GETTING OLDER

Well now I’m twenty eight. It gets more and more interesting the older you get. Getting older seems to be a constant stream of realising things...you suddenly have a moment where you know / understand something you didn’t for many years.

I am now gradually going bald on the top back section of my head...what the lady said on a podcast I listen to is apparently true (another realising moment)...she said that men start to sprout hair on other various parts of your body...gradually of course!...but it’s kinda unfair!...it is indeed happening though.

MY HERZOG EMAIL

Hello. I’m Michael J. Dowswell, a unknown director trying to get a letter to Werner Herzog.

--------------------------

Dear Werner Herzog,

I really do not know what to write here...ok, I’m going to write something.

I’ve been a big fan of yours for some time now. Your commentaries on the DVD’s were a great comfort to me (that and David Lynch and Terry Gilliam interviews)...and I feel that we share the same passions on a number of topics.

I have never storyboarded...I’ve always seen something special, grabbed my camera, and shot it...spontaneous filmmaking is important to me...happy accidents are important to me...solitude has also been a part of it, and I think the films would not have been possible without the solitude.

I have shot cats seeing and going into snow for the first time in their lives...a massive hydro mechanical cow that does the toilet...and kittens pretend fighting and growing up into adult cats. One time I purchased the wrong classical CD by accident and then later on found myself using a lot of the music on that CD for three of my films.

I very recently had a strange thing happen to me when I watched your film Little Dieter Needs to Fly for the first time (which I loved by the way) and I was somewhat put into a very strange place when I saw a scene in your film where Dieter is in front of a glass window of jelly fish...it was the first time that your film reminded me of my own film From Behind Glass.

With admiration,

Michael J. Dowswell
Independent Director/Cinematographer/Editor

http://www.studiotacitus.co.uk/

DOWSWELL ON DOWSWELL PART 3 OF 6

So now I was doing a slightly unusual three year long degree...the title was Multimedia Design and Digital Animation and this was similar in some respects to the first qualification I did (it was a large number of subjects being thrown at you all at once)...except with the first qualification you didn’t touch a computer...this was pretty much all on a computer.

I use to talk to a friend on the degree, and we both agreed on multiple occasions that there really was nothing...NOTHING else, like what we were doing (that had such massive diverse varation) going on at the art college...it was a very experimental degree and I think it had only been on the go for six years...and because computers are in a state of constant change...so was our degree.

There was graphic design, web site design and web site building, CD ROM design and CD ROM building...that you understand has computer programming in it...3D animation, Video production and a LOT of complaining by the people who were on the degree. You see...

...there were ALL SORTS of different people who had reached different levels of difficulty with regards to using a computer and using 3D software...some had never used any before and some were going onto this degree knowing quite a lot about it...

...also, you see...3D animation consists of a whole bunch of things...Lighting, modelling, technical directing, directing, cinematography, texturing, character animation and story telling. It's really a lot to put on the old plate.

TIMES I WANTED TO LEAVE THE DEGREE BUT DIDN'T

There were moments of real despair with the computer programming because I find that sort of thing very difficult...there was a big focus on GROUP projects in year two and this had a mixture of feelings with me too...but, you have to understand they are putting you into a pressure cooker with that stuff on purpose to get you to learn what it’s like.

THE DECISION TO GO SOLO

Eventually I ended up doing a solo animation as my big finishing project for the degree. It went down very well and some people even started to treat me differently than they had done previously.

It is most odd for people to treat you like shit one minute and then treat you like a king the next...this was going to become a common occurrence for me in the coming years.

DOWSWELL ON DOWSWELL PART 2 OF 6

THE START OF WHAT WAS TO BE SIX YEARS AT ART COLLEGE

So there I was at the beginning of my art college era. I ended up doing three qualifications in a row!...I drew, painted, calligraphied, typographied, technical drew, miniature model made and many other things...and that was all in year one...the qualification was called National Certificate in Art and Design...there was also a photography section...which I liked a lot...it flew past and I was at the end of it. So it was goodbye to all the people I knew and then a decision.

WHAT NEXT?

It’s strange but your always coming to a crossroads when your very young (or for that matter through your entire life really)...you have to decide (or at least well, I was extremely lucky to be in this situation of having a CHOICE where It was POSSIBLE to do this) what to DO next. Deciding what to DO next sometimes is never very easy... (or when you’re a young me it wasn’t...when you’re a present day me it isn’t iether)...but, when your very young, your inexperienced...there’s no combined knowledge that has built up over the years.

For me, I liked the look of the HND in photography (this was going to last two years)...and I was going to come out of it knowing about lenses...(which looking at things now was really vital for things to come)

There was two little sections on this HND of video production, where I did a sort of a car advert and a video about a small zoo. There was a pig there called Basil that we video-ed...that was pretty funny (or him making the noise he made was!)...These projects went down very well with the lecturer in charge of it and I got awarded one merit for each project...he liked my editing ability a lot.

A CHANGE OF COLLEGE

So again it was the question...what do I DO now?...at this stage I was looking at the option of - do you become a wedding photographer?...how do you MAKE MONEY out of being a photographer...I had NO CLUE at all...and I did NOT like the idea of becoming a wedding photographer. I didn’t even know that you could get a job as a stills photographer on short films and feature films...I didn’t KNOW that that even existed until much, much later.

So I ended up at this much bigger art college doing this bizarre degree (that actually got terminated two or three years after I left which I find odd)

DOWSWELL ON DOWSWELL PART 1 OF 6

REACTIONS

As a little kid I did drawings...and there was always (and my mum will tell you) big reactions from adults (teachers and friends of my mother) saying things like “wow...look what that little kid did...he’s got the perspective right and everything”

All the way through my youth all I could do was draw...so what happens to somebody who can only draw?...they end up at art college that’s what happens (not always, ok, not always...but I did...I’m one of the very lucky ones...to have been able to go there...and to be living in a country that is in peaceful times...I’m not living in a war zone...I’m not a homeless child on the streets of Moscow...I was one of the highly privileged people who had a choice...many don’t.)

ILLNESS

I had been off secondary school for four years with a illness called ME and the education people and medics were always wanting me to go back, because there was a fear of me losing out on social skills and also becoming unfit with lack of exercise. They did send me back and it always resulted in me being sent back home. Eventually when I got to age sixteen I was given the choice by somebody (cant remember who exactly but I think it was a english teacher) who said “well you can now legally leave school if you want...you don’t have to be here anymore...you might want to think about that”

And so I did leave school. And at age seventeen I went to Art College with a folder full of drawings.

REAL TIME SAND ART FILM

Keep watching this one...it gets more and more interesting the further into it you get...just simply amazing.

A BETTER QUALITY

Have finally got around to uploading higher quality versions of two more of my silent documentaries From Behind Glass and Into Unknown Terrain both shot in 2006.

BACK ONTO WHILE THEY SLEPT AGAIN

That's right. Who knows for how long?

SOMETHING FUNNY

This really cracked me up and also reminded me a lot of video undernieth it too.





Thanks to Robert Edwards and James Russell for the tips!

SATURN 7 - SNOW TEASER

I'm calling this one the Snow Teaser.

ANOTHER TEASER

Don't worry about the editing here in this...it'll be quite different in the final thing.

SLIGHTLY MORE POLISHED TEASER

A bit happier with this one...but am straight onto working on another one.

SATURN 7 - TEASER 3

Here it is...

NOTE: Not terribly happy with some of it, but launching it out there anyway. There was actually meant to be another shot in here (and when you have so few shots, one shot can make quite a big difference)...but technical problems with it didn't seem to be solvable. I’m going straight onto making a better one right now today!

NOTE: Have taken the video down, about to upload another one.

...AND IF YOU ADD NOISE TO IT?...

...it looks like this.

OR DO I GO BACK INTO BLACK AND WHITE?...

...I get really very frustrated about colour, and can never decide what to do with it...so heres some black and white tests.

MORE TWEAKING WITH THE DOOR SHOT

I tend to randomly jump around from shot to shot when I work in order to keep it interesting and in order to keep a fresh eye to things...so basically I went back here and noticed some things that it needed.

MEG IN THE CONNECTION TUBE - RE-LIT

Had to change the lighting in a big way, wasn't too happy with the way it was before.

CONNECTOR TUNNEL

Work in progress on the connector tunnel.

MEG'S SPACE BOOTS

It’s not much, but I’ve done Megs space boots now….at least that’s something done today!

MORE TESTS / COLOURING

More test renders. I try really hard to put as much detail in there as possible but to also move onto the next shot quickly (or i'd be here for five years working on one film)...I'm not sure about this scene, its OK, but my design skills at times feel very inadequate...I can see why people have a fleet of concept artists who make beautiful paintings. But I don’t have that so I have to settle for this I spose.

TWO MORE IMAGES

The doors were created today. I got rid of the red hair on the lady. The body floating on the bridge was a experiment to see what that would look like.

SATURN 7 - TEASER

Managed to record the music and render out two of these shots today and then edit this together.

A LITTLE TEASER POSTER

I think my brain is going to explode from too many ideas. I wish these ideas could be made quicker.

DIFFERENT COLOURS

MY SCIENCE FICTION HORROR ANIMATION CONTINUES ON

Yep...still not managed to steer onto While They Slept...if anybody wants to give me a slap, then by all means give me a slap...I've got addicted on this new one...just want to make this into a teaser.

YOU JUST CANT HELP BUT BE AMAZED BY THE 2012 TRAILER

I'm really jaw on the floor about some of the shots in the trailer for Roland Emmerich's 2012. If this really is CGI, then its reached a new level. I've still not had a look at the HD of it though, or Avatar yet iether...should be able to do that this month.

A BIT OF RED

Because it's horror, I think it needs a bit of red in there.

SPACE STATION

Had to do this...can't explain to you in any other way. Ok well I can. I had this idea for a design for a space station, and had to act on it quickly.

CONFESSION ABOUT THE PERNICKETY THING

Ok I have a confession. I…..DID get...and couldn’t stop myself from getting pernickety about that piece below...and actually rendered out about three versions of it...I’ve actually replaced it with another version.

I’ve got a real good idea how I could make it into a teaser for a science fiction horror at the moment.

BENCHMARK MOMENTS IN CINEMA FOR RAYTRACING #005 - JURASSIC PARK - 1993

And of course the T Rex from Jurrassic Park. The sequences in the movie were amazing.

BENCHMARK MOMENTS IN CINEMA FOR RAYTRACING #004 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY - 1991

The moment where the terminator pours himself into the helicopter was one I wont forget. What really made that shot so special was the reflection of the pilots face.

LOSE THE PERNICKETY?

Trying to get less pernickety here. These character models are of course Cinema 4D default and look a bit dodgy in places (when your up close to them)...anyway though, its much better than I can do. The helmets / air canisters / set / lighting / blood is all by me.



I don’t know if any of you are aware, but for a long time I’ve wanted to change over from doing robot peg leg characters to doing human characters...in fact at the end of the long road of frustration its all I really want to do...am I happy with this piece?...no...but I just want to attempt something here with it.

The long road of frustration I go on about is something quite silly...which is every single animation I’ve ever done I am not happy with...with regards to the characters in them.

Peg leg characters walking across a set was created because it meant I could have a character walk across a set in full view...and...I could get on with the solo animation at a decent speed with the goal of it being completed.

It ultimately leads to a unhappy Dowswell though, because your not really carrying out your true vision.

But you continue to create because its all that you can do...