An Artists Pride

The Begging Robot

2011-07-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

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!

Flight of Man - Second set of Wings is finished and delivered!

2011-05-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

We pulled of the 2nd set of wings just in time. They look and work great. Tons of great ideas and under pressure performance led to a really great prop that we are all very proud of. Check out these pics to see all the awesome brass details. So much brass.

Salutations to all you other pilots!


The harness is so kewl!


Full pic of the wings from the back


So shiny!


The harness fits multiple belly types!


He looks like he loves it!

This is how you are supposed to look.


Melanie shows us how to zoom!


Why is Elly so sassy?

Flight of Man - Race to finish the final set of wings!

2011-05-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

So! After a few weeks of hard work making the first three flying machines, it was time to tackle the second set for Flight of Man. We had four days and only the vaguest idea about how the machine actually worked. The vaguest hopes really! With the help of Rick Botelho, Kristen Meyers, Elly Kushner, Caroline Lewis, Steph Culhane and Taylor Beumel, we managed to pull together and get the job done. I'm so proud of what everyone accomplished! Here are the pictures of those last few days! And then stand by for Travis' post with the pictures of the final machine. :)

The (rough) plans for the pieces

Taylor and Rick hard at work

Designing the harness

Trav and Kristen sand the pieces

All the pieces cut out! Yay!

Travis helps bolt the pieces together

We all make our worst faces, as we try to figure out how to assemble the pieces (such a headache)

yay! As if by miracle, it works!

Small moment of relief!

wings!

faces while the piping is fitted on Travis

Travis performs some sort of mathematical magic

Testing the wings for flight!

just, Epic.

they work! aHa!

So much brass.

wing fabric.

Steph trying to keep Travis still while i build the harness on him.

Success! Paper version complete

back of the paper mock up

Absurdly Difficult Sewing. Phew!

Ridley, always close by

Elly sewing some really tough stuff!

Caroline, Elly and Steph secretly finishing the wings while Travis is in the bathroom. :)

Flight Of Man - Pics of the 1st set of wings being built

2011-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids,

We have wrapped up and delivered our 1st set of wings to the guys over at Flight of Man, and they loved them! Feel free to check this short out on fb! There were three versions of the same prop and it took a bit to make and finish each one. There was a brand new one, a broken version and finally a fixed version. Here are a bunch of pictures of the Artists Pride crew working on them.

A huge thanks go to all of the people who helped us finish these props in time. We are so grateful for everyone who pitched in.

Travis sanding like a pro

Caroline is helping! I think!

Center piece has been roughed out


Look what Travis did!

Rick and Travis taking care of business

A full set of wings have been roughed out!

Victoria is so cute!

Ryan is a hot glue wiz!

Nic uses secret Wisconsin tricks to pull it off!

The center piece is finished! Notice the pillow!

Mike double teams the task at hand!

Steph and Phil handle this two person job!

Rick makes with the funny

James is working with Styrene

Melanie's handy work is pleasing!

Nothing better than working in the shade on the lawn

Kristen is mouthing off. Again!

Nick, the client, is super jazzed!

He fell down!

Flight of Man

2011-04-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

There is so much to say, I feel a little overwhelmed with this task of writing my first blog (ever!)

This may be a bit choppy, but here goes.

First, I'll introduce myself. My name is Victoria, and I am the other half of An Artists Pride. I can't tell you how incredibly special that is. Yesterday, Travis and I, with the help of some amazing friends, completed three flying machines for a project called The Flight of Man. It is our first official prop, and we're having a phenomenal time. Today, we started work on our second deliverable for the project. This second flying machine is more elegant, more designed and much more complex than the first, so it's been a bit of an undertaking.

We owe so much to the help of our friends, most notably Kristen Meyers and Rick Botelho, who have literally been nothing short of indispensable heroes. While I'm mentioning friends though, I'll mention a few more who have swooped in to offer their time and talents. Truly, this is what An Artists Pride is all about. Working with people we love, pooling our creative abilities, and allowing each other to realize our individual potential. This is what Travis envisioned, and what I cherish. So, here are the people who have helped so far, and to whom I feel endlessly grateful, for all the work and fun they contributed:

Caroline Lewis, James Renfroe, Mel Burgess, Ryan Hithchin, Phil Reeves, Steph Culhane, Nic Thorson, Mike Clark and Taylor Beumel.

These are some terrific people! Thanks guys, and I truly can't wait to work with you all again. I know anyone following this blog wants to see pictures. We are completely exhausted, however, so they'll just have to be part of my second ever blog. In the meantime, it's been a pleasure! I look forward to sharing future updates! Thanks for reading.

Stop Mo Workshop/laboratory is complete!

2011-01-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

In mid December Victoria and I started to assemble and organize our workshop. We had moved all of the tools and materials and junk into the garage in September, and then it just sat. It sat and stared at all of us. T'was nothing short of a blight.

Garage from the front. No room to move

Crap leaning in crap. Hard to get at anything.

Good luck if you need anything from the bottom of the stack.

More junk. Also James' pool table.

V and I each put in hours and hours over the last month to finish. And we finally won today.

Hours and hours of work. Building and organizing. Plus it rained every single day that we needed it to be clear skies. If I had to cut lumber, it rained. If we needed to organize bins outside, then it would rain. Such a pain.

But now we have over 70 bins and crates of tools and materials that are sorted and labeled. We have 4 work spaces with tons of room. Tons of additional storage hidden every which way.

Its a rich environment for props, stop mo and art in any form. Our first project of the year is Cold. Its for our good friend Dan Farnam. We cannot wait to start.

Tons of room to move around

Pool Cues, storage on fridge.

My work space. Project boards and storage.

Ridley's bed. Radio shelf.

Easy access. Everything is right in front of you

Puppets get there own space. More storage

Sorted hardware. Special gifts from Rick Botelho

Add caption

Victoria's workspace. Storage and her Ukulele

New table saw stand for stability. More storage.

All our bins and totes. All labeled by hers truly

Table extension made by Victoria. 4th workspace.

My workspace

3rd workspace

Work - Tons of new stuff happening. New avenues and new adventures

2010-09-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

I was on a gig last week out in Culver City. I had dressed up for the gig, because my boss Rick had said that it was fancy and we needed to look good. Dress Shoes? Dress Pants? Fancy Shirt? Check. Grip work is usually very sweaty dirty stuff, so you can imagine how weird it feels to wear your best stuff to a job.
Anyway. After less than an hour of setup, we were good to go. The talent had showed up and was mic-ed. He was a big wig from some company. He said he knew his lines and could shoot this asap. Cameras roll, he says about 10 lines off the cuff, says that's it then gets up and leaves. There was no more filming for that man that day. Nothing we could have said would have gotten him to get another take in the can. Less than 4 minutes of rolling.

This is just an example of work in LA. I have never once had the same job twice. I have never once walked off set and not learned something. There is always a surprise, there is always a lesson, there is always growth in this biz.

This time last year I was beginning almost a year of solid unemployment. This time last year I had no idea how I was going to make ends meet. I had no idea how rough the next 12 months would be. I had no idea what constant money worries and stress would do to me.
But here I am. I made it through another rough patch. Somehow I proved to people that I know what I am doing or that I can learn fast or maybe I just charmed them enough to bring me around to more gigs. Somehow I made friends time and again. Somehow I have survived.

I have known what I want to do with my life for a few years. I tell my friends and family that its rough and it hurts sometimes, but its all worth it. I have even given positive encouragement to others when they go through trials like mine. The truth is I still don't know how to get what I want. I don't now where my paycheck is coming from next week. There is no safety, there is no security. It scares the living shit out of me on a daily basis.
But. I have made it another year.

My point is that LA and the biz are the hardest things I have ever gone through. But they are also the most rewarding things I have ever experienced. I love this industry. Every single day of work I get in this place is more enjoyable, educational and exciting than all of the other jobs I have ever had rolled into one. The people are nuts, but so am I. I fit in here, and I will not leave until I get what I want.

Plain Jane wrapped up in July. I learned a lot and met some amazing kids. Rick P. Kevin S. Dali N. Garret R. LJ LM. Dan F. Ben S. to name a few.
Cat Cora Kitchen Interrupted was fun, but short. I met some cool dudes there as well. Brian S. Ryan D. Justin B. Doc Justice Kendall E.
Curvy Girls was a sizzle real for Plus Sized Models, Rick got me on as G&E
Fluid Frame Photography is a great stills company started by LJ Lo Murray and David Sullivan. I put an afternoon in with them.
Camp Hollywood is a an annual Swing and Shag competition held at the Marriott by LAX. I was cam op all weekend for them.
I worked a Jackass 3D promo for MTV with Rick Dali and Kevin. It was pretty gross.
I worked something called an "industrial" which is essentially product stills for business purposes. Again Rick Dali and Kevin were on that too. Big Sandy!
I put in a few days with a reality pilot about Lacrosse. I was an ac on that and I met some folks like Rene V. Jackie M. Yoshio A. and Jim C.
I have been putting in some days with CSUMB grads Ben Carpenter and Scott Dent and their company ACF Productions. Filming all over the valley.
I helped Ram, Jeremiah and J Cody B on their short "The Surfer." Its nice to help on a Saloon Studios thing again. I acted, did sound and art with the help of Kristen Meyers and Victoria Cloyes. Best news is I got to make a Pee Rig for Dane Bergerson to piss himself.
I helped Liam Sullivan move some stuff and do a bit of painting, it wasn't glamorous, but it was good honest work.
The two Margaret Cho vids I was on finally came out. Here and Here
A Jenny McCarthy shoot I was on came out with a funny still which you can see here

This is a prop designed by Kristen Meyers for use in "The Surfer." Victoria Cloyes and I set dressed it to look as nerdy as possible.

Album cover for Margaret Cho's new album. I worked on the music videos for "Eat Shit & Die" and "I'm Sorry"

The invite to Margaret Cho's release party

I worked on the photo shoot for this pic. Jenny McCarthy is very nice in real life

Misc - SDCC '10, Young Frankenstein, Hot Wire Foam Factory, and the soothsayer Chunk

2010-08-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Wayward Kitties!

It's been an awesome summer so far. Busy busy with tons of fun stuff thrown in to keep me sane. My only complaint so far is not enough camping.

I went to Comic Con 2010 with my good friend Josh Austin. We saw a lot of the floor and not really much else, the panel lines were so super stupid long. I picked up some stuff from:

Dylan Meconis of Family Man
David Petersen of Mouse Guard
Kazu Kibuishi of Flight and Amulet
Doug TenNapel of Ghostopolis
Tom Siddell of Gunnerkrigg Court
Joshua Hale-Fialkov of Tumor
The guys over at Kaiju Big Battel
The guys over at I-Mockery

As well as a bunch of other cool junk and t-shirts
Side note: Con gave me Munchkin fever all over again. NERDY

I also ran into tons of friends like Aaron Krueger, Chris Ryder, Jerry Pyle, Tony Fleeces, Josh Fialkov, Rebecca Kiniry, Cody Kinriy, Beau Kinriry, Josh (Kiniry) Kitchen, Robin Milbourne and Paul Milbourne!

A couple of days ago I went to Young Frankenstein the musical! It was amazing and so funny! The Pantages is an amazing venue, and the practical effects were out of this world. I went with Steph, James, Chris and Mel.

Mel, James and I are looking high and low for a new place to live. It is taking forever, but we wont settle, this place has to be awesome. It still is a drag when we get so close but the place still falls short. West Side Rentals is kind of a huge waste, but its still better than Craigslist.

I won a Foam Knife from Hotwire Foam Factory, which is an awesome company based in my old stomping grounds of Lompoc, Ca. My friend Chelsea Cochran works over there and you should give them some business if you are ever working with foam or anything else they carry. I cant wait to try this out on some terrain or a large sculpture.

When I was out screwing around with Scott McEachen and Steph we went to a Toys"R"us and I bought the single most important toy of my life. His name is Chunk, and he is a toy based on the character Chunk from Toy Story 3. He has 2 faces, mad and happy, and when you push a button on his back he is supposed to swith from one to the other. Except mine doesnt do that. Mine calls on the will of the cosmos and it CHOOSES which side to show you. If you ask it a question, it tells you the UNIVERSAL TRUTH. Also it has a 3rd option that I have witnessed, where it is stuck in the middle, which is reserved until the question in question is un-answerable.
It is quite humbling to see him in action. Lemme know if you have any big questions that you need to know the answer to.

Saw some really terrible movies lately. And I paid to see them, gawd:

Despicable Me - It was just ok. I wont watch it again willingly, but if Alex, the smallest Prow, were to see it, I would be ok with that
Sorcerers Apprentice - terrible, just a terrible movie
Last Airbender - This was Chunk's fault, he told us to see it. Very poor movie, but still better than Sorcerer's Apprentice
Book of Eli - Great movie until the end, I loved the palette and the visuals. Some awesome shots peppered in there that caught me off guard. Gary Oldman looks like his character in Dracula, thats how old he is now
Inception - I loved every minute. It had me from the start to finish. 3rd act had me dancing on my seat. Also I love it when a good fantastic concept gets fully rationalized and explored.

I CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER FOR SCOTT PILGRIM, THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. I have been wearing this Scott Pilgrim bracelet since Con, and it seems like everyone around has seen it already, damnit.

Thats all I got for now cowboys and cowgirls. Now I am going to legally dl tons of stuff

PS. Arent Lego's fantastic?

Work - Plain Jane, The Good Life, Won Ton Baby and moooore

2010-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Ghost of the English Language, I know you are the only reader I have. Sorry, I am no word-smith.

Good to be alive. Thats the message here folks. Work has been awesome lately. It may be the positive vibes from a job well done, or the fact that working on set is THE BEST JOB THERE IS, but idk and I dont care. I am feeling great and slowly digging myself out of debt, and man does it rock.

I had some work with Micheal over at http://www.redhatchetfilms.com/ on his new project, WON TON BABY - Midnight Snack. I made some props and lit some props using my little knowledge of electrical. Thank gawd for wiki right? Ohm's law, haha, so lame. It was a rewarding week or so.

I had a day on The Good Life, which was some reality show about rich women who act rich and snobby. Not my thing, but work is work. I got lunches for people, and read timecode. Le Sigh.

THEN RAM CALLED and I got 5 weeks or so on Plain Jane. I got to work with Susan Carpenter, Ram Paul Silbey, Marianna Cerulle, and Nic Thorsen! Its been quite some time since I got to screw around with Nic everyday for a month. I love the heck out of that ginger kid.

I started out with P.A. duties but quickly found myself helping new friends in the Grip and Electric depts. Tons of rigging and lighting plus a little bit of dolly-grip and pulling focus. I had an awesome time! The wrap party was Sunday and all in all it was an awesome crew/project. Kudo's to new friends!

Rick Pendleton - Most knowledgeable Director I have met to date
Dan Farnam - DP who likes word games and pushing buttons
Ben Shae - Cam Op with tons of gross stories
LJ LoMurray - Cam Op who gets her own smorgasbord every meal
Garrett Rose - Cam Op and fellow "Real Men of Genius"
Dalibor Nenadov - Grip Senior
Laure Vincent - Lady Grip Badass

One of the music videos I worked on finally got released. Day of the Outlaw - Misunderstood

Onto the fund-raiser. Sean, Phil, Jeremiah, Nic, and I shot a bunch of stuff and I could have asked James to cut it. But I was not happy with the video, so I scrapped it and I will be re-shooting shortly. It's a big setback but I felt I needed to show my best if I am asking people to support my cause. I plan to do it asap, so please keep your ears open. Sorry for the delay, I know how some of you are looking forward to hurting me.

Random links to friends' things!
Adam Keller - at least partly responsible for Professor Pump and Sneaks
Katie Spotz - totally rad and responsible for Row for Water
Ram Paul Silbey & J Cody Baker - portion of the foolios at Saloon Studios

~random pics~

Misc - Stop Mo stuff for Dan

2010-07-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.photographyserved.com/Gallery/Strange-Worlds/366923\

Zombie Zombie
Paper Horse
Water Kiss
The PenIsMightier
Rex The Dog 'Bubblicious'
Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie
Western Spaghetti by PES
MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI
Incubus
U900 -Twist And Shout

Misc - Ultimate, Splice, Palm Springs

2010-06-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Geez, where did 2 months go? Once I heard an explanation of why time seems to fly faster when you get older. When you are 10, each year you've lived is a tenth; and when you are 30, each year you've lived is a thirtieth. It's a smaller fraction all the time.

So, a lot of things have been happening. Some really good stuff, especially in the work dept., but I will leave those details for a work related post. As for regular life stuff, I have been having a blast!

I joined the Summer Men's League for Ultimate Frisbee. My roommate James is our team captain, and the team's name is Purple Rain! We have won 3 games out of 3, and I am really enjoying myself. There is a write-up of our second game here, but don't look for any mention of me: I am still learning the basics and have yet to make any points or anything.

Another Movie Marathon has come and gone. This was our 6th and "The Best of" day. We watched the favorites from the last 5 days, and the set looked and felt like this: Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Wedding Singer, Dawn of the Dead, Love Actually, and The Birdcage.
Also, we voted on the next 5 marathon days and I am pumped to say we are going with genre or genre-esque parameters. the final list is:
Movies you should have seen but haven't yet
Films released or based in the year you were born
Stephen King flicks
Movies with Robots
Post-Apocalypse films
and Sequels

I went out to Palm Springs again and had a relaxing time with some friends. In attendance were Dore, Brenna K, Erin K, Katie Novo, Todd, Andy, and Steph. We swam a bunch, and bbq'd. At one point I got tossed on wine, it was chalky.

My fam and I had our annual camping trip on memorial weekend. It was super restful, even though Troy, Becca Durant, and I hiked a bunch. I caught a hole slew of animals including snakes, turtle, toads, a frog, and a horned-toad. I must get some more camping in this summer and fall. Also, it does my heart good to see my fam, but I really miss my brother. He's one of my pillars, even if he doesn't know it.

I saw Splice. It ruined my week. As some of you may know, I am hyper-sensitive to media. I don't feel like getting into it now, but Splice was a crazy film that had me messed up for a few days. I think that means it was good. "Good" is relative, but for people who like horror, my reaction probably means it's worth seeing. Adrian Brody validated the scary elements somehow.

Lastly, I saw a new play by my friend Jason Matthews. "Four Night Stand" was a >2hr comedy about sex and relationships. I laughed and enjoyed myself.

LINKS TO FRIENDS STUFF

Actor/Model Tyler Wood
New Media Artist Talan Memmott
Multi-Media Artist Aaron Roy
Multi-Media Steven Meissner
Colorist/Shooter Jerimiah Morey
Director Rick Pendleton

Misc - Twitter, Status on Fundraiser, Capacity and my new project!

2010-05-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to drum up any work as of late. Not that I'm not trying, its just 20+ resume's a day can start to kill your spirit, and I'm not willing to work on stuff that doesn't benefit me. I will work for any dollar amount, even as low as 25 a day, or I will work for free in a dept. that I am pursuing. But if it's a p.a. gig in some snooty office, or in post (sorry but I have to be honest), or on a reality show... I just cant do it.

So instead I have been busy with other things: Enhance!

Capacity is getting closer and closer to birth! Drea Armin and I are going to shoot some smoke effects so that Phil Reeves can finish the visual effects work. Josh Brown has gotten Capacity into the film program at Modesto Junior College, so it will get the audio work done during the next term as a student project.
I have made a Capacity FB page that I will open up and invite people to join when we are close to a finished film.

I have been working on my new project, which is tentatively called "Astronaut". I still have a lot of writing to do before I can actually start prep, but I am going to shoot it this winter. I hope it comes out as visual as I see it in my mind's eye.

I am hoping to work on a short this month with Cody Campbell, we plan to use the Fig Rig! Also I am meeting with Jerimiah Morey in a little while to talk about making shorts. I hope to get back into shooting for fun, I miss it a lot and I feel myself getting rustier and rustier.

I'm prep for the Piercing Fundraiser I have been watching old DV tapes. I am looking for some material to show how I used the money from last time, and to prove I am a man of my word. There have been some awesome flashbacks, and I think I am going to make a few vids to show off some of these old funny moments.

I started using Twitter! Follow me @travisprow. I am still getting the hang of it, but I hope to use it to spread word on my projects. Every bit helps, right? Right!

I have started a new building project at the recommendation of Dore and Rebecca Kiniry. I am going to start building my friends out of junk, in the form of little statues. I pumped to give it a shot, I think Rebecca will be my 1st.

I got some used gear recently. I picked up two O'Connor tripod heads and sold them for a good amount. I kept the legs from one set in the hopes that I can use them for a stop-mo rig later on. I also got a light head made by Cool Lux. It's called a Mini-Lux and its made to be camera mounted and runs of battery belts. I still need to fix it so that I can use it with a/c, but I am excited. You can pop different globes in and adjust the light output from 25w to 250w, so I think it will make a great stop-mo light.

Check out these links:
Jerry Pyle's series Quizod
Gavin McInnes' series A Million In The Morning

Some Random Pics:

Yukimi Nagano! of Little Dragon

Weird Thing

Apples

Work - Sound, Driving People, and Stop Mo

2010-04-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Work wise its been a bit slower than I would like. I need to drum up some work the hard way, and that means Mandy and C's List. Gross! But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Anyway, here what I have been working on:

The stop-mo short I have been working on since Jan was going great and then suddenly stopped. I'm not sure if I will be asked to work on it when it starts back up. I learned tons of stuff, and that was what I wanted out of the exchange from the beginning, so I feel like it was worth my time. Thanks Michael Granberry of Red Hatchet Films. Super Educational!!! When I do start up Chronicles of Stig Z again, I know I will be much more capable and I will be much more likely to finish.

I am looking forward to days 5 and 6 of "The Pacelli's" and it's written and directed and produced and acted by Michael Cornacchia. It's been a lot of fun so far. I am doing production sound, which is a new hat for me, but that means I am learning tons, and that's all that matters in this crazy world. Good crew vibes as well, you cant put a price on that.

Here's a random. I drove a guy around one saturday not too long ago. Tony Kaye, whom you might remember from American History X, among other things. It was quite the night and I got to drive a beautiful Range Rover all over the city. I have some great stories that I can share in person.

I worked on Never Sleep Again, a doc about the Nightmare on Elm Street series. It comes out May 1. I helped Michael Granbery with stop-mo puppets and sets on that. Also involved were Kristen Meyers and Victoria Cloyes.

A music video I worked on, by Puddle of Mudd (they survived the 90's?), was released. I worked on that with Sean Steuer, Phil Reeves, Kristen Meyers, Bradley Warden, Ryan Ramos, Nick Plotquin, as well as a ton of other people. Here are the 2 versions:Censored Un-Censored

Misc - So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

2010-04-26T19:24:00.001-07:00

Dang! It's been an awesome couple of weeks. Just great really. LA is a pretty crazy place to live, there are tons of things to do at all times, even for a square like me.

I went out to La Quinta to tear it up with the Kiniry Clan for Coachella 2010. I didn't have a ticket but that was A-OK! I figured I would do some reading, writing, drawing and tons of swimming. The crew was Dore Kiniry of course, Erin K, Beau K, Cody K, Garrett Ensor, Josh Kitchen, Kevin DeBacker, Andy Foerster, Todd McGauley, and myself! On 1st and 2nd days Kevin and I dropped and picked up the crew and in between did like a million somethings. Got some swimming and writing and a ton of good conversation. BUT THEN a ticket materialized (big thanks to Kev) and I was able to go Sunday!!! I saw a few bands, but I wanted a good spot for Gorillaz so I didn't move around too much. All told I saw De La Soul, Yo La Tengo, Spoon, Pavement, and ... GORILLAZ. It was so badass. Easily 2nd best show to date. Gave me goosebumps multiple times and there was so much star-power present! Bobby Womack and Little Dragon were especially moving. Btw Little Dragon stole my heart, so now what? I was euphoric afterword. Anyway, it was an epic weekend, and I will always keep the crew near my heart.

Movie Marathon 4/6 happened yesterday. Twas Mel's turn, and like always everyone was present: Mel Burgess, James Renfroe, Heidi Ryder and Chris Ryder. We watched The Wizard of Oz, The Goonies, Pretty Woman, Fight Club and The Wedding Singer! In a row! With minimal breaking!

Ive seen some pretty rad pixel animation lately and I think YOU should know about it! (these are kinda adult)

These 2 are by Paul Robertson
Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006
Kings of power 4 Billion %

And idk who made this one, I just found out about it
Truckers Delight

And now on to a million little thingers:
Im gonna participate in an Ultimate League this summer, info here.
I got a new murse! Its pretty rad, and I am making a bunch of custom things for it. Checkitout!
I got a Fig Rig from my step-dad a while ago and I am finally getting around to fixing it with the help of some lady at Film Tools.

Support these guys by viewing their sites
Michael Cornacchia
Jeff Schuetze
Yusuf Pirhasan
Evan Baker

Special - The beauty of the blank page

2010-04-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

There are times when I try to sit down to write or draw, and I cant bring myself to make a mark on my new sheet of paper, or the new page in my sketch book.

Each page has infinite possibilities, an uncountable number of things can be created within. How could I possibly do the myriad of options justice? With each stroke of my pen I narrow the scope of that page. And so, I freeze. Sometimes I get stuck in this stage, contemplating the worlds not yet realized. I have found myself staring at the white or almond paper in the middle of a Starbucks, or the library, and I have to shake myself free from its gaze.

The page's power is too immense.

If the situation becomes a dire stand-off, I am left with one option. I grab the largest diameter pen or the fattest marker available and I make a scribble. A squiggle or dash of color to mar the paper. The simple action cuts the power of the page to a fraction of what it was and suddenly I can deal with it on my terms. Suddenly it is mine to command.

And then I can just write or draw.

Misc - Someone's getting hitched, Monterey Film Fest and More!

2010-04-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

BIG NEWS FIRST. Adam Bontrager and Christy Williams are finally gonna tie the knot June 18th, and they have a wedding blog to prove it. Finally they get married, right? They are talented artists, so hopefully they have talented art babies.

So outside of work I have been pretty occupied. Phil Reeves is helping me with a ton of visual effects work for Capacity. So I get a call from the cuss last night saying everything on my wish list is done save one, and we need to meet to talk about it! Amaze me! Even though it isn't finished yet, this is the best version of Capacity yet and hopefully the last. I wouldn't mind giving birth to this thing and finally posting it on the web. The next big work is coming from the gifted Josh Brown. He'll be helping me with the foley and audio mixing. The plan is to have this thing wrapped this fall.

Side Note: Capacity version 2 (the one we cut and sent to the Berlinale fest) was featured in the 2010 Monterey Bay Film Festival. Drea Aguilar was there to represent the team. I hear it was received well.

I am getting ready to start my 2nd fundraiser and things are coming together. Sean Steuer has helped me with some ideas for it, and now its a matter of seeing what old dv tapes I have and what content I have. I am excited for many reasons. But I'll save all that info for another day, and that will be soon.

I uploaded some vid's to youtube and here are the links:
Gio and Travis at some shit party
Dave and Meier karaoke
Dave Salame and PBJ Time
Koyaanisqatsi edit with Brazilian Girls
A little Gradius thing I made
Lindsay and her Hoes at Dimples

I watched the short film Im Here by Spike Jonze. It floored me. It isnt very often that anything comes close to the way I feel about humanity and robots and it was such a sweet love story on top of that. It still runs in my mind when I close my eyes. Sigh. I hope I can make something with beauty like that soon.

The 3/6 Movie Marathon happened at the end of March and it was pretty jaw-some. James Renfroe was in charge and picked Silence of the Lambs, Moulin Rouge, Event Horizon, Dawn of the Dead(2004) and Notting Hill, in that order! In a row! Without breaks! Ok we had some small breaks. I really look forward to these events, they are full of friends, food and Mel's fav., farts. The next marathon day is at the end of April and Mel Burgess is in charge. But this time we will be at the new home of Chris and Heidi Ryder, and maybe using there apt. complex's movie hall thing.

Lastly. I had an odd exchange with a really old friend, like 4th grade old, and it has stuck with me. It was an fb chat, and he said some things that although we have never talked about, really hit close to home. Its kinda weird, anyway, for your reading bewilderment, here is the unedited text:

Travis you need to show them

show them travis

i've heard in whispers...

but it is time you brought it in the light

you know...now show the world

Special - The only line of work for this Travis J. Prow

2010-04-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am pretty good with my hands and with tools and I can quickly get my head around a new job or skill. If my life had gone a different way or I was born in a different time I could have done a million things and I would have been happy and proud of my work. But as it turns out I was exposed to movie making. The result is I can only be happy in one line of work, making film/tv/web stuff.

I love this industry for many reasons, good ones as well as bad ones. But as I was on set the other day, I think I finally realized one of the biggest, if not the main reason.

At its core, most film productions and projects are a huge team exercise. Most projects can not be made with less than a few people, and in most cases you need a whole team of people, with a wide range of skills. The projects come from the team's experience and skills, and yet the project goes further to become much more than the sum of the people who worked on it.

It's that teamwork that makes me enjoy being on set so much. Even on a hard set, or with people who have attitudes or ego's, you need to work together to get the job done. And every now and again I find myself on a set where there are no ego's, no agenda's, and things just click. It's a special type of bliss for me to be part of such a special machine. I guess I just enjoy and thrive in these social jobs, and the enjoyment I get out of that kind of work makes the 10 hr days or the 12 hr days and even the 16 hr days worth it.

All of the people in my family are hard working people who stay active throughout their autumn years. I plan to be making films well into my 70's, and couldn't be more excited about it.

Work - Art dept. stuff and p.a.ing

2010-04-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

I have had some great work lately. I have been working with Bradley Warden and Ryan Ramos on some music videos that they have been directing. Mostly art dept. stuff like props and practical gags. I even learned how to rig a stripper pole! I met some great folks like Nick Plotquin and Ryan Martin. I even got some buddies to come out and help on the last video, Sean Steuer Phil Reeves and Kristen Meyers. The bands were Rough Duchess, Day of the Outlaw, and Puddle of Mudd. PoM is still around?! They are high school era for me, what a throwback.

I worked for a week on a Judd Apatow film that is in pre-production. Kristen Wiig is the head-liner. She turned out to be a great lady. I cant say the same for Judd, he was a bit rude. I also have 2 small stories about Michel Gondry and Seth Rogen, I saw them a bit because they were still wrapping up The Green Hornet. I met a few great people there, but learned that I don't like office p.a. stuff at all. I'm too much of a sweaty work with your hands type than office work permits.

Also I did a bit of p.a.ing for Nick Plotquin on a really funny photo shoot with Jenny McCarthy. Turns out she is really nice, and has a great sense of humor. I don't wanna spoil what the shoot was about, but I laughed a bunch.

Whenever I wasn't working these freelance gigs, I was back at Ticket to Hell. We are making some great stuff and I cant wait till that film is in the can and everyone can see. Stop-mo is one of those niches in film making that aren't affected by the currents of contemporary interests or gimmicks.

Coming up I am doing some audio work for a web show called "The Pacellis." The man in charge over there is Michael Cornacchia. So far the prep for this has been very funny and I cant wait to see how it goes. Its nice to see an actor take the directing reigns.

Misc - Doing a million things!

2010-03-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

I went to the Better LA comedy event. Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Tenacious D, Dememtri Martin, Rob Riggle, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll, and Tim & Eric!!!. It was awesome! Everyone hates Tim & Eric, so funny.

I have been working at my internship with Michael a bunch! I cant give any details but we have moved from Puppets to Sets and I am learning tons still. I am 1 of 3 interns now, and the other 2 are really gifted. Kristen is really gifted at giving me a hard time and drinking the last coke, and Victoria is really gifted at being weird and making me lose concentration with her talking. I enjoy making stuff so much, but I am not sold just yet on doing this for a living. I am worried that when another person makes demands of me that it will steal the fun away. Kind of like when I worked at Gamestop, I stopped loving video games so much. Crazy!

And then Audrey took all of us to the Zoo! I love how funny animals are, they think they are so clever. Also my internship got me a V-Day pressie! I enjoy it over there.

I have some work as well! Its exciting to not live entirely on unemployment! I had a day on a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club music video, still seeking payment for that one. I also helped out a school chum, Mike Nino Jones Rendar (guy has too many names), on a spec called Chad Jeffersons, P.I. THEN. I put in a few days with Liam Sullivan and Ilana Cohn, one of the best teams I have seen yet! The gig was a couple of Margaret Cho music videos. That lady is very intimidating. Maybe its because she is a strong, proud, Asian woman. Or maybe its because I cant see where she is looking.

ALSO Short Slosh 6 was amazing! I had a blast with my teammates Bradley Warden, Jason Turnage, and Clay Turnage. I drank far too much, and Jason shaved his head and streaked the Scientology building. So much fun. Here's our vid (which really wasn't very good, but that's not the point), we won most spirited film, and the guys let me keep the trophy cause I was new/cool/hairy.

ALSOALSO I had movie marathon day 2/6 and it was awesome. James, Mel, Chris and Heidi were there as usual. We watched Just one of the Guys, Rear Window, Willie Wonka, Love Actually, and Overboard. IN-A-ROW. It was intense, or as James would say, "It's like camping." I ate too much, barf. Also James and I have been playing the new content on R5 and its awesome and very hard. I like challenges, but I dont have the patience(masochism) that James has. He also took Mel and I to the 10 Things I Hate About You wrap party. I won some stuff and some ladies pulled my sideburns! Also I beat some foo's at pool. I love pool.

I have been playing Catan and Koi Koi, which uses a deck of Hanafuda cards. Nerdy!

Here is the vid I help Liam Sullivan with in Jan.

I ordered biz cards from and have been giving them out all over the place! I drew the image and I think they came out great. I went with cam/lights/stop mo as my skills. http://www.123print.com/ is the place, they were really cheap.

Lastly I have been making stuff, although not as much as Feb, since I am addicted to my new xbox and Borderlands. I am still working in the dirigible, and now I am also making a borg-trex with a toy I found. My mini-workshop works pretty well for now, but I cant wait to have a full shop again. I found a wire thing I made some time ago.

Special - Comics and Sites I have read or still read or some third option

2010-03-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

This was requested by Jen, or maybe I proposed it, idk. Either way I am at least 5 months late. Maybe someone will find a new comic? Check out the ones I starred.

-Comics-
***Rice Boy
***Order of Tales
***Minus
***Shell
Socks
Great
***Girl Genius
***Buck Godot
***Punks and Nerds
Stubble
***Gunshow
***Horribleville
Chugworth Academy
Boss Noodle
Curvy (Adult)
***Rho
***Ascent
Mnemesis
Where the Typos Og
Spork
***VG Cats
***Super Effective
***A Lesson is Learned
***David Hellman
***The Journal Comic
Here There Be Monsters
***Perry Bible Fellowship
***Nedroid
***Penny Arcade
PVP Online
Ctrl Alt Del
Fanboys
***Gunnerkrigg Court
Chester 5000 XYV (Adult)
***Dual
***Dresden Codak
xkcd
SMBC
Exploding Dog
***Yon Kuma
Sister Claire
Horsemen
Seedless
Nomad Tofu
***Gone with the Blastwave
***Post Nuke
Work Well with Others
Scary Go Round
My Milk Toof
Marry Me
Doing Fine
Family Man
Washed Ashore
binsybaby

--Video/Music--
***Bitey Castle
Mega 64
Tim and Eric
Pure Pwnage
***Kaiju Big Battel
***PES
Jon Coulton
Making Fiends
You Have Bad Taste in Music
***ZeFrank
Dead Monkey
Bill Fillmaff
Homestar Runner
For Tax Reasons
Bum Lee
Fully Ramblomatic

---Art/Photo Sites---
***Mecha Fetus (Adult)
Dashing (Adult)
Stuff Sucks
Daily Dose of Imagery
McBess
Skull-a-Day
We Have Lasers!!!
Copy Rezo
Gabe Art
Mr. Lee
Paul Robertson
o-8's Journal
Onell Design
***Cute Overload
The Best Page in the Universe
***Post Secret
Sword Bullets
99 Rooms
Julian Beever
Keith Thompson
Menstrala (Adult)
Skullgirls
Studio Pixel

----Dead (but missed)----
Lick My Jesus

Upon seeing this list a few things come to mind. Damn that's a lot, and why/how would anyone be able to gain from a full-frontal assault of all of these sites? Also, this is a pretty good record of what I have been doing online for the last 7 or so years.

Work - Internship and other bits of info

2010-02-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

I found this internship on mandy.com in Dec. It was for a stop motion short that was being filmed in LA and it was aimed at students. Some of the positions available included assisting in building of characters and sets, and assisting in the shooting phase.

It addressed like 80% of my hurdles in CoSZ!

So I applied. At the interview I was straightforward about who I was and what my intentions were, and I was clear about what I hoped to learn. It went well and they brought me on.

Since the beginning of Jan, I have been working with Audrey Holland, the writer/director/producer of the new short, and Michael Granberry, the lead animator and builder. You can see all about their last short, The Snow Princess, here. You can see Michael's production blog, Red Hatchet Films, here. We work out of Michael's apartment in Hollywood, an excellent example of maximizing space, and I put in 3 8hr days a week normally. It has been incredibly rewarding so far.

Summary of activities:
Making wire armatures for a variety of characters
Sculpting and Baking clay
Painting
Pouring plastic
Making clothes and sculpting hair

Its been a blast so far. The most valuable knowledge I have been getting is the "Why" answers. You use this material or glue or substance in these situations because of this. Very insightful. Already I know I could move forward on my own projects, and I still have months to learn more. I really hope I get to help out on animating and lighting, which is the remaining bulk of my production questions.

In other news I have still been looking for paying work. I helped Brandon Lawrence cam op something for Liam Sullivan on Monday, it was hilarious. Last Sunday was day 1 in a 6 part movie marathon that spans 6 months. James Renfroe, Mel Burgess, Chris Ryder, and Heidi Ryder are the other parties involved. It was my turn to pick so I went with Blade Runner, TMNT 2, Hook, Aliens, and Birdage. In that order, in a row. It was quite the trek, but we made it in the end. I plan to take part in an event this weekend called Short Slosh 6. You get 10 hrs to make a short, you form the group of 10 people when you arrive at 10am, and you write/shoot/edit over the next few hours until you watch all the shorts at 10pm. The best part is you have to have a drink every hour! Woo, Im excited to shoot something and meet some folks. Currently working on a project at home as well, Marc Mangahas gave me the idea of making a Dirigible, and all I could think of was Little Nemo. So far its looking ok, but I need more plastic!

Misc - Stuff Ive been into lately

2010-01-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

So I have been reading tons more. William Gibson and Piers Anthony mostly. Also Ive been playing some games. I play L4D2 and MW2 with James, as well as Zelda Spirit Tracks, Mario & Luigi: Bowser, and Mario Bros. Wii.

But my FAVORITE past time over the past few months has been making stuff! Last October Cody and I made an invitation to our Halloween house party, you can see it here. I did most of the cam work and effects, but Cody and I had a bunch of help from Drea Janelle and Richard. I also made my costume for that Halloween, I was Casey Jones from TMNT, you can see the mask below. I made a small xmas tree this year out of junk (not pictured), that came out ok, but next years will be way better. I also made all of my xmas presents this year, which was very rewarding. I have been making things out of junk regularly now. Below you can see a Ray Gun/Zapper I made out found junk. I am proud of that one. Also I have been learning tons at my internship with Michael Granberry, which I will tell you about later, but for now take a look at some pics of my very 1st armature.

Im just trying to stay creative and flex and grow these muscles that havent been used in the past few years. I draw and write a lot, I go out with Sean and draw/write while he works on his book. I am making tons of stuff and learning tons, also hurting myself a bunch but thats ok. I hope to make a few videos this year with Cody and Nic, who are both very creative. Also, Capacity is being re-cut by James, and I hope to finally have that project done.

Last little note: Ridley got into a serious altercation with some creature and had to be taken to the vet. Scared the hell out of me actually, and I learned the hard way that I should cherish the small time I have with him. He's my guy after all, I feel at ease when he sits with me as I write or build, and as I play games or try and fall asleep. Love the guy.

Work - Hiatus Summary

2010-01-23T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Well crap. Where the hell do I begin. At the beginning of October I ended my 60 Day Hiatus. I have some stuff to show for it, including:

- 1 set partially built
- 1 character partially built
- Tons of characters sketches, 13 in total
- Location sketches, 6 in total
- Language character set
- 75% of Ep. 1 Scripted
- 80% of series outlined
- Badass workshop organized
- Lighting tests
- Animation tests

Thats the good news. The bad news is I expected way too much and couldn't deliver. It was very educational in its own way. What I realized is this. You can have the best expectations and the most motivation, but some things have to be learned the hard way, through hard work and trial and error. Stop-motion is like that, you can hit a wall and never get past it if you dont know how to find the answers. In the end I am glad I took the time off, and I know Stig will get shot one day soon.

Since October started a lot has happened. I have been and am still looking for work. I moved to Burbank and am living with my good friend James Renfroe. I temporarily packed up my workshop and have it in storage at my very patient parents house, and as soon as I can afford it I will open up a new workshop. A lot more has happened but I will wait to tell you that in my coming posts.

The bottom line is my world got turned upside down, but once again it was for the best. I am learning how to be single again, and I am learning about who I am and who I want to be. I draw and write more, I am much more frugal and fiscally minded, I am reading tons more, and I am thankful for all of the people in my life. Sure CoSZ is on a break, but thats ok because its only temporary. I am still breathing, still surrounded by friends, and still in LA, which although being very hostile, it remains the place I need to be.

Work - Hiatus Day 36

2009-09-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there interwebs,

Umm yeah, turns out I am one terrible blogger. I missed every single one other than day one. Thats just sad. Well, no point in regrets, ill just try to do better. I have been working hard this whole time and I do have some stuff to show for it, although its not finished animation just yet.

Almost all of my designs are done. I am super happy with them! I built all of my animation tables and that was def a worthwhile activity. I have been working on sets and setting schedules and asking questions and advice from whoever knows some stuff. Got a bunch new tools and misc stuff from Rick.

Just been moving steadily along. I hope to have 6 sets and 4 characters done by the end of my hiatus. It will be enough to animate a teaser. Then its all about momentum! No way back now. So even when I do go back to work, my nights and weekends will still belong to Stig, unless of course I need to hang with the gf or friends or something.

Feeling really positive, and I have really enjoyed my personal time so far. Anyway check out my album on fb that has all of the bts stills. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30703751&l=2461b08739&id=83901317.

Below is a design I did. Its not perfect but that is Stig Z the main character.

Work - Hiatus Day 5

2009-08-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Small hickup in my regular posts, sorry about that. Let me catch you up on days 1-4.

I have been working on the design for the main character, Stig Z. Its been a while since I spent any time drawing, so I am a tad rusty. I am still trying to decide how to make him a robot, but still emote, how to make emoting manageable in this medium, and how to draw something that I can actually build.

I have been in communication with Adam Bontrager, Christy Williams, Josh Muller and Lowell Whitmeyer about various designs and characters they are creating for me. I am aiming to get all of my pre-production done so I can just start to build everything.

I am also taking steps towards finishing some non-Stig stuff that i have been putting off. Ive been looking into business cards and a web-site finally, as well as getting Capacity finished and getting that up on youtube.

Finally in the last few days I have been taking steps to make sure that I can still pay my bills and eat during these 60 days. I have been selling stuff on amazon, ebay and craigslist. Also I am thinking really hard about a new fund raiser. I will keep you guys posted on that, it should prove to be mighty embarrasing for me.

Moving forward:

This week I have a lot planned. I am going to finish the main character design, as well as the script. I will rough out my schedule for the next 55 days. Sell as much junk as I can to survive. Get closer to having all of my designs in-hand. And spend some time building on some of the characters I have the designs for.

Work - Hiatus Day 1

2009-08-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

This has been rolling around my head for a while now.

Do I learn and gain more experience by working for other people on other shows or by working for myself? In other words, is it better for my career to work for myself or to work for someone else?

That question has been on my mind more and more lately. I have been treated well in this biz since I got here last June, but it has become harder and harder to give 110% to another person or to a show, when I just don't see myself coming out very far ahead each time. I have seen a few times already that a person or group really starts to take off when they start to sell themselves rather than take it one job at a time.

Yesterday I made the decision to take a 60 day hiatus. With support from my family, amazing gf, and kind friends, I believe this is the best way to find the answer to my question. If after 60 days I haven't learned much or gained much, then I believe that I will be able to go back into the working force and give it another year or two of learning from others. As some of you know, I work far better with hard and fast rules to keep me in line. Take a look-

Wake at 9am
Start work at 10am
Enjoy a moderate lunch break (1hr or less)
Stop working at 7pm
Work no fewer than 5 days a week, and no more than 6

Acceptable work activities
Writing
Drawing
Building
Chores
Selling things
Business stuff (self promotion, calls, research, etc.)

Unacceptable work activities
Facebook
AIM
Playing games (KoL, Mafia Wars, etc.)
Reading
Watching Movies/TV

I will do my best to post everyday or second day. I want to share what I am going through and have the insight of how long things took, and how my momentum is holding up. Also I will post as many images and animation tests as I can.

I am very nervous, also a bit scared. But I can feel that this is the right time. I also believe that one never wins much if they dont bet high, and that anything worth doing is worth doing right.

-Trav

Work - Chronicles of Stig Z

2009-07-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

This week on Chronicles of Stig:

Worked on he Trash-bot some more. I was very close to finishing him, and moving onto the painting stage, and then his arm fell apart in my hands. Currently the problem is glue and weight. He is made of a lot of smooth plastic and his body is hollow, so I need to be able to glue all sorts of materials together, and some situations require glue to dry even when its cant be exposed to air. I am worried about hot glue, and what the temp. may due to thin plastic. Dang. Then weight. How do you make a character that has only one extremity (so no balance) and the extremity has to be 1.5 times the width of the body? I am considering making all of the creatures from now on solid, so that they have a decent mass of their own to start with. Trial and Error friends, there is no other way for me to figure this out.

I am a bad writer in that I procrastinate a bunch and try to tell myself "I Need" tons of silly little details to clear my head. Quiet, or loud techno. A clean workshop. idk, its silly really. Anyway, I got myself a huge coke, I am a recovering soda addict so that really means something, and went to the library. I actually got some decent writing in, a 2nd draft of the pilot is almost done. Its still in short story form, my comfort zone, but it has a lot of the elements that a script needs as well. I want to have the script done in a few days but with work starting up again, who knows.

I have still been diligently collecting junk and scraps when I see them. Since last August I have been squirrel-ing away toys and junk and anything really, in the hopes that I will someday need the parts or scraps for this stop motion endeavour. I hope that it wasn't all in vain, and I really hope that the toys I have been buying at yard-sales actually prove useful. Time will tell.

CoS Forecast.
I hope this next week yields a finished CoS Pilot script, as well as a finished Trash Bot. I also have hopes that I can make contact with a few of my very gifted friends and start requesting some characters sketches, landscapes, and a custom song or 2.

Work - Chronicles of Stig Z

2009-07-10T23:58:00.000-07:00

I have been working on and off this week on Stig stuff. After a great weekend back in Santa Maria for the fourth it was kinda hard to start up again, but with some pushing from Drea I got my ass in gear. I'm very happy with how productive this week has been, and if I can regularly have days like today, I may actually finish this project!

Summary of events:

Did a lot more organizing in my workshop. I even went as far as sorting my screws and nails by size and type! I promise that there is a need, especially when working on such a small scale like I have been. Although it may just be OCD taking momentary control.

I had a pow-wow with Drea that proved very fruitful. She helped me pick the pieces out that would be come Trash Bot, a Josh Muller original.

I realized I needed more plastic so Cody Campbell and I went out on a 4 hour expedition to find one thing, small plastic capsules that toys come in for .50 cents. Turns out that is a hard thing to find in LA. Strange, especially when I remember those machines everywhere in my youth.

Friday(today) I finally got down to it and started building the figure. Just a few words on what the figure needs to do/be. Smaller then 8 inches usually, poseable, made from found parts, and matching a detailed sketch as much as possible. Slightly challenging, especially coming from such a novice like me. After 6 hours of off and on work I have most of a figure done. He's really cool, has the poseability I need, and he's kinda cute! Ill post picks when hes finished and then again when hes painted, which I will need tons of help with.

Week Summary:
Worked on stig for 5 days, even if it wasn't much some days. One really good day of work. Hopefully I got enough pleasure out of building the figure that I will be more productive in coming weeks.

Work - Chronicles of Stig Z

2009-07-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a stop-motion project for a while now. In order to just post progress, I believe I need to catch everyone up on what I have been doing to date. This may be a longish post, please bear with me.

Chronicles of Stig Z. has been consuming my mind since early August 2008. Drea and I had just come back from Comic Con 2009 in San Diego and I could stop thinking about making something sort of project with toys.
I started to think of what kind of project I would like to make. It was really apparent right away that it needed certain elements. Robots, Non-Linear Plot, Big Open Spaces, Future Past Elements, and Post-Apocalypse Elements were some of the first things that I knew I was going to be using.
I started to collect any junk I thought might be useful in building a stop motion world. Anything Wood, Metal or PLASTIC that was the size of a tire or smaller could be used and was promptly picked up from wherever I saw it. I also began collecting toys and dolls and anything else that looked cool. That has been going for almost a year now. I have so much junk in my office at home that it barely fits. There has to be more than 30 crates of stuff, and there is even more in the garage.
Last summer I started having brain storming meetings for CoS. Drea, our current roommates, some of her cousins, and our friends would get in a circle and talk about ideas. It was really good to help me figure out where I was going to be taking this story. A few of us even started doing some sketches and writing on our own, so that we could read it during the next meeting. That went strong until I started working for EQAL Inc. in October 08. We decided to take a break for the last part of the year. I didn't start think about plot and characters again until March 09.
I also started to look for stop motion examples on youtube and other sites. There is a lot of learning that comes from just watching another person animate, and I now have a playlist of over 60 clips on youtube.

It is now July and I have been really focused since April. I have been researching as much as I can. I have been writing and almost have the pilot finished. Cody Campbell and I have done a few animation tests that were very informative. Josh Muller has designed me over a half-dozen characters and I have begun building some. Lowell Whitmeyer has designed some awesome stuff for me to use in the series. I have also started an account with Indiegogo.com and I hope that when I have some animations finished I can raise a portion of the costs to make the series.

I had a pretty aggressive plan to have something done to show one of my favorite artists, Doug TenNapel, at Comic Con 09, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards. I am still very positive and looking forward to making this project as soon and as well as I can. It can be challenging living in Los Angeles and making something on the side, while you have a regular job, gf, roomies, and a whole set of other distractions. I wont lose hope though. I will make films, and they will be profitable someday, at least enough to pay rent and bills. Truth is I hope to make films until the day I die, and I hope to live as long as my grandpa has, hes over 75 now.

Sorry for the longish post, but I had a bunch to catch you up on.

Intro to the blog

2009-07-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hey friends.

My goal with this blog is to post about the progress of my current film, animation, or stop motion projects. I hope to post once or twice a week while I am in any of the production phases, be it pre-production, production, post-production or dispersal.

I hope this is worth reading to some people, and I imagine it will be for friends, family, and anyone who has helped support my projects. To be honest though, I think I get the most out of blogging this. It will help me look back on how far I have come, which is an especially helpful tool when my dedication is faltering or I don't know how to progress further.