Once again, I am truly shocked to find out that yet another well known, well loved artist/celebrity has passed away. I can't believe that I'm actually writing that Bernie Mac has died. Bernie Mac. BERNIE MAC!!!! What the hell is going on here?
Always respected his comedy. He did the kind of routines that you would memorize and repeat back with your friends. He was a welcome and familiar face that would pop up on the movie screen. Great in Ocean's 11, completely underused in the following 2 sequels.
Finally got this segment done. Only took me 2 days, but somehow it felt like forever. Editing this video seemed to be more complicated than editing the actual episode. I think it was just due to trying to put all the right pics in order.
This gun was fun to make. It's amazing what you can do with what you've got or can get for cheap. The most expensive things on the gun is the camera, which I already had, and then the spotlight, which was about 30 bucks. Aside from that this gun cost about 30 bucks to make. Put a second one together minus the camera and spotlight for about 20 bucks more. And I'm putting together some new weapons using these same techniques for the next Monster Cops webisode.
The light cycles, the new graphics, and that's right bitches! JEFF BRIDGES!!!! I applauded when I saw him. It's not a remake fuckers, IT'S A SEQUEL!!!! The 80's are back bitches!
Ok so I've set up a google site sepcifically listing what else is needed for the production of Monster Cops: Dead By Dawn. Check it out here and find out how you can help. http://sites.google.com/site/mcopsproduction/Home
I think I've got all 3 Vampire Brides covered, I'll find out today or tomorrow.
Thanks to Richard Gaither we may very well have some locations covered, as well as a coffin, and some fog machines.
We still need a bunch of stuff as well as some locations so check out the site and lemme know if you can help.
So the Halloween Spirit continues to reign. The signs are everywhere and I'm feelin it. Helps that I went to Michael's in search of Monster making materials, only to find they were in the process of putting up their Halloween display. Of course I took pics. They also had one of the latest animatronic displays for this year. A headless bride holding her own head. Motion activated as usual. The body turns around, the head opens it's eyes and her voice can be heard inviting you to her wedding in a very eerie and ghostly tone. See the video below. Yes, of course, I took video!
By 1984 my obsession with movies was in full throttle. Indy, Superman, Rocky, Bond, they'd all gotten good hold of my attention. When 85 hit and movies like Back To The Future and The Goonies came out, my obsession exploded. So when the hits kept coming in 86 I was headed over the edge, right over the edge into the passions of moviemaking, a movie titled FX would put me there.
The story of a special fx artist hired by the government to help fake an assasination. Of course the fake assasination turns out to be a real assasination, and our fx guy hero is framed for the murder. Now on the run from the law, he must use his special fx genius to defend himself and get back at the people who set him up.
How the hell was I not going to love this movie.
By 86 I had already read Tom Savini's Grande Illusion front to back and had every fx diagram memorized, I had watched every ILM documentary I could find, I had created my earliest form of blood squibs (using ketchup, tylenol capsules, and a sling shot. Yes, it hurt), and was already working with latex and make up appliances (my parents were quite confused when I'd ask them for money so I could buy liquid latex and spirit gum, when other kids were buying action figures.) I was at the very beginning of learning how movie FX worked. So of course this movie was right up my alley.
I was propelled back into those old nostalgic feelings when I was flipping channels only to find that FX the Movie was playing. I caught the tail end. It all came rushing back to me. Everthing. The first time I saw this movie. How excited I was. How much cooler it made me feel wanting to work on fx and make movies. The thrill of learning how an fx shot worked. And the fun of learning the hard way how one 10 second shot is usually accomplished through hours and even days of tedious work.
A valuable lesson I learned when I was a kid, something that would prepare me for my work now. Today in fact.
Currently working on some fx stuff for a project. Learning new tricks everyday, every minute, aplying them to the old techniques. It's kind of a fun time right now. Feels like 85, 86, 87, all over again. And in the end that's kind of what I'm working towards. Achieving those old nostalgic feelings I felt when I was kid. Trying to capture that old magic, put it in my own work, and hopefully share it with the world.
OK enough delay. This blog was partially just to get a break from the long and tedious work of keyframes and compositing. 6 hours of work for a 5 second shot. Just like old times.
JULES There's a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you." I been sayin' that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant. I thought it was just a coldblooded shit to say to a motherfucker 'fore you popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some shit this mornin' made me think twice. Now I'm thinkin', it could mean you're the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. .45 here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is, you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin' Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd.
Pulp Fiction Written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avery.
Thanks G. I needed the reminder. So back to work then.
I've always been a big fan of Halloween. And you already know this if you've seen my Halloween Nerd Vlog above. But I have to say that the past few years haven't been keeping me in that old Halloween spirit. Until today that is. Honestly it started with an email from an old friend from highschool I read a few days ago. She and I always shared the same kind of enthusiasm for Halloween. So reading her email made me a bit sad because I haven't really felt that old Halloween spirit in a while. It all came rushing back though. I decided to go to AC Moore. And yesterday all of a sudden felt like fall for a bit. The cold front, the clouds, felt very refreshing. Then I stepped into AC Moore and saw that they actually had their Halloween stuff out, right as you walk into the store.
So, of course, I took some pics.
Yes I'm fairly certain a few folks were disturbed by the stalk filipino gentleman enthusiastically taking pictures of Halloween decorations with his camera phone. I'm pretty sure that my Halloween mood was preset by the fact that I had just bought The Dark Knight soundtrack and had been listening to it in the car all day.
So let's see. Projects to work on, working on Monster Cops: Dead By Dawn. Simultaneously will be working on a mock trailer for a movie called Archangel. I think I'll have to find time to fit in a new Halloween Video this year.
I'm a huge, HUGE, Golden Girls fan. I think it's jut great comedy writing, and great performances from a great cast. So it saddens me to hear that Estelle Getty has passed away. And now I go to buy the Golden Girls boxset.
Out of a great cast of females it's hard to pick out the funniest one. But Sophia certainly had some great lines.
Sophia: When I feel bad, I have to take my mind off it. There's only one thing that does that to me. Dorothy: Cooking a big meal... Sophia: No, making love in a closet.
Rose [entering cheerfully]: Sooo, who's the luckiest girl in the history of the world! Sophia: Well, it wasn't your mother.
Sophia: Blanche, a terrible thing has happened to you. But when life does something like this, there are a couple of things you got to remember. You got your health, right? Blanche: Yeah. Sophia: You can still walk, can't you? Blanche: That's true. Sophia: Great, go get me a glass of water.
Sophia [about her late husband Sal]: May he rest in peace till I get there.
Find more great quotes from the Golden Girls here.
The short/episode that we've been working on for the past few months, Monster Cops: Shadow Company is finally completed. Edited to a final cut, QC'd (quality control, that's what that means. ;)) and is ready to be burned to DVD and submitted to screenings and fests. I hope to get copies to those involved. The overall short/episode is 24 minutes.
I'll be taking a small break from shooting, but then we go right into the next Monster Cops project, a 5 to 6 minute short called Monster Cops: Dead By Dawn. This one I hope to have monster filled as you may have geussed if you read previous postings on One Spartan.
Ooh I'm excited for people to see this last one. Even more excited to show you this next one.
As I was watching Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, my wife bursts through the door to make me look up something on YouTube she just saw on TV.
NPH really is my hero now.
Jeez this guy is everywhere. To think this guy helped me make some money. Thanks NPH, you rock. I swear Old Spice has some of the best ads. First Bruce Campbell and now Neil Patrick Harris. I gotta meet the guys that some up with this stuff.
I think Joss Whedon is a brilliant writer. Ya know, Buffy and Angel and all that. But he must be brilliant if he's actually gotten me to like musicals again. Or at least his musical.
I love how some films have really grasped the concept of internet and viral marketing for their movies. Cloverfield was phenomenal at it, and keeping track of the fun of The Dark Knight viral campaign is even more amazing. The different sites, the videos, the viral games. If you were lucky enough to get signed up to receive calls, you'd get occasional calls from the Joker. All of it leading up to the final number on the agenda, ending with each of the viral sites being defaced by the Joker himself, and all of the antics being reported by Gotham Cable News. Simply amazing. Simply brilliant.
And I do especially love the Gotham Cable News network. Showing videos online of Mike Engel (Anthony Michael Hall) reporting on the situation, doing interviews with different characters. And most of these videos being shown also on Comcast. I love the news ticker on gothamcablenews.com reporting bits of headlines that hint to plot points in the movie. I've seen the leaked first 5 minutes of The Dark Knight, and I love how the current video being where Mike Engel interviews Harvey Dent is treated like a realistic news cast which then ties directly into the bank heist we see in those first 5 minutes. Awesome.
The game is pretty much done, being that next week is the big premiere. But feel free to take a look at what you've been missing. http://www.whysoserious.com/
Click around and you'll find links to most of the other viral sites pertaining to Gotham City and Batman. Take a look at the Joker's list. All on the agenda have been crossed off, but it was fun to watch them get crossed off as each one was done. Each one is a link that took players to viral sites and "clown games" that would give you little clues along the way, each one leading to something new and something fun.
The final point on the list is the best one. For those following and those who could keep up and solve the Joker's little puzzles, you were treated to free tickets to an early screening of the movie in specific cities.
Genius marketing and a great reward for the fans that played along. I myself did not get free tickets, because, well, I don't really need them. I'll be getting my own early screening. :D
This post is really only for those I've spoken to about the next MC project.
MONSTERS:
Here's what I'm going for.
1. ZOMBIES of course. A hoarde of Zombies. I'll be doing a casting call for like 30 or so people, with the typical Zombie necessities like body parts falling off, blood spilling out of mouths, Zombies chewing on body parts, etc. I'd love to shoot a scene equivalent to that of Day Of The Dead, where we see a ton of Zombie hands reaching out for a victim. And plenty of head explosions. I'll actually settle for 2 or 3 head explosions. I've always loved the head explosions in the original Dawn Of The Dead. Savini Rocks!
2. TAR MAN. My favorite character from RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, and by far one of the creppiest zombies ever. To me the quintissential zombie. I'd love to see two or three of em. But if we make one, I can multiply him in post production. Tall, creepy, lanky, scary, gotta love em. I believe Will Stine is attempting this project. God speed Will Stine.
3. A WEREWOLF Something a bit different from the last Werewolf we shot. I definitely want to show how we take on different types of Werewolves. So this time around, something much bulkier, and TALL, almost gigantic. Like in The Howling. Unfortunately I couldn't find a pic from the Howling. But the Dog Soldiers werewolf is about the same height. But something that resembles the look from Werewolf the TV series. In the Werewolf scene there is a victim that is torn in half but still alive. But I've got that covered.
4. THE VAMPIRE BRIDES. The plot requires us to breach a creepy house going after a master vampire before the sun comes up. And what is a Master Vampire without his 3 Brides. A staple in every Vamp story, especially when dealing with Dracula. I do prefer the look of the 3 girls in Monster Squad. Love the way they died. There will be a bit of a spin on these girls in my version. This just requires the proper casting. Got 1 lined up, have yet to ask the other two, but I am confident they'd do it. So this is basically covered. But I do need to come up with the costuming for the girls, three white dresses, I'd even be ok if they were in Bridal wear.
5. NOSFERATU. From the original F.W. Murnau of course, but I do prefer the look of Barlow from 1979's Salem's Lot. This is the Master Vampire. Tall and Creepy. Probably put him on stilts, but make his arms and hands of equal proportion.
6. This guy.
If we can make this guy happen. That would fuckin rock.
Other things I'm looking for (at the moment):
A Coffin. A Fog Machine. A Creepy house. In Door Locations. Empty Building. Knives, Blades. More Prop Guns. Tac Gear. A location with plenty of computers. An interrogation room.
This list will get bigger. Full Cast list to come.
This is a test. I am using a system called Jott where you can leave notes for yourself through the phone and you can also post blogs, so this is a test. What am I doing today? Right now I am to do some editing, got to do some shot later in a couple hours for Brandon and hopefully that will wrap up the ____ so that will done(?) but hopefully this test goes through and you will see this post on ____ blog so. listen
Part of putting together a puzzle. solving a riddle, or finding the solution to a problem is the waiting. The patience required to carefully put things together as to achieve the final picture. Waiting, patience, stopping to really look at the possible picture. It's an art form I still haven't fully gotten a hold of, mainly when it comes to editing.
Writing is a little easier. I've learned to write and then walk away. Stories may pour from your pen like butter, but there are those times where you reach that supposed block, and you need to leave it alone for a bit. When it comes to writing I've gotten use to it. But the visual aspect of editing is a little different. Especially when you've got your basic movie sitting on the timeline. You've basically got the whole thing right in front of you. You can watch the majority of it, its those little bits and pieces you haven't put in yet that form the blank spaces.
And those blank spaces are a pain in the ass. But a necessary pain. I edit fast. I can cut together what I need in an hour. So part of me really takes it hard when I reach a point where I have to stop and walk away for a bit. Just like writing, you have to reach a point where you put your tools down and let it sit for a while. It's the difference between telling a story and making crap.
I can almost guarantee you it's how alot of crap movies are made. The editors are urged to move fast to reach that screening date, and what was a swift process is now a rushed process. Swift is different from rushed. Swift means you're at a pace, productive, yet still effective, and still in control. Rushed means you lose control, you lose being effective and productive, and soon its just a race to throw things together.
We're trying to tell a story here. And you can't rush the story. A story is told not spit out. It's crap that comes out fast, and there's puh-lenty of fast crap out there. If you look to how the masters did it, they took their time. Moving swiftly only when it was needed. Taking each step that was necessary at their own pace, they would reach their destination just as quickly as those rushing to the same place, but with less energy spent on hustling and more energy spent on enjoying the walk.
Once again, I am truly shocked to find out that yet another well known, well loved artist/celebrity has passed away. I can't believe that I'm actually writing that Bernie Mac has died. Bernie Mac. BERNIE MAC!!!! What the hell is going on here?
