Peek-A-Boo

I've been finding much solace in that old Souxie and the Banshee's song. Somehow it's been helping me stay in the right mind set as I embark on creating Monster Wings. Part of the inspiration for wanting to create a creature with huge demon wings is because of Jeepers Creepers. The character of The Creeper is one of my favs and I think is very creepy. He's also the type of character the Monster Cops would go up against.

So in the intro to the show, I just wanted to see a 2 to 3 second clip of the Cops aiming their guns at a creature as it's huge bat like wings pop open. The creature would scream and claw at them, then the Cops would open fire. Much akin to that final scene in Jeepers Creepers.

That is part of what I was thinking in the creation of Monster Cops. How would these guys react if you place them not just up against classic movie monsters, but also if you place them within classic horror scenes. There was one scene I wrote into this current episode that was a nod towards Return Of The Living Dead, but alas it had to be cut.

But the intro I had in my head would show you the different creatures and how the cops would react and defend themselves. Yesterday I started building monster wings. I've looked over all the videos and links you can find of folks who've created costume wings before. I eventually came upon my own design and built the basic skeletal structure. For the next few days I will work on the skin and rigging, and then figure out exactly what this winged creature will look like from head to toe. A tutorial/blog will follow. I like the idea of a creature in human clothes and it's wings popping out from under a coat or a jacket. Something like The Creeper, but not exactly.

I often like to turn to google image search to help me visualize what it is I'm looking for. Here's a few images I came up with that best express what I'm trying for, or at least the idea of what I'm trying for.


The winged creature from Army Of Darkness. Love the creepy face. If I can steer the face or my creature to looking like that, that would be alright.


Of course The Creeper. This is a shot from Jeepers Creepers 2.


Here's a behind the scenes look at the wing fx. If I can make the wings look this great, I'd be in heaven. For more behind the scenes photos of JP 1 and 2, check out www.makeupandmonsters.com/JEEPERS_PIX.htm


One of the Gargoyles from Tales From The Darkside The Movie. One of the better horror anothologies. Yes a bit cheesy, but back in the day it was all good. This is from the final story in the movie called Lover's Vow. In my opinion the best of the 3 plots. It was creepy, disturbing, great monster fx, and just little bit heart breaking. And possibly one of the best horror plots ever.



Here's a shot of the Gargoyles face. CREEPY! Seeing it in the movie was creepy, especially when it talked.

These last two screen caps are from X-entertainment. They have a full review of the movie with spoilers (so beware). Feel free to check em out. www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0842/

I don't expect my wing monster to come out looking anywhere near as good as the above movies. I just hope by the time I'm done, we'll have another decent monster to show you, even if it's just for a few seconds. And if I pull it off right, I'll do a whole episode around it. Maybe.

Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those peepers.

Just thinking.

The Dregs Of Humanity

It's on my brain. And I know it's probably not going to happen the way I need it to, but just for ponderings sake here is some research for me to further look into that may come in handy if I decide to attempt to do this particular scene I have in mind. And yes the title of this post is a reference to an 80's tv show called "It's Your Move."


http://www.vilethings.com/vilethings_skeleton_marionette.htm

http://www.squidoo.com/marionette

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/05/how_to_make_a_pinocchio_m.html

Online No-Budget FX School part 1

Goddamn this has been a bit of a rough week. Tuesday would make it 1 year ago. Quite a weird day. Didn't know what to expect, what would happen, or what I would be doing to make sure Juli was ok. Thankfully we've survived without a scratch, well, no visible ones anyways.

Since all seems well on that front, I can go back to worrying about this current project. Thankfully as I budget this Monster Cops episode, I find a few resources online that help narrow down my budget. In this episode there will be some fx work that I thought I would have to pay an arm and a leg for. Now I've got my own bag of no budget tricks, but it's so nice to see others sharing online. Here are a few vids I find very helpful, and will certainly be taking note of when working on my monster fx.

Indy Mogul's Backyard FX is pioneering some really great no budget techniques. I posted their previous tutorial on builging a BIG FRICKIN GUN. Now here are two vids on some low budget zombie make up tips. These are steps I've actually used in the past. I did monster makeup back in high school and in college utilizing spirit gum and cotton balls with some black make-up and fake blood. Here, Backyard FX takes those techniques even further.


Here's part two of their Zombie FX, this time with guts and an exposed brain.


In the next Monster Cops episode there will be a large Grim Reaper like character. I've decided on this because of my past experience building a Grim Reaper like character for my previous series, The Living Dead Girls. You can somewhat catch a glimpse of it towards the end of this old Living Dead Girls Promo.


I'll be doing a similar version, but I found this video that comes a little closer to what I'd like to do. This is somewhat similar to mine except this ones jaws move. Very impressive. Find out more about this at villagehaunt.com


I'm going to aim to make the eyes move as well. Also I'd like to make the extended hands move using this technique I found on Metacafe. This is something I've fiddled with in the past as well, but this guy really nailed it.

Simple Animatronics - The funniest videos are a click away

Finally I'd been fiddling with Werewolf costuming for a long time. I actually built a Werewolf for The Midnight Special, but most of those scenes just didn't turn out the way I wanted them to, so they were cut. But building from those old concepts and lessons I've learned since then, I'll be attempting werewolf fx again. These videos have taught me alot about which direction I'll be going in for much of the mask and digigrade silts. Thanks gryphern!

Digigrade Stilts


Articulated Mask


These new techniques combined with some old tried and true indie lessons o mine has definitely put me in the right direction, and definitely cuts down on my budget costs. Next up, news on fundraising.

Monster Research Videos

The idea behind the Monster Cops movies is simple. Take a mockumentary look into the lives of monster killers. So basically Cops vs. Monsters. Of course it would have that comedy twist, so really it's more like Reno 911 vs. Monsters. With THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL I feel we accomplished the mockumentary type comedy. As far as the monster portion, I feel we did ok. We didn't reach the full potential of what I had in mind. This is something I fully plan on remedying for the next feature for sure.

The monsters I have in mind are the usual, Zombies, Vampires, and Werewolves. But my stipulation is that they look scary and real. I mean something that would actually scare you or gross you out if you saw it live. A motto I plan on sticking closely too is, if it looks fake live then it'll look fake on camera. Since much of what we are going to shoot is going to stick closely to reality TV/cinema verite, then I want what the camera sees to look as realistic as possible. I don't want you for one second to look at a zombie and think some guy in stage make up. I don't want you for one second to to look at a Vampire and think that the plastic fangs are about to fall out, (unfortunately some of our scenes look that way to me in TMS). And when you see the Werewolf footage, I want you think that we may actually have gotten a large beast like creature of some kind.

Monster Cops is a comedy with realistic scares. At least that's what it should be. The comedy comes from us, the cops. The monsters will remain scary. In other words, you will never see a wise cracking zombie or tap dancing Werewolf. Part of my vision for the franchise is to feature amazing monster footage with decent thrills. Suffice it to say we've got alot of work to do for the next movie, and much money to raise. But I am confident. Until then I'll keep looking for sources of inspiration. Many of these sources come in the form of Online Video.

I am blown away by the videos I've seen of the WALKING WITH DINOSAURS LIVE EXPERIENCE. This is definitely a show I want to see desperately. The following videos give you a glimpse inside this amazing show. My jaw dropped when I saw the brilliant work these people have put into these live action dinosaurs. I'm personally in awe because these are excellent examples of the kind of "monster fx" I'm looking to inspire the next Monster Cops feature. Especially the Velociraptors. The way they move is the way I would love to see a Werewolf or Demon move in the next movie, especially when we shoot it the way we're going to shoot it.

EDIT: What I thought were Velociraptors are actually the Baby T-Rex and the LILIENSTERNUS. Still amazing though.

Walking With Dinosaurs Workshop


Walking with Dinosaurs, The live experience '07 in Brisbane


Walking With Dinosaurs Live Experience. Check out the official site. Lord knows I'll be checking up on those US Tour Dates.


The next video is an example of animatronic dinos sans inside operator. I think.

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan



Disney animatronics, as seen on the Travel Channel. I actually have the full program recorded. I watch it often.




And more videos on more Horror/Halloween based fx/animatronics. The Pumpkin and Rock monsters are creatures I'd consider using in Monster Cops plotlines. If we could make it work realistically.

Pumpkin Monster Animatronics at Transworld Halloween Trade Show



Rock Monster Animatronics at Transworld


The following costume by Gore Galore is amazing. I'm definitely considering contacting them to help with costuming.

Freakenstein by Gore Galore



This costume was made for a LARP gig. Amazing work.

Stone Golem