Fortress (2012)

"No B-17s were harmed during the making of this movie."

Not Quite IL&M But....

Trying to finish up "The Reaper Strikes Back" in time for the Phoenix Comicon Film Festival's 31 March Deadline! Finished principal photography last night and am working the bugs out of the special FX.  Ought to keep me busy, for sure.

Punisher Fan Flick

Nice indie short.  Effects over the top (Jack Daniels does NOT = Napalm).

h/t PDB

Men of War 2.0

Working on pre-production for my next movie, Men of War 2.0, an action-fantasy short that will feature a guest appearance by some North Korean combat aircraft, as well as this F-14 Tomcat. My shooting buddy Big Bob did wonders producing two identical aircraft, one with the landing gear down (pictured), the other, gear up. I took delivery of both this weekend. Thanks, Bob!

The bad guys will be two pairs of MiGs (FLOGGERs and FULCRUMs); the kits are in the mail. Getting NKAF decals was another problem. I didn't mind shelling out over ten bucks (including shipping) for a set of 1/48 scale NKAF roundels, but for the 1/72 scale MiG-23, I had to settle for Yugoslavian roundels and hope no one looks too closely. Y'all won't, right? I'll have Bob paint each without identifying bort numbers so one plane can double as his own wing man (so I only needed to buy one of each type).

As far as paint schemes go, the NKAF doesn't show up at western air shows, so I had to resort to Google and Bing Maps to do a little aerial recon for me. Looks like they're still using the bare aluminum scheme they used during the Korean War, which simplifies things greatly.

Now to set up my spare room as a green-screen studio and start experimenting.

Update: Aw, crap, I got outbid on the Yugo decals anyway! It was actually just as easy to buy a 1/72 scale MiG-15 and hoark the decals from the kit.

Walking Dead Mad Men

Now with more Braaaaiiiiins!

h/t to MM

Cowboy Blob: Special FX to the Stars

Robyn was a real trooper when I made her up for her death scene. She even asked for a dose of stage blood in her mouth (minty Ben Nye variety) and reloads between takes. The shooter, PJ Peavy, playing a veteran police detective, was coached by the director to "Mozambique" her target, though it's kinda obvious that Sonny, the drug lab cook, wasn't wearing a vest. Hey, you try pausing while someone's shooting a shotgun at you.

I was equally impressed when Robyn drove home from the set without washing off the make up. I can imagine the expression of someone pulling up next to her in traffic.

As much as I would have loved to try some explosive blood squibs, we didn't have to time or money to do it right (plus, shots were comped for frontal shots, and despite what you see on YouTube and bad Hollywood FX, entry wounds don't explode out of your chest... exit wounds explode out the back.







Young Dylan was gunned down off-screen in his pajamas by a stray bullet.













Jamal's bad guy character "Loki" got beat up by the hero and left behind in a burning drug lab. It just wasn't his day.

Eye bruising was done by our conventional Make-up Crew.

Top Shot Audition

Based on a true story? Naaaw. Well, it is a true story in that it's a parody and Jon doesn't harbor any resentment over his rejected real-life audition. We'll see how it plays at the November First Friday Shorts.

Shot on a Flip HD camera with no off-camera mics involved, it's chintzy on purpose. Two of the older shots were actually taken on an old Canon PowerShot.

Before anybody sh*ts their pants over any perceived firearms safety violations, I advise the viewer that Jon and I confirmed the unloaded state of each firearm every time it was handled (Jon practices perfect trigger discipline even with AirSoft guns).

Jobs are Up!

Last night, the Professor announced the jobs won by students in the production of "Ninja Quest," a contemporary short action movie written by Snuf Leamon (of "Gretchen" fame). Director AleX Pawlak will lead the student crew, shooting the latter part of the week including the Veterans Day weekend.

As for me, I'll be a Casting Director, Special Effects Guy, 1st Assistant Camera, and Stills Photographer. I think I'll bust out the K-100 and start practicing. And start researching blood squibs, and safety harnesses, and....

Back to School!

It's the first full week of school and it looks like Tuesdays are going to be a bear! Autodesk Maya (3D Animation) and Adobe Illustrator at midday and Advanced Cinematography as a night class. Enough time for dinner and a nap before the late one, but not really enough time for the 1-hour round trip home.

Tonight we find out what action movie the Ad-Cine class will shoot this fall and the Post-Production class will edit next spring. I have a movie script in the running as do some friends of mine. Of course, if my script has been chosen, I'll be ineligible to Direct, which is just as well since a fat-old-retired-guy got selected for the Director's chair last year. Can't have two in a row, see what I'm sayin'?

If my script is chosen, I definitely want to Produce, since I'd written it for props and wardrobe I already have or soon will have. Actually, if it's not chosen, I'll shoot a shorter version of it myself in the spring Advanced Video class, but don't tell Professor Wing that. I think it would be a lot more kick-ass with a whole class of film brains working on it than just a team of volunteer classmates than might show up or not.

Hmm... I think I woke up too early today. Maybe I'll read more of that Illustrator textbook to help me get back to sleep.

Stealth Mission Indeed

Old School Jedi

History of English

Hoarked from AOSHQ

The other nine lessons are queued behind this one.

New Semester

I picked up my new textbooks yesterday. Another 16 credit hours on tap for this semester -- and only two books! I'm taking Adobe Illustrator CS5 and an Illustration Techniques class, which thankfully use the same book. These classes should be a challenge because bezier curves usually kick my ass. Autodesk Maya is a 3D animation program that should be the capstone for my Animation degree. If I'm any good at it, I might have to spend the last of the GI Bill bucks on the software. (Yikes, since it runs at $3500, that would consume by GI Bill $$$ AND dig into my own pocket.)

My 4th class is a retaking of Advanced Cinematography, where I'm going to try for Director (this year, we're doing an Action flick). I know the cards are stacked against me because the professor picked an old guy for Director last year. On the bright side, I have a script submitted; if it gets picked, I can't Direct it, but I'd be more than willing to be a Producer and/or Special Effects Supervisor.

Cool Commercial

...even though the product doesn't rank among my favorites. Yes, heresy, I know....

New to the Toybox

In case you were wondering what the lady was shooting in the video, it's the Umarex SA-177 BB pistol. It's a good GLOCK clone and the second one shipped (below) came without the orange tip common to AirSoft guns--probably because it's meant to fire steel BBs, not plastic ones. The upper version is AirSoft, and the orange tip does not hold paint well.

The slide stop works as it should, so shooting it sans magazine was required to make the slide cycle completely. Some day, I might figure out how to pin the stop down, but I was too scared to apply glue without knowing where it might get.

Besides ensuring an empty chamber and no magazine, we ensured the pistol wasn't aimed at anybody during the filming of the shooting scene. I can't guarantee the same is true of the YouTube video, since Dawn had never fired even a fake pistol before. I think that showed.

When Photo Shoots Go Bad

Well, this one didn't go bad. Had a good time mic'ing AleX's short, which could conceivably show in the same First Friday Shorts as my own movie, but that's okay. We're not competing against each other, just against the taste of the audience and the host with the Gong. I'll blog them both if he decides to YouTube his.

Tonight, we shoot "Gretchen."

Are You Not Entertained?

The fragile vocals aside, have you ever seen a more kick-ass commercial (that didn't involve US Marines, tanks, fighter-bombers, capital warships, or the Swedish Bikini IPSC Team?"

Cool.

Cereal Killer

Fun With History

In my History 101 class, my study group and I get to do a PowerPoint/Video oral presentation on Spartacus: History vs. Hollywood. Besides jumping on the Hollywood aspect for the group, I volunteered to whip up the video portion, complete with official movie trailer hoarked from YouTube. I couldn't resist adding some extras; my partners and I agreed to give the presentation in Roman costumes. They hadn't gotten their costumes in time for the video, though.

Update: Video deleted. It was only up temporarily for hosting for class presentation. It's not the kind of thing I want hanging around as part of my s/fx demo reel. I DO own a tripod and a green screen and I now know how to chroma-key in AfterEffects and Final Cut. I used field expediencies in this video that reduced the amount of stuff I'd have to drag around to class and student meetings, but made the video quality suffer. I think we'll get an "A," though.