The Genie and The Trashman Premiers Tonight

The Genie and the Trashman will be premiered tonight at TMUTheater at 6pm (EST).  Its part of a triple bill that includes JosephKw's "Experince Crawling Flesh" and RJAnaconda's "Perfect Chaos".  If you plan on coming be aware that TMUTheater doesnt work well in IE (last I checked) so you might wanna download Mozilla/Safari/Chrome before gametime.  Here is the full release thread.  I'll post a link in this post to the movie on TMU after the premier (edit - The poster is linked to the TMU upload).   Hope to see you tonight.

Bouncing about like a jackalope.

I find something inherently cool about typography, language and the written word.  Back in  "Travel with Berlitz" I had an idea of a league of extraordinary linguists (Noam Chomsky, Charles Berlitz, C3P0) but settled on travel agent noir.  In the future I think I will tackle typography in some shape/form.  


Speaking of which, My little lego man entry in the hairloss.com video contest lost out to a short film of text and two others.  Check out the winners here.  While I wasnt so impressed with that particular typograophy short (3rd place), here is one worth taking a look at...War of the Words..er Worlds read by Welles and set to text.  Very cool stuff (and just over a minute long).  Really makes me want that After Effects Program (and you thought Iclone was expensive... hehe)....And here is another pretty cool shorty showcasing a typography as architecture art project.  Nifty.


Even in a film having nothing to do with typography, I think the style of the titles and credits has a profound effect on setting the mood (especially up at the beginning of the film) and is something often overlooked or tacked on right at the end of many little screen flicks.  Im just saying. 


A fine read (on a completely different subject) this morning is Berardinelli's take on the New York Times changing online pricing structure and on online commercial revenue in general.  SoundSnap sent me an email just the other day proposing a change in their pricing strategy, while MovieStorm continues to futz about with their subscription and pricing methods.  The internet is a hard place to make a living (especially when you start charging for something that was at one point free, or can be found elsewhere for free). 


Finally, The Genie and The Trashman is wrapped (my wrap party consisted of a couple of greyhounds while playing Uncharted 2 for a few hours last night...party like a rockstar!).  It will be released thise week.  Keep an eye out here for more details.  

LibriVox and The Genie

I ran across this resource the other day while cruising the Internet Archive. LibriVox - an online digital library of free public domain audiobooks, read by volunteers. Currently has over 3,000 recordings, free to download. It struck me that this might be a fine resource for the budding filmmaker who wants to play with some good human voices or perhaps even tackle a full production set to one of these recordings. At the very least its a good source of free audiobooks for your next roadtrip.  Take a look.

And now, as promised, heres a little Genie screenie (from my upcoming Genie and the Trashman flick).  I suppose I haven't said much about this production so heres the fun facts.  It was dreamed up after viewing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari  in North Americas largest cathedral, Saint John the Devine, one halloween...a very cool experience.  A bit inspired by Trashman's Utarefson (itself inspired by.. well Nosferatu - a very cool German Expressionist flick in its own right) and then fell by the wayside for a year or so until watching Metropolis not so long ago and thought, "huh, I oughta get back on that particular german expressionist, silent treatment horse one of these days".  It will probably be silent though I'm still playing with the idea of using some sound effects.  Will probably be about 3 minutes long.  Will probably be a case of style over content as the story is uber simple and its more or less just an experiment.  Ive been avoiding using the camera switcher functionality in iclone, instead exporting clips separately and editing elsewhere for fear that the camera switcher influences the editing process.  Also, the HDR lighting effects mixed with the fog particle effects have crashed my video driver multiple times.  Very irritating.  Still, I think it will turn out pretty groovy if I ever finish it up.  

Hibernation

I stocked up on pie and cookies and holiday candy a plenty and seem to have settled down for a long winters nap. Been fiddling about with the Genie & the Trashman but with little urge to complete anything.  If I get an ounce more motivated I might have that little short out in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime I swear I will try to get a screenie or two out.  Monsters of the Atomic Age is festering about in my head as well.  I'm starting to get back into the motivated column and I have many of the sets just about ready, though the costumes remain a work in progress.


On the Iclone front Im digging Pauly's line of free Iclone characters and three of the better Iclone productions I've seen lately;  AT's Voyages of the Sojourner (a very strong 3rd act much like At's Expedition),  Raven2Angel's Echoes (check out that windswept apocalyptic exterior set) and AllPoint's "Who Am I: 2012" (so much work and effort is made to seem so effortless).  Yarmond has recently released his foul mouthed and nicely written MovieStorm flick, Jolly Old Saint Dick that has some great vivid characters and the J-Hard Christmas album commercial enclosed within like a belated xmas gift.


Otherwise, I've been reading The 5 C's of Cinematography which is a good source of thought on how to film.  Its dry but informative and has me attempting to think of scenes sequentially in terms of camerawork.  Also really enjoying this list of online tutorials for film and video production amassed by Mike Jones.  My fave so far is the 4 minute film school classes that includes material such as Drawless Animation (very cool segment).


Also finished up the graphic novel Luna Park which is visually something to behold but the story went somewhere I would not have expected.   Lets see, penniless, down on his luck, Russian soldier moves to America, lives in Coney Island and is an enforcer for a small time gangster.  Sound like any video game you've played lately?  And yet, its not that story at all.  While its no Asterios Polyp, its worth the time and money for the images alone.  I still haven't decided what I think of the story. 


So thats it, I guess I'm busier than I realized.  

2009 - A review of the creative side of my life

Following the closure of TMO and the move to TMU in 2008, this was the year I began to take advantage of all the tools and facilities available to me from editing software to video sharing sites and social networks.  Im no longer tied to just one site as my destination for seeing and being seen.  Credit Machinifeed for some of that as its now a daily destination for the thoughts and productions of a varied and dedicated group of peoples.  Also credit both the 2008 and 2009 MachinExpo for opening up my eyes to new platforms, new creators, new ideas and a spirit of inclusiveness that is rarely seen elsewhere (added plus of getting Ptolemy's Blues accepted as a screener at the 2009 Expo..yay!).  

That being said, heres a look at my own movies of 2009

Whitefish - My first real effort using 3rd party editing software (Magix MEP14) ended up something of an unweildy and rambling monster, part by design and part by fault.  The production took forever and as a result lost some of its focus.  Highlights include the train ride via animated overlays and Satan's musical sideshow.  Was it good?  As a narrative story it was a mess, as an idea and a an emotional feeling it hit its mark (imo).  I'd score it out at about 7 out of 10.

Upon finishing this movie I decided not to exceed 8 minutes of runtime in my future features.  Make it tighter was my immediate mantra as seen in....

Travel With Berlitz - Tight, snappy, poppy, travel agent noir with my first dash of Iclone. Even here in its little scene the beauty of iclone shined as I was able to (somewhat successfully) take an idea from my brain to execution without worrying first about the limits of the program (recreating a lost in the bermuda triangle/3D Warehouse scenario).  Also got to work with both leading ladies from TMU (Sisch and Dulci) for the first time.  A fun idea, good execution, highly watchable.  Grades as 8.5 of 10 for me.

Tales from the People Zoo - My next/first full feature foray into Iclone was a little sloppier.  Storyline resembling dadaist sketch comedy (Perhaps I give myself too much credit), some things worked some did not.  As my first Iclone feature it was interesting and ambitious and some of the sketches (the birdwatcher) still make me chuckle.  Ending credits were inspired.  However, it doesn't age as well as I slowly advance my IClone skill.  7.5 of 10.

Sleeper - Asked to include a little something into an elaborate Xmas collaboration (more on this later) this little ditty fulfilled an idea I had been playing with for a long long time.  Specifically that of 2d sets and characters in a 3d world.  The humor is only smirkable but watching the paper flutter to the ground as the result of the toddler suicide bombing is something else entirely. 8 of 10.

TheBiz's House of Horror - Easily my favorite experience working on a production as every major thought or advance was logged in an online production diary that kept me thinking and kept me on track (and gave no thought to the issues of releasing too much info).  Also a totally different concept from a story based production, I basically designed a carnival funhouse from past experience (a realistic one at that), built it from the ground up using sketchup, 3D warehouse and Iclone and then attached a camera to a character and walked him through the sets giving the whole thing a first person perspective and avoiding some of the shortcomings of Iclone; namely the animations.  My most popular production in terms of feedback, it was a big success, timely (hello halloween) and a lot of fun (if you could get past the fact I called it TheBiz's House of Horror...please excuse my ego, he knows not what he names a movie).  Winner winner, chicken dinner.  9 of 10.


Toying Around - A short ad for the hairloss.com video contest.  Took about 2 and a half weeks once I decided on the scenario.  Disgustingly cute and well done.  I really wanted to use the new Ic4 lighting effects here but the flat lighting approach worked best.  Kid Millions loved it to death and I bet it would have faired well in the contest (I do believe it is postponed due to lack of interest..).  8 outta 10 and a boost of confidence about trying out the contest realm.

My Favorites of 2009

TWCS - An Epic collaboration spearheaded by BudBundysMullet and featuring the talents of BBM, 6-HeadedMonster, JohnnyEx, Kwistufa and the uber-talented GoofParade (he's everywhere in this) dedicated to being the raunchiest XXXmas special ever.  It succeeds in the raunch and the humor.  The collaboration parts worked like a well oiled machine thanks largely to the BBM's overarching idea and willingness to leave things open ended and his hard work to glue it all together, not to mention GP's voice on pretty much every skit...hehe.  As mentioned elsewhere, the chipmunks Christmas skit blew my mind.  A fun project (collaborations that work are rare), a great result.

Clockwork - More style than you can shake a stick at.  A nightmare world brought to full realization.  Worthy winner of the 2009 MachiniExpo.

Shelf Life - Most cinema-esque feature I've seen in game based machinima.  Creepy and very, very good.

Push - Like a commercial that is trying to sell you an improved imagination.  I would never have guessed it was made in Second Life.

Other things 2009 and my hopes for the New Year

Comics and Graphic Novels - Starting with a January reading of the Watchmen (my first entry into comics) I managed to collect 15-20 classics of the genre with favorites including ; Asterios Polyp, The Dark Night Returns and The Leaugue of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  Those with a slight interest in finding grown up comix with a boatload of style, vision and sheer art need look no further than Asterios Polyp.  Its an interesting genre with strong ties and similarities to animation that Im hoping to further explore in the new year.

I'm finishing up the year with an interest in film theory, practice and editing techniques.  Reading and thinking a little more about how the story will get told once Ive developed the story itself.  Looking forward to a little self improvement.

Im also really hoping to see some Iclone productions that will challenge some of the wonderful stories that have unfolded in other software (namely MovieStorm as they share so many similarities) such as Daddy is Home, Clockwork and Death in Venice.   I tend to put Coming Home on the same level as those 3 but otherwise the IC productions are a bit lacking in the fully realized story based realm - imo but also a quick look at the 2009 MachinExpo finalists tell the same story.  Not sure if its an issue with the awkwardness of the homemade animations, the editing style that has evolved from the software or what but I have high hopes for the new year.

Ok, I am winded...Have a lovely New Year.

The TWCS and Sleeper

After many many months in the making, BudBundysMullet has released The TWCS!  Its full of much XXXmas cheer, holiday shenanigans, rad 80's commercials, a truly stunning Chipmunks Christmas parody thats so well done you will swear its the real thing and much else.  Its kinda like a perverse and twisted Heehaw Christmas Special but with Aussie in-jokes substituting for redneck outhouse knock knock jokes.  Sort of.


Anyways, part of my contribution to the project was a take on the old TMO xmas scenario that inevitably featured jesus and the easter bunny (being that The Movies provided a bunny suit, santa suit and jesus was easy enough to achieve).  I managed to get a paper cutout look by designing everything as a 2d prop in sketchup including the characters.  This was an idea that I had been playing around with for a long long time.  Originally I wanted to make a Coney Island movie using 2d props so as to look like a community theater production.  The Coney Island movie eventually morphed into Whitefish and now I have finally used the idea here in Sleeper.  I was mighty happy with the resulting look.  Its best viewed as part of the whole TWCS but if you happen to be under the age of 18 and 6 year old suicide bombers don't disturb you you can see it below.  But you will be missing out on the reason for the season you scrooge!

Sleeper from thebiz on Vimeo.

More Set Design, Doilie Patterns and Mercury Men

Here are a couple of things I have been working on lately.  Below is a set about 2/3 complete of which I am rather proud.  Its a full on dive bar that I would be proud to patronize.  Its a pretty hefty resource hog but it looks pretty.  Still need to add some tables and a juke box.  Will probably be used in a 5 second shot in my Monsters of the Atomic Age project but I think its on the same level as the space age bachelor lounge from a previous post.  Solid work biz.  A pat on the back...hehe.
 

Found some groovy old beer, liquor and car ads (used in my dive bar set) at a strange half dead site called cemetarian.com.  They also sell those old pattern sets that my mom used to buy at fabric stores back in the 80's.  Very distinct cover designs.  Kinda cool in an old lady way.  Also really like that "Doilies" image which is strangely grandma modern.  Worth taking a look at if you like things of yesteryear (postcards, ads, designs, bottles, etc).

Anywho, next up is a rather simple little project I am working on to experiment with light and animations.  Doubt it will get released but you never know.  My own rendition of Green Eggs and Ham which is Kid Millions absolute favorite book right now.  Needless to say he has seen the early production work (18 seconds) and he is mighty impressed for a two year old though he believes the HDR effect is a little over the top.  This project began the day I made a personal promise never to use that stupid toon character in any of my productions...EVER!  Personal promises are made to be broken (preferably on the day you make them).

Finally, I caught a mention of Mercury Men on the Celtx blog and went off to check it out based upon the overall design of the production (the storyboarding segment is very informative).   I'm really impressed with the package they have layed out to promote this upcoming web series.  Theres a digital prop series that features things like  papercraft characters, very groovy poster sets, production journals and a running blog from the writer/director.  Promotion in the machinima community too often seems like a lost art and as a result many productions that have a serious amount of time spent in their creation end up feeling temporary and small (often dissapearing a week or so after their release).  In contrast this feels...big.  Chris Preksta (the writer/director) mentions Myst as an overall influence to the series and briefly discusses how Myst was able to develop a world that felt like it existed with or without you and exists far beyond what you could physically see.  All of the promotional content here does something similar for the Mercury Men.  I have seen similar web promotions used for some studios (moonlight pictures) and it would be nice to see others (including me) think a bit more about their promotion beyond just the initial release (and thinking outside the box and beyond just a web presence). 

I continued on the trail and ended up watching 5 episodes of Chris's previous project; Captain Blasto.  Definitely small budget but pretty fun and cut up into little web episode chunks that work very well.  Dialogue and acting was a mixed bag at times going over the top and at times feeling like filler. Some of the slapstick worked, some didn't.  However, I really liked the music and the editing (see the ending of episode 1 for an excellent musical editing job) as well as the overall scenario in which a teenager who wants to be a super hero enlists various men to play the role of thugs and bad guys.  Together they create elaborate plots that the kid can then foil as Captain Blasto.  In playing these "thug" roles the men find something exciting and fun in their otherwise frustrated lives.  Theres a bit of a fun Oceans Eleven vibe going on  It has a cute naiveté and the editing keeps things from getting too sappy.   

As an added plus, I am enjoying the 3 years of blog posts as Chris deals with the project and goes through things we as creators all seem to go through.  I feel enriched.