Time is Flying but the Moive Isn't!

Sorry guys,

I feel like I've let the movie down this last month. Filming has proven to be considerably more difficult than I originally thought. All the test filming went smoothly but now that the camera is actually rolling I'm learning why the #1 rule to film making is never work with animals or kids.

To be fair to Thomas, I haven't started filming his parts yet. I've basically been focusing on the star of the movie, Max. He is proving to be quite reluctant in front of the camera. He doesn't like wearing his costume and he pretty much lays down the whole time he has it on. That's a little difficult to work with since his character is a self centered, loud mouthed speedster!

So, as of today, I'm starting a new approach. I'm going to start filming Power Dog's shots, then Thomas, then Willow (she doesn't wear a costume so she's pretty easy to work with) and then Max. At this point, I'm hoping the others will be easier to film. If they're not, then I don't know if this movie will ever get made.

So, stay tuned. I'm near my breaking point but I haven't given up! Hopefully, I'll have something to post very soon.

Hit A Personal Snag!

Well, it's been a rough week.

I try to keep this blog on track by only talking about things that relate to the movie. I have often said I would like more time to work on this project. What's that old saying? Be careful of what you wish?

I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail. All I will say is the one thing that has been keeping me from working on this movie on anything resembling a regular basis is no longer an issue. I, like so many in this economy, seem to have an average of an extra 60 hours a week to kill.

So, as idle hands are the work of the director, I hope to start filming the movie this week. I will start with the scene I mentioned in my earlier post (I haven't started it yet, sadly) and will see where it goes. With any luck, I will have something to show by this time next week.

See you all later!

Haven't Been Able to Do Much These Last Few Weeks!

Hey guys,

Well, what can I say? I haven't been able to do much of anything on the movie these last couple of weeks.

I was gearing up to film the first scene of the movie when my computer crashed. If that wasn't bad enough, a freak snow storm delivered 10-12 inches of snow here in Dallas and that pretty much put the rest of the city out of action. Everything has been on hold the last couple of days and it has really put a crimp on the movie.

A tech is suppose to come out and replace the mother board, cpu, heat sinks and memory on the computer tomorrow. If that happens, I should be able to start filming next weekend.

Now, when I say I'm filming the first scene, I don't mean the first scene of the movie. I mean it is my first scene. I want to start things off with a BANG so I'm gonna film the first meeting between Xam, Power Dog and T-Boom! It's got everything. All the characters, big action and a little humor. I'm hoping that by starting with that scene I will really get the filming ball rolling and not let it stop until I've filmed everything.

So, don't lose heart. I haven't given up. Once I have the first scene filmed I will edit it to see if everything lines up with my vision. If it does, I will think about posting the scene here on the blog. It was never my intention to put anything of the actual movie online, but I'm curious what kind of reaction I will receive. Like I said, though, I'm only thinking about it. I haven't made up my mind if I will.

I promis to try to keep posting on a more regular basis. That is, once my movie computer is back online!

Later!

Scene 1 Storyboard!

Alright, I've been pretty busy these last couple of weeks doing a storyboard for the first scene.

Truthfully, this was a lot of hard work and I am questioning the importance of doing it for the rest of the movie. At first I thought it would help me plan out my shots and prepare me better for shooting the scene, but really, when all was said and done, all I did was put what was already in my head in the storyboard. In the end, I don't think this helped me visualize the movie any better than what I had already worked out ahead of time in my mind.

That said, since I spent the last two weeks working on it I may as well post it on the blog.

Again, like all the other voice work posted on the blog, this is my voice you will hear and it isn't the actual voices of the characters you will hear in the final cut of the film. I just recorded it myself to save time. As I've mentioned before, I have a terrible voice for film. Heck, I didn't even bother to direct myself (as is obvious from all the reading mistakes I made and didn't bother to re-record myself). I just read the script and a little before half way thorough it I even gave up on trying to alter my voice for the different characters (not that I tried all that hard to begin with).

So, here is the first (and probably only) storyboard for the movie. It is the first scene of the film and gives nothing away on the plot, other than introducing all the characters of the film.

Enjoy.

New Power Dog Costume!

Alright, new in the fact that I made another one.

It's been done for a couple of days now. I mentioned in my last post that I would probably spend my last few days of 2009 making the costume, which is exactly what I've done.

I thought it would be fun to show the anatomy of making the costume. This was something I didn't do with the last costumes and it gives me something new to post, since I didn't do any filming this weekend (very busy doing family stuff).

These pics show some of the patterns used to make the costume. I designed them myself and made tweeks to them as I gained more experience. As you can tell, I used PD Pattern 3.0 to make this costume. The hardest part, as always, is making the insignia which is actually cut out from the cardboard of a Coke box (to give it that much needed 3D look that all super hero costumes must have now adays) and then I glue fabric over the top and sew it onto the costume. Getting it centered right is almost as time consuming as making the thing. The entire process is even more challenging because, as you can see, Max and Willow really enjoy helping which only slows me down because they are constantly in the way.

The final picture shows the two Power Dog costumes that will be used in the movie. I actually made three costumes but the first one was way too small to fit Gibson (it is only a little big on Max) and simply cannot be used in the movie. I have two costumes because Power Dog, although only having one in the movie, gets his ripped up quite a bit in the final battle with T-Boom and I need one costume which will be worn throughout most of the movie and one that I can burn and shred while filming the final battle scene. Xam has three costumes but that is because he isn't super strong like Gibson and his costume takes more damage throughout the course of the film.

All in all, this costume only took me about 4 hours to make. That may sound like a lot until you consider the fact the first one took me about 8 hours total. I can honestly say that I think I'm getting pretty good at making these things. Who knows, perhaps I will be able to cut it down to 2 hours when I make the sequel! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hey guys,

Well, what can I say? I haven't worked on the movie at all the last couple of weeks. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because let's face it, this time of year is crazy. Needless to say, family stuff has taken up all of my spare time and now that we're between Christmas and New Years I have to honestly admit that I'm just too tired to work on the movie at this time.

I do need to make another Power Dog costume. I've been putting it off for some time, despite the fact it will only take me about 3 or 4 hours now that I have some experience. Perhaps I will use some of my free time within the next couple of days to make the costume. At least I won't feel like I've wasted the entire month doing nothing. :)

I've also had some computer problems and that has slowed me down quite a bit. I'm just now starting to get my computer back up and running. Thankfully, I've got backup copies of everything so nothing is lost.

Now for the good news. Starting in January I plan on officially entering production as I will finally start filming the movie. It has been a long time coming but I think I'm finally ready. It will seem surreal when I finally get to say "lights, camera, action!" and actually begin shooting this thing.

We, meaning me and the cast, will need to do a couple of readings of the script before we start filming. The script has been final for quite some time but like all scripts, it has been updated as time has gone on. I will want to make sure everything sounds smooth and the story flows before we start filming and having the cast read through the entire script will help make sure that everyone is on the same page.

So, for the time being, that is all for now. I admit I've been a little lazy this month but everyone is gearing up and getting ready so we can start filming very early in January. As soon as I confirm dates I will update the blog.

Until then, have a great New Years!

Another Side of Thomas' Room!

I had too much fun with this so I did another pic of Thomas' room from a different angle. I also chose a larger format for the pic.

Click on the pic to see a larger image. :)

Enjoy!

Thomas' Room Set

Alright. I have to say that this was probably my most favorite set to build. The fact that the room is 12'x12' and not a 150'x300' warehouse or an entire island probably had something to do with that.

This was just a quick build, about an hour total, and only took 10 minutes to render. I also am convinced that this is going to be the most realistic I can get with my backgrounds. It isn't at all what I pictured in my mind when I sat down to do this movie but nothing I ever do is as detailed as the visions in my head. I just don't have the computing power to pull it off. I wish I did, but I don't. Like I said before, maybe some day some body will want to re-tell the story of Xam and Power Dog and hopefully I will get to be there as a creative consultant, but that will probably never happen and if I am ever going to get this movie done I need to continue moving forward. The hardest thing to film in movies is animals and children and that's all I have in my movie!

I may look into making the live action look more animated in post production. I will only do this if I don't like the look of the live action against the digital backgrounds and will only be doing it to give the movie visual balance. The truth is that I just won't know until I get to post so this idea is just that, an idea and I don't know if I'm going to do it or not. Feel free to look at some of my previous posts. It's full of idea's that at one time I was seriously considering and now quickly dismiss.

Anyway, enough of that. Here's the pic of Thomas' room.

Enjoy!

North Brother Test with Sound!

Well, I've spent the last week working on the North Brother Island test. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with this test!

This is only a quick 5 second shot but a lot happens in those 5 seconds. Again, in the movie, the final battle between Xam, Power Dog and T-Boom happens on the abandoned North Brother Island in the East River.

Here is a quick shot of the landing and I've added some sound to help polish it up a bit. This is from the perspective of Power Dog as he lands on top of the hospital on the island. This shot was rendered for 4 hours before I edited it.

I'm beginning to think this is the best I will be able to do for the movie. I really would like the backdrops to look more realistic but I just don't have the computing power to pull it off. I have to face the fact this movie is just not going to be a professional quality and I'm hoping this fact might give the movie a unique look and feel.

Who knows, maybe some day somebody will want to make a professional movie based on my characters. Until then, this might be the best I can do.

Enjoy!

Early Island Test!

Alright, I'm still kicking and breathing. I've been working on the North Brother Island set for the last week (along with eating a lot of turkey) and that is taking a lot of time.

For those that don't know, North Brother Island is an abandoned island located in the East River off of New York City. It is most famous for being an insane asylum and later a quarantine hospital where Typhoid Mary spent her last remaining years. Currently, as mentioned above, it is abandoned and nobody is allowed to step foot on the island.

That made it the perfect spot for the final battle between Xam, Power Dog and T-Boom! This test scene is no where close to ready. It shows Power Dog's point of view as he jumps to the island and lands on the top of the hospital and spins around.

Again, this is no where near complete. I just wanted to post something on the blog and this filled in nicely.

Enjoy!