When does re-work become Lucasafucation?

During the premiere, I was a little disappointed at how some CG fire looked on the big screen. Ted did a bang-up job on the scene (which lasts a mere 4 seconds) but it looks a lot different on a large theater screen than on a TV screen. So we decided to actually reshoot the scene with actual fire. My buddy (and soon to be Grand-dad) Bob suggested that I was entering the Lucas phase of my film career rather early. I pointed out to him the Lucasafucation does not actually take place until AFTER the movie is released and accepted by the public. In a year, I can claim that I always wanted a prequel about the Garum before he became evil and that despite all previous interviews and blog posts, the movie was never about Gwen and her rise from lowly village dweller to Je- er, Caretaker, but was always meant as a series of 6 films intended to be the Tragedy of Darth Garum.

Still working on the proper spelling of Lucasafucation...

Thoughts, ideas?

I've been busy working on the audio...

...and am rather pleased with how it sounds now. I also moved three scenes to different locations in the movie and added a scene I had deleted earlier. There is also some added narration that we will record after Christmas and then...we assemble the DVD and YOU get to buy one.

Today was the day...

Last night I got three hours of sleep as I tried to complete the audio mix...difficult when the audio files are delivered so late...and several are missing...

I started off this evening with a slight disclaimer...I mentioned that there would be several audio drops and some missing scenes...I also mentioned that some tracks would be all-together gone or too quiet to hear...when you mix audio with head phones on it sounds a lot different than when the movie is shown in a theater setting...

As the lights dimmed and the movie started, all was well...then we had the first dialog track and it was almost impossible to hear...more problems followed...but I won't dwell on them...

As I cringed, fought off the urge to vomit and shifted uncomfortably in my seat for one hour and twenty two minutes...the 50-60 people watching the movie (the room held 70) seemed to actually enjoy the movie. Despite the horrible sound, the audience clapped as the credits rolled. The really applauded and it felt GREAT! Ted and I have some work to do to get it ready for the Dec. 25th release, but despite all of the many flaws I saw, the audience seemed entertained.

It was a great night!

I have a lot of hard working people to thank for getting this done.

And, on a side note...around about the same time that the credits rolled, our lead, Danielle Magner, (aka Gwen) gave birth to a baby girl!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

5 and a half hours to go.

Yesterday I worked from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on sound. I was putting ADR in, as Foley and Music were done some time ago. Unfortunately there were three folders with files that contained no actual dialog...we had to leave the original audio in for tonight's show, but we can get it fixed for the DVD. Ted and I made a few last minute editing decisions so the DVD will have about five extra minutes not seen in tonight's version.

In all, I am happy. I plan to take a week off from working on the DVD and then get back to the DVD package on the 21rst.

We have one day left to us to get it done...

...and there are major audio problems...sigh...looks like all of Saturday will be spent resolving the problems...

2 days left...

three days to go...

4 days left...

Credits are almost done...

5 more days...FIVE!

8 days to go!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!

No, I'll be fine...really.

DVD art sleeve insert

still needs some spell check and a few other things...but here is the rough...

count down...

...10 days to go.

the moth and lilly...

I wasn't going to post any more images because we are so close to showing the movie, but Ted did such a great job last night with this scene that I had to put it on the blog.

Michael +Matt+Allen+Ted=FLASHBACK

Michael Clark (international star of The Planet (PLANET X as it is known in Japan) and One Day Removals) did some fantastic CG work for us. Matt (President of the IPFW film club and world famous night clubber) shot some footage at Lakeside Rose Gardens). Allen (rumored child of Sasquatch) edited the scenes together. Ted (CG man and stand in for Brad Pitt) worked his magic and we have a beautiful flashback sequence!

advert...

Done editing!

Today I finished the FINAL BATTLE sequence between Gwen (shot two summers ago) and the Garum (shot a week or so ago in the studio at IPFW). All that is left is the rest of the effects that Ted is finishing up (he'll drop those into my edited sequences) and the dialog that Matt is finishing and the foley that I am working on and then the reintroduction of the soundtrack...that should only take a few minor tweaks and then we're good to go. Dec. 14 is rapidly approaching, but I have a great feeling about the finished product. It was nice to see the battle scene actually work and it looks nothing at all like I had envisioned or storyboarded three and a half years ago. Part of me is sad because I have been living this world of Darkness Aftermath for three and a half years now, but another part is excited and eager to see where the movie goes from here. I have had so many people involved in this dream...the magnitude of it is overwhelming. I used to hang out with some guys who always said, "we should make a movie" and then we wouldn't...now the new 'we' have made a movie. I'm rambling here, I know, but its a great feeling. I'm stoked! Friday Ted drops the MEGA LAPTOP off and I can put the music back in. That's when the dream really comes alive.

Why do I call this movie a dream? Glad I asked since none of you did...actually, I never gave you the chance, but if for some reason you were going to ask, now you don't have to because I did.

The DREAM: When I was ten, I saw Star Wars. Up until then all I had seen in the theater was Disney movies...not that there was anything wrong with that. I loved Herbie and the Apple Dumpling Gang and the animated shows...but Star Wars took my mind to a whole new level of thinking. Ever since then I wanted to make a feature length movie. A GOOD feature length movie. I think we have done just that. And honestly, I could not have done it alone. A wise man once said, "in order to be successful, you have to surround yourself with people who WANT to succeed and who are actually producing successful work!" Did that! Loved it! Thanks everyone for your help!

The movie release...

This post is for friends and family and IPFW students...the movie will be showing Dec. 14th in room 204 with props and artwork in room 205. The movie is aprox. one hour and thirty minutes with a question and answer afterward. We have 70 seats so it is a first come situation...

TODAY WAS A GREAT DAY...

Ted and I spent a few hours together working on the movie. Ted worked on the scenes with Lilly and the drifters perfecting the rain and doing sky replacement. He was rockin'. He's also working on some cool 'energy' that will hover about Lilly after her explosion. I edited the final conflict between Gwen and the Garum. It was difficult, but we were both quite pleased with the outcome.

The last time I'll say its a wrap re: Darkness Aftermath...

...I PROMISE! Ted and I shot the final footage. We shot the model of the GARUM in all his sticky, bleeding glory. We rigged a tub above the model (and when I say model, it is articulated) with holes in it so as to get rain. Behind the GARUM, we had some trees mounted to a board and behind that a large cloth with green, gray, blue and brown colors. It looked fantastic. We rigged lights for lightning and Ted ran those and the camera. I moved the beast and ran the rain. We shot it at 60 fps and it looks GREAT! Sorry, no photos...the footage looks WAY TOO COOL! (and I want it to be a surprise when we show the movie on December 14th.

Garum...

On Monday, we shoot the GARUM scenes...

John asks, "Is your movie cursed?"

Matt and Megan were over at Studio M doing ADR when all of a sudden EVERYTHING STOPPED WORKING!!! ARRRG!

Ted's blowin' up a drifter...low res...

SHOW TIME

Sunday - December 14th at 7:00 all members of the cast and crew are invited to IPFW (the lecture hall in the VCD building-second floor) to see the first showing of the completed version of DARKNESS AFTERMATH. There will be a question and answer time after the showing and the room across the hall from the 'lecture room' will host art work, costumes, story boards and props from the movie. We will then venture out to the world via NEFF HALL and CINEMA CENTER and film contests and festivals...

Ted keeps crankin'...

Ted's a workin'

Lilly fights back against the DRIFTERS!

The end is near...

The new and improved GARUM is 2/3rds done and should be ready for it's close up this next week. Ted has logged in claiming to have some SPFX done and Matt is scurrying to get the sound done...

On a lighter note, my boys and my dad enjoyed "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein". Tickets $20.00, pop corn and pop $22.00, the sound of my dad and my kids laughing PRICELESS!

Uh oh...just realized I hit 666 posts...cue the scary music...

Anyway...I got a call from Matt that he and the IPFW film club entered a 48 hr. movie contest...they were contacted with a list of 'stuff' to include in a movie as well as a genre and they had 48 hours to shoot it. Matt called at noon and informed me that it was a "thriller" and that he needed me to do a make up job on an actor who had been hit with a hammer...here is the result. I had about a half hour to get the job done...

Coolness!

Next Tuesday my father and brother (hopefully) and my two boys are going to Carmike Theater to see Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. I remember seeing it on ch 55 when I was a kid and my dad remembers seeing it at the theater.

Old school...

Originally the Garum's 37 seconds of screen time was going to be CG...however, my CG team is swamped with real life issues and the CG Garum idea is no longer breathing...I made a few references to the idea of a Rancor Garum in previous Facebook posts and such so now, my faithful monkeys, I shall share with you the fate of the 37 seconds of Darkness Aftermath that are to be shot OLD SCHOOL! I am building a GARUM that will be animated in the fashion of the RETURN OF THE JEDI Rancor. It is small(tho not too small) and we have a camera that shoots 60 frames a second instead of the 29 that the movie was shot on...we can then slow the footage down by about 25 % in premiere and achieve the effects we want. I will post images soon...

update...

Ted showed me a few things he is working on. So far, so good. The Garum stuff will be done a week from Saturday and Matt is jammin' on the sound.


Everything must be done by Sunday Nov. 30 or else it get's cut from the movie. I will use this wooden knife to cut it AND YOU! That is the deadline. I have spoken...I think I'm still a bit feverish from getting ill today...

2,000 plus U.S. visitors

Kinda cool that we've had over 2,000 U.S. visitors. Of course if we subtract the times that I have checked in to the blog, the more accurate number would be 200. Anyway, we try to celebrate what we can here at "a work in progress".

Dates...locked and loaded!!!

December 11, Thursday...2008 - release date for DVD.

December 12, Friday...7:00pm - 2008 - showing at IPFW - art history room.

These are now written in stone. There is no compromise!

The DVD will have...
1.the full movie
2.the movie with commentary from Allen, Ted and Matt (and maybe Dani)
3.the trailer(s)
4.interviews with cast and crew
5.storyboard version of the movie (2 versions)
6.gag reel
7.deleted scenes and alternate ending - missing footage found!
8.gallery
9.a discussion of the music

Arizona Ted returns

Ted came back to Fort Wayne. He also had with him a gift...THE MISSING FOOTAGE! Now I'm not going to get too excited, yet. I won't get to view the footage until Thursday...

I know...I KNOW! The movie isn't done yet...

...but we are looking at the DVD release for December and one thing I really want to include is the story boards...I revisited them this past week and saw that I had over 620 story boards. There are two different openings and two different ending. I will be scanning them and putting them together as a DVD feature with my commentary track. This should be fun...there was a lot that we did not get to shoot and it will be cool to share that with those who are crazy enough to buy the DVD.

A gift in the mail...

Just got my copy of "One Day Removals" from Mark, Mike and Kerwin over in Scotland. Gonna watch it tonight.

...an idea!

Last night I broke with several evening routines. One was to stay up past 1:00 am. I went to bed before 11:00 pm (which almost sent my brain into shock) and got a fair enough amount of sleep. Then, after getting up at 6:00 am and getting the boys to the bus stop by 7:00 am (as is my daily ritual) I skipped the 7:15-8:30 power nap I normally take and simply laid in bed for fifteen minutes staring at the ceiling as the 'screwed up' parts of Darkness Aftermath played out in my head. Suddenly I saw a vision, if you will, of how we can get this done by Dec. and have it all work and look really cool. I don't want to explain too much, but it will require some traditional animation and some solo work on my part, tho I might bring in Matt to operate the camera. All I can say is that I am going to step away from digital and go old school on a few short scenes that just aren't getting done with CG.

I'm psyched!

Fantastic voice...

..and a great band. Our end credits will roll after the scene of Leigh and Tarina as they over look the Village. The music is going to be a song by the wooden satellites as mentioned before. If you have not checked them out, then a thousand curses on your house and your shed and hamster. Go to their site, listen to "The Bride" and be amazed!

When it comes to the Feel of the end credits, we wanted a hopeful feel to the overall dread that somnambulist red produced. We love their stuff, but we needed a 'book end' to close the movie and felt that W.S. was a good companion. So check it out and hear the voice of sorrow on "the Bride" that is Andrea Harvey and (I think that's CRay singing back up but maybe not so don't kill me...like you could anyway).

Can't wait to hear the end toon...she is a student of mine so if the end theme is crap, she'll have to drop out of college...no stress, Andrea...

Matt posted this on his Facebook page and it...

...really sums up the attitude of Darkness Aftermath...

"I have to say...this is the most collaborative project I have worked on...I don't think I'll ever be on another set again where I hear the director call out, "I'm taking death requests!""

A little more of last week's fun...

Stephanie gets into position while Adub clears some brush from the shot. Yes, that is a real horse skull strapped to her arm.



Kelsey is dead and Chris has a splinter...

Two brains better than one...duh!

Matt emailed me this evening with some fantastic ideas for the movie...I will share them with you. Ha! No I won't because they are THAT good. They will actually work out better than the original script and we'll be able to get this monster done. While I was ready to give up and slap together a less than good version of the movie, Matt's brain jumped out of his head and jogged a few miles, pumped a few weights and then climbed back into his skull. I doubt he even noticed it was gone. The result, however, was pure magic. He solved every editing problem and continuity issue that arose from the missing footage. The mystery character who we thought might have to die will live after all. YAY! After Matt speaks with said individual, we'll let you know what the heck we're talkin' about.

First of many new shots...

(all of these photos are by Dan...I'll post a link to his site soon.)

I probably won't get to post more images from the weekend's shoot due to my busy Tuesday and a completely useless home computer. I am told that I will have premiere sometime this week on my office computer. Any way, here are a few shots.

Will gets initiated into the wonder that is ICE COLD WELL WATER!

Will, tracking the Garum as the Death Runner (not seen here) draws out the beast...

Hey, Will, ya got a little something on yer cheek, pal.


The beast...no wait, that's Matt directing Leigh...another warrior tracking the Garum.


A graceful death for Leigh...


I'm not sure who looks scarier...Tarina or me.

a slightly sad note...

just viewed the footage...tho it was all nicely cropped, most of it was really washed out due to the bright sun shine and lack of clouds. The Canon XL has a manual aperture...but it is not always utilized to it's fullest...and then, sometimes the light is so bright, there is nothing you can do, other than pray for clouds. It was STUPID sunny today and that played havoc with the light.

I can fix it in post the same way I fixed the other stuff that was washed out...

But the truly sad note is the great scene that Tarina and Liegh did together. IT WAS ALL OUT OF FOCUS. DRAT! Inexcusable. The beatings will begin tomorrow at noon!

WHAT A DAY! Wish every day was this much fun...

Started off with a breakfast of 3 sunny side up eggs, a pound (or so) of hash browns, three sausage patties and two slices of whole wheat toast and 5 cups of coffee. Then it was out to the woods to reshoot and do some extra shots to make our 'warrior' scene more exciting. Matt brought in his team from the IPFW film club and they did a fantastic job. Dan took great photos (about a million) that I need to go through before I can post the...but I will post them Sunday night. So special thanks to Will, Liegh (whose name I have misspelled) Tarina, Chris, Kelsey, Matt, Stephanie, Andy, A-Dub, and Dan.

Also on the forefront, Somnambulist Red has done a fantastic job of creating the atmosphere of the movie. Without Sean and Jay and the guys we would not have the FEEL of the movie. They have changed the story direction and color of it in ways I did not anticipate so hats off to them. I have finally finished the music editing.

And one last bit. I have been trying to find someone who is the opposite of S.R. for the end credits, yet someone who could exist in their world...does that even make sense? Well I did. Check these guys and gals out. They are writing the end credits theme.

This is odd...but good.

Tomorrow we are headed back to the woods to shoot some footage I always wanted in the movie. With CG work at a virtual stand still, Matt and I figured we might as well shoot some more stuff that we were unable to get due to budget, the lack of actors and time. I'll post images tomorrow afternoon...this should be a lot of fun. Then on Sunday I get the Laptop back so I can edit the footage in.

Exciting stuff on the horizon...

Matt and I have been talking about how to finish this movie...and it needs to get finished before people start killing me...and by people, I mean everyone who has heard me talking about this movie for the PAST THREE YEARS!

Problem at hand 1) missing footage. Three key scenes are gone and there is no way to recapture them due to budget, costume and availability of actors.

Problem at hand 2) Green screen scenes of Gwen fighting the Garum are no longer possible due to the fact that Danielle is expecting a baby

Problem at hand 3) CG work is just not getting done.

Problem at hand 4) the scene with the warriors running into the forest to slay the Garum is about ten warriors short.

Problem at hand 5) the sound still hasn't been done yet.

And now the solutions.

#5 - Matt has informed me that Studio M is back up and running and better than ever!
#4 - Matt has convinced many 'warriors' to run blindly through the woods this Saturday and we are going to shoot it! Go MATT!
#3 - Give Ted and Ron $1,000,000 each to complete their CG work...okay...still working on that. Apparently these two are feeding kids and both are married and want to live in houses...
#2 - see #3...we'll make the fight at the end with the CG Gwen and dump lots of rain during the scene.
#1 - With some creative rewriting and two new scenes with Tarina (as Lilly) and Liegh Denton as 'the mysterious stranger' (real name to be revealed in the credits) we can actually fix the continuity and have an ending to the movie that has until now eluded me. (unfortunately one of our characters who previously lived...will now have to die...)

Arizona Ted on the move...

Just got a text from Ted today...looks like he's moving back to Indiana in October.

FIRST DAY AT IPFW!

Well, not really, but it is the first day of classes after taking on the new job. ONE JOB, not three! HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS THAT!?!?! I'm just glad that I've maintained my professionalism and I'm not getting all silly about it (like dancing down the hallway when no one is looking). And now...a picture of one of my students. Megan...and as you know,she is insane!

Easing into it...

Well I'm in my new office and it is SWEET! I actually have air conditioning and a window. I'll be teaching 5 classes - History of Art, History of Graphic Design, Illustration 2, Computer Art and Design 1 and Computer Art and Design 3 (my favorite because it is all about Adobe Premiere).

On the D.A. front, Ted spoke to me yesterday and he is focusing on the Lilly and the Drifter scene. He said he has six days free to work on it so if I don't post something from him in the next 5 days, Ted is open season.

Ted shoots, he scores PART 2

Here is the before and after of the Caretaker and Gwen. Keep in mind, low res, here people.

BEFORE...


AFTER...


Ted placed a really nice 'fire flicker' here. I'll get the actual footage up soon...I hope.

I wish I had drawn this...

Jon of Supa Slacka and his brother are working on book one and three of the graphic novel to sandwich in Sally's part two. He did this sweet little drawing and I can't wait to see more. Check out his blog and harass him until he posts more artwork.

This has nothing to do with the movie...

...but it's pretty crazy. American Swimmer Phelps' diet plan

Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Ted shoots...he SCORES!

Our footage of the old Caretaker and Gwen was ruined by the camera and we only had one take to work with and that wasn't all that good looking. Dani looked great and of course John was fantastic, but the footage was ICK!! Ted has been working on the footage and it ROCKS.

Unfortunately I can't load the images from my home computer because it is close to death. I will load them from IPFW tomorrow. It looks great!

I really hate this...

Production seems to be at a comlete stand-still and it's driving me nuts. until the studio gets rebuilt (September?) we can't mix any sound. Also, Ron is swamped so the Garum is still in limbo...maybe we should use puppets for the final battle...

I need a real den...

We've been watching a lot of home make over shows lately and I have come to a conclusion...I NEED A NEW DEN! I usually watch what the family wants to watch until 9:00 or 10:00 but lately the family has been up until 11:00 0r 12:00 and then I can't watch what I want to see (i.e. action flicks with the volume cranked up loud enough that I don't need subtitles to know what is happening) because some of the family is still awake. When it comes to remodeling, unfortunately I know that the Kitchen comes first, then the bathroom, then the boys room, then the toy room, then the bed room, then the dining room...then (at last) my den/home entertainment center...sigh.

BIOS - Everyone who 'died', 'died' for free - Leigh Meadows

Liegh was a student who went to the school that my wife worked at. She and her twin sister (Death Runner Katie) were both interested in the movie and asked to be in it. After a brief costume fit at our house, they arrived and went right to work. Liegh lucked out. The one day she was on location shooting, lightining had struck near by and the house we had the hoses hooked to (to opperate our rain rack) lost power. The pump, then, was out and she did not get to soak her with icy water. She was, however, covered many times with sticky strawberry syrup for her death scene.

Disclaimer: No actual actors were killed during the making of this movie...that we know of.

BIOS _ everyone worked for free - Debbie Ngo

I decided to devote some space on the blog to the actors that made my dream come true. Debbie Ngo was a trooper. She was one of the last members of the cast to be brought in and she had a huge roll to fill. Originally the roll of Danea was for a tall, massive, muscular black woman. Debbie is clearly none of those. She is smaller than Zack, my Ten year old, and has not a mean bone in her body. However, she has a strong, commanding personality. She was a student of mine in a drawing class and for many months, I was convinced that she hated me as an instructor...mainly because she was such a FANTASTICAL artist that I felt I had little if anything to teach her. What I didn't know was that she was shy. VERY SHY. When I approached her to play the part of Danea, I was shocked at how quickly she grabbed on to the idea. (Fool) She had no idea what we would put her through. She was forced to run, blindfolded, through the forest, act out NINJA moves (she stated more than once that she had no ninja moves...she lied) and deal with mosquitoes (she would burst out in huge welts anytime a mosquito flew even close to her) and deal with the evil RAIN RACK that produced extremely cold water.

So, here's to you Debbie! Thanks for the contribution.






Below: Debbie and Dani take a break and discuss how bad their costumes are stinking.

Missing Blood

There is a scene where Sally is attacked and I splashed blood on a tree limb during the actual shoot to represent the Garum's vicious attack. It had always bothered me because it looked so bad - as in FAKE. Several weeks after that shoot I had 'splashed' some blood on a tree in my back yard and was much happier with the look of the splash. But then the footage disappeared. UNTIL TONIGHT! I found the footage on the external hard drive. It was mislabeled. I had hopes that there was more missing footage there, but alas, it was not to be. I am posting the blood splash here cause it looks cool. Of course I'll need to crop it to keep the Electrical Wires and Phone Lines from showing in the scene.

Arizona Ted sent some stuff to me...

Ted's been busy with the new job, but he's found time to get some of the SPFX done. Here are some low res screen grabs of Lilly powering up to blast some Drifters.

16:48 - that's the minutes and seconds of dialog in the movie...

I edited down the movie to just the dialog that needs to be replaced...and brother, that is ALL of the dialog. We knew from the beginning that we would have to replace most of the dialog (due to the rain rack and me shouting instructions to the blindfolded actors) but we didn't realize we would have to replace ALL of the dialog. So I have edited it down to just the dialog and it is 16 minutes and 48 seconds...less if you consider the pauses and dissolves. So, here are some images we have not posted that you can enjoy looking at as we work on the dialog.


After training with her new sword, Gwen is visited by Danea and Kasel...


A dissolve shot of Lilly as she overlooks the oncoming battle between Gwen and the Garum...



Gwen returns from the Old Caretaker to tell Clarr that she has been elected as the new Caretaker...



Gwen confronts the River Dwellers...



Sallel challenges Gwen and announces Core as the River Dwellers fighter...



Core is defeated and is sulking when Sallel askes him to allow her and a friend to hunt for food...



After the Garum attacks, Sallel crawls out of the forest...



Close up of Lilly comforting Sallel...



A death...



Lilly tracks the Drifters...



Danea and Kasel confront Gwen about the death of one of their warriors...



Gwen gives up after finding her old teacher dead...killed by the Garum...



Lilly confronts a Drifter...she ain't too happy...