time to squeeze it in.

Along with all the above, I've now been tasked to look after MovieBar whilst Brother Chris looks after his son, Nephew Eric. (Obviously Brother Chris won't refer to him as Nephew Eric as that would be ridiculous)
For now, that's my update.

Next time, I may be able to provide a few more details.

Cheers!!

Going out on my own...

... although I actually think I'll have help from someone? Anyone? Maybe for a hour or so?

"What are you talking about?" you'll now be asking your good selves. I shall explain.

After helping out on two Jenny Ringo films with Brother Chris (and many other awesome folk) I decided to take a look at how my own list of projects had progressed.

I had a couple of treatments, a few half ideas, even more complete ideas, an unedited recorded voice over track, with bonus half finished storyboard and to finish off a handful of old scripts collecting dust.

So I decided I need to actually get some of this stuff completed. Now I need a deadline, otherwise I'm not going to get anything finished. Well I know, I have a birthday at the end of November, and after then it's Christmas and nothing ever gets done until the following January. This will be my target.

By my birthday I will complete every half finished project on my PC to start afresh in the new year...

Wait a minute, that is ridiculous. If I didn't have to waste the best part of each day at work, then maybe this task would be completed. Unfortunately I do no live in this idyllic Shangri La world. I must work. Phooey!

Ok, so I'll finish as much as I can. Let's just pick a handful of projects and I'll get those completed.

*atmospheric lightning strike* (and it;s cool as it's the Empire State Building)

I declare that by my birthday in late November, marking my 30 years upon this here Earth, I will have completed the following:

1. Complete the "Radio Play" Everyday Joe.

2. Complete my first, "professional" short film.

3. Complete the super secret script for a bonkers adventure film set in Victorian England.


If I do not fully complete the above I at least hope to:

1a. Complete the "Radio Play" Everyday Joe. (It's nearly finsihed now so I'm cheating a bit)

2a. Complete the filming for my first, "professional" short film.

3a. Complete the treatment for a bonkers adventure film set in Victorian England.



If I do not pass the above checkpoints then I will give up, I guess.

Ok, so I'd better get started. I'll try to give a little more back story to the above choices as I go. I can't honestly say I will, and I'm bound to get grumpy along the way.

I'll try to update.

As for now, I'm going to play Mass Effect 2.