TITANIC MINIATURE SNAPPING IN HALF

I've never actually seen this before...I'd imagine it's on the DVD...in fact, I'd imagine the making of is probably pretty amazing.

BEING IDEALISTIC IS *NOT* A GOOD THING

I tell you this...right. There’s certain situations in life where you know outright what would be great...what would be ideal...but, they will never happen. So to be fighting against that and not backing off and not admitting to yourself that it's not possible to change what cannot be changed....well, that is a major problem and not a good scenario!

WHAT'S GOING ON?

Quick entry here...very, very busy at the moment doing two animatics for a New Zealand competition. It’s been crazy...sometimes I do stop and paint some boxes for the city. I’ll upload some photos of it when I can. The animatics will go onto youtube and I’ll post them on here when they’re done.

NATURAL DAYLIGHT LIGHTS THE CURRENT WHITE CITY SETUP

Here we go.

WHITE CITY NOW VERY SLOWLY GROWING

Here's how it looks at the moment. Everyday I try to get more boxes...but its become a problem finding them...it's down to about one and sometimes no boxes per day...going to try perhaps to get other peoples toothpaste boxes...but i just hate asking people for anything.

DOWSWELL ON DOWSWELL PART 6 OF 6

There’s always questions asked of how did you become a filmmaker and what sort of books do you have on it.

Now, this may go against my god a little...because Stanley (I’ve heard in the Berstein interview) said that whenever you start to do a new thing with your life you obtain lots and lots of books on the subject...well, when people ask me what sort of books I have on filmmaking the answer is always a bit of a conversation stopper...because, I don’t have any books on it. Now, you have to understand that it's not that I don’t want any books on the subject...I do...I really do...but, it's just that I (and this has to be the penny pinching Scot in me I spose) look at the price of these books and I literally go (in my head) “I’m not gonna pay that fucking amount!”...so the sad truth is one of being tight as a ducks bottom. It’s a shame really, because I probably would learn something from the books...but, until I get some sort of a income I refuse to spend the kind of money that these things are out there for.

This however could be the terrible situation of the information in the books leads me to some sort of highly important realisation and life changing moment, where I'm suddenly in a income sitation (because the information is so very good in the book).

But there is a heck of a lot of information out there now...we now have blogs, podcasts, DVD commentaries, DVD documentaries, twitter, email or coment blog communication with working professionals occasionally...we honestly have information overload. Not that I’m saying there can ever be too much information, and that it should stop being put out there. There is always at any one time...the much needed and welcome chance to stop what your doing and listen to another individuals take on the entire situation...I’ve never understood people who don’t listen to a group of peoples views and opinions...you have to stop and participate in it...and, there must be quite vigorous and honest debate in order to get anywhere...the horrible thing there of course is that people are accidentally hurt by misunderstandings.

It's best to (and also most interesting) to listen to the do-ers and not to the people who sit around being over the top pessimistic (and don’t seem to have done a thing ever...mind you, I have to say that they have extremely high and quite honourable good intentions / opinions that you kind of have to respect...but, at the same time I feel sorry for them too...because they have not done a thing...but, they refuse to do something that is not five star, which I kind of respect...it’s a funny sort of a thing I know...but, I can see exactly where they are coming from...because what is the point exactly of making something that is not great...that you are putting YOUR own good name on?)...the terrible thing for some of us do-ers is that we are in a situation where we have DONE something but we are nowhere near happy with the result...we've put something bad out there for the audience...and is that worse or better?...whatever it is we have to live with that...and it kind of puts us in the same boat too in a way...or possibly a worse boat because our name is now on somthing and we may have lost people due to bad work.

But, as I keep on saying...the only way to cling onto my sanity is to say that they show my ideas...my stories, conceptual designs and cinematography. I look at films like 2001 and Alien that use model miniatures as being the way I want to see my own work redone...and so I see them as animatics...a sort of presentation of my idea.

INTERIOR REDO FOR WHILE THEY SLEPT

Getting there on this now. It's much more how I wanted it to be.

WHITE CITY REPORT

Well my white city (which I’m calling my R&R project) has had to be put on hold here...for the simple reason being, I’ve run out of boxes...sounds crazy eh?...well, it is crazy!

R&R = Rest and Relaxation...the rest has been sitting in front of Deep Space Nine and the relaxation has been making the white city. It really is very therapeutic, because you don’t have to do much thinking at all...you just sit and paint these boxes. Once you have them set up its very interesting looking at the entire city...and even more so when you pull open the curtains in the morning, the natural daylight on it is therapeutic to see.

I spose I should be having a stab at actually making more boxes instead of waiting for more tea and toothpaste boxes...but, there’s no thick card to do that...and, the card would cost money.

So I’ve gone back onto the While They Slept scene redo I’d started the other day...then my mother appeared with another tea box...so strangely, this is something whereby I think boxes are going to come quite quick and fast...interesting!...we must get through a hell of a lot of tea!

The amount of boxes I need is quite large...god knows how many exactly, but I wouldn’t say no to two hundred right now. Currently there’s only twenty four.

BRIAN NEWMAN TALK

This is a really awsome presentation.

LOOKING MORE CITY LIKE

Just a quick update here. It's gradually getting there...the final thing will be 4 or 5 times the board its sitting on, which should be interesting, but I'm a fair bit away from that. but i cant wait to be playing around with it at that stage.

THE CITY IS GROWING

Some of it needs another coat of paint.

FAKING NATURAL DAYLIGHT

Trying to fake natural daylight at nigh time is never easy when you don’t have a budget. I basically have workmens lights that I bought quite a long time ago...a 500 and 250 watt light that cost about £15...I spose really I should buy another set...cause the more you have the better.

Here I did the old trick of turning them around to bounce / diffuse the light. Unfortunately you get into a situation where you have to do severe amounts of colour correction...mind you, this was because I pointing them at my reddish / orange curtains and so that was exacerbating the problem somewhat...but even so, it starts to loose something vital from when you do it with natural real daylight (if you look at the previous post you'll see what I mean). This is a problem if I’m going to make this thing bigger...but doesn’t look bad in black and white.