The Dark Side of the Earth featured in April’s issue of Vision, Kodak’s magazine.

The on-line edit was a very pleasurable experience, involving a sofa and a big HD screen and a man named Jamie who really knew his stuff. Oh dear, that all sounds a bit dodgy. Anyway, Jamie brought out the best in Ollie’s lighting work of four months ago, so big thanks to Pogo Films.
Marring the on-line slightly for me was the need to complete the documentary, leading to a round-the-clock scenario for me in the middle of the week. The same was also true for Aidan and Joe, who laughed (or possibly yawned) in the face of sleep whilst finishing their temp VFX shots.
The screening went very well. The turnout was good for a Saturday morning and the reception was extremely positive. The roto and compositing work was particularly praised, with more than one person admitting they hadn’t believed all those puppeteers could possibly be removed until they saw it with their own eyes.
Lao and Lou’s miniature Swordsman was universally admired, in a little case they had specially constructed for the purpose.
And thanks to the guys in the front row who have been following my work for a while. It’s people like them that make it all seem worthwhile.

Less than a week to go. The sound is mixed (apart from the music) and the pickups are scanned. There is still a lot of FX work to do, but the guys don’t seem too worried about getting it done in time. Tomorrow they have to shoot rope elements to track into some shots of the Swordsman which, to speed up principal photography, we shot without Dante’s Disc.
For me, tomorrow is the start of the on-line with Pogo Films, who are kindly lending me a Quantel suite and an editor or two to grade the pilot. Somehow I have to finish the behind-the-scenes doc this week as well.

I’ve finished cutting the extra material into the pilot. It gives it a whole new lease of life.
With just two weeks to go until Sci-Fi London, it’s become clear that a finished, polished pilot on 35mm with surround sound isn’t going to happen in time. Instead viewers will see a nearly finished pilot with a few FX unfinished and a temporary mix, on HD video. And, of course, a fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary… which I still have to edit. Eek!

John and I had a progress meeting with Aidan and Joe about the VFX yesterday. They’ve made excellent progress. One particular shot looking down on the Swordsman and Isabelle, which used to be crammed full of puppeteers, has been completely transformed by their removal. You really buy that the ropes are controlling the puppet…. as, of course, I always knew you would. Ahem.
Tomorrow is the Borderlines preview showing, 4:15pm in the studio theatre at The Courtyard, Hereford. Many times have I stood before an expectant audience in that room and screened my wares.
And tickets are now available for the proper screening at Sci Fi London. They’re free but you still need to book them. It’s at the Apollo West End on Lower Regent Street at 10:30am on Saturday May 2nd.

This afternoon I met with Lao, Lou and Beth to try out their two pieces of the miniature together. The mini Swordsman is almost complete and, like his full size counterpart, gained a new dimension when he was tied to the ceiling mechanism. Since the model is going to be shot upside-down, we had to make sure it was all going to hang correctly and not give the game away, but it looked great.

The UK Film Council rejected Dark Side for development funding. Again.
That’s the bad news out of the way. The good news is that Chiok’s model ceiling mechanism looks great. Combined with Jonathan’s mini girders and wall panels you can immediately see the missing part of the live action set come to life. Of course there’s plenty more work to do on it before it’s ready to shoot, and the sands of time are running out.
Lau and Lou’s mini Swordsman is at an early stage, but a strong steel framework is in place and Lou has painstakingly carved a remarkably detailed scale replica of the head. Beth has made a spot-on miniature of the gramophone and skill indicator piece. When this and the mini Swordsman are positioned beneath the ceiling mechanism (or in fact above, since it’s all been built upside down) it’s great to see how the mechanism dwarves the robot.
Progress on the visual FX has been good too. Aidan and Joe from SAE have really got stuck in, while Ricardo Fearon, Andrea Caserini and Allison Moore have been contributing some great work too. Some of the puppeteer removals are extremely tricky, but everyone is rising to the challenge.
The featurette for Borderlines is almost done. It focuses on the unique challenges of the shoot, namely the puppet and the inflatable bio-suit. Watching it back, it’s not hard for me to see why people doubt my sanity.

“This all seems very familiar,” as my nemesis Biff Tannen once said. Whilst pre-production on this pilot brought with it the new experience of set building, and production had the novel extravangance of 35mm, post-production is very much in the DIY vein of Soul Searcher. I only hope it doesn’t last as long.
I’ve been gradually building up the soundtrack, so far using mostly recycled sound effects from Soul Searcher. A sound that was once Dante dragging a chain across a wooden floor works equally well as the rumble and clatter of the Swordsman’s wheel. Chris Mayall’s squeaky bathroom doorknob – once the hinge of Dante’s trunk – is now the Swordsman’s axle. Little things like a squeaky wheel breathe a surprising amount of life into the scene.
Scott’s first demo came through this evening for scene two, and did not disappoint. This too is like another coat of paint on the film – another step on the ladder that leads from a jumble of rushes to a finished scene.