Where Nightmares Feed

Berlin Undead

2012-01-08T23:27:00.002-06:00

What can I say? I like zombie movies. Not all. But some.

Berlin Undead is one of the good ones.

...

The Horde - a French-zombie-horror film

2011-06-25T21:04:00.005-05:00

Just finished watching "The Horde" on Netflix.

the Horde Tra iler

Tough, gory and good. (If you like kind of thing.)
Oh, those French!

And try to watch the subtitled version.
Dubbing drives me crazy.

...

Pirates

2011-01-29T19:31:00.003-06:00

Crazy PiRATE from a new animation I'm working on.

Centurion movie

2010-12-25T10:14:00.003-06:00

Just watched
Centurion
on Netflix.
Wow.
Loved it.
The story started and didn't let up. What could be better than Roman Soldiers in Britain? (It's "Behind Enemy Lines" set in Ancient Britain).

Lots of familiar BBC faces.

The director, Neil Marshall, also directed another favorite of mine, Dog Soldiers. (It has werewolves in it!)

...

My Cat will read your fortune...

2010-10-24T18:46:00.008-05:00

Here is a test of my cat reading from a fortune cookie fortune.

It's to test the quality of out put. I've collected a lot of fortunes, now to put them to the test....

HP Lovecraft Flm Festival

2010-09-05T08:22:00.003-05:00

Yea! My short-short animation is playing at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival.

This is the 2nd time I've screened there.

"Where Nightmares Feed" screened at the 2008 Festival.

Here's a link to their site.

http://hplfilmfestival.com/2010/portland/films/doomsday-catch-phrase

....

Crazy Talk

2010-08-10T10:22:00.002-05:00

Here's my latest trip into animation. The cat is mine. The voices are samples that come with Crazy Talk 6.

I like the display of emotions that come with this program. Who knows what I'll do after some tweaking...

....

Doomsday Catch Phrase

2010-07-17T17:25:00.003-05:00

Sent off a shortened version of Doomsday Catch Phrase to H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. I included their logo in one of the shots, so I think they'll like it.

Won't hear back for a couple of months.

...

Post deadCENTER Thoughts

2010-06-13T09:35:00.003-05:00

The deadCenter Film Festival is nearly over. Some features are playing this afternoon as well as the "Best of" short films from the festival.

Before one of the panels on Friday, I sat in the audience and could feel the electricity in the room. The film-making potential in the room was charged up.

It was like being one of the angels in Win Wender's Wings of Desire, listening to all the conversations and thoughts and desires from everyone in the room.

Powerful stuff.

Can we bottle potential? Can we spread it around so everyone benefits from it?

Some of the film-makers will never make a film. Some of the film-makers will stop after a couple of shorts or one-too-expensive-first-feature. Some will plug away because they can't stop. Some will keep going because those around them keep asking for more.

Some may never make a commercially successful film.

But in a room full of potential, you can't tell. All you feel is the power of electricity.

....

deadCenter Film Festival

2010-06-12T07:13:00.002-05:00

Here's a link to an Edmond Sun article about deadCenter Film Festival and me.

http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1358981852/Locals-spice-up-film-festival

It was a good show last night. First time I screened Doomsday Catch Phrase in front of an audience. Must have been about 200 people. And they laughed at all the right moments!

....

Doomsday Catch Phrase

2010-05-12T11:52:00.003-05:00

I got into deadCenter Film Festival. I've been in for all 10 years now!

Time to crank up the PR work.

...

new short animation

2010-04-27T10:31:00.004-05:00

Finished another short animation last month.

"Doomsday Catch Phrase."

I've entered it in the deadCenter Film Festival but haven't heard from them yet.
I think if I edit it a little more, I can send it to the HP Lovecraft film festival.

It's kind of a horror-sci-fi story.
I think it's more sci-fi because it deals with black holes.
My wife thinks it's more horror because it ends with a skull.

Can't wait to get an audience reaction to it.

....

Hard drive crash

2010-02-17T10:31:00.003-06:00

It happens to others.

And it happened to me.

The hard drive crashed and not everything had been backed up.

I've reloaded most of my programs.

I've recovered most of my art and photos.

Some of the animation and music might be lost but at least I'm up and running again.

...

Casting for a Short Film

2010-01-22T13:43:00.003-06:00

So... I'm working on several different stories and animations simultaneously, seeing which one will get done first for this year's deadCENTER Film Festival. This happens every year.

Except last year. I finished one way early for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival so it was ready when deadCENTER rolled around.

Anyway... today I'm visualizing one of my stories as a live action short and the image of Robert DeNiro playing the lead popped into my head.

Wow.

That would make my funny short film marketable.

I've been thinking of animating it and doing all the voices myself (like I normally do.)

But now I'm seeing it as a live action with a star actor as the lead.

Sometimes you can hire one that's not too expensive. And it gets you a name to use on the posters for film festivals.

I don't know if Mr. DeNiro does these kind of things.

But there are others who add to the part just by showing up.

I'll start a list soon.

...

11 second club follow up

2010-01-08T09:32:00.002-06:00

Well, the December competition is over. My animation came in 128 out of 134. So I stay in the same spot each month.
Most of the comments were positive. Most thought if I had more time I could have made it better.
Which is true.
I had a few days off at the beginning of the month to experiment with Anime Studio 6. Then I went on to some other experiments.
Maybe I'll skip a month and try again in February.
I have a bigger project I need to finish by March 3 for the deadCenter Film Festival deadline.
...

11 second club Dec. 09

2010-01-03T15:13:00.004-06:00

I did another 11 second club animation. This is the final version I sent in. (The dialog must be from Young Frankenstein.)

I did it using Anime Studio 6 Debut. I like the program so far. Wish I had more time to use it.

11 second club follow up

2009-11-10T09:21:00.003-06:00

My animation came in at 6 or so from the bottom.

Again.

But I'm okay considering with the amount of time I spent on it.

I just wanted to finish a project. Any project.

And that's what I did.

And I tried some new tricks in Sony Vegas and Toon Boom.

...

2009-10-30T14:07:00.002-05:00

I've done another 11 Second Club animation. I just needed to finish some little quick project while I'm working on my other projects.
The lip-sync seems to be off a bit. May have happened in the saving process.
Enjoy!
(I think the sound bite may be from the movie "Network".)

RocknRolla and Guy Ritchie

2009-09-09T10:52:00.005-05:00

Just rented RocknRolla by Guy Ritchie and decided I want to write "The Next Guy Ritchie Film".

Can I call it that?

I also want to animate a Guy Ritchie synopsis using bumper cars to show how all the convoluted stories collide and connect.

So anyway, a review of sorts: The movie started sloooow for me. I had friends tell me to stick with it so I did. I picked up where I left off and finished it.

And it was good.

What was wrong with the first part for me? I guess I was looking for a main character to be interested in. And there wasn't one for me. I kept trying to make it One-Two's story. Or Archie's story. Or even Johnny Quid's story.

So that's what threw me off. That was my problem.

But the sequences were fascinating. The action was cool when the action started.

So I want to write "The Next Guy Ritchie Film" script.

Anyone want to write it with me? We could use Google Docs to write this thing. I have a situation and some characters in mind. But we could do something else.

Something crazy and complex and delicious and violent and sexy and visual and intelligent and silly.

....

Dancing Girl

2009-08-18T20:00:00.007-05:00

This is a girl dancing that I used in a 30-second animation for a commercial contest last summer.

I may re-use in a gallery scene in an animation I'm working on now involving a rookie photographer and an experienced figure model.

It will be a comedy or it won't get done.

...

New Horror Short

2009-07-06T17:51:00.005-05:00

Yes, the game is afoot!

I'm off and running on a new horror short for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.

2 minutes long. It's based on one of my ideas I wrote down for last year's festival.

So it's written and storyboarded.

Now to create my backgrounds using Google SketchUp!

I may reuse the evil scientist from one of the 11 second club animations I did earlier this year. I like the eyepatch.

I may reuse the animation girl I've been using the last couple of years. Just change her hair color and her nightgown.

I'm looking at other artist's work for layout and color ideas. I have a Maxfield Parrish book from the library. I've always wanted to do something with his vibrant colors.

...

deadCENTER Film Festival

2009-06-13T07:47:00.002-05:00

Finally got to screen my animation with an audience. The auditorium was nearly full. (It has about 400 seats I'm told.)
My bit was next to last. And the crowd stayed to the end of the venue. (Sometimes crowds leave early.)
And the animation looked good on the big screen. Clear and crisp. The audience laughed at the appropriate places. (My wife always laughs at the "wardrobe malfunction" of the lead character.) The sound was good. The flash of lightning was blinding as it should be. I'm pleased with how it looks on the big screen.

Next, I want to send it to Chicago and New York for their horror festivals.

...

deadCenter Film Festival Begins

2009-06-10T07:11:00.007-05:00

deadCenter Film Festival 2009 is here.

Today.

I began work on a small graphic novel of the short film. I've taken scenes from the movie and placed them in comic book form.

And I'll have postcards promoting the movie on the display tables at the festival.

...

Springboard Storyboard Software

2009-05-28T10:37:00.002-05:00

I downloaded a trial version of a storyboard program called Springboard. I'm not sure if it will be the thing I'm looking for. But I love trying out new software.

http://6sys.com/Springboard/index.html

It's like making little mini movies with sound and drawing.

....

deadCenter Film Festival

2009-04-15T09:20:00.004-05:00

"Where Nightmares Feed" was just accepted to the deadCenter Film Festival in Oklahoma City. (The Festival is in June.)

http://www.deadcenterfilm.org/

This will be my 9th year to show there.

I basically do one animation a year.

This year I started early so I wasn't cramming at the last minute to get into deadCenter.

...

Where Nightmares Feed Trailer

2009-04-03T12:04:00.001-05:00

Here's the You Tube Trailer again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVWpJ3UuqU0

(It's buried back in some older posts.)

...

London Sci-Fi Film Festival

2009-04-02T19:24:00.011-05:00

Well, I got my rejection email from London Sci-Fi Film Festival.

I have a couple more festivals to send off to, then I'll be ready to start a new round of rejections, er... I mean, entries for my next Horror Film.

....

Sydney, Australia

2009-03-26T09:50:00.007-05:00

My now international animation is screening this Saturday at 4 pm at A Night of Horror Film Festival in Sydney. It's in a block of animations.

http://www.anightofhorror.com/

I'm in some good company.

Joshua Long starts the program with "EM". Then they're showing Bill Plympton's "Shut Eye Hotel." And Devi Snively's "Death in Charge." John Lustig has a stop-motion animation "C/O Flap Jackson". Graham Rathlin from the UK has "Little Snaps of Horror". Tom Flynn has his "Soul Mates". Yun Wang screens "Evil Twin." Fernando Huerto has a funny video, "Aim for the Heart" where demonstrates how to kill a vampire. Kyla Ward screens "Bad Reception." Jason Eisener shows his "Treevenge" to round out the set.

Oh, yeah, my "Where Nightmares Feed" is slipped in there somewhere.

Sounds like fun!

...

A Night of Horror Film Festival

2009-03-11T18:30:00.011-05:00

I've gone international!
Just received my acceptance to A Night of Horror Film Festival in Sydney, Australia.

http://www.anightofhorror.com/

Happy happy happy.
Add that to my resume!
(And no, I'm not going to Sydney. Not this year anyway.)

...

11 Second Club March 09

2009-03-02T19:12:00.008-06:00

Here's my Work-in-progress for the March 2009 competition.

It's got Zombies!

Film Festivals

2009-03-01T19:07:00.004-06:00

Just checked my Film Festival submission status at Without A Box. Looks like I didn't get into Paranoia Horror Fest in LA.

Time to submit to Fantastic Festval in Austin in a couple of days.

Then Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Fran about mid-March.

I've already begun pre-production on another horror/fantasy/sci-fi bit for this year's H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.

It's good to start early.

Trust me, it's gonna be scary!

...

11 second club Placement

2009-02-05T18:25:00.004-06:00

Well... I didn't make the top 25... or the top 50
... or the top 100...

I was 123 out of 128.

Sting.

http://www.11secondclub.com/

Even the ones I gave my highest marks to did not perform well overall.

Most of the comments had to do with the "limited animation" and how quick and unclear the ending was.

I am NOT an animator's animator.

I'm still doing one for this month. And hopefully one for next month.

I'm not going for complete animation domination.

I am going for entertainment.

The competition just gives the entertainment some framework.

...

New animation for February

2009-02-01T17:38:00.006-06:00

Here is my Work-in-Progress for February 2009.

I'll let you know in a couple of days how my robot faired for the January competition. There were a lot of good animations, both 2D and 3D. There were 128 or so entries in all. I hope to be in the top 25 but we'll see.

http://www.11secondclub.com

It's hard for me to judge mine. I liked the initial idea but got tired of it by the end of the month. I tried to be real involved in the forums for January. This month I think I might be less involved so I can spend more time writing on my screenplay.

I like the idea of a monthly competition. I want to get better in going from idea to execution of a story.

I'm a storyteller.

A filmmaker.

I do more than just write. Or just animate. Or just direct.

I'm a storyteller. So I'm going to finish a story this month.

I must write... I must write...

...

4th Work in Progress

2009-01-22T10:25:00.003-06:00

Here is my latest update for the January 11 Second Club animation competition.

Some more polishing needs to be done before the end of next week.

3rd Work in Progress

2009-01-15T11:27:00.003-06:00

Here's my 3rd WIP for this month's animation contest.

I've reduced the number of camera moves.

"Sync-ing loose lips" and animating the characters is next up for this weekend.

...

2nd Work in Progress

2009-01-09T11:25:00.002-06:00

Here's my 2nd version of my 11Second Club Work in Progress. The ending action still needs to be clearer.

...

Animation Sketches

2009-01-07T13:50:00.006-06:00

Here are some of my first sketches for the 11Second Club animation:

New Animation Contest

2009-01-07T11:37:00.009-06:00

It's a new year.

I'm working on an animation for the 11Second Club. It's got a huge robot and a little man. The man, a scientist of sorts, has an eye patch. (The eye affliction worked for John Wayne and it'll get Tom C. his Oscar this year.)

I'll try to post some of my sketches. This is a VERY rough idea of what it will be like:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2610703780662851924
...

IMDB Title Page

2008-12-30T16:14:00.005-06:00

I just submitted a title page for "Where Nightmares Feed" on the Internet Movie Data Base.

Here's their main webpage:

http://www.imdb.com/

My page may take a few days or week to actually show up. (They're on holiday.) Then I can add my one-minute trailer for my 3-minute film.

I did get an email today that "A Night of Horror Film Festival" has received my submission and they will announce the Official Selections in February, 2009.

I'll update this blog with my Title Page IMDB when I finally get it.

!!!

Paranoia Film Festival

2008-12-27T11:16:00.003-06:00

There.

It's done.

I've sent off DVD's to my last 2 film festivals for 2008.

Red Stick International Film Festival in Baton Rouge.
www.redstickfestival.org

Paranoia Horror and Sci-Fi Convention and Film Festival in Los Angeles.
http://www.paranoiafest.com/

The next festival deadlines are in February and March.

...

Writing Process

2008-12-22T11:46:00.005-06:00

This weekend I worked on streamlining my process of
concept-to-outlining-to-storyboard-to-script.

I'm good at generating initial concepts and making a plausible story.

But in writing the script, I'm short on words.

A writer without words is like an artist without art.

And sometimes I am both.

So.... here is my new revised process to streamline the script to screen process:

Idea

Outline, Plot and Scenes

Art, Characters and Background

Digital Storyboard and Animatic

More Ideas

More Scenes

More Art

More Animatic

Then write the script.

This is similar to writers who do a lot of research before writing. They get everything collected first so all they have to do is write.

It practically writes itself. (Or so they claim.)

On "Where Nightmares Feed", I came up with the concept. Then put some art in Sony Vegas to see what 2 minutes looked like and felt like. Then I added more art and animation and sound FX and dialog. And edited as I went along, taking out still art and adding in animation.

Later I added some more scenes and details to make in about 3 minutes long. Then I typed up the script of the finished version.

This is what I want to do with a feature-length script. I'm a visual guy. I need to see the scenes and the action so I can understand what I want to next.

Words-Art-Words-Art-Words

Like other people looking to bottle lightning, I'd like to be able to put together several 1st drafts a year.

I need to get this show on the road.

...

A Night of Horror, ETC

2008-12-22T11:28:00.005-06:00

I'm sending off a screener DVD to "A Night of Horror Film Festival" in Sydney, Australia. The festival is in April so the acceptances will not be announced until probably February.

http://www.anightofhorror.com/

Just have to keep my fingers crossed until then.

I did hear of a FREE animation festival in Baton Rouge that is taking submissions until Jan. 2. So time to burn another DVD screener.

http://www.redstickfestival.org/

And Paranoia has a Deadline of Dec. 31.

http://www.paranoiafest.com/

And I'm still working on the feature script that this short film inspired.

...

Trailer On You Tube

2008-12-16T14:18:00.003-06:00

I posted my trailer on You Tube but don't see it when I Google it.

Maybe it takes awhile like when you first set up a blog.

This week, I need to apply for Sydney's Night of Horror Film Festival. The next deadline is Dec. 19th.

I'm going international.

...

Trailer

2008-12-08T20:13:00.003-06:00

I created a 1-minute trailer for my 3-minute short film.

3December Reflections

2008-12-03T20:07:00.004-06:00

Just got back from 3December here in Oklahoma City. We had folks from Dallas and other places attending. (Big crowd at Harkins Theater in Bricktown.)

Here's the list of speakers:

Greg Punchatz of Janimation

Scott Gagain with Vicon House of Moves

Dale Carman of Reel FX Creative Studios

Jesse Seppi of Tronic

Anjelica Casillas with Rhythm + Hues

Piyush Patel of Digital-Tutors (and host of the conference)

Anthony Chritov with Pixar Animation Studios

Most of the speakers spoke of change and passion. A passion for the work and the need to constantly change and update.

....

3December

2008-12-02T19:45:00.005-06:00

Tomorrow is 3December.

Around the world in different cities people will gather to discuss 3D animation in a big video conference. This is the 10th year. (The first for Oklahoma City.)

Speakers from Pixar and other studios will... speak.

I'll let you know how it goes.

...

Short Film Ideas

2008-11-25T19:46:00.003-06:00

Ideas are plentiful.

Not even a dime a dozen, though.

To create a longer script takes... I don't know... more words?

Short scripts are easy for me. Give me a theme or a page limit and I can cram it full of shiney stuff. Make it sing.

But stretching out the idea for 90 to 120 pages is painful. The words get tough and chewey. Like gristle. What fun is that?

But I am transforming "Where Nightmares Feed" into a feature script. Word by awful word. It doesn't sing yet. But it will.

It must. Or any festival buzz will be lost.

...

Sacramento Horror Film Fest

2008-11-20T10:25:00.003-06:00

Just received an email letting me know that "Nightmares" was accepted for the 2008 Merry Scary Winter Horrorland Holiday Film Show.

The listing is at:
www.SacHorrorFilmFest.com

It is Dec. 6, 2008 in Sacramento, CA.

The Sacramento Horror Film Festival (SHFF) presents this all day film festival featuring independent holiday horror films with titles such as Killer Claus, Zombie Christmas, Treevenge, Stagman, Axemas-accre, Something for Santa, Left Overs, Thankskilling, Coming to Town, and the original 1974 slasher classic Black Christmas.

Yea, another film fest to add to my resume.

...

Sci-Fi London

2008-11-17T10:58:00.003-06:00

Sent my DVD off to London on Saturday. They should get it on Tuesday.

Most of the festivals I'm sending to right now are for next year. And the notification process will be next year too.

I really want to find some festivals that are sooner. Just for my own gratification.

I found another sci-fi/horror festival in Austin. But it's not till next September. I'll submit to it in February.

My feature script I'm writing will be less horror and more fantasy.

...

DeadCenter

2008-11-13T17:25:00.003-06:00

I submitted "Nightmares" to the deadCenter Film Festival today. Dropped it in the mail and everything.

I decided against Dawson City and Fresno Film Fests. They're not the genre fests I want to target and I can use my money to promote "Nightmares" at horror fests.

I have my submission for Sci-Fi London ready to ship out on Saturday.

...

Festival List

2008-11-12T11:47:00.006-06:00

December looks like a busy month for me to send out DVD's to Film Festivals. Since this is a horror film, I'm mostly targeting genre festivals.

So here is my list of deadlines as of November 12, 2008:

Dawson City - Nov. 19
Fresno - Nov. 30

Sci-Fi London - Dec. 1
deadCenter Film Festival - Dec. 3
LA United - Dec. 12
Night of Horror in Sydney - Dec. 19
Paranoia - Dec. 31

Zompire - Feb. 13

Another Hole in the Head Mar. 15

The non-genre festivals in the list are there because of location or they're just too inexpensive to miss.

...

Web siting

2008-11-11T11:55:00.003-06:00

Found my "Nightmares Feed" listed in someone's review of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival last month. It was in a list of trailers shown at the film fest.

That version was less than 2 minutes long. I've added a minute since then.

...

Welcome

2008-11-09T17:12:00.000-06:00

I've created a 3-minute animation that I'm sending out to film festivals over the next year.

This blog is where we'll see what's going to happen next.

As of November 9, 2008, it has shown only at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, OR.

I've submitted it to the Sacramento Film Festival for their Holiday Horror Festival in December. Have not heard back from them yet. Their deadline is soon.