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Friday, October 8, 2010

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Quotes

"The moon ain't romantic. It's intimidating as Hell!"

~ Tom Waits

Man Named Matt

This mans name is Matt. What a plain and ordinary name. I know many Matts. This guy is different though, this Matt draws funny pictures, and how!

Matthew Olin was visiting my studio (garage) one day and he had brought with him some funny drawings. We had made live action films together in the past and discovered that indie filmmakers face many, many challenges. One problem that faces live action film is the constant race to stay on top of technology. Cameras are constantly coming out with better features and bigger price tags, and even though the story you are telling should shine through the technology you are using, you can never be completely satisfied dedicating your prized film to a medium that will be outdated next year. There are many more factors, however, that inhibit the process. These factors are locations you can't control, expensive lighting and sound equipment, costumes, props, food to feed all the people who have graciously agreed to work for free, and actors. I have worked with great actors in the past but they are a rare creature indeed. They generally have large egos and limited talent. Nothing like starting a feature film, shooting three quarters of the film only to have the main character drop out to pursue a music career. Its not like you can have them sign a contract right!?

The flip side to this conundrum, animation. The beauty of animated films is Matt can draw 75% of the film and our production value is not limited by locations, costumes, props, actors, etc. Our imaginations roam free.

This took three hours to make:



So what was that? It doesn't make sense right? Right, it doesn't. We were about to have a meeting with a guy (Brad) who wanted to produce a children's educational show. In order to show him what that show might look like aesthetically. We made this the night before.

So in our studio, we sat down at two computers. Matt drew some characters and backgrounds (via photoshop) and I pieced them together and gave them some movement (via Motion and Final Cut). All over some nice Belgian beers and a pizza. Nothing heavy to unload or setup. No cranky actors. No retakes. What an overall pleasant and productive evening!

Cheers Matt!