The Begging Robot

Take a look at this amazing little robot! A similar idea to the Glove Box in some ways, in that I'm banking on the fact that it is more fun to give your money to an animated thing over a person. This project, however, is far more socially conscientious and is worth a read!

The Glove Box

Hello Everyone!

Inspired by Darrin's recent spotlight, I recently started reviving a project that has been floating around in my head for over a year now. It is called the Glove Box, and as I've made some recent progress on it, I thought I'd share the new work.

The whole thing is based around lace gloves. I make them, and hope to sell them. Sure, Etsy is probably a good way to do that, but I think I've come up with something Far more fun and engaging.

The Glove Box is a portable, collapsible booth. I'm designing it to look like an upscale shop, sample size, straight off of Rodeo Drive. It will be Just big enough for me, Tristina (a life size puppet) and some gloves. I will operate her from behind a scrim, and hopefully she will sell the gloves (unwillingly) to passerbys. Her character is supposed to be that of an indifferent LA shop girl: bored, beautiful, snobby and resentful. Just, so much fun to play really.

Note: This is pure stereotype and is based off of no one. In fact, I have yet to meet such a person in real life. Then again, I rarely go to Rodeo Drive.

With the help of an additional person to enhance the street performance, and to help communicate with patrons, I believe the whole thing will just be a tremendous amount of fun. The pictures below show the original sketches, and the new designs for the booth so far. I've also included some iterations of the expressions I'm hoping to be able to convey.

Thanks for reading! As always, I'd love your feedback.

A Spotlight On... Darrin Dickerson

We are rolling out a new type of post called "A Spotlight On..."

The intention of our "A Spotlight on ..." series is to promote artists of all types and to create more organic buzz about them and what they are working on. Our hope is that promoting artists in the community will have a positive effect for their project or passion, but also that there will be a trickle down effect of awareness and acknowledgment that will help and enrich all of us.

Our first Spotlight is on Darrin Dickerson.


Name Darrin Dickerson
Production Company Ghostwater Films, Inc.
Occupation Director/Actor/DP/Producer/Writer/Editor/Dad/Baseball Coach/Indie Filmmaker

Where did you go to school?

I went to work for an ad agency right out of high school. I went to Louisiana College while working at the agency and studied Advertising Design. The agency had a film production department for television commercials and corporates. I began cross-training in that department, taking equipment on the weekends and doing my own little experimental projects. I have no schooling in film production, other than on the job practical training. I was given the advice early on by a few people that I greatly admire...that advice was, don't go to film school, take the money and time you would spend on school, buy your own equipment and shoot your own films. Thus began my self-schooling, as over the next few years I did buy my own equipment and shot a series of six short films, experimenting with different styles, formats, techniques, etc. Best advice I've ever been given. After working at a second agency in the area, I went on my own, forming Ghostwater Films in May of 1996, doing music videos, commercial and corporate work. I also worked behind the scenes on a number of feature films as an electrician, including The Apostle, Double Jeopardy, Out of Sight and A Lesson Before Dying.

What are you all about?

I love movies, and I love the process of making movies. My hobbies and my work all kind of run together. My work and my hobby are one in the same, making movies. My goal is to continue telling stories with moving pictures and hopefully find the financial resources for better and better production execution each time.

When or How did you know that this was for you?

I've always wanted to be an actor, since I was a kid. Once I worked behind the camera for the first time, I was hooked on making movies and saw it as an opportunity to provide myself with an avenue to act as well.

What are you currently working on?

I've recently completed my first feature film. It's called D4, a sci-fi/action/conspiracy theory film that takes place in an abandoned government facility, the D4. A team of special ops mercenaries are hired to rescue a kidnapped kid believed to be held in the D4, but once inside they find out there is more to it.

This is a totally independent film done on a budget of 35k. We did the best we could with what we had, and I feel pretty good about the outcome. We've been doing festivals and conventions since July of 2010 and have received an overwhelmingly positive response...not just to the movie, but to the fact that we made the film independently with the money we had available to us.

The story is personal for me as well, as the project was a creative outlet for me after my oldest son was diagnosed with epilepsy. The script I wrote incorporates all of our experiences with that new thing in our life and twists them into the story of D4. You can learn more about that side of the story on our facebook page.

Whats up next?

I'm doing promo for D4 through the end of summer, trying to sell as many dvds as we can. After that, I plan on starting another. I have three scripts written and am working on a fourth with my brother, who is also a writer.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

What drives me in this business is being told I can't do something. That has been one of the main sources of fuel for my career. "You can't be an electrician and a director, you can't be a director and an actor, you can't make your own film, you can't distribute your own film, and on and on and on" There is no rule book in this business, although most would like you to think there is. Someone tells you that you can't do something, look them square in the eye and do it anyway. Make your own rules, make your own movies. There's no excuse at this point in the game, the tools are accessible to anyone.

What or Who is your biggest inspiration?

Steven Soderbergh is the one person that I credit as the guy who helped me realize it is attainable. My first job on a feature film was on his independent, SCHIZOPOLIS. It was on that job that I realized, hey, this is just a normal guy from Louisiana like me...and he's making big Hollywood movies. It was a light bulb moment for me. He is also a very encouraging person and gave me some of the best advice I've ever been given. That whole crew, which was only about five people, was very inspirational to me and a huge factor in my decision to do what I do.

What would you tell someone just starting out?

I'd tell them to keep your eye on your goal and do it. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. This industry makes a practice of beating you down...stand back up and hit them in the mouth...and as long as they knock you down, get back up and keep swinging. Somebody just told me something a couple of weeks ago, he said, "the people in this industry who are successful are quite simply the ones who don't quit"...true dat, don't ever quit.

Please check out our page for D4 on Facebook for trailers, behind the scenes photos and more information about where the movie came from for me personally. Also, if you're so inclined, please buy one from our online store, 7-7-10. Support indie film and indie art in general, the only way we independents  make it is if the word is spread and our art is purchased. Please spread the word about this and any other indie projects you are proud to support. Thank you.


Darrin Dickerson
Production Company Ghostwater Films, Inc www.ghostwater.com
Distribution Company Seven-7-Ten www.7-7-10.com
D4 on Facebook www.facebook.com/D4themovie
Ghostwater on Facebook www.facebook.com/TattooYourBrain

Creative Inspiration

In between projects one of the things we will be doing is share motivational links with everyone. Maybe this will help someone figure out a tech issue they were struggling with, or inspire someone to start a new project



Dot. The world's smallest stop-motion. This was done as a promotion for a new low budget microscope that you can toss on a cell phone and take microscopic pictures. The animation team at Aardman took on the job of making the smallest stop motion ever.
I think it is a fun short, with some great re-appropriation of materials and props.

The PenIsMightier. This was done by Beard of Moose Productions, and took "Best Editing" in the 2nd Annual Trick 17 Stop Motion Competition.
Simple, fun, tongue & cheek. I dig it because its another video that proves you can make stop mo with everyday stuff around the home or office.

Rex The Dog 'Bubblicious'. I cant tell if this stop-mo was done by the mix artist Rex the Dog or not.
Nonetheless its a really fun vid and a great song. Whats cool is characters have no moving parts so all of the animations comes from swapping out poses.

Western Spaghetti by PES. PES is an English Lit major turned Stop Mo Badass. This short was named #2 Internet film of 2008 by Time Magazine and won Honorable Mention at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
I really like this one, and there is so much detail to catch when you watch it a 2nd time.

ZOMBIE ZOMBIE. Directed by Simon Gesrel and Xavier Ehretsmann for the french band Zombie Zombie. Took Best Photography Award - GI Joe Fest 2008 and Audience Award & Best Technical Quality Award - Protoclip 2008.
My favorite of the bunch. Great way to use old toys and small scale stuff as props. Im fairly sure that the GI Joes were retrofitted to be pose-able.

Livin the dream

Inspired by Flight of Man...

Hello!

Following the completion of Flight of Man, I've been thinking more and more about our Current aviation advancements. I'm personally very interested in hot air balloons, and have been doing a bit of research lately. I've discovered a few things, which I would love to share with you! First, Here is a link to the website of Brian Jones, one of two pilots who first successfully circumnavigated the globe in a hot air balloon called the Breitling Orbit 3.

If you read his blog, you will learn that he has been very busy developing his next challenge:The Solar Impulse Project. He has built and flown a solar powered, fuel-less plane, over 12 hours in the air! His goal is to fly it around the world, and to inspire clean aviation. It is quite amazing, and I encourage you to take a look!