Film Progress

Rain and work have set me back a little this week. I have a short scene to shoot on a street corner. A simple conversation in a car while waiting at a red light. Actually it's in a Jeep with the top down, so I need good weather. Plus it has to hook up with other scenes I've already shot.

So after getting production insurance so that I could apply for a film permit so that I could shoot on a city street (complete with hiring an off-duty policeman to direct traffic), it rained. And it rained again on the second day I scheduled a re-shoot. Not all day. It started an hour before I was set to roll cameras. By the time it passed, my light was gone.

But today was forcasted to be beautiful. And it was. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. However, a substantially increased workload at Big Idea has prevented me from taking off during the day for awhile. My cast and crew is thankfully being very patient.

All this is kind of ironic, for the theme of the film is how life doesn't work out the way you want. (See Ecclesiates 9:11).

But not everything has stalled. Meet Miles:

Miles was modeled by the talented Bill Jacoby (www.billjacoby.com). Bill worked with me at Big Idea a few years ago. Now he works freelance from the western suburbs of Chicago. Now that Bill has finished, he is sending the files to the jungles of Brazil where Keith Lango will be coloring, texturing, rigging and eventually animating the smallest star of my film.

Next week I will be recording the voice performance, and shortly thereafter I will be shooting close ups of a beautifully sculpted pile of ... (ahem)... number two, which will serve as Miles' stage.

That's about all I can say for now.

New Band Design

I was burning a CD with the previous t-shirt design file to send in to school with my daughter, then I had an inspiration. I simplified the design a bit. (And my daughter missed the bus, so I had to drive her in.)

I am sending both versions to the band conductor. We'll see which one she chooses.

Personally, I like the revised one better. The panther will be bigger on a shirt.

Playing with Color

I was just looking at my sketch of Simon and thought, "Wow, my color composition really sucks!" It looks like I just opened a can of Krylon®.
So I decided to try an experiment in color, and here's what I came up with:

Basically, I wanted to try some more muted tones and see what looked good together. I didn't start with a drawing this time, I just painted with a bold brush in blocks of flat tone.
Tell me what you think... about the color anyway. I wasn't really thinking about character design or anatomy, just color. As far as design is concerned, I think you can see I was a little inspired from Ronnie del Carmen's work. He's definitely a fellow I can learn a thing or two from.

"Difficult Decisions"

It was all too apparent what had to be done. The running was over and it was time to come clean. Simon knew that returning the painting would be a simple affair. It was the prospect of apologizing to Mary and the museum that had his stomach in knots. "At least my train ticket is still good" he said aloud, "Then I reckon it's time that we should part ways, old friend."
Nancy sat near motionless, her oily black feathers bristling in the chilly pre-dawn breeze. Her stoic stare hid well her wrenching heart.

We'll meet again, I know, She thought. Yes... again. For my blood flows in your veins now.

The End.

All that to say that I just got a Cintiq tablet and I am enjoying it. The drawing above was created totally digitally with the aide of of brush pre-sets that I got from Eddie Pittman. Yes, a new Cintiq, a shiny object to possibly distract me from my pressing projects I am involved in.

Actually, I will be using the tablet in much of my work. I am going to be working on storyboard revisions over the next couple of weeks for the Veggie Pirate movie. And I am working on some cartoon stuff of my own, too. My friend Jim Elston assisted me with some character design for a series I hope to be pitching soon to a publisher/distributor. I'll let you know how it turns out... if it goes well, that is.

I just downloaded the 30-day trial version of ToonBoom Studio. When the trial is up, I'll let you know what I thought of it.

Yes the Cintiq is a fun toy/tool. It doesn't help me draw any better (more's the pity), but it does help me integrate production work into a digital format much more quickly. And it's very intuitive and natural.

It doesn't replace taking a sketchbook along to the mall. But it will do for now!

And what will become of Simon, Mary & Nancy? Who knows? Mary probably won't press charges, but the museum might not be so forgiving. But even if they were, Simon has other outstanding charges that could be a problem with state authorities. And without Nancy, all his escape plans will probably fall to peices.

Small Announcement

I wish I took photos today to share with you.

This week I launched the production of a short live action film entitled "Time & Chance". It's a strange little tale about the significant intersection of insignicant lives. It's not all live action, though. I am working with Keith Lango and Bill Jacoby on a couple of very small animated characters. They are very small, but the catalysts that get everything going.

Today I was working with a great cast in a coffee shop. I had Brad Stine, Megan Murphy and Tamiko Robinson. Brad is an actor/comedian. You can check him out at www.bradstine.com, and have a look at his DVD's, "Put a Helmet On", "Conservative Unleashed", "Tolerate This!" and others. He just finished a film with Brian Denehy. Megan Murphy not only plays Madame Blueberry in the recent VeggieTales release "LarryBoy and the Bad Apple", she is also currently appearing in the Boiler Room Theatre production of "Big River" here in Franklin. And Tamiko is picking up much acclaim for her performance in TSU's "Waiting 2 End Hell" in Nashville. I'll be shooting Brad & Tamiko again next week.

And behind the camera Ben Smallbone is my Director of Photography and an award winning filmmaker in his own right. Ben's recent short "Taken" just took several awards at Nashville's 48 Hour Film Festival. Ben and his wife Paige have been extrodinarily instrumental in helping me put this whole production together. Paige is my associate producer, a virtual girl Friday helping me wade through the deep waters of live action production.

There are more people involved, but I will talk more about them as production advances. Which might be slow. I was rained out of my exterior shoot this morning. Now I have to apply for another permit to shoot on a city street and hire a police officer again to direct traffic. Oh, the millions of things you never have to think about in animation! Plus I have to schedule on days between my ongoing work at Big Idea. I want to make sure I have most of this in the can before I make my exit.

But even though I am working in live action, I am still storyboarding my shots. To me every shot creates an image that tells the underlying story. I also love entrances. An entrance tells the audience how significant a character is. Actors love them. And when they do them right, they can leave a lasting impression. I think we did a couple of great entrances today.

L.A.

Well, I just got back from a couple of busy days in L.A.

I was out there pitching the storyboards for Big Idea's pirate movie to the development people at Universal. They really liked it.

It's such a small industry. One of the development folks, Karen, worked on "Brother Bear", but came on the project after I left. But we knew many of the same people. We also got a chance to meet with a few of the guys working on the "Land Before Time" series. They are big fans of Veggietales. And, yes, we also have worked with many of the same people.

So here's a personal message to Spooner and T.Dan: Jim says, "Hi".

We also had some great sushi at Sushi Nozawa. Check it out if you're out there.

Oh, and just to clear things up, yes, I am making my exit from Big Idea to start my own production company. I am finishing up my work on this feature, which should last another six weeks, then I will be full time on my own. I will make a formal announcement here when I'm good and ready. Meanwhile, I remain on very good terms with Big Idea and will possibly to be involved (off and on) in the future.

Actually, my next post will be about a short film I am working on. Stay tuned.

- T

P.S. Even though I am finishing my storyboard work on "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" in a month or two, the film will then go into actual production. It currently is slated to release in the spring of 2008.

Design Work

I've been very, very busy doing lots of drawings that I am not allowed to post until after our movie comes out. And unfortunately, that leaves very little time for other serious drawing.

But I did take the time to do a t-shirt design for my daughter's school band:
I like the way it turned out. I'll probably get commandeered to do another for the High School band as well, since my son plays in that (and the directors of the Middle School band and the High School band are married). I don't mind doing it at all. I enjoy contributing stuff for my kids. Besides, it's fun, it helps me retain a little bit of "coolness" with the kids, and it takes me back to when I was in school and I always got asked to do this kind of thing for extra credit.

Remember, if you can draw well enough, you don't have to do all your homework.

Bored in a Meeting

Man! I love these Faber-Castell PITT Artists pens -- the brush tip ones especially.
Waterproof India ink that you can actually paint over if you want.

But sometimes, I just find myself doodling , having fun with whatever happens to occur on the page. Yeah, the anatomy is screwy, but I wasn't trying to create art, just seeing where the pen would take me.