The other day I finished the edit of IAZM3, and it's now gone off to Brian and Gary to get the music done over the next few weeks. I've already heard one sample for one of the scenes, and it kicks ass already. I'm really looking forward to getting all the music into it and putting it online when it's done.
The film clocks in at 9 minutes and 58 seconds, so I was successful in sticking to my strict 10 minute running time, which was at times a tricky thing to do, but it was also kind of fun to solve the puzzle of how to edit shots down to make them as quick as possible while not losing their point of existing, and how to economise on the number of shots to tell the story of a sequence. It really makes you look closer at your editing, and you sometimes get down to trimming frames off of shots so that they cut when you'd naturally expect them to.
While editing this I would look at the time line and find myself going "8 seconds long? How indulgent!" during certain sequences. Indeed, some parts of the film have a slower pace, while others are as tight as ... something very tight ... and are frame-specific in their pace. So yeah, the puzzle was solved and all extraneous fat was trimmed, so I feel it now really barrels along at a fair old pace - which is a much better place to be with a short. It's better to feel it go by fast and to want more, than to be sat there waiting for the next thing to happen as it drags along.
But such is life and how you learn with each film what's important and what isn't, and how to make each and every new one better than the last.
While I will no doubt continue to refer to it as "IAZM3", indeed it is the third Zombie Man film, the only title on the film itself is what was originally the sub-title (but which is now just the title) - The Inevitable Decomposition of Zombie Man.
This further ties in with what I wanted to do with it - to make it capable of standing alone, but continuing to be a part of the series.
Showing posts with label IAZM3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IAZM3. Show all posts
Friday, 15 January 2010
Monday, 11 January 2010
More update sauce...
The IAZM3 editing process continues apace, with about 8 minutes worth pretty tightly edited. I might look to trim it down a smidge during my next session, but all-in-all it's going well. It's actually kind of fun to work strictly to a time limit that you've set yourself (the duration of the film I mean, not the length of time it takes you to make it), as you really look at what you've got and find exactly what you need to tell the story and make it all make sense.
Anyway, here's a couple of screen grabs from one of the recently edited sequences.
Anyway, here's a couple of screen grabs from one of the recently edited sequences.
Saturday, 9 January 2010
IAZM3 editing is underway!
After a few days of uploading, logging, colouring, cropping and selecting stock shots (from my personal library, and from some Public Domain footage from my gathered archives from the excellent Internet Archive website), I finally got down to some serious editing last night.
As is usually the case it's a slow start (just like when writing a script), but I had to drag myself away from the edit as I'd been sat there for a good while - so that's a good sign - the last thing you want to do is be editing when your heart isn't in it.
Anyway, I'm slightly trepidatious about whether I will get it all fitted into my 10 minute time limit - if only YouTube could give you 15 minutes per video - because I really don't want to do more than one edit (what's the point?), and I don't want to split the film into two videos as I want it to flow nicely. That said, I've risen to the challenge before in editing to a strict time limit, so I'll sodding well do it again.
UPDATE: I've been bashing away some more at the edit today, and I've now got the first 3 minutes and 45 seconds nicely bashed into shape. I even cut out some of the opening monologue (34 seconds worth), which wasn't necessary, and just helped to move things along faster at the start. No doubt I'll include these deleted snippets in a sort of 'gag reel/behind the scenes' type cobbled together video, after IAZM3 is online and out there.
As is usually the case it's a slow start (just like when writing a script), but I had to drag myself away from the edit as I'd been sat there for a good while - so that's a good sign - the last thing you want to do is be editing when your heart isn't in it.
Anyway, I'm slightly trepidatious about whether I will get it all fitted into my 10 minute time limit - if only YouTube could give you 15 minutes per video - because I really don't want to do more than one edit (what's the point?), and I don't want to split the film into two videos as I want it to flow nicely. That said, I've risen to the challenge before in editing to a strict time limit, so I'll sodding well do it again.
UPDATE: I've been bashing away some more at the edit today, and I've now got the first 3 minutes and 45 seconds nicely bashed into shape. I even cut out some of the opening monologue (34 seconds worth), which wasn't necessary, and just helped to move things along faster at the start. No doubt I'll include these deleted snippets in a sort of 'gag reel/behind the scenes' type cobbled together video, after IAZM3 is online and out there.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
"Zero" & "IAZM3" update...
Today my 120 page feature film comedy script "Zero" was put in the post for the BBC Writersroom, and perhaps ominously it started to snow.
I'd really love for the folks at the Writersroom to see in the script what I see in it. It's a script that I'm really proud of, and I've really stepped up my writing craft over the course of doing this script. Indeed the first draft was my first real, properly formatted and structured, feature length script - after which I wrote another two scripts (the zombie epic "The End", and designed-for-low-budget horror "From The Inside Out") - and then I came back around to "Zero" (which was then called "Generation Procrastination" - I think this new title is better, and at least it's certainly less of a mouthful).
Coming back to this script really showed me how far I'd progressed in terms of my writing. I immediately set about removing anything too blunt and obvious, and including more subtleties, character traits and so on. I had also found myself much more 'in the heads' of my characters by this time, and over the course of three further re-writes (drafts 2.1, 2.2 and 3.1) I really locked it down to what I wanted it to be, and even though I've been over it meticulously I can still remove myself from it and just enjoy it as an enjoyable comedy with entertaining characters.
I can really see "Zero" so vividly in my head as a film, and indeed that's how I write. A movie plays in my head, and then I write down what I see. I even go so far as to act out the dialogue (as best as I can anyway, not being an actor) to allow me to dig out any troublesome passages that trip up my tongue, and to put in all the inflections in the right places so that whoever will read it will be able to hear the dialogue.
So yeah - fingers crossed dear readers - I would love for this script to be my foot in the door. Goodness knows I'm hungry for the next step.
...
Moving on to another update - the editing process for the third and final I Am Zombie Man short is sort of underway. The footage is uploaded and plonked into the timeline, and the various chunks of stock footage have been selected (some Public Domain stuff from the excellent Internet Archive, some my own stock footage I've gathered over the years in general or for other projects). I must make a start in earnest though and get this thing moving onwards.
Aside from that I was also tidying up some of the dialogue files as I'd noticed some extraneous noise I needed to extract.
...
First though I've got some clips to gather and send off to go up on the Ethics Online website.
I'd really love for the folks at the Writersroom to see in the script what I see in it. It's a script that I'm really proud of, and I've really stepped up my writing craft over the course of doing this script. Indeed the first draft was my first real, properly formatted and structured, feature length script - after which I wrote another two scripts (the zombie epic "The End", and designed-for-low-budget horror "From The Inside Out") - and then I came back around to "Zero" (which was then called "Generation Procrastination" - I think this new title is better, and at least it's certainly less of a mouthful).
Coming back to this script really showed me how far I'd progressed in terms of my writing. I immediately set about removing anything too blunt and obvious, and including more subtleties, character traits and so on. I had also found myself much more 'in the heads' of my characters by this time, and over the course of three further re-writes (drafts 2.1, 2.2 and 3.1) I really locked it down to what I wanted it to be, and even though I've been over it meticulously I can still remove myself from it and just enjoy it as an enjoyable comedy with entertaining characters.
I can really see "Zero" so vividly in my head as a film, and indeed that's how I write. A movie plays in my head, and then I write down what I see. I even go so far as to act out the dialogue (as best as I can anyway, not being an actor) to allow me to dig out any troublesome passages that trip up my tongue, and to put in all the inflections in the right places so that whoever will read it will be able to hear the dialogue.
So yeah - fingers crossed dear readers - I would love for this script to be my foot in the door. Goodness knows I'm hungry for the next step.
...
Moving on to another update - the editing process for the third and final I Am Zombie Man short is sort of underway. The footage is uploaded and plonked into the timeline, and the various chunks of stock footage have been selected (some Public Domain stuff from the excellent Internet Archive, some my own stock footage I've gathered over the years in general or for other projects). I must make a start in earnest though and get this thing moving onwards.
Aside from that I was also tidying up some of the dialogue files as I'd noticed some extraneous noise I needed to extract.
...
First though I've got some clips to gather and send off to go up on the Ethics Online website.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
I Am Zombie Man 3 - it's finally been shot!
Shot as in filmed, not as in dead. To prove it, I've layered in a few screenshots from the raw, unedited footage.
Indeed, two years behind schedule, but I always said I would eventually get around to it. In a sort of 'perfect storm', Knox and I found a window in which to film the entire thing. That window was the 28th December 2009, wedged right in between the festivities and some rather crummy (for filming) weather - fortunately yesterday had clear blue skies and sun and was above freezing, so for the few outdoor shots we were sorted.
The majority takes place indoors (what with the character being somewhat of a recluse these days, and that he's been forced to retreat inside lest hoardes of consumers flee at the very sight of his decaying visage).
Indeed, this third (and final) in the I Am Zombie Man series will officially go by the title "The Inevitable Decomposition of Zombie Man" - but whenever I refer to it on this blog, I'll simply use the far easier "IAZM3" moniker. The world's most famous zombie (self proclaimed) has fallen on hard times, his much trumpetted fame and fortune has failed him and he's now a crumbling, drug-addled shell of his former self ... but he's still just as sardonic.
Today though it was all about uploading the hour of raw footage (I'm aiming for a 10 minute long short), and I'm pleased with what we got. It was a seriously hectic run & gun shoot; a real case of "GO! GO! GO! GO!" the entire time. A few hours with nobody else in the house, a few hours of mid-December sunlight, and a whole lot of shots to get. However, we got everything we needed, and while a test of my run & gun abilities, the last few years of filming in such a manner (both officially and on private endeavours) have served me well.
Of all my DeadShed shorts, this has definitely been the one that's been the most stressful. Not only has it had a two and a half year gestation time, but it's had the anticipation to go along with such a long absence. The Zombie Man series has its own little mini-cult going on, and those who dig it have been eager for the third entry - most of all Gary Ugarek and Brian Wright - they of Deadlands franchise fame, IAZM pimpage, WNWR Podcasting, and musical talent.
There were a fair number of props to gather, organise, purchase, and even produce - so that was another task for me on top of all the others. In true DeadShed Productions fashion, IAZM3 will be a small group producing it.
Gareth kindly stepped back into the bloody jeans, dirty hoody of old once more, and donned the brand new mask and gloves to boot. Gary and Brian are also going to very kindly help out with their musical talents - and this time they'll be scoring to a moving image for a change (previous collaborations have been about discussing moods, themes, and ideas ahead of me editing or even filming the short itself).
And then there's me - directing, writing, editing, shooting, recording (and voicing) the dialogue (of more than one character) and even getting on screen myself, plus any other little tasks (such as all that prop gathering, purchasing and creating). I don't say this to self-aggrandise, far from it, I say this just to illustrate how these DeadShed shorts get made.
As such, this was indeed the most stressful of the DeadShed Productions shorts to date, so I think I'll make the next one a simpler affair - then again, that was always the intention after IAZM3.
Now begins the editing process, and similar to what I did with Skinner, I'll be sticking exclusively to Sony Vegas. I want to try out a couple of new ideas, and further improve my Vegas skills ... so bear with me, but I do hope to make January the month of IAZM3.
Indeed, two years behind schedule, but I always said I would eventually get around to it. In a sort of 'perfect storm', Knox and I found a window in which to film the entire thing. That window was the 28th December 2009, wedged right in between the festivities and some rather crummy (for filming) weather - fortunately yesterday had clear blue skies and sun and was above freezing, so for the few outdoor shots we were sorted.
The majority takes place indoors (what with the character being somewhat of a recluse these days, and that he's been forced to retreat inside lest hoardes of consumers flee at the very sight of his decaying visage).
Indeed, this third (and final) in the I Am Zombie Man series will officially go by the title "The Inevitable Decomposition of Zombie Man" - but whenever I refer to it on this blog, I'll simply use the far easier "IAZM3" moniker. The world's most famous zombie (self proclaimed) has fallen on hard times, his much trumpetted fame and fortune has failed him and he's now a crumbling, drug-addled shell of his former self ... but he's still just as sardonic.
Today though it was all about uploading the hour of raw footage (I'm aiming for a 10 minute long short), and I'm pleased with what we got. It was a seriously hectic run & gun shoot; a real case of "GO! GO! GO! GO!" the entire time. A few hours with nobody else in the house, a few hours of mid-December sunlight, and a whole lot of shots to get. However, we got everything we needed, and while a test of my run & gun abilities, the last few years of filming in such a manner (both officially and on private endeavours) have served me well.
Of all my DeadShed shorts, this has definitely been the one that's been the most stressful. Not only has it had a two and a half year gestation time, but it's had the anticipation to go along with such a long absence. The Zombie Man series has its own little mini-cult going on, and those who dig it have been eager for the third entry - most of all Gary Ugarek and Brian Wright - they of Deadlands franchise fame, IAZM pimpage, WNWR Podcasting, and musical talent.
There were a fair number of props to gather, organise, purchase, and even produce - so that was another task for me on top of all the others. In true DeadShed Productions fashion, IAZM3 will be a small group producing it.
Gareth kindly stepped back into the bloody jeans, dirty hoody of old once more, and donned the brand new mask and gloves to boot. Gary and Brian are also going to very kindly help out with their musical talents - and this time they'll be scoring to a moving image for a change (previous collaborations have been about discussing moods, themes, and ideas ahead of me editing or even filming the short itself).
And then there's me - directing, writing, editing, shooting, recording (and voicing) the dialogue (of more than one character) and even getting on screen myself, plus any other little tasks (such as all that prop gathering, purchasing and creating). I don't say this to self-aggrandise, far from it, I say this just to illustrate how these DeadShed shorts get made.
As such, this was indeed the most stressful of the DeadShed Productions shorts to date, so I think I'll make the next one a simpler affair - then again, that was always the intention after IAZM3.
Now begins the editing process, and similar to what I did with Skinner, I'll be sticking exclusively to Sony Vegas. I want to try out a couple of new ideas, and further improve my Vegas skills ... so bear with me, but I do hope to make January the month of IAZM3.
Friday, 28 December 2007
The soundtrack to script writing...
This was originally a reply to one of Danny's comments on a previous blog post of mine, but I wrote so much I decided to make it into its own thing.
There's not really much music that gets me going on this script, but there are certain tracks that fit certain scenes.
Such as "You Look So Fine" by Garbage, or on a script I wrote in 2006 I listened to certain tracks by M83 that would fit certain scenes to inspire me in writing them. There was also "Adagio for Strings" (from "Platoon"), that inspired me in that script from last year (a practice script really) in which there was a paint balling sequence.
Also on that script from 2006 I found that "Can't Even Tell" by Soul Asylum (end credits of "Clerks") inspired me, which also does a little on this script...but not much.
I just generally listen to my music in general to get a vibe going. What helps me most of all is getting into a routine, because it keeps me plugging away at it, but it also gets me into the necessary mindset.
Recently when fiddling around with "IAZM3" prep, I was listening to the "Day of the Dead" soundtrack to get me going...and with that there were certain tracks that fitted certain scenes. The "Rocky" best-of soundtrack was also a big inspiration for writing "IAZM3"...so I guess that script had more in the way of a soundtrack-to-the-writing, certainly more-so than this current feature script I'm doing.
...
As an aside, I've just had the shittiest wake-up call ever - massive indigestion/heart burn. Seriously, I felt like John Hurt in "Alien" just before he explodes all over the dinner table...absolute agony would be a good description. But after a good half hour of sitting/standing up (whilst wincing an awful lot), sipping milk and then taking a chewable Gaviscon I'm sitting pretty again.
...
I should have the Richard Hammond book finished today, it's been a bloody good read, just a mere 60 pages left. Also, "The A-Team" is still awesome as I progress into Season 4 with gusto, and "PGR4" is proper good fun.
There's not really much music that gets me going on this script, but there are certain tracks that fit certain scenes.
Such as "You Look So Fine" by Garbage, or on a script I wrote in 2006 I listened to certain tracks by M83 that would fit certain scenes to inspire me in writing them. There was also "Adagio for Strings" (from "Platoon"), that inspired me in that script from last year (a practice script really) in which there was a paint balling sequence.
Also on that script from 2006 I found that "Can't Even Tell" by Soul Asylum (end credits of "Clerks") inspired me, which also does a little on this script...but not much.
I just generally listen to my music in general to get a vibe going. What helps me most of all is getting into a routine, because it keeps me plugging away at it, but it also gets me into the necessary mindset.
Recently when fiddling around with "IAZM3" prep, I was listening to the "Day of the Dead" soundtrack to get me going...and with that there were certain tracks that fitted certain scenes. The "Rocky" best-of soundtrack was also a big inspiration for writing "IAZM3"...so I guess that script had more in the way of a soundtrack-to-the-writing, certainly more-so than this current feature script I'm doing.
...
As an aside, I've just had the shittiest wake-up call ever - massive indigestion/heart burn. Seriously, I felt like John Hurt in "Alien" just before he explodes all over the dinner table...absolute agony would be a good description. But after a good half hour of sitting/standing up (whilst wincing an awful lot), sipping milk and then taking a chewable Gaviscon I'm sitting pretty again.
...
I should have the Richard Hammond book finished today, it's been a bloody good read, just a mere 60 pages left. Also, "The A-Team" is still awesome as I progress into Season 4 with gusto, and "PGR4" is proper good fun.
Thursday, 27 December 2007
Merry December the 27th people...
Hope you lot had a groovy Christmas, mine was a good one, got a good haul and have been taking pictures like there's no tomorrow with my new digital photo camera. I've also been getting stuck into some A-Team: Season 4 as well as Richard Hammonds book "On The Edge", which is absolutely bloody brilliant and I'm steaming my way through it. A superb read, especially for "Top Gear" fans such as myself.
Anyway, I'm taking a well deserved rest from the comedy feature script at the moment being that it's Xmas and all, but I'll soon be back to it to fine tune the second act before heading onto the third act - after which, one of two horror scripts I have in mind.
I've also done the dialogue recording/editing for "IAZM3", although I might want to re-record one character's lines again.
Anyway, just stopping by to throw some blog in your faces, boshty.
Anyway, I'm taking a well deserved rest from the comedy feature script at the moment being that it's Xmas and all, but I'll soon be back to it to fine tune the second act before heading onto the third act - after which, one of two horror scripts I have in mind.
I've also done the dialogue recording/editing for "IAZM3", although I might want to re-record one character's lines again.
Anyway, just stopping by to throw some blog in your faces, boshty.
Sunday, 14 October 2007
I've got the scripting bug, people...
Well, the third draft of "Signing Off" is done, I've done a 'write up to bank' of "Penalty" (an idea I never followed through with back in 2005) - by which I mean, have a short script for something that could be filmed as-and-when, in the 'bank' so-to-speak, rather than having nothing 'in the bank'...you never know when you might need to whip out a short script for something.
So with that in mind, and with the short script for "VHS-2" also banked, I'm going to write yet another short script, which will be a write-up of the original idea for "Signing Off", but I'll re-title it "The End: Signing Off" or "Signing Off: The End" or just "The End" ... my thoughts being that I'd seek to have it animated by someone (because the scale of the idea is huge, compared to the small-scale-low-key vibe of "Signing Off", which is kind of a live-action-prequel to "The End"). I'd also be thinking of setting "The End" in America, so I'd be on the look out for an American to do the voice over work...again, this is for the DeadShed Productions script bank, so who knows when it'll get done - or if - if you wanna be 'glass half empty' about it all, ha!
With all this script-banking in mind, I've even dug out some other rough-note ideas I've had hanging around, including one for an exploitation type comedy-parody-thing, an idea I came up with long before I'd even heard mention of "Grindhouse", so no - the idea isn't a rip-off.
So this kind of puts my feature comedy script - which admittedly is a long-term project, as opposed to the short-time vibes of these short scripts I've been hammering out 'for the DeadShed bank' - is currently living up to it's name ("Generation Procrastination"), because I've been faffing about with it a bit - however, when I do get into a session writing it (after all, it's something I'm chipping away at) then I bash out the pages like nobody's business - anyway, point being it'll get done all in good time, when it feels right to continue writing it, as-and-when that might be, then well ... that's how it'll be. And as I've said before most likely, once that is done, I've got a feature horror script in mind I want to write.
Then of course ... there's the issue of "I Am Zombie Man 3" ... a project which is on the horizon in a "when we can get to it" sort of situation, I don't want to force it, because I want to make it a fantastic cap-off to the trilogy, really push the boat out - certainly because I'll be dropping some cash on it, unlike previous shorts I've made which have been 'done-for-nout' experiments/works of passion.
Okay, I've rambled on again, so I'll shut up and go prepare for the brand new Top Gear episode, a mere hour away! :)
So with that in mind, and with the short script for "VHS-2" also banked, I'm going to write yet another short script, which will be a write-up of the original idea for "Signing Off", but I'll re-title it "The End: Signing Off" or "Signing Off: The End" or just "The End" ... my thoughts being that I'd seek to have it animated by someone (because the scale of the idea is huge, compared to the small-scale-low-key vibe of "Signing Off", which is kind of a live-action-prequel to "The End"). I'd also be thinking of setting "The End" in America, so I'd be on the look out for an American to do the voice over work...again, this is for the DeadShed Productions script bank, so who knows when it'll get done - or if - if you wanna be 'glass half empty' about it all, ha!
With all this script-banking in mind, I've even dug out some other rough-note ideas I've had hanging around, including one for an exploitation type comedy-parody-thing, an idea I came up with long before I'd even heard mention of "Grindhouse", so no - the idea isn't a rip-off.
So this kind of puts my feature comedy script - which admittedly is a long-term project, as opposed to the short-time vibes of these short scripts I've been hammering out 'for the DeadShed bank' - is currently living up to it's name ("Generation Procrastination"), because I've been faffing about with it a bit - however, when I do get into a session writing it (after all, it's something I'm chipping away at) then I bash out the pages like nobody's business - anyway, point being it'll get done all in good time, when it feels right to continue writing it, as-and-when that might be, then well ... that's how it'll be. And as I've said before most likely, once that is done, I've got a feature horror script in mind I want to write.
Then of course ... there's the issue of "I Am Zombie Man 3" ... a project which is on the horizon in a "when we can get to it" sort of situation, I don't want to force it, because I want to make it a fantastic cap-off to the trilogy, really push the boat out - certainly because I'll be dropping some cash on it, unlike previous shorts I've made which have been 'done-for-nout' experiments/works of passion.
Okay, I've rambled on again, so I'll shut up and go prepare for the brand new Top Gear episode, a mere hour away! :)
Saturday, 13 October 2007
Scripting round the bend...
Tried to create a funky title, but failed miserably...so on with the blog-juice.
Finished my "Round the Bend" memory-lane sesh, it has to be said that Doc Croc is officially awesome, nuff said.
Also fancied a re-watch of Jake West's excellent "Evil Aliens", after reading an interview with him in the Guerrilla Filmmaker's Handbook. I loved the film when I first saw it, still love it. It's superb British indie horror-comedy at it's finest, plenty of gore, plenty of flesh, plenty of gags, and plenty good ideas well executed.
Also recently re-watched the cast commentary on "Deadlands: The Rising", all inspired to do so after seeing some of the behind the scenes pics and video for "Trapped", Gary Ugarek's new indie zombie flick that's currently filming and is sure to be awesome. I certainly look forward to seeing it.
But what with being ousted from the TV room because of the Rugby, I sat down to do some script writing. Both 'banking' a one-page-script for a football-themed comic short (strange for me as I despise football), but it's based on (or really just a proper script write-up of) an idea I had for the Nokia Shorts 2005 competition - something which I ended up not getting around to filming. I'd entered the year before with an experimental short using footage shot during a location scout for "my NIGHTMARE" in the summer of 2004.
The main thing though, is that I knuckled down - again with a reluctant muse evading me - and bashed out the second draft of "Signing Off". I might do a small polish for a third draft, but I don't know - depends if there's anything I suddenly think of wanting to add to the monologue. I think I said before, but can't be arsed to look, but I'm writing it for Sean Connell, brother of Ben Connell who played 'BenZee' in "I Am Zombie Man 2", and appeared in the likes of "Smack Addict" and "Trapped" - speaking of "Trapped", Sean also appeared in that and officially became a legend when he took a throat-load of fake blood (food colouring & washing up liquid) after his brother over-zealously gushed a load of it in his face. Bravo to Sean for providing some quality gory-blood-dribble shots before literally washing his mouth out with soap - ergo - LEGEND.
More information on "Signing Off" will be posted as-and-when, same goes for "I Am Zombie Man 3", on which I've been trying out some rough ideas for the title sequence, rendering out raw shots to use later - get some of the leg work out of the way, you know.
Finished my "Round the Bend" memory-lane sesh, it has to be said that Doc Croc is officially awesome, nuff said.
Also fancied a re-watch of Jake West's excellent "Evil Aliens", after reading an interview with him in the Guerrilla Filmmaker's Handbook. I loved the film when I first saw it, still love it. It's superb British indie horror-comedy at it's finest, plenty of gore, plenty of flesh, plenty of gags, and plenty good ideas well executed.
Also recently re-watched the cast commentary on "Deadlands: The Rising", all inspired to do so after seeing some of the behind the scenes pics and video for "Trapped", Gary Ugarek's new indie zombie flick that's currently filming and is sure to be awesome. I certainly look forward to seeing it.
But what with being ousted from the TV room because of the Rugby, I sat down to do some script writing. Both 'banking' a one-page-script for a football-themed comic short (strange for me as I despise football), but it's based on (or really just a proper script write-up of) an idea I had for the Nokia Shorts 2005 competition - something which I ended up not getting around to filming. I'd entered the year before with an experimental short using footage shot during a location scout for "my NIGHTMARE" in the summer of 2004.
The main thing though, is that I knuckled down - again with a reluctant muse evading me - and bashed out the second draft of "Signing Off". I might do a small polish for a third draft, but I don't know - depends if there's anything I suddenly think of wanting to add to the monologue. I think I said before, but can't be arsed to look, but I'm writing it for Sean Connell, brother of Ben Connell who played 'BenZee' in "I Am Zombie Man 2", and appeared in the likes of "Smack Addict" and "Trapped" - speaking of "Trapped", Sean also appeared in that and officially became a legend when he took a throat-load of fake blood (food colouring & washing up liquid) after his brother over-zealously gushed a load of it in his face. Bravo to Sean for providing some quality gory-blood-dribble shots before literally washing his mouth out with soap - ergo - LEGEND.
More information on "Signing Off" will be posted as-and-when, same goes for "I Am Zombie Man 3", on which I've been trying out some rough ideas for the title sequence, rendering out raw shots to use later - get some of the leg work out of the way, you know.
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
My war isn't over, Adrian...
Well, after finishing "A Bridge Too Far", I decided to re-visit the "Rambo" trilogy (soon to join the legion of "4th in the series of" sequels of recent times (the trailer looking awesome), and I have to say, the first movie is awesome. The 2nd and 3rd are good, but not awesome, nor shite...but not superb, although I get their reason for being - 2nd movie is Rambo returning to Vietnam, 3rd movie is Rambo's modern day Vietnam, after ending his personal war with Vietnam he needed a new war to fight, so it ended up being in Afghanistan ... although being thoroughly perplexed by Middle Eastern politics, I don't know where "Rambo 3" fits in with all the shite going on over there now.
All this talk of "Rambo" though, does remind me of the hilarious, yet fully justified, rant from the Angry Nintendo Nerd regarding film franchises and the titles - such as these films:
1) First Blood
2) Rambo: First Blood 2
3) Rambo 3
4) John Rambo
There's not the consistency of Stallone's other franchise, that is the utterly superb "Rocky" series - solid Roman Numberals all the way till the last one, which as we all should know is "Rocky Balboa" - although that is fully justified, it was such a long gap since "Rocky V", and it exists in a different time, whereas the previous films were all quite quick-fired out, or within the same range of time ... it's why I guess "Live Free or Die Hard/Die Hard 4.0" makes sense ... technically ... I say technically, because both those titles suck - just call THAT film "DIE HARD 4" and leave it be, but as Stallone is actually a Jack of several trades, he does inject his own soul into his heroes - particularly Rocky - so I think it makes complete sense of cap-off his two biggest characters by titling their final films after the protagonist.
I recently re-watched the second half of "Rocky II", recent as in yesterday morning when I was waiting to use the internet, and it just reminded me of how awesome those films are (well, the fifth is a bit tosh, but with all the Tommy Gun crap taken about, it's actually still pretty good, because it advances the story of Rocky Balboa onwards). Plus - the soundtrack is just awesome, I listened to the 'best of' compilation whilst doing some title sequence tests for "I Am Zombie Man 3", and considering the story of "IAZM3", whilst listening to the "Rocky" soundtrack, it just fit really well ... the vibes being somewhat similar.
All this talk of "Rambo" though, does remind me of the hilarious, yet fully justified, rant from the Angry Nintendo Nerd regarding film franchises and the titles - such as these films:
1) First Blood
2) Rambo: First Blood 2
3) Rambo 3
4) John Rambo
There's not the consistency of Stallone's other franchise, that is the utterly superb "Rocky" series - solid Roman Numberals all the way till the last one, which as we all should know is "Rocky Balboa" - although that is fully justified, it was such a long gap since "Rocky V", and it exists in a different time, whereas the previous films were all quite quick-fired out, or within the same range of time ... it's why I guess "Live Free or Die Hard/Die Hard 4.0" makes sense ... technically ... I say technically, because both those titles suck - just call THAT film "DIE HARD 4" and leave it be, but as Stallone is actually a Jack of several trades, he does inject his own soul into his heroes - particularly Rocky - so I think it makes complete sense of cap-off his two biggest characters by titling their final films after the protagonist.
I recently re-watched the second half of "Rocky II", recent as in yesterday morning when I was waiting to use the internet, and it just reminded me of how awesome those films are (well, the fifth is a bit tosh, but with all the Tommy Gun crap taken about, it's actually still pretty good, because it advances the story of Rocky Balboa onwards). Plus - the soundtrack is just awesome, I listened to the 'best of' compilation whilst doing some title sequence tests for "I Am Zombie Man 3", and considering the story of "IAZM3", whilst listening to the "Rocky" soundtrack, it just fit really well ... the vibes being somewhat similar.
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