No More No More Villains

It has been far too long since I last updated this blog. As you all may have guessed, there really has been no progress on the movie. What started out as a collection of ideas, dreams and hopes, has really become just that. I realize now that the only time I can really work on the movie is when I’m back at home for summer break. I cannot begin to claim that school work is the real factor for the lack of progress; the fault entirely resides in me. Whether it is being lazy, and making up excuses for why I am not able to get any scenes shot, I accept full responsibility for what appears to be a now indefinitely halted production.

As much as I would like to finish just one episode, I have hit a wall in my life. The suffocating environment I currently live in has pushed me into a rut. I realize that the only time I get filming done is when my source of inspiration and positive encouragement is by my side. It is for this reason that almost all of the progress I have ever made for this film only occurred during the summer

For the longest time I have always thought this film would be my crowning achievement. I wanted to show the world just how much I have learned throughout the years and to make something I can be proud of. When I look back at films I’ve made in the past, I see so many flaws and things I could have improved. But I don’t forget about the great memories I have shared with others during the process. However, I was always embarrassed to share my previous works as I felt I have technically improved so much over the years. I wanted to let them know I could achieve so much more. The saddest part of all this is I never had anything to show for it, just empty words.

I initially had the mindset that this would be my most personal film—that I was making this to test my limits and to see how well I could translate my ideas into a real and tangible movie. But now I have come to realize that this film wasn’t about me. As insane and eccentric the story was, the plot and meaning was never the point of this project—likewise with all the special effects shots that were inserted just so I could show off what I could do in After Effects. What started out as a pet project spiraled into something much more—a gift.

This film was supposed to be a gift for my greatest friend. She gave me all the positive encouragement I needed to keep moving forward. She always stood by my side and fully supported me through all the times where I thought I could not do my film justice. All this time, I was too scared to film anything because I was too caught up in trying to make everything perfect. I realize now that I wasn’t trying to impress myself, but I was trying to impress her. The ironic part of all this is that I know she would have been proud of anything I made regardless.

I still struggle with the fact that I may never have the chance to work with her again. The future of this production is uncertain. I may eventually release the incomplete scenes that have already been shot and edited. I still have hope for this project though. One day my pillar of support may return so I can finish what I started; and so I can show her my appreciation for everything she has done for me. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and maintained interest in this production. But for now, No More Villains is no more.

The Orange II

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but progress is still moving along! Albeit slowly, as once again I have hit a rut in this film’s ever prolonged production. This time it’s related to the difficulty in procuring a key necessary location for a certain scene that simply cannot be changed due to its overall importance and impact on the deeper themes found in the story. And yes, although the movie may seem like a loud and insane action flick on the surface, there is actually a much more sophisticated deeper meaning. At least, those are my intentions for the viewer. Whether they see otherwise is a different story.

As with the nature of how little and late I update this blog, I don’t exactly have an accurate time frame to reference when I decide to talk about things I have already completed. Today I will share my experiences creating the hardest prop I ever built. A non-functioning, transforming bastard sword with a 4ft blade akin to those found in many video games. It was definitely the most complicated prop I’ve made due to the physics of the design. The largest problem was figuring out how to make a strong enough handle to support the heft of the large blade. Well I’m not going to give any secrets that will spoil the illusion, but the end result came out nicer than I had hoped. I can credit that with the nice paint job it received.

Seems like in the end, I’m still a “do it in post!” kind of guy. As I had a much easier time animating the transformation than I did with actually building the physical sword. Like all videos and pictures I post here, everything is still a work in progress and the final version may look different from the test video I posted. Everything will hopefully look more realistic once this transformation is mixed in with the live-action footage and correctly motion tracked and lit.

Click for the HD version

Prop Making

Progress! I have finally found the time to work on the props for the movie! This was my first time dealing with spray paint so I was quite surprised to find out that the lids don't just pop off the can. Apparently you have to cut it open, which is quite nerve wracking since it's another reason to accidently slice up your hand, but enough about that. After the Beam Katana's dried, I used a dry brush method I found on youtube to add the finishing touches. Needless to say, I think the final product looks pretty awesome and definitely doesn't look like a cheap $6 piece of plastic I found at a rundown KB Toys.

Here's the first of many behind the scenes webisodes I'll be posting, hope you enjoy it!

No Name: Behind the Scenes Episode 01

Pre-production Woes

Sorry for the long hiatus, I've been really busy with school and haven't had the time to post any progress reports. For the past few weeks I have been working on test footage for the effects heavy sequences and have pretty much figured out the ways to go about constructing each shot. There are a few CG segments that I'm particularly proud of and cannot wait to implement into the actual movie.

Unfortunately, one key prop has prevented me from kicking off the filming process. I'm currently trying to figure out the best way to build and paint the thing but alas I have no real experience with detailing. I'm hoping to get this pre-production stuff over with so I can hurry up and film the movie before it becomes yet another one of my ideas that never makes it past a mere scribble on my notebook. But hey, at least this time I've bothered to make a blog dedicated to the idea from my over-active imagination. Who knows, maybe this one will actually come to fruition.

Summer Movie

As some of you may already know, I am currently in the works of a summer movie project. In this blog, I shall document the process and steps I'm taking to "git 'er done". The film's pre-production title is currently No Name and I'll touch upon the name in a future entry. I am aiming to make this a hyper-stylized flick with tons of action sequences that should hopefully impress and exceed people's expectations for a no budget film. I'm currently shooting for a 30 minute runtime and an end of summer release. This is definitely my most ambitious film to date, and I hope you'll be brimming with anticipation to watch the specatcle of it's creation unfold right here on this blog. So stick around, and enter the world of: