Just listened to Episode 18 of Tom Racine’s Tall Tale Radio Podcast featuring Tom Dell’Aringa and Steve Ogden (which I highly recommend) (very interesting) Mr Ogden talks more about how studios could (and are now) looking at a graphic novels and saying “yeah we like this, this could make a great movie”
You see if you think about it, he’s absolutely correct...take something like Lost and Found...it’s a children's book that eventually got made into a film (loved that one) and now we’re seeing this Where the Wild Things Are has also been made into a big film and was also a childrens book I think.
It certainly gets the old brain thinking. I just would really like to do a story with dialogue in it.
Listening to these three talk was a real pleasure.
What’s odd is there was a stage in my life where I was heavily into comic book / novel type of things...the two big ones in my life were Tintin and Asterix (I read quite a lot of those and loved them to pieces) and I even did my own comic in about 1996 or 1997 (a guy who was into comics and was doing his own comic at art college somehow saw it and really liked it) (strange how these memories come back to you)
Monday, 30 March 2009
Sunday, 29 March 2009
NEGATIVITY OR ZERO PERCENT CONFIDENCE AND HOW ITS NOT GOOD
I recently started to bump into a very famous (or well he was very famous in seventies Britain) actor Ian McCulloch, who (very bizarrely) is one of the main characters in one of my favourite things in the universe
the post apocalyptic TV series survivors.He would visit our house quite a lot to do recordings of his songs (demo tape sort of things)
Each and every time I met him and went away from the conversation I thought to myself “oh fuck!...Michael, your so negative aren’t you!!!”...he seemed to evoke that reaction in my mind...he seems to have quite a confidence about him, or certainly a directness and a belief that what he’s doing must be sent out once its been recorded...and then he sets fourth and DOES it.
Now I really admire how direct he is too, and admire somebody who sends their work away off in the post.
And this is the part where I feel really stupid, because when you think about it...if you don’t have that belief in you that what your doing is good, then why not give up altogether?...so its really very stupid to go around saying “oh I don’t really like what I’ve done, and I don’t really want to send it anywhere” and yet...THAT, that is exactly what’s been going on for nine years now.
He genuinely wanted to see one of my films (something's that I’ve never come across before) (I've never actually met a actor now that I come to think of it) and so (my dad who isn’t shy about going on about how he did the score for Errans Alba) insists that Mr McCulloch sees that one. He sees it and seems to really like it. And then asks if its been sent anywhere, to which the answer in my head at this point is “well, I don’t really like the film and don’t really want to send it anywhere”
Eventually he seems to want to send it off to a producer he knows, and with a awkward moment in the corridor I agree to let him do this...and he’s right you know, what’s the point in it not going out there to be seen.
I think what one of my problems is, that I don’t look to what is good about the film (because there are things about it that I like a lot) and that this really means, that there is something of worth there (even if its just a couple of sequences your happy with)
the post apocalyptic TV series survivors.He would visit our house quite a lot to do recordings of his songs (demo tape sort of things)
Each and every time I met him and went away from the conversation I thought to myself “oh fuck!...Michael, your so negative aren’t you!!!”...he seemed to evoke that reaction in my mind...he seems to have quite a confidence about him, or certainly a directness and a belief that what he’s doing must be sent out once its been recorded...and then he sets fourth and DOES it.
Now I really admire how direct he is too, and admire somebody who sends their work away off in the post.
And this is the part where I feel really stupid, because when you think about it...if you don’t have that belief in you that what your doing is good, then why not give up altogether?...so its really very stupid to go around saying “oh I don’t really like what I’ve done, and I don’t really want to send it anywhere” and yet...THAT, that is exactly what’s been going on for nine years now.
He genuinely wanted to see one of my films (something's that I’ve never come across before) (I've never actually met a actor now that I come to think of it) and so (my dad who isn’t shy about going on about how he did the score for Errans Alba) insists that Mr McCulloch sees that one. He sees it and seems to really like it. And then asks if its been sent anywhere, to which the answer in my head at this point is “well, I don’t really like the film and don’t really want to send it anywhere”
Eventually he seems to want to send it off to a producer he knows, and with a awkward moment in the corridor I agree to let him do this...and he’s right you know, what’s the point in it not going out there to be seen.
I think what one of my problems is, that I don’t look to what is good about the film (because there are things about it that I like a lot) and that this really means, that there is something of worth there (even if its just a couple of sequences your happy with)
Saturday, 28 March 2009
BIG CONFLICT GOING ON IN MIND
Ok, so why do I feel depressed?...well it’s just that whole thing to do with the earth shattering podcast that Steve Ogden did (the one about how one person shouldn’t take on an entire animation?...you know the one?)...the reason it’s earth shattering is because it's true, it's correct...you can't really channel it out because it’s the equitable truth...the painful truth...even though my situation is nothing like Steve Ogdens, it's still insane to take it all on yourself...but, there’s much more here to what he’s saying in that podcast that moves me into the next bit of this blog entry (that shatters things further)
1) Being true to yourself as a artist / story teller.
This is the big one that I’ve been battling with since 2003...there is NO WAY I am being true to myself when I make these animations. In fact if you really take the time to think about...I’ve steered quite far away from the important things what I should not have steered away from. Yes, what I’m talking about here is, story...dialogue...and what I myself want to see created by me.
2) I can draw...and yet, I’m not drawing. Now this to me seems REALLY wrong.
This to me seems like such a waste of my talent...I mean how many people can actually draw well?...and here I am, I have this talent, and am not using it. Recently I’ve been going through my old stuff (the stuff I did when I was much younger from the nineties...the early nineties to late nineties) (I drew a lot)...here, I’ll show you some of it.
3) If I can draw, then surely this means that I should be doing that, and that it will go a lot towards a much more accurate spitting out of my mind of my ideas into physical form of my ideas. perhaps?...I would be able to do human characters and dialogue.
1) Being true to yourself as a artist / story teller.
This is the big one that I’ve been battling with since 2003...there is NO WAY I am being true to myself when I make these animations. In fact if you really take the time to think about...I’ve steered quite far away from the important things what I should not have steered away from. Yes, what I’m talking about here is, story...dialogue...and what I myself want to see created by me.
2) I can draw...and yet, I’m not drawing. Now this to me seems REALLY wrong.
This to me seems like such a waste of my talent...I mean how many people can actually draw well?...and here I am, I have this talent, and am not using it. Recently I’ve been going through my old stuff (the stuff I did when I was much younger from the nineties...the early nineties to late nineties) (I drew a lot)...here, I’ll show you some of it.
3) If I can draw, then surely this means that I should be doing that, and that it will go a lot towards a much more accurate spitting out of my mind of my ideas into physical form of my ideas. perhaps?...I would be able to do human characters and dialogue.
The not quite complete While They Slept - A Brief Making Of video. But I wanted to upload anyway. Just one of those days where I'm a bit depressed and feel the urge to upload somthing (even if it's not completed yet, I really dont care)
While They Slept - A Brief Making of from Michael J. Dowswell on Vimeo.
While They Slept - A Brief Making of from Michael J. Dowswell on Vimeo.
Friday, 27 March 2009
THE THREE ERAS OF RED DWARF, OR (IF YOU WANT TO GET MORE ACCURATE) THE EIGHT ERAS OF RED DWARF
Red Dwarf has to be the stand out show that has the biggest changes to it I’ve ever come across.
I’d like to write out about this because I feel its important or I feel I have to. Quite a few people have this terrible habit of stopping watching a thing, when I feel if they marched on with it, maybe they would gradually get into it, as it gradually changes and develops, and change and develop Red Dwarf certainly does. It also shifts into something different I feel when you go from series VI to VII...it’s major, major change in the writing style that is as big as the change from series II to III.
Series I and II stand very much on their own, for a number of reasons. The show at this stage is much like theatre and is wonderfully creative and talky. It’s very much all about Rimmer and Lister talking to each other...and with series two the cat is far more developed and he really becomes a great character too.
When you go from II to III...the show changes big time, its far more about getting out and about in small transport ships...its got grander set pieces and more elaborate Sci-Fi stories with special effects, which makes it a completely different thing...there’s no Norman Lovett, which was to many people their favourite character...a new holy is brought in played by Hattie Hayridge and Kryten is brought in played by Robert Llewellyn (but hasn’t quite developed fully at this stage) (he’s much more developed in series four, and fully developed when you get to series VI)
I love series VI, and it saddens me that people would abandon viewing after series II and never see series VI. Six is very, very polished and is one of my favourites along with series I and II. But, there are truly excellent episodes in III, IV and V. I love the first six series very much...but, I can understand the outrage of the change from II to III. And I can understand everything from the writer and film crews perspective for doing such big changes too.
Series VII and VIII I have a very hard time talking about, I loved the ace rimmer episode in VII, but these two series are extremely different again and I just cant quite make the adjustment on them...and to me the show wasn't as clever from this point on. It was far more slapstick. This is all the more reason though that people should keep watching, because maybe they would enjoy VII and VIII if they didn’t enjoy the second era (which I call III to VI).
1) series I and II
2) series III and VI
3) series VII and VIII
OR
1) series I
2) series II (cat more developed)
---------------------------
3) series III (Kryten brought, Cat even more developed and new Holy)
4) series IV and V (Kryten and Cat get more developed)
5) series VI (Kryten and Cat fully developed)
---------------------------
6) series VII (Kochanski brought into it, Rimmer leaves) (much more slapstick)
7) series VIII (Rimmer back) (again much more slapstick)
---------------------------
8) Bran new Red Dwarf arriving 2009
I’d like to write out about this because I feel its important or I feel I have to. Quite a few people have this terrible habit of stopping watching a thing, when I feel if they marched on with it, maybe they would gradually get into it, as it gradually changes and develops, and change and develop Red Dwarf certainly does. It also shifts into something different I feel when you go from series VI to VII...it’s major, major change in the writing style that is as big as the change from series II to III.
Series I and II stand very much on their own, for a number of reasons. The show at this stage is much like theatre and is wonderfully creative and talky. It’s very much all about Rimmer and Lister talking to each other...and with series two the cat is far more developed and he really becomes a great character too.
When you go from II to III...the show changes big time, its far more about getting out and about in small transport ships...its got grander set pieces and more elaborate Sci-Fi stories with special effects, which makes it a completely different thing...there’s no Norman Lovett, which was to many people their favourite character...a new holy is brought in played by Hattie Hayridge and Kryten is brought in played by Robert Llewellyn (but hasn’t quite developed fully at this stage) (he’s much more developed in series four, and fully developed when you get to series VI)
I love series VI, and it saddens me that people would abandon viewing after series II and never see series VI. Six is very, very polished and is one of my favourites along with series I and II. But, there are truly excellent episodes in III, IV and V. I love the first six series very much...but, I can understand the outrage of the change from II to III. And I can understand everything from the writer and film crews perspective for doing such big changes too.
Series VII and VIII I have a very hard time talking about, I loved the ace rimmer episode in VII, but these two series are extremely different again and I just cant quite make the adjustment on them...and to me the show wasn't as clever from this point on. It was far more slapstick. This is all the more reason though that people should keep watching, because maybe they would enjoy VII and VIII if they didn’t enjoy the second era (which I call III to VI).
1) series I and II
2) series III and VI
3) series VII and VIII
OR
1) series I
2) series II (cat more developed)
---------------------------
3) series III (Kryten brought, Cat even more developed and new Holy)
4) series IV and V (Kryten and Cat get more developed)
5) series VI (Kryten and Cat fully developed)
---------------------------
6) series VII (Kochanski brought into it, Rimmer leaves) (much more slapstick)
7) series VIII (Rimmer back) (again much more slapstick)
---------------------------
8) Bran new Red Dwarf arriving 2009
THE THING ABOUT BABYLON 5
I’m a big B5 fan...I would say that there’s about six eras of Babylon 5.
1. The Pilot episode
2. Series I
3. Series II to IV
4. Series V
5. The TV films (5 films)
6. The Lost Tales (which I believe was sort of meant to be a sixth series)
It varies quite a bit between these six stages which is a important thing to realise. My personal favourite (like many others) is of course series II to IV...but, V is actually really good too when you revisit it. And the first TV film that was made “Babylon 5: In the Beginning” (once your in the know about everything you need to know about the main characters)...is a truly excellent film...they really did a first rate job with that...it’s a very, very high point in Babylon 5 history and remains (to me) the best (or one of the best) they ever did. It’s just a shame that they couldn’t take that to the cinema and have a huge budget on it, but they did the best they could and it’s a great bit of story telling.
1. The pilot stands apart from the rest because the whole thing feels somewhat different, the cast is different…we have Johnny Sekka as the doctor and Tamlyn Tomita as the first officer. The makeup on some of the characters is different, and even the guns are different.
2. Series one sees Claudia Christian replace Tamlyn Tomita, and Richard Biggs replace Johnny Sekka...It’s a big change because these two are on screen a lot.
3. Very big change again as we see the main character Michael O'Hare be replaced by Bruce Boxleitner.
4. This might not be as big a change as I think it is...but, I think maybe it is though, because of the new characters you get with it.
5. The five films are, the era of the five films.
6. The Lost Tales is the era where, The Lost Tales arrived.
1. The Pilot episode
2. Series I
3. Series II to IV
4. Series V
5. The TV films (5 films)
6. The Lost Tales (which I believe was sort of meant to be a sixth series)
It varies quite a bit between these six stages which is a important thing to realise. My personal favourite (like many others) is of course series II to IV...but, V is actually really good too when you revisit it. And the first TV film that was made “Babylon 5: In the Beginning” (once your in the know about everything you need to know about the main characters)...is a truly excellent film...they really did a first rate job with that...it’s a very, very high point in Babylon 5 history and remains (to me) the best (or one of the best) they ever did. It’s just a shame that they couldn’t take that to the cinema and have a huge budget on it, but they did the best they could and it’s a great bit of story telling.
1. The pilot stands apart from the rest because the whole thing feels somewhat different, the cast is different…we have Johnny Sekka as the doctor and Tamlyn Tomita as the first officer. The makeup on some of the characters is different, and even the guns are different.
2. Series one sees Claudia Christian replace Tamlyn Tomita, and Richard Biggs replace Johnny Sekka...It’s a big change because these two are on screen a lot.
3. Very big change again as we see the main character Michael O'Hare be replaced by Bruce Boxleitner.
4. This might not be as big a change as I think it is...but, I think maybe it is though, because of the new characters you get with it.
5. The five films are, the era of the five films.
6. The Lost Tales is the era where, The Lost Tales arrived.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY ANIMATION SHORT FILMS PART 2 OF 3
I just want to state now that I don’t hate computer generated animations...I do like them...I have great love for Monsters.inc and Toy Story I and II...and well, for all the Pixar films...they're beautifully lit, shot and designed...not to mention great stories. To add here I've not yet seen Wall-E, so I cant comment on how the very latest thing looks.
But, when I compare the computer generated animation to the stop motion animation of Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers I just feel that the miniatures have something very special about them...and if given the choice..."What would you do Michael, if you had the money?"...they are indeed the road I would choose...you can glance through lots and lots of miniature work...2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Star Trek I, II, III, IV, VI and VII, Space Precinct, Red Dwarf, Lost Cargo, Starship Troopers...the list goes on and on. Straight off when looking at these you’ll notice how the lights look when the camera is pointed right at them. And the grain of the celluloid is another thing you’ll notice, they’re two things that I absolutely love about it.
Whats very interesting is this idea of doing a really stylised look with miniatures, two examples here from Pieter Engels and Efim Perlis' "Lost Cargo" and Gerry Andersons' "Space Precinct". Love these very much.
I'm not sure which road I would go down though, if I ever had to choose between very stylised miniatures and slightly stylised miniatures. For my CG films though I definitely try to go down the very road.
But, when I compare the computer generated animation to the stop motion animation of Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers I just feel that the miniatures have something very special about them...and if given the choice..."What would you do Michael, if you had the money?"...they are indeed the road I would choose...you can glance through lots and lots of miniature work...2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Star Trek I, II, III, IV, VI and VII, Space Precinct, Red Dwarf, Lost Cargo, Starship Troopers...the list goes on and on. Straight off when looking at these you’ll notice how the lights look when the camera is pointed right at them. And the grain of the celluloid is another thing you’ll notice, they’re two things that I absolutely love about it.
Whats very interesting is this idea of doing a really stylised look with miniatures, two examples here from Pieter Engels and Efim Perlis' "Lost Cargo" and Gerry Andersons' "Space Precinct". Love these very much.
I'm not sure which road I would go down though, if I ever had to choose between very stylised miniatures and slightly stylised miniatures. For my CG films though I definitely try to go down the very road.
Monday, 9 March 2009
GOOGLE-ING YOURSELF, YES, I DO THIS
I found something too...a guy called Ted keeps writing about Errans Alba...you know it’s a funny thing about that film...it seems to stand separate from any of my other work, for a number of reasons...
1) It’s the only film that went into a cinema (be it a one off screening)
2) It’s the only film that had a original score written for it.
3) It’s the only film that I really pushed and went out of my way to do a major online publicity campaign for...I was so determined to really step that up and get as many people as possible to tune into it.
Now this says to me (possibly) that number three on the above list has resulted in a man called Ted probably finding it (possibly).
He seems to really like it too. And this is well...I’m just amazed to be honest. He’s gradually found the animation bits (because I uploaded it in pieces), and watched them...and seems to genuinely like it. When I discovered this I get a mixture of feelings...he doesn’t yet know that that animation has not had any work done on it in a long, long time…(that it’s one of the many projects on hold) and so I feel that I need to finish that one. But I’m focused on the current one...but the current one is (becoming bigger and bigger all the time)
But thank you Ted for the free publicity...and the very kind words.
1) It’s the only film that went into a cinema (be it a one off screening)
2) It’s the only film that had a original score written for it.
3) It’s the only film that I really pushed and went out of my way to do a major online publicity campaign for...I was so determined to really step that up and get as many people as possible to tune into it.
Now this says to me (possibly) that number three on the above list has resulted in a man called Ted probably finding it (possibly).
He seems to really like it too. And this is well...I’m just amazed to be honest. He’s gradually found the animation bits (because I uploaded it in pieces), and watched them...and seems to genuinely like it. When I discovered this I get a mixture of feelings...he doesn’t yet know that that animation has not had any work done on it in a long, long time…(that it’s one of the many projects on hold) and so I feel that I need to finish that one. But I’m focused on the current one...but the current one is (becoming bigger and bigger all the time)
But thank you Ted for the free publicity...and the very kind words.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
FLAGSHIP EXPLOSION
Quite a bit of further tweaking happened to this...It's now much brighter now than before, and the infamous explosion has been really tricky for me to do...I've literally taken about four days on this.
Explosion from Michael J. Dowswell on Vimeo.
Explosion from Michael J. Dowswell on Vimeo.
THE FLAGSHIP SHOT
This shots been one of these very long going on things that has i feel has gone on for too long...but I think I'm impatient actually...but, it's been real tricky to do with the explosion (which cant be seen here...posting that next)
Flagship from Michael J. Dowswell on Vimeo.
Flagship from Michael J. Dowswell on Vimeo.
Thursday, 5 March 2009
INCREDIBLE AYN RAND QUOTE I FOUND TODAY
“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.”
--Ayn Rand - Writer and Novelist (1905-1982)
Just amazing...it's like Ayn Rand tapped into my soul when I found this today, and saved it.
--Ayn Rand - Writer and Novelist (1905-1982)
Just amazing...it's like Ayn Rand tapped into my soul when I found this today, and saved it.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY ANIMATION SHORT FILMS PART 1 OF 3
This has to be done...and I hope it doesn’t come off or sound like a rant, because really it isn’t, it's just a series of facts that I want to get out there...make people aware of.
So here I go with it.
I don’t love robots...and I don’t have a particular love for CGA (computer generated animation), really I don’t...and I want this made clear now...lol...I do the short films this way (which, by the way have been made with no money) because I don’t see how I can do a film shot on film with miniatures...well, you know?...big-iatures as they say in New Zealand...(they would be big too) and I don’t see where I would put them or how I would construct them.
I make the films with a view to them being remade with miniatures / big-iatures / real actors / real sets / real light...one day...I just hope...I HOPE that I’m not wasting my time with it all...all of these things I’m making (and this may sound odd) are done with that in mind...I don’t fully understand it myself now...other than I’m compelled to do it...i cant sit around and do nothing, so I do somthing?
And as for the robots...well, the reason I have little peg leg robots that look a bit silly, is because my technical skills are really poor, and the little peg leg robots are quite easy to have walk across the screen...for a long time I want just SOMETHING that would be able to walk across the screen...it all sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.
But don’t let this fool you into thinking I don’t love the process of making these films.
Setting up the shots compositionally, editing the shots together to see the sequence start to be born in front of you, and then putting the music ontop...all of that stuff I LOVE to pieces. And those are definitely the three things that excite me the most (at this stage in my life with making these things) about filmmaking and keep me going. That and of course the lighting...I absolutely love lighting scenes.
So here I go with it.
I don’t love robots...and I don’t have a particular love for CGA (computer generated animation), really I don’t...and I want this made clear now...lol...I do the short films this way (which, by the way have been made with no money) because I don’t see how I can do a film shot on film with miniatures...well, you know?...big-iatures as they say in New Zealand...(they would be big too) and I don’t see where I would put them or how I would construct them.
I make the films with a view to them being remade with miniatures / big-iatures / real actors / real sets / real light...one day...I just hope...I HOPE that I’m not wasting my time with it all...all of these things I’m making (and this may sound odd) are done with that in mind...I don’t fully understand it myself now...other than I’m compelled to do it...i cant sit around and do nothing, so I do somthing?
And as for the robots...well, the reason I have little peg leg robots that look a bit silly, is because my technical skills are really poor, and the little peg leg robots are quite easy to have walk across the screen...for a long time I want just SOMETHING that would be able to walk across the screen...it all sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.
But don’t let this fool you into thinking I don’t love the process of making these films.
Setting up the shots compositionally, editing the shots together to see the sequence start to be born in front of you, and then putting the music ontop...all of that stuff I LOVE to pieces. And those are definitely the three things that excite me the most (at this stage in my life with making these things) about filmmaking and keep me going. That and of course the lighting...I absolutely love lighting scenes.
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