Recently I’ve been lecturing in visual effects at the SAE Institute in Islington. Towards the end of the module, where we are now, we look at the FX requirements of Dark Side of the Earth and the students have to come up with ways of achieving them. This week one guy went all Tim Burton on a wooden robot character – nothing wrong with that – and suggested it was controlled by a legion of woodworms that lived inside it. Not appropriate for my film, but a fascinating idea.
Month: April 2006
The Dark Side of the Earth: April 23rd, 2006
Getting there… It’s falling into place… Just a few more loose ends to tie up…
Mike Tucker’s been nominated for a Bafta. If you’re on the panel and you’re reading this (yeah, right!) then vote for him. Or else.
Soul Searcher: April 23rd 2006
A little aside for any of you that followed the journal for my previous film, The Beacon (which, incidentally, will one day be on-line again for nostalgic purposes). Josh Green (aka Conrad, one of The Beacon‘s lead characters) was the stand-in werewolf in last night’s Doctor Who, “Tooth and Claw”. They’ve misheard his name and called him Jeff, which partly explains how I sat through Doctor Who: Confidential last night without recognising him. But there’s no mistaking him on the web featurette.
Soul Searcher: April 20th 2006
So what’s going on? It’s all the BBFC’s fault, apparently. They’ve recently switched to accepting DVD screeners instead of just VHS and for some reason this has increased their workload. Coupled with some technical issues with the disc Wysiwyg sent them, delays have resulted. Until the certificate is known, marketing cannot begin and the release date cannot be set. So we wait. It’s quite odd for the film’s fate to be completely out of my hands, though I’ve now moved on, my head filled with Shadowland.
Mention was made of a Soul Searcher TV series, not for the first time in the film’s history. Black Horse, the wholesaler that will actually be putting the DVD on the shelves, is very keen on the idea. I’m of the opinion that the response to the movie peaked with the whole “Spielberg of Hereford” thing back in March last year, but you never know – maybe there are greater heights for it to reach.
The Dark Side of the Earth: April 19th, 2006
Lots of cogs grinding in my head. I want to make a major change to the first act of the script to give the film greater momentum, but it would cause some issues with character motivations. If I can just work out new motivations that won’t ruin the second and third acts, which on the whole I’m pretty pleased with, then I’ll be sorted.
The Dark Side of the Earth: April 6th, 2006
Working on the third draft of the script. My friend Elisabeth gave me some really good notes which have helped me to cut eight pages of dialogue. I’ve been told off by several people for being too long-winded and descriptive in my stage directions, so currently I’m whittling those down. I’m still struggling with some major issues too.