Neil Oseman

Blog

  • Soul Searcher: August 8th 2006

    Less than a week to go. The cast and crew copies finally showed up on my doorstep this morning, all pristine and cellophane-wrapped. (Sorry about the cellophane. Personally, I hate the stuff, and one day intend to track down the inventor and invoice him for all the time I’ve wasted during my life trying to rip the stuff off things.)

    The DVD is now available to order from a number of other websites besides Play, including: Virgin Megastore, HMV, Tesco (you can also rent it from there), Woolworths, CD Wow, Amazon UK (also rental), Screen Select (rental only), WHSmith and Asda, but I’ll warn you that they’re all more expensive than Play. I’m told that Blockbuster will also be stocking it.

    I’m extending an open invitation for anyone so inclined to join me for coffee at the cafe in Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street, London, England, Europe, The World, The Solar System, The Galaxy, The Universe, at 11am on Monday. If you can’t find me, it’s because a security guard mistook my box of cast and crew copies for a bunch of pirate DVDs and is interrogating me in the back room behind the pantry. “Oh, directed it, did you, sir? A very likely story.”

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: July 24th, 2006

    The videomatic shoot didn’t go too well, but we had a laugh. As I had grown to suspect during construction of my crude miniatures, shooting 4″ action figures puppeteered via sellotaped-on bamboo skewers is fairly darn tricky. The depth of field is shallower than a hydrophobe’s bath tub, which makes focusing extremely difficult. When I get chance to review today’s footage, I need to decide whether it’s worth persevering or whether I should think about CG previs.
    Still, Rob and Jen enjoyed themselves. We succumbed to a giggling fit in the afternoon, as Rob jiggled his Jif-lemon-on-a-stick (representing a robot) at Jen’s scowling-bald-man-on-a-stick (representing the leading lady). It was possibly the silliest thing I’ve ever seen.

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: July 20th, 2006

    Had another meeting at The Model Unit, this time with one of the interested development producers along too. Mike duly impressed her, aided by the half scale miniature tube tunnel his team are in the middle of constructing for Keira Knightley’s new movie. Two guys were painstakingly sticking miniature tiles to it. Dave the Dalek has taken up a new position to cover the main entrance, the better to exterminate any intruders, and should any succeed in getting past, a sign from Red Dwarf VI informs them on exit that they are “now leaving existence”.
    It makes it all the more laughable that I’m building a miniature airship out of cardboard boxes, to be peopled with cheap (59p, oh yes) “Corps” action figures (“Rule the Skies!”) for the videomatic, which I’m shooting on Monday with my friends Rob and Jen. They don’t call me the Spielberg of Hereford for nothing.

  • Soul Searcher: July 20th 2006

    Well, three weeks Monday it’ll be out. Whether the cast and crew will get their copies before then is another issue. Wysiwyg won’t even give me an ETA on them. The same goes for the all important review copies for magazines like Impact and various websites.

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: July 14th, 2006

    Phil Dale, lead animator on Corpse Bride, has pledged allegiance to the cause. How much involvement he will actually be able have in the project is unknown at present, but even just the moral support is welcome.
    This evening I met a storyboard artist named Leo Delauncey who is going to start work on the film immediately, beginning at the beginning with the stopping of the world. (The Dark Side of the Earth: YOUR… WORLD… WILL… STOP. Can’t wait to cut the trailer so I can put that in.)

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: July 12th, 2006

    Soul Searcher journal veterans will be familiar with the many instances of Small World Syndrome which used to crop up in Hereford. But it’s not just Hereford. I met the second of the two interested parties this morning, only to discover that he’s producing two films by Lynn Davies, a director I know from my Hairy Ford days. Anyway, the meeting went well and the fingers will soon start to ache from being crossed so tightly.

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: July 9th, 2006

    No toxic smoke yet. I still have to meet with one of the two interested parties, but last week’s meeting with the first party went well. I can’t really say anything else at the moment.

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: July 3rd, 2006

    So the Soho-based producing partners chickened out after reading the script, saying it was too big and ambitious for them. (Anyone else remember the “can’t be made for less than

  • The Dark Side of the Earth: June 19th, 2006

    My previous feature film, Soul Searcher, is now available to pre-order on DVD at play.com. Loaded with extra features, it’s a bargain at

  • Soul Searcher: June 19th 2006

    Congratulations! You may have been reading this journal for four years – well, now you can finally buy the film.

    Go to Hell right now and pre-order the DVD on Play.com

    It’s only UKP9.99, and you get more extras than most Hollywood two disc releases. Bargain. And ignore where it says fullscreen (4:3) – it’s actually in letterbox 16:9.