Never Knows Best Productions

So Close, Yet So Far

2011-11-26T11:42:00.001-08:00

So it's the end of November and still no movie. This is the result of three things:

1.) I have had a crushingly busy month at my day job and have not had time to organize the final color correction and extras shoot

2.) The final sound mix that has a crucial boost to the intelligibility of the lyrics has been delayed due to budget among other things

3.) A version with mediocre color correction and a stereo sound mix has been sent to over 20 film festivals

Now, I could release an online private link to donors and friends that has the current sound mix and a few funky color issues. The "festival screener" version, if you will. But I want the first time you see it to be the best it can be.

Rest assured, the Doctor is coming, maybe just in time for Christmas.

2011-10-04T13:45:00.001-07:00

Got a quick shout for the "Doctor Glamour" trailer on Director's Notes. I hope to sit down and do an interview with them once the film's out (and if they like it!)Check it out here:http://www.directorsnotes.com/2011/10/04/doctor-glamour-trailer/

Doctor Glamour has a Trailer!

2011-09-27T22:30:00.001-07:00

A genius scientist contacts another dimension to save the woman he loves, summoning a flamboyant rock & roll superhero.

Coming 2012
Find out more at:
DoctorGlamour.com

New Project Smell

2011-08-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

Alright, it took me a year to start talking about the next project after "Frank DanCoolo" was finished. This time I'm going to start yammering about my next project a month or two before the "Doctor Glamour" is completed.

Really the catalyst for this was seeing the work Dillon Markey was doing at his stop motion workshop last night. He was working on a dragon puppet. I gotta have me one of those in a project.

So what I hope is next is an action/comedy/high fantasy/space pirate webseries. It needs funding and may never happen if a few key elements don't come together.

It's called

BUCCANEER GALAXY

Across the seven celestial spheres there is no mage more feared, no wizard more reviled, than the ruthless necromancer Lycra Bloodstone! ...Or at least that's how she'd like to be known. Instead, despite her best efforts, Lycra constantly finds herself the subject of good publicity. Killing planets, pirating trade ships, eating pets; nothing works! There are always unintentional positive consequences to her actions.

But now, with news of a scared object unearthed in the farthest reaches of space, she sees her chance to at last gain the notoriety she craves as well as power over life and death itself!Set in a swashbuckling universe of squid ships, cannon balls and powerful sorcery, "Buccaneer Galaxy" will deliver incredible action, insane personalities and a unique blend of old school visual effects.

I hope to have a final draft of the scripts by year's end. It's pretty exciting to work on. I'll be posting updates here on the development and some insight into the influences I'll be drawing upon in the coming weeks.

Are you Watching Closely?

2011-08-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

"Doctor Glamour" has the very best visual effects our modest budget could produce, but they function in a way that's out of step with my original passions. I wanted the organic shapes and wood platforms of the astral sea to be miniatures, composited into a fish tank generated sky.

Budget stopped us from going this direction, so we came up with a very good digital approximation. Unfortunately, I think by going all digital the audience may feel expected to just accept what they are seeing at face value, rather than engaging the movie as artifice.

Movie goers have seen enough computer generated environments to just assume they are to think of the CGI as a real space, rather than, in my case, a purposefully expressionistic representation of a 2-D aesthetic. I ran into this problem with "DanCoolo." The effects were too good and the point too subtle. Even those who did get it had to wait until stop-motion creatures showed up for the idea to take hold.

Granted, the astral sea elements of "Glamour" are so much more aggressive that I think they have a good chance of demanding regard as fantastic artificial confection, rather than a paltry low budget attempt at "Avatar" style "world building." (The phrase used by those who I suppose find "production design" a threat to their passive experience.)

So now, as I'm starting to figure out what's next, the words of "House" director Nobuhiko Obayashi are beginning to be a guiding principle:

"It is more fun when a magician fails."

The ideas, the energy, the FUN of special effects that have finger prints, life and human craftwork on display are something I want to incorporate into my next venture. To reject the desire to be transported to another world and instead have a grand time watching a movie.

For my next project I want effects closer to this:

You can feel the objects in space, the hand of the people that made the images. One reason I like this is that the manipulation of these models and miniatures forces a state of mind similar to that of child playing with toys, smashing his or her wind-up Sphinx into a Hulk action figure.

Though potent in its own way, no visual effect that convinces you something is ACTUALLY happening can possibly carry this particular power. The power to remind you of your own mind's capacity for pure creation, imagination and fantasy.

Bio Break

2011-08-24T23:21:00.000-07:00

Before I crank out the first draft of a script, I like to know what lives the characters have lead up until the events of the movie. To do this I type up a character bio that touches on key experiences or background that would form the kind of person the character is supposed to be. These are rough things, meant for personal use, but this time around I decided to share with the actors, so they are a LITTLE more coherent.

Basically they all set up the idea that the universe these people inhabit is some weird space between Lovecraft Country, Jules Verne and Marvel Comics. I threw a lot of touch stone Lovecraft lore, real historical figures and mystic mumbo jumbo into these. They are rather lame attempts to justify an aesthetic experiment that is more about form than narrative fidelity. Still fun to write though!

Gammar police may want to skip these.

Below are the mini-bios I typed up before writing "Doctor Glamour."

Walter Gilman

Walter Randolf Gilman is defined by the pedigree of his name. The scion of the respected, old money Haverhill Gilman family, Walter finds himself the vessel of more than his own ambitions and dreams. He is the sole heir to a fortune and prestige long past its prime. The family's funds have dwindled, their prominence shrunk and the withered family tree's last best hope lay in his bright young mind.

His Grandfather presided as Dean of Miskatonic University, and his father was a renowned explorer and field scientist. Both disappeared mysteriously, years apart, but damaging rumors of madness still swirl in the closeted chambers of the New England aristocracy.

At lot of expectation and prejudice now follow Walter into his first year of graduate studies, but rather than be crushed by such pressures, Walter relishes the challenge. Groomed from birth for a life of academic super stardom, he already possess undergraduate degrees in four subjects: Mathematics, Folklore, Ancient Philology, and Engineering. Thus easily spanning the knowledge base of his forebears and then some.

Indeed, Walter is "go, go go!" all the time, and for all the rewards it has brought him, his inner life is rather hollow. He has allowed no time for relationships, introspection or any kind of real growth. Who he truly is, what he truly wants, even he can't say. But one cannot remain a blank slate forever, and this desire for definition is bubbling to the surface, desperate for some catalyzing change to burst forth.

Eve Walpurgis_

Eve is an Arkham local, and the Walpurgis family has deep roots in the town's sordid history. Haunting tales of generational witchcraft and bloody sacrifice to unnameable entities checker the past of Eve's bloodline. The death of Eve's mother, Asenath Waite Walpurgis, is one of these haunting tales, as it coincided with death of her grandfather on her father's side. Hushed voices across the darkened hearths of Arkham recount the story of the grand old Walpurgis warlock attempting to transfer his soul into the body of his own son's bride, only to be thwarted by his progeny.

Eve's father, Edward Walpurgis, has denied the truth of this tale utterly, for fear that it might foster resentment in Eve. Unknown to him, the story has caused quite the opposite reaction. Eve is a voracious reader, dabbling in all subjects, but foremost in the science of the forbidden tomes locked away in her father's study. It is this lust for knowledge that has provided the fuel for Eve's success.

Eve's arrival on the steps of Miskatonic University as its first female student has been hard won. Rejecting home schooling at an early age with unruly and violent outbursts, Edward was forced to send his rowdy daughter to boarding school in Boston. Away from the creaking backwardness of her home town, Eve flourished and her academic success led to a meeting with Ellen Richards, who immediately recognized the girls talent and put her forth for admission to MIT.

This did not jive with Eve's true collegiate aspirations, however, as the real objects of her intellectual desire lay buried in the restricted regions of Miskatonic University's library and not the mainstream science of the Ivy League. So Eve declined the invitation to enroll at MIT and instead began a campaign to change Miskatonic's gender discrimination policies. She faced an outrageously stodgy and change-adverse board of trustees, but she cleverly used their superstition to her own ends by crafting "witchballs" and launching a subtle campaign of terror upon the board and their families. Cow towed by these tactics and the Walpurgis family history, Eve was finally admitted. This is not the first, nor likely the last time she uses her innate magical gifts to get what she wants...

Doctor Glamour

The place is Prague, 1840, and an orphaned infant of Bohemia's teeming serf population is left of the doorstep of the ailing Bernard Bolzano. Attached to the babe's basket is a note, containing the odd symbols and incantations of the superstitious underclass. Bolzano knows the words, it's the language of the faerie, a plea to the fae folk for a protective glamour. A world renowned scientist and philosopher, Bolzano is only too aware of the class strife bubbling on the streets of his beloved city. He takes the child in. Thus begins the journey of Jaroslave Gregori Glamour.

Intensely educated from birth by Bolzano, Glamour showed great promise in his first few school years, but his tutelage was cut short by the revolutions of 1848. As chaos enveloped the capital city and the King of Bohemia send his clockwork soldiers to quell the rebellion, Bolzano and the ruling elite became targets for the rioting mob of serfs that swept the streets. In a desperate attempt to save his family, Bolzano carved a swath through the rabble with his lightening gun and managed to reach a caravan headed for Russia. With a liberal bribe, passage was secured for the young Glamour, but his mentor was left behind to be consumed by the mob's flames.

The caravan drove north through Russian territory, until reaching the cold outskirts of Siberia. Here the caravan master introduced Glamour to his family, part of the Saami tribe. With Glamour's scientific and medical foundation in place, and being the only one able to further study the textbooks in his possession, the tribe found a niche for him as a medicine man. To Glamour's surprise, this was not the only component of his duties. The great old shaman of the tribe was impressed by the boy's manipulations of the material world and decided to make Glamour his apprentice. Vistas of thought were opened for Glamour. Astral projections, bizarre incantations and whisperers of beings old and terrible filled his days leading up to manhood.

On Glamour's 18th birthday, the elders of the tribe met. Industry and the modern world had finally reached their doorstep. A representative from Saint Petersburg arrived in the village to inform them of a factory being built a few miles south. Realizing the need for a link to this modern world, it was decided by the elders that Glamour should go into civilization to learn its ways. With a heavy heart, and a twinge of excitement, Glamour headed out for the Saint Petersburg Technology Institute.

Once enrolled, Glamour caught the eye of the young professor Dimitri Mendeleev. Blown away by Glamour's grasp of theoretical science of quantum synthesis, Mendeleev, barely Glamour's senior, invited him to join various scientific societies within the Russian Aristocracy. But what started off as a productive scientific partnership grew into something more between them and behind the stuffy closed doors of the university, love blossomed.

Their secret relationship did little to distract the two brilliant minds from focusing on research. In 1862, they made a breakthrough that would change dimensional studies forever. By merging quantum theory with Glamour's extensive knowledge of shamanic rituals, the pair successfully opened a physical portal to the collective unconscious. Exhilarated by the success, Glamour insisted that the experiment be replicated for the public. Mendeleev was hesitant, as the small scale of the portal would leave many doubting as to what was on the other side. A compromise was reached and a portal large enough for a man to walk through was created for the press on Oct 15, 1862. In front of the assembly Mendeleev walked in. The portal closed behind him.

Unable to reproduce the experiment without his missing lover's expertise, Glamour was awash in grief. Years were spent in isolation, trying to undo that fateful day through scientific means. Eventually, Glamour accepted Mendeleev death, and left the university back for his tribe. Despondent, he told the shaman of his journey in civilization. With a firm hand on the shoulder of a broken Glamour, the shaman quietly informed him that there was another way. An old way. A forbidden way. Unsheathing the tribe's black, gnarled copy of the Necronomicon, Glamour read over a ritual that would launch him into the astral sea, never to return by his own means. It was there that Glamour vowed that what happened to Mendeleev would never happen to another living soul and as he entered the swirling portal and looked upon the earth for what might of been the last last time, he knew he had a last found his calling, he had become the defender of dreams, rescuer of the lost, DOCTOR GLAMOUR.

It's not you, it's me.

2011-08-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

I've been encouraged to write publicly about my attitudes towards various schools of critical thought regarding film and entertainment. However, I feel this is counter productive. To define oneself by what one is against or what one wishes to see in others work is to invite and incite conflict, or worse, dismissal.

This has driven my interest away from writing critical evaluations of others work and instead steered it towards pondering, explaining and sharing the critical criteria with which I evaluate my own work.

This, I feel, will do far more to explain my particular attitudes towards the works of others and invite discussion that can truly benefit my future efforts.

It is obvious to me that all people who seek to create must privately have their own method of self evaluation. Whether this is merely a single work or artist that the creative person aspires to, or political, philosophical and sociological concerns. I ascribe to auteur theory. I believe the essential building blocks of my worldview and personality will manifest within my work whether I think about them or not.

It is my choice, then, to actively consider them at all times. This choice forms the basis of my approach to critiquing my own work.

This impulse comes from two places. The first and most important is my knowledge that, as a human being, I rarely live up to my ideals. I am flawed. The impulse to control, shape and test all aspects of a work is to reign in impulse itself. I'm not suggesting that intuition has no place in the creative act, but rather the importance to think critically about the resultant creation of that intuition.

The most obvious reason is to avoid a conversation like the one I had with my wife/producer:

ME: Check out this shot! It came out really well!

JEANETTE: Yeah. That's from Spider-man 3.

ME: FUCK!

I'm not bothered that I stole a shot from another film (more on that later) but rather that I didn't MEAN to. Creative impulse with no critical check.

Likewise, on a more fundamental level, the themes and ideas I express in my work should be an expression of my conscious self, not my base impulses or lizard brain reactions. That means, for every choice I make in a film, be it thematic, moral, or aesthetic (none of which are mutually exclusive) I should have a clear, conscious reason for making that choice. Otherwise I am a train off the tracks. An engine of ideas and visuals with no purpose or consideration to what they might say about me or what effect it may have on my audience.

That brings me to the second factor. A filmmaker like myself makes movies for an audience. This is something for others to see, enjoy and think about. Why did I choose this medium? Film has had a deep, meaningful impact on how I view the world, interpret people's actions and see my place in the universe. This medium can profoundly shape people's minds. That's a real responsibility.

I feel a responsibility to inject my movies with ideas and themes that reflect my own values, my ideals. I can only ensure that this happens by strictly analyzing the possible interpretations of each choice I make. Ultimately, the goal is to create a work where interpretation is open, but my INTENT is clear. A work that people can enjoy and engage honestly.

I want to go into how this dovetails with my choices in content and theory. I've already established I'm a control freak, so russian formalism has an obvious appeal to me. Montage seen as a series of meaningless symbols, combined into phrases of meaning. I can construct clear, purposeful moments and communicate without ambiguity to my audience.

This is coupled with a post modernist style because it seems to me that if a large portion of those individual symbols are pulled from a shared pop culture cinematic language, I can nest citations within each complete thought that formal montage provides, compounding information and meaning.

I don't buy that post modernism is inherently ironic, either. One can create profound truth and meaning from re-contextualizing media.

In "DanCoolo" my purpose was to use this kind of post modern symbolism to send up overly somber and derivative sci-fi aesthetics. Example: 40s Film Archetype Holly Malone, In an aforementioned overly serious film environment, head butts a guy through a wall, leaving a looney tunes style cut out. That's three citations of film language.

The intended result is a clear message that not only are the elements of the film at odds, but the content is there to undermine the associations and expectations that come with the film's art direction. And hopefully that's funny.

Graded by my own criteria, I don't think "DanCoolo" is very successful. The above example relies on rather arcane familiarity with the different citations made, preventing me from directly communicating with the audience.

Part of me wishes "Priest" had come out a year earlier. I apologize for mentioning another movie as a negative example, but "DanCoolo" is ultimately a negative film, as I've mentioned in another post.

Camera design saves it a bit, as the over-the-top goofiness of nearly every camera move and composition hopefully accomplishes for a portion of the audience what the obscure citations do not. At the end of the day, the entertainment component of the movie works for a large amount of people, but the ideas are not clearly communicated in an accessible way.

Where the film does a lot better is in the way gender politics are expressed in the film, which is an important personal issue for me. There are no gender politics in the movie, and androgyny is presented without comment, stemming from my own belief that binary concepts of gender should be irrelevant in our thinking. Except those damn high heels. I HATE that choice. I've got no one to blame but myself. Also, the absurdity of drug regulation is touched upon.

"The Book Dealers" fares slightly better. Basically, the film is intended as a science positive horror story, in which technology defeats a threat unleashed by ancient religion. The eye motif repeated throughout the film is something I'm very happy with, as it doubles as a symbol for both corrupt spirituality and omniscient overseers of western religions.

I hope this cursory overview of my internal critical process helps shed light on some of the decisions I've made with my films.

Final Shots!

2011-08-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

Internet and Post Production Update

2011-06-22T01:49:00.000-07:00

Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer on Vimeo.

After reading Short of the Week's informative article about the Internet launch of fellow Toronto After Dark selection, "The Thomas Beale Cipher," I decided to follow a random smattering of their advice and did a casual re-launch of "Frank DanCoolo."

Readers here will know that "DanCoolo" has been up on my personal site now for over a year. It had already gotten the lion share of blog coverage, reviews and links it was going to get in its lifetime. So I set out to see if I could beat this dead horse as a dry run for "Doctor Glamour."

Given the minimal effort I put in and the staleness of the content, I think we did pretty well. Grabbing approx 16 thousand eyeballs and nearly three thousand plays, it was a good send off for a film that even io9.com mentioned had been around for awhile.

But it also made me realize that I know jack about the Internet. After a few query emails to various blogs I don't even read, I was kind of at a loss. I'm going to need a real strategy for "Doctor Glamour," as I know it will appeal to several Internet niches (steampunks, comic fans, LGBT, vfx nerds, music fans) but I don't know what these people read or where to find them!

At the end of the day I'm encouraged that a lazy Sunday afternoon reaped such large rewards, but also daunted by the sea of far more successful films and Internet manipulators I must compete against next year.

In other news, "Doctor Glamour" post production is going great! I'm extremely short on cash, so figuring out how to pay for the last few steps (everything to do with sound, for instance) will be tricky, but I didn't decide to do this to get rich! Expect a trailer in September!

Color Struggles

2011-06-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

(This still is not from the scenes mentioned below, but enjoy none the less!)

Post production is rocketing along. Over eight minutes of the movie have been completed in barely over a month since wrap. Turns out things were rocketing along a bit TOO fast though, as I had to put on the breaks and hold a meeting this past Sunday.

Essentially, I asked for a saturation and filter change to one environment that really improved it and so foolishly thought it would work just as well for the rest of the astral sea environments in the film. Well, it didn't. It made them look really gross!

I had work stopped as soon as approval stills were sent to me and worked out what needed to change about the new environments. We've got something that's a vast improvement now, not only over my misguided direction from a few weeks ago, but what was designed initially.

What have a learned? If you are doing green screen, try to test ALL your environments with actual actors in them before locking anything down.

Evolution of a Shot

2011-05-30T05:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick breakdown of how a shot evolves from thumbnail to final.

After months and months of thinking intensely about the particular camera design strategy and specific influences of the film, I sit down and scribble out as quickly as possible every shot in the movie. The end result is this:

These are just quick doodles of the basic character positions and expressions. After I get this raw expression of the film, I do my second draft.

Instead of creating refined 2-D storyboards, I load up the final 3-D environment. I then place my 3-D armatures and camera to fine tune the 2-D tumbnail. This includes camera movement and is cut together to form the "animatic."

Armed with both the tumbnails and animatic, shooting begins. Once I've got the actors in front of the camera I do some final tweaks. What you see here is more of the hybrid of the previous two versions than a straight copy of either.

Finally, the shot is composited together with the environment. Lighting and color adjustments are made to bring the movie in line with the intended final aesthetic.

There you have it! Multiply that 400+ times and you have a movie!

Post Production Update

2011-05-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

         So the green screen cut of the movie was locked on Wednesday, which meant delivering my computer to James and Robert Dastoli where they incorporated it into the vaunted Dastoli Digital production pipeline. Given the massive render times required (the shots in the library for instance are taking up to two weeks to render per shot), the extra firepower is a must.

    Other crucial items need to be filmed as well. All of the "Dream Being" footage must be shot, as well the the practical elements of the "Flash Gordon" sky and a bunch of students for the classroom scenes that didn't show up on the day.

    Stop motion animation will have be done for the tentacle elements in the beginning and end of the film as well.

Hi-Def Madness!

2011-05-05T03:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the latest shots as they were meant to be seen, in Hi-Def!

CLICK THE PICTURE TO SEE HI-DEF VERSION

CLICK HERE TO SEE HIGH DEF VIDEO

Behind-the-Scenes Photos!

2011-05-02T01:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a bunch of raw, unprocessed stills straight from the rough cut! See more on our Facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150165289808994.306110.336251938993&l=22eba25848

Leftovers

2011-04-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the pictures posted to facebook by cast and crew over the course of the shoot.

That's a WRAP!

2011-04-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Two years and a day ago, I posted THIS.

Well, this flick was a bit tougher, but here we are, eight days, 89 hours of shoot time, 417 set-ups, and the nastiest sunburn of my life later, "DOCTOR GLAMOUR" has wrapped.

I don't know how to articulate my feelings about the shoot yet. Suffice to say, by day seven, I was nearly moved to tears by the incredible dedication and hard work on dislpay.

When you see this movie in eight months or so, remember that it was shot with only seven pairs of hands.

Crew
John Heppe.
James Dastoli.
Robert Dastoli.
Faith Clapp.
Jeanette Jones.

Crew/Actors
Chris Shields.
John Charles Meyer.
Priscilla McEver.

One day these people got through 104 shots. An action scene that was lip-synced precisely to music playback. Dozens of lighting change ups.Three to four part camera moves with no dedicated assistant camera operators.

I've never had to concentrate harder, or keep straight in my head such massively complicated sequences, especially all why in constant pain. I worked the night shift three of these days and functioned on virtually no sleep through days which sometimes reached the 15 hour mark. All the while spending every dime I'd saved since "DanCoolo" wrapped two years prior.

But when I looked out onto the stage I was shamed by the pure professionalism and seemingly unending endurance of my cast and crew.

Thanks for carrying my ass guys. Next time I'll remember to say "cut" I swear.

And you, gentle viewer, we're going to blow your freaking mind.

Speaketh the Words!

2011-04-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

Behold! Two dreaded tomes from Lovecraft lore, ready to make their appearance in a cheeky musical comedy!

Whole Lotta Love

2011-04-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

BEHOLD! The completed techno-glove o' love!

Proto-props

2011-03-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

Just received pictures and video of nearly finished versions of the the two big props in the movie, the Techno-Glove o' Love and the Techno-Wand! The glove needs to be dyed a dark brown hue and has a few more mechanical components that need to be added, but it's shaping up great!

Check 'em out!

Costumes & Shoot Dates!

2011-03-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

As the official shoot dates (April 16-25) come ever closer, the final custom props and costumes come rolling in. First is the coat, vest and cravat for Doctor Glamour himself.

Check it out!

VFX test "Jeanette Vs. The Dream Being"

2011-02-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

We did a new VFX test last week featuring one of the more difficult to visualize ideas in the script; the "dream beings." These creatures are manifestations of fear on the astral plane, and Doctor Glamour kicks their portal-y butts!

Standing in for Doctor Glamour for these tests is producer, Jeanette Jones!

Hit "Go To Video" at the end to get to a Hi-Rez version.

For you Behind the Scenes Fiends: here's the little snippet of animatic we had on set:

Dress for Success

2011-02-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Making purchases all this week for props and costumes. Considerably more time and money are being spent in this department than in DanCoolo. Notably, there are several costume changes for our leads and complicated, mechanical props. Like the Techno Glove o' Love itself!

Luckily I found an excellent independent leather worker to create the more complicated pieces.

This was the image that made me hire him:

But he also had stuff like this:

Check out his website and buy something!

Speaking of websites you should buy things from, I'm constantly cruising Clockwork Couture for ideas.

Expect to see outfits like the one from Clockwork Couture below in the film :

Various dresses have been purchased for Eve's many costume changes.

Finally a custom jacket, vest and pants are all being manufactured for Doctor Glamour. Expect costume test pictures in the coming weeks and months!

3-D or not 3-D

2011-02-06T01:31:00.000-08:00

The length of time between posts recently has been due to the blood sweat and tears I've been pouring into the Storyboards and 3-D animatic for "Doctor Glamour."

I did this for "Frank DanCoolo" as well. You can see my original blog post from nearly two years ago here:

http://nkbproductions.blogspot.com/2009/02/animatic.html

This time around, I'm not creating elements from scratch to create rough approximations of the environments for the film. Instead I'm using the ACTUAL final environments from the film.

The other major change is that as opposed to using 2-D cut outs to stand in for characters, I'm using crude 3-D armatures. This allows the many complex shots in the film to rotate and weave around the characters appropriately. Note in the movie below, bare minimum render and lighting settings were used and in no way resemble the aesthetic of the final product.

Unfortunately, there is a major drawback to this approach I've encountered. While rudimentary, the 2-D cut outs I used for DanCoolo could emote. The story, as told by the expressions on the characters face, could be told. With the face-less 3-D models, I'm able to get something that is far more accurate to what the technical aspect of any given shot will be, but I don't feel that the animatic will give me a strong sense of how the movie is working as a narrative.

So here's a snippet of animatic from the first song in the movie, "Techno Glove-o-Love". Doctor Glamour comes out of a portal (not rendered here) unexpected by Walter, who was trying to reach another dimension to rescue his fiance. I think you get a good sense of Doctor Glamour's powers, which is kind of like if Bugs Bunny were a Jedi Knight. He summons objects to himself and teleports all over the place.

Remember, this is a crude internal communication device, only meant to be seen by myself and the crew. Of course you, dear reader, are just as important as any crew member to me, so here it is!

"Doctor Glamour" needs your Help!

2011-02-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

We're looking for a few donations to reach our shooting budget goal. Please take a look at our Kickstarter page, as you can get cool swag for cheap!

Thank you!

Wonder Cast! ASSEMBLE!

2011-01-18T23:42:00.000-08:00

Casting of the three lead roles is official for "Doctor Glamour." Two old favorites and a newcomer!

John Charles Meyer is Doctor Glamour!

John was brilliant as Frank DanCoolo, but there's more to my decision to cast him than familiarity. This guy, in addition to being a working actor on shows for ABC, CBS and a myriad of others, is a legit rock singer.

Former front man of the band Strawman, he's the real damn deal. As the Doctor, he's gonna kick your ass and you'll thank him for it.

Chris Shields is Walter Gilman!

I've seen Chris play just about everything. He brings reality and pathos to everything he does. Gilman is the first time I need someone to do some emotional heavy lifting on screen. I know Chris can do that.

I also have seen Chris in naught but whitey tighties, screaming into a microphone with more insane power than most of my punk rock idols. He's got the music covered.

Priscilla McEver is Eve Walpurgis!

Don't recognize her?

That's better!

I am probably really, really screwing up by not crafting this movie around Priscilla in the lead again (wait for the feature script). What a freaking genius. People came up to me at every film festival, wrote me e-mails and even called up and mentioned how brilliant she was as Holly Malone.

It's also not often you find an actor who's so good you want to cast them in a complete opposite role just for FUN. She had an epic amount of dialog and a purposefully gender neutral ensemble in "DanCoolo". This time around it's a silent film role and she gets big frilly dresses!

I'm so thrilled with having these guys on board. They are going to make this thing happen. Want proof? Well, just so you don't think this post is all about kissing ass, here's a SONG FROM "DOCTOR GLAMOUR"!!!

GRATIFIED GRATUITOUSLY

Victoriana Maximus!

2010-10-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

The environments and conceptual pieces for the first half of the film have been screaming off the hard drives of the VFX team at a truly rapid pace, with little revision required by me. You can see stills from them above and below. You can click them to see full rez versions.

The first act of "Doctor Glamour" takes place in an alternate history, "steam-punk" version of Arkham, Massachusetts. Check out the first shot of the city:

Click "Go To Video" at the end for a higher rez version.

"DanCoolo" Wins Big at 2010 HP Lovecraft Film Festival!

2010-10-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" reached the end of a long road this weekend, when it won a much coveted Brown Jenkin award at the Hp Lovecraft Film Festival. The people were amazing, the movies fantastic and the town Lovecraftian. My sincere thanks to everyone who made this journey possible. We have a few more festivals in the coming months, but this was truly the climax of the film's festival run.

Audio Exploits and an Art Show

2010-09-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

You Vultures! is currently in the VO recording phase while designs are finalized. I've recorded three people so far, one of them being the always funny Dana Snyder of Aqua Teen Hunger Force fame. He'll be playing one of the main bad guys in the film. I'm still not sure if I want to reveal who they are yet (and that may even be saying too much) as I've always loved a good surprise. We'll see how long I can keep it under wraps. The other two voices I've recorded are myself and Andrew...not quite as exciting, I know. I still have a ways to go but I'm hoping within the next two to three weeks I'll have all the audio recorded and be able to really get my hands dirty editing this sucker.

Designs are also going well. Justin has been incredibly busy working on his book with Oni so I've been working on designs again. It's been a lot more enjoyable now that the script is locked and I don't have to split my time with writing. I also have a much better idea of who the characters are now than the first time I tried to do designs, so you know, that always helps.

Rough sketch of Victor

Very rough sketch of Johnny wearing what will probably become Victor's shirt.

Some more sketches of Johnny along with some random other stuff.

I should have more to share in the coming weeks. Until then, enjoy.

The Stars are Right!

2010-09-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Big Damn Festival Update:
"Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" is an official selection at the 2010 HP Lovecraft Film Festival! Our animated horror film, "The Book Dealers" played the fest in 2008, so it's great to be back!

"DanCoolo" has also been accepted to the Shreikfest Film Festival, Hollywood Film Festival, Dark Bridges Film Festival and the Eerie Horror Film Festival!

PLUS The film won "Best Cult Film" at Dragon*Con 2010!!!

Women In Refrigerators

2010-09-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

Thematic Elements Part 2

There's a really odd theme in western media that's been getting a lot of play in major motion pictures of late. A theme best summed up in the comic book world by this site:

Women In Refrigerators

and I will borrow some its text as preamble to my short post about a seemingly related topic:

"An important point: This isn't about assessing blame about an individual story or the treatment of an individual character and it's certainly not about personal attacks on the creators."

Women in popular media are sometimes little more than emotional macguffins for the male protagonist, where they appear as a character we barely know and are immediately put in mortal danger or outright killed. They become the motivation for men to act. It is a reduction of female roles to that of sacrificial lambs.

The existence of this emotional shorthand makes sense. The death of a loved one of either sex is a powerful emotional lure for storytellers. Plus, Mythical Manly Men want to protect/avenge their women and Gullible Girly Girls revel in their idealized romance (even it's just a quick montage or flashback before their brutal murder/rape/kidnapping by Bowzer).

But what about the vast majority of us who AREN'T gender stereotypes working on pure emotional logic? You and I are forced to endure a story with a paper thin romance coupled with a one dimensional female partner and expected to give a shit when she is abducted or bites the dust. And usually this is coupled with a director literally yelling through his or her movie: "THIS IS THE MOST TRAGIC GOD DAMN SERIOUS THING YOU HAVE EVER FUCKING SEEN YOU HEARTLESS BASTARDS!"

In "Frank DanCoolo" I tried really hard to make the "heroine," Holly Malone, interesting and attractive without being "sexy" or fetishistic. I have had a few people say to me that she was "super hot" or that they "wanted make to babies" with her. Misogynist remarks, yes, but what the hell about Holly Malone is a traditional expression of femininity that people associate with these remarks??? Got your brain!

So with "Doctor Glamour" my aim is to take the typical one dimensional lady macguffin plot and use the lack of knowledge of the Eve Walpurgis character and the details of the main character's relationship to try to broaden people's gender definitions. How exactly? Sorry that would be a **SPOILER** but it involves lots of very immature jokes.

Econo Rocker Vs. Fat Guy in Anime T-Shirt

2010-09-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

Thematic Elements Part 1
This is a tale of two people:

Econo Rocker liked to make music. He would play live often and sing snarky Dead Kennedys-esque punk rock with his band. He wore flamboyant outfits and was an equal opportunity philanderer. He was obsessed with politics, counter culture and fuck you attitude.

Then Econo Rocker, left without purpose as his bandmates left for college, decided to compromise and go to college too. But Econo Rocker didn't really fit in his new environment. His DIY worldview didn't seem particularly relevant to his new artistic aspirations. Even his wardrobe, once a rainbow colored challenge to the spiked and studded trolls he encountered in the Punk Rock scene, made little sense in this new context.

So, with a heavy heart, Econo Rocker starting eating a lot of Steak n' Shake and ceded this new world to a friend: Fat Guy in Anime T-Shirt!

Fat Guy in Anime T-Shirt was a creature of boundless nerdy enthusiasm. He played a ton of table top RPGs, played countless video games and voraciously devoured movies. Haunted by the absence of Econo Rocker, Fat Guy in Anime T-Shirt was insanely determined to make sure his sacrifice was not in vain. Every waking moment was dedicated to a new definition of success.

And Fat Guy in Anime T-Shirt did succeed! He started working right out of school in a well paid position! He was in love with an amazing woman! He made great friends! He made an entire movie that channeled what an invincible badass he felt like! He even got a huge promotion to do exactly what he wanted to do!

But then it all fell apart. The job disappeared, no prospects, and a crushing lack of direction set in. On top of that, he was about to get married! For all his success, Fat Guy in Anime T-Shirt was too weak to deal with failure. That's when his old friend tapped him on the shoulder. Econo Rocker had the perspective and attitude to get through the toughest of times. Suddenly his worldview seemed more relevant than ever.

But how could Econo Rocker reconcile this with the life that Fat Guy in Anime T-Shirt's built?

I had to reconcile seemingly polar opposite sides of my personality, but then again...

Doesn't everyone?

That is my simple abstraction of the personal to the universal.

That is the core theme of "Doctor Glamour." My mission is for you to have a blast while exploring it.

Under the Influence (Visual Design)

2010-08-30T03:49:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's pretty much the essentials. The stuff I'm intentionally drawing from for "Doctor Glamour" to inform it's visual aesthetic, tone, structure and syntax. Of course I'm dragging along my usual cinema baggage of Welles, Bava, Corbucci, Raimi, et al.

As you read, you may notice that Georges Melies is missing from the top picture and this post. Clearly, a director who's work spawned many of the items I'm about to discuss, but I don't own any of his films! Seen, yes, love, yes!, own, no.

I'm laying it all out here folks, so if you wish the sweet sorcery of passive entertainment preserved, stop reading now!

But for you intrepid true believers, my greatest hope is that in a year or two's time, when "Doctor Glamor" is complete, you will see evidence of these influences on screen. If I am extremely lucky, you will note their successful synthesis. Only you will know for sure! Only you can judge!

Fist tier in the pyramid is the core visual ambition and raison d'être of Doctor Glamour. The art of Steve Ditko, specifically his run on "Doctor Strange," the classic Marvel character he created. I mean LOOK at this!

Who wouldn't want to try to adapt this man's sense of composition and bewildering imagination to the screen? The thing that seems natural to me is to re-create his surreal landscapes and eye-popping vistas by way of "Flash Gordon," using CG to create the solids and practical effects for the sky.

So what the hell does "The Manual of the Planes"(only 4th edition is seen here, but 1st/3rd are better) have to do with any of that? Well it's concepts of inter planar travel combined with high adventure is a definite influence on my thinking about dimensional concepts presented in all fiction, from HP Lovecraft to Doctor Strange itself.

Which explains why "Doctor Glamour" is in many ways an action-adventure(glam rock musical) re-telling of Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witchhouse".

Speaking of ACTION, I'm going to try to get to the absurd levels of the great "FLCL" (Never Knows Best Productions got its name from this anime work of genius ya know) and the classic "Encounters of the Spooky Kind"!

Then we get to "Labyrinth." This is the biggy. An incredible combo of age old fairy tale and completely bananas don't-give-a-shit 80s indulgence, serving up a poignant tale of twilight adolescence and sexual confusion. It has got music, action, puppets and python humor. An insane mix to be sure, but you can tell I prefer a baffling brew. Not to mention it shares my obsession with realizing spatially ambiguous artwork in live action...

"Brazil?" you ask. Well, Gilliam is just one of those cinema regulars for me. His movies make me make movies. But his shadow looms a little larger on this project. It's about dreams, after all. I can't count the innumerable ways in which "Brazil" influences my film making and you'll see that on screen, for better or worse.

Finally, we have "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." A rock musical at last in the mix! Well maybe that's why it's here, but I think it has a lot more to do with this:

That gets into the themes of peice though. That's another post.

Hope you've enjoyed me peeling off the mind scab covering the stuff floating around in my skull. And maybe, just maybe, you might have a little more context for this:

Until next time Web-Heads!

Holy Shit, we have a website?

2010-08-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hello! You may have noticed I've been pretty absent from this site since it's creation, (hell, you may not even know who I am) and as a co-founder I figured I should probably do something about that. So from here on out I'm going to try and be a bit more active and hopefully it'll help keep me organized and motivated with my latest production.

So where have I been all this time? Meticulously re-writing "You Vultures!" my next animated short. It centers around a punk band who steals a time traveling guitar and goes back to the old west. It's very fast paced and I've crammed about as much into it as I possibly can by burning through 70 or so drafts. Andrew's been helping out by giving me script notes every once and a while and I have a few local artists here in Atlanta giving me a hand with designs. I normally handle all the designs myself as was the case with The Book Dealers and Revenge Academy (except backgrounds, thank you Mike Prescott). However this time I'm trying to branch out and be a little more collaborative in certain areas that I haven't been in the past. So Justin Wagner is helping out with character designs while he's also hard at work on a graphic novel for Oni Press. I'll also have my friend Hunter Clark working on backgrounds at sometime in the near future. He's also an artist for Oni Press and recently had an awesome book come out called The Return of King Doug.

As for now I'm finalizing the script (finally! And for real this time!) and then in the next week or two I'll start recording people to assemble a rough audio cut. I'll have more info soon. In the mean time enjoy these quick sketches Justin Wagner did at the bar when we first discussed him helping out on the short. This stuff is obviously still rough and the designs will change from what you see here (especially Darby) but it's a cool look into the first stage of designing the characters. (These also don't reflect the final look of the animation, as the style will probably change as the overall design is finalized).

-Alan!

Musical Theater vs. Doctor Glamour

2010-08-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

The thing that tends to instantly call forth personal biases and conceptions when discussing "Doctor Glamour" with people is the fact it's a musical. When you say, "but it's a rock musical!" people get their backs up even more. This is understandable.

I will say, without fear of reprisal, that I think RENT is an unholy abomination that should be wiped off the face of the earth. It is the biggest and boldest example of theater people trying to make "rock n' roll" music. It's horrible. The root cause of this is it's influences are other pieces of musical theater. "Doctor Glamour"'s music is not informed by musical theater. It's just informed by music.

Specifically, it's informed by the glam rock of the late 1960s and early 1970s, e.g.:

My goal is to write songs that sound like they could be B-sides off an album from one of these artists.

The other component that is make or break for musicals is the content of the lyrics. I find the most memorable lyrics in musical theater make you laugh. All the songs in "Doctor Glamour" will be overloaded with double entendre and outrageous content aimed at making you laugh all the way through.

BUT, once again, funny lyrics from musical theater will NOT be informing the content of the songs. The biggest influence on lyric content will be drawn from the masters of not-so-subtle hilarity, Pansy Division.

So please, if you will, when I say "musical" I mean songs that will rock you like The Stooges and make you laugh like Pansy Division. No melodrama, no chorus lines, no tedious ballads. It's a musical, not musical theater.

Director's Notes Interview

2010-08-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed by Director's Notes recently. In the interview I go in depth about the process of making "Frank DanCoolo." You can listen to it...

HERE

Toronto After Dark and more

2010-08-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, a world renowned outlet for top tier genre films sponsored by Aint-it-Cool News, Rue-Morgue Magazine and others!

Also, "DanCoolo" has been invited to the TriMedia Film Festival and the Buried Alive! Film Festival!

TO DO LIST

2010-07-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

Lecture Hall Set Test!

Finish Script

Get Mike onboard for concept design_ DONE

Test Special Effects _DONE

Write remaining bass lines

Contact X about creating demos

Contact X Recording Studio to see if they can create full bodied songs from demos

Record Demos

Build Animatic

Negotiate Costumes/props with props people

Negotiate miniature set builds

Contact X for stedicam/red pricing

Find best deal on studio space

Create Budget

Raise Money

Try to get Name Actor X

Shoot the f*cker

(names have been X'd to protect the innocent)

DOCTOR GLAMOUR

2010-07-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce pre-production has officially started on Never Knows Best Productions' next live action short, "Doctor Glamour"

Synopsis:

Peerless science student Walter Gilman meets his match in Eve Walpurgis and promptly falls in love. But when Eve is taken by an extra dimensional terror, Walter is forced to summon a demon of his own: the anachronistic DOCTOR GLAMOUR!

From the team that brought you “Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer” comes an even more outrageous sci-fi comedy. With mind-melting special effects, sexy sharp humor and a slew of hard hitting rock numbers, DOCTOR GLAMOUR will bad touch your funny bone!

More tidbits to follow.

But, here's test footage!

DVD now for SALE!

2010-07-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, "Frank DanCoolo" is now available for purchase on DVD. Show your support and pick up a copy!

PURCHASE HERE

WINNER Transmitter Award Best Sci-fi/Horror Film

2010-07-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" has won the Transmitter award for "Best Sci-fi/Horror" at the the 2010 Crystal Palace International Film Festival!

"Rockin'" the Festival Circuit

2010-07-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at an additional three festivals. The 2010 Brainwash Movie Festival, 2010 Salty Horror Film Festival and as part of a special screening adjunct to the 2010 Reading Music Festival!

"DanCoolo" is set to ROCK!

Distro Dancin'

2010-07-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

I've just been informed that "Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" has landed a distribution deal with IndieFlix.com!!!

The film will be available on DVD and instant streaming starting July 27th!

This announcement also comes with the possibility of further deals with Hulu and NetFlix in the coming months!

Stay tuned!

Brazil Nuts

2010-07-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

I had a very productive meeting with James and Robert Dastoli today. I've never really been able to make them stop in their tracks before, but today I did that and more as I laid out the major challenges in creating the effects for the new film.

These tests are really pushing the technical envelope for them and they impressed upon me that victory is less than certain. So much so that I've agreed to stagger their design. First we'll tackle a big environment test, then another, then a character/battle test. Expect them to premiere here in that order.

Easy Action

2010-07-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Action-on-Film International Film Festival! It follows in the footsteps of "Revenge Academy" which was a pick in 2009!

Frankly, I think I've yet to top the massive battle at the end of "Revenge Academy." A dozen characters to track, ninja fights, grizzly bear launchers. That shit was the reason I made that movie.

"This is a Very Tasty World"

2010-07-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

Contacted Jimmy and Bobby Dastoli about special effects tests today. Gonna have a meeting over the weekend. I'm going put together some pre-vis for them beforehand. Will announce the next film along with the premiere of the VFX tests (if successful). I'll include the pre-vis as well.

I'm trying to articulate what forces are motivating the creation of this new project. It is undoubtedly a sister piece to "DanCoolo," but diametrically opposed in attitude and intent.

"DanCoolo" is a dry, arrogant and occasionally mean spirited piss-take on recent trends in sci-fi aesthetics. The Holly Malone character runs around gleefully smashing her CGI surroundings, her out of place 1940s archetype being one of the few ingenuous elements of the film. I wrote the film at a time when I felt pretty freaking invincible and get a sense of unbridled destructive smugness when I watch it now. However, I think I successfully imbue the viewer with the idea that smashing things is fun.

Of course it IS fun, but now I can't help but want something different. I've had my fill of carnage, I want some constructive fun. A big warm pool of ooey gooey fun.

So this time, no hiding behind parody, no ironic meta-structure. I'm going to tell a very personal story using elements and tools I genuinely love. When I show you something, I'm going to earnestly think it's cool.

So of course it has to be a musical.

Excelsior!

2010-07-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Nearly a year has gone by since "Frank DanCoolo" achieved picture lock.

This has been the longest time I've ever gone without mounting a new project since I began directing films seven years ago.

Why? The truth is I intended "DanCoolo" to be the last film I self financed. It was the only way to justify the relatively large personal expense required to fund the film. It was an act of passion. I never truly expected the final product to appeal to anyone but me.

But very much to my surprise, the response has been overwhelming. I've gotten dazzlingly close in the last year to life changing career boosts and incredible opportunities as a result of "DanCoolo." The film has more than tripled the number of film festival screenings over that of "The Book Dealers," my previous record holder. I've had colleagues and strangers alike compare the work with that of my cinematic idols.

Never Knows Best will be without a film for the 2011 film festival circuit, but I have resolved to take the plunge and strive to bring the most bonkers, fun filled vision I've ever conceived to the screen for 2012.

Stay tuned, True Believers, you ain't seen nothing yet.

PS. Let it be known that I don't expect this one to appeal to anyone either :P

Dragon*Con Part III

2010-07-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival! This is the third year in a row that a Never Knows Best film has played at Dragon*Con. "The Book Dealers" also won "Best Animated Horror Film" at the 2008 fest.

FINALIST 2010 Crystal Palace International Film Festival

2010-06-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection for the 2010 Crystal Palace International Film Festival and also a FINALIST for the Transmitter Awards.

2010 Atlanta Horror Film Festival

2010-06-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Atlanta Horror Film Festival!

Ectoplasmosis Shout Out!

2010-06-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

ECTOPLASMOSIS says "Another fine film from Andrew Jones. A solid mix of several varieties of pulp from different eras, blended in a dynamically quirky style"

Thank you!

Great News from Grim Reviews!

2010-06-15T17:40:00.001-07:00

Grim Reviews says "Frank DanCoolo is a graphically intense and delightfully silly short with an added Lovecraftian flair... Jones's real virtue with this film is a balancing act resulting in a smooth mixture of sub-genres and sources."

Thanks GR!!

Read it HERE

Hollyshorts Film Festival

2010-06-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Hollyshorts Film Festival!

Burbank International Film Festival

2010-06-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Burbank International Film Festival!

2010-05-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" has fulfilled "The Book Dealers" dreams and won Best Lovecraft Short at A Night of Horror International Film Festival!

The Boys Are BACK!

2010-05-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

The 2008 "Best Animated Horror Film," The Book Dealers, returns to the festival circuit with a special invite to the Tri-City Independent Fan Film Festival!

LA Comedy Festival Screening Series!

2010-04-07T02:48:00.001-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" has been invited to the LA Comedy Festival Screening Series! Come see me give a live Q&A April 22nd!

2010-04-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Independent Film Festival. Thanks France!

A Night of Horror

2010-03-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" will follow in "The Book Dealers" footsteps as an official selection at this years "A Night of Horror International Film Festival"!!!

London Calling

2010-03-27T03:50:00.000-07:00

"Frank DanCoolo" continues it's world wide whirlwind tour as an official selection at the 2010 London Independent Film Festival!

LA Comedy Shorts Fest

2010-03-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Frank DanCoolo to play the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival!

Best Short!

2010-03-12T00:52:00.000-08:00

"Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" has won the Gort award for Best Short! You can read all about it at Wired.com!

See what the Critics are Saying!

2010-02-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

Awesome movie review website Cinema-Suicide.com has posted an article on Frank DanCoolo!

World of Comedy

2010-02-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

Frank DanCoolo will knock 'em dead at this year's World of Comedy International Film Festival in Toronto!

The implosion of "WAKE"

2010-01-25T03:56:00.001-08:00

Over three years ago now, my best man Mike Prescott pitched me an idea for a video game. For some reason it evolved into an idea for a comic, which I was tasked to write. I was given the following elements to turn into something readable: Two jerks who destroy planets, one with crazy gravity powers, the other with the ability to create portals in space.

I went to town writing it and it turned into a weird Hitchhiker's Guide/Firefly thing with a twisty message about macro economics. It remains one of my favorite things I've written, but it never really got past the planning stages. The female lead, named Julia Tandy, would later show up (significantly toned down believe it or not) as Holly Malone, the lead character in my short Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer.

Every once in awhile I think of re-structuring it as a feature or web-series. It would cost 100 billion dollars to do properly though.

Below is some of the art Mike did during development:

2010-01-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

Frank DanCoolo will pirate it up at the 2010 Gasparilla Film Festival!

DanCoolo spotted on Boston Yard

2010-01-18T21:47:00.000-08:00

First in what is sure to be an avalanche of genre film festival screenings is the 2010 Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival!

I'M FINISHED

2009-09-24T02:01:00.000-07:00

Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer is finished, finto, completatoria. It's been getting thumbs up from friends, but how will it fare the stormy seas of the Festival Circuit? Stay tuned to find out!

A Big Thank You to all who made these last few days possible. May we all work together again!

Sound Design Proceeds

2009-09-01T19:58:00.001-07:00

Finished the SFX spotting session with Thomas Chan, sound designer on classics such as Fist of the North Star, Rôjin Z, ans FREAKING EXOSQUAD!

It went well.

Score!

2009-08-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

The Score has been completed. Hopefully sound design will go quickly.

Going Underground

2009-07-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

The wacky profanity laden juggernaut keeps on rolling! REVENGE ACADEMY will play the 2009 ATLANTA UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL!

CYBERSCORE 2000

2009-07-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

PHILLIP CHERNYAK
has agreed to score the film. There was much rejoicing.

-Andrew

Slay the Dragon!

2009-07-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

"REVENGE ACADEMY" continues it's 2009 festival run, with Never Knows Best Animation's return to the Dragon*Con International Film Festival!

"The Book Dealers" took home the top prize last year, so let's hope we can dominate the comedy genre like we did the horror genre!

-Andrew

Photo Finish

2009-07-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

Picture is finally done on Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer.

Shoring up a few loose ends editorially, then it's off to the hell that is Sound Design/Mix.

-Andrew

Sightings

2009-07-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Home Stretch

2009-06-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

Approx two weeks to go until all the picture work on Frank DanCoolo is finished!

-Andrew

Best Served Cold

2009-06-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Our 2008 film, REVENGE ACADEMY, will make it's World Premiere at the 2009 Action-On-Film International Film Festival! Hopefully more Revenge Academy news to come in the next few weeks.

-Andrew

Roll for Sanity Loss

2009-06-23T13:34:00.001-07:00

Raw plate of one of the film's creatures. Super neat!

-Andrew

Future Science Jesus

2009-06-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

Awesome stuff coming from the Dastoli Bros. this week. Perfectly capturing the intent of my storyboards while expanding on them in just the right ways.

Sad thing is, I can't remember shooting ANY of the plates of Priscilla they used for this sequence. Good thing someone remembered it existed.

-Andrew

Rollin'

2009-06-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Retakes are being completed and I finally stumbled upon a great batch of temp score in the band "Steroid Maximus". The music really gives the movie a lot of juice and will give the composer a good idea of where I want them to go.

Take 2

2009-06-02T23:20:00.001-07:00

Minor speed bump as the third scene of the movie rolled in today. I asked for a boat load of very difficult shots in a very short amount of time and the results were less than perfect. Thankfully the VFX guys were understanding when I asked for a bunch of retakes to shore up some of the shakier shots.

I've been very lucky so far, as most of the scary "don't know if this will work" shots and concepts have been executed with minimal fuss.

But this is first real scene of the movie, it has to sell you on the look and tone. It has to be as close to perfect as it can be. Right now it's not.

-Andrew

Beyond-y

2009-05-20T13:26:00.001-07:00

In the annoyingly sparkly future-scape of NeoMegaUltra Tokyo, reporter Holly Malone tracks a murderous urban legend.

She discovers a chain of drug related killings leads down a super natural trail. A trail that ends with no average pill pusher, but FRANK DANCOOLO: PARANORMAL DRUG DEALER!

Office Space

2009-05-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

Hot off the press! New finagled shots from the office scene.

-Andrew

4 Step Program

2009-05-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Jeanette and I locked the "green screen" version of the cut yesterday and shipped off the footage to go through the process depicted below.

Rough Storyboard

3-D Animatic

Live Action Shoot
Live Action Shoot

Final Shot

So when green screen images from set are posted here, know they have a long way to go.

-Andrew

Carousel of Progress

2009-04-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

1.)

2.)

3.)

1.) Holly Malone bursts into her boss' office
2.) Opening Shot of the movie
3.) Priscilla and John act their way out of multiple paper bags w/o breaking a sweat

-Andrew

Post post

2009-04-29T03:35:00.000-07:00

Noses to the grindstone now in editorial, trying to slap a "close to final" cut together by next week. Then I can unleash the unholy dogs of war (VFX) that are J&R Dastoli on the whole of the film. Recently they've been relegated to putting together bits and bobs, like the shot pictured above (really not meant to be a still).

I will hopefully be posting massive amounts of pictures soon, both from set and CGI'd.

-Andrew

Wrap

2009-04-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Shooting has concluded on Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer. We finished a day ahead of schedule and got an epic amount of material.

The final three days of shooting were also the titular character's only three days. Our DanCoolo, John Charles Meyer, gave a great performance and really delivered on a role that could have easily been overshadowed by Priscilla McEver's powerhouse turn as Holly Malone.

I lucked out with those two. Now the pressure is on to create something worthy of their efforts, which, when all is said and done, is an enviable predicament to be in.

James and Robert Dastoli have already been hard at work on hammering out the final look of the film for me and we're one major jigsaw piece away from starting the main thrust of post production.

So, POST PRODUCTION UPDATE:

Dillon Markey and his team have agreed to handle the stop motion animation in addition to building the creature puppet.

I am waiting for new finagled edit software before commencing a fine cut of the film.

The "Beyond World" processing is causing headaches for everyone, as my initial direction was vague and the technical implication unclear.

Various bits and bobs have already been COMPLETED, including the opening sequence, but everything will take days and days to render, so nobody knows exactly what they look like yet.

-Andrew

Raw Screenage

2009-04-18T01:02:00.000-07:00

NewsCo

2009-04-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

Re: Comments

2009-04-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Washed out green is the color of the mundane world, ghostly blue is DanCoolo and crystal clear reds/yellows are the pallette of the "beyond" sections. This should create a pretty cool effect whenever the two worlds intersect.

Check out the test shots in an earlier post for an idea of how this will meld, that uses the same processing.

The third pic is Watanabe's office.

More Sets

2009-04-14T23:21:00.001-07:00

Poor Man' Slate

2009-04-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

Fun from set!

-Andrew

Set Design

2009-04-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

Above is a first pass at one of night club environments for the film. This is a still from a fully 3-D set, a work in progress.

Set Up and Pay Off

2009-04-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

What I hope will prove to be the most harrowing two days of shooting have ended. Without retelling every major crisis and problem, my general feeling is now of satisfaction. For one, all the actors, two of which were blind hires, were fantastic. Really great performances all around. For two, every damn shot we got was exactly like my storyboards.

I can't say enough about my "crew." The Dastoli Brothers are truly a force to be reckoned with. By jove we got through over 60 set ups in two days and came in ahead of schedule two days in a row. This transpired despite a company move half way through today. Insane talent.

A powerhouse middle section to the production. Up next: The meat of the film!

-Andrew

Designed and Quartered

2009-03-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

Above is a piece by artist C. Shy. His paintings serve as a visual springboard for the film specifically because his style is so richly over the top, it almost borders on unintentional parody of modern Gothic artwork.

Within it's own context it is the epitome of digital cool. But when subverted by the silly and aggressively post-modern bent of our film's content, I hope our interpretation of this kind of artwork generates ideas about the folly/fun of devotion to said "cool."

Plus we have a great example sitting on the DVD shelf. Mr. Shy is a clear spiritual successor (in my limited opinion) to artist D. Mckean. (example below)

Who directed the oft celebrated and/or maligned "Mirrormask," the film extension of his work with Neil Gaiman. (picture below)

It was one of the very first movies to extensively use digital sets as a way to translate an artists' style to the big screen. However, grand experiments often lead to hideous abominations. I'm going to put forward "Sky Captain" "UltraViolet" and recently "The Spirit" as examples.

I don't claim any of the analysis here is particularly insightful or inventive, but hopefully it gives you a quick idea of where Frank DanCoolo is coming from.

-Andrew

BA-KA!

2009-03-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

I cut together the "typewriter montage" sequence that was shot earlier this week to get an idea of how close we were getting to the animatic. It's pretty damn close, except I don't have to use an editing band aid I used to get the storyboard version to work. However, at first I was freaking out because I forgot the poopy digital zoom in the animatic was supposed to be temporary.

Oh yeah, I also ran auditions with a 102 degree fever, cast the rest of the roles, worked a steampunk visual motif into the costumes and rescheduled half the shoot.

Redux

2009-03-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Finished the lead actress' first full dress shoot day. I felt it was a laid back set. The number of shots and lack of complexity of the scene (in terms of live action elements) has once again lulled me into a false sense of security.

I really need to get my game up for the 4th/5th of April. And hopefully the lessons learned that weekend will steel me for the final four day blow out starting the 17th.

-Andrew

Spinning Plates

2009-03-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

First day of "shooting" in the can. It was just background and foreground crowd elements, so I didn't have much to do as a director. Thankfully I've got cool friends and a great crew, so it was a fun and lively evening, without a single technical hitch.

Overall it made me very optimistic about the rest of the shoot. When I'm only dealing with 2-3 actors and I have a focused, specific role on set, things should run even better.

But who knows, in a month's time I could be shaking my head at the naiveté of this post.

Neat stuff coming up tomorrow. A very big visual chunk of the film. If things go right I'll probably be overwhelmed with excitement.

27 Days Later...

2009-03-15T03:32:00.000-07:00

Finished picture for the animatic about an hour ago. Yippee! No more 20 hour work days! Proud to report the movie is working great from a visual standpoint, I now need to plug in the audio make sure the narrative flows as well. The movie is currently clocking in at 6:15. Shortest movie I've made in five years!

We have our first mini shoot in 6 days. No dialog is involved, but two of the bigger visual set pieces will be in the can in a week's time!

-Andrew

Resurrection Incantation

2009-03-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

"The Book Dealers," a film I storyboarded nearly four years ago now, continues it's resurgence.

It will be playing every day for SEVEN DAYS starting March 20th as part of a "best of" screening series from the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in downtown Portland, OR. This means it will be screening in two hemispheres simultaneously.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I can't believe this thing is still out there in any form besides on the company website!

-Andrew

All I Want is Easy Action

2009-03-09T02:13:00.000-07:00

Been knee deep in the action set piece of the film this weekend. Most fun I've had on the project so far!

Got together with the VFX team and broke down the first scenes we'll be shooting. Found a few very tricky things and a practical shot that we've decided to go completely digital on :(

Moving forward. Casting secondary roles soon I hope.

ALSO, "The Book Dealers" was accepted into yet ANOTHER film festival. This time making it's Australian debut!

-Andrew