Nov 8, 2009

Work in progress. My thesis.  New music is being composed as we speak, and new pictures are being birthed!

At a minimum, I’m animating 30 seconds a night, but I’m reaching for 60 seconds.  For a roughly 10 – 11 minute show – I’ll be done before the end of the month.  I’ve heard this is ambitious.  Well…it is!  But deadlines loom large and creativity apparently can be rushed!

I’m so pleased with what I wrote on my “Current Work” page that I’ll quote it here:

I’m making an animated documentary about Gustave Whitehead.   He was a flier, and was largely forgotten.  The reason why this is interesting is because he made a controlled, powered flight in a heavier-than-air vehicle two years before the Wright Brother’s flew!  So, I’m making an animated documentary about him.  Perhaps this work will inspire other people to innovate and push the envelope of human discovery, knowing that even if they never achieve fame, even if they die penniless, it’s possible that someone might make an animated documentary about them.  Indeed, a chance at immortality.

Yep — I am indeed doing it!  I’ve made the bulk of the artwork, which is charcoal pencil on heavy watercolor paper, and I’ve got it into After Effects.  The voice track is done and I’m quite pleased with it!  An original score is also underway.  Exciting things!

Below are some low-res captures from my first renderings.  I’ll no doubt do some general color correction and maybe throw a vignette on it and whatever other finishing is needed.  Blah blah.  Here are some stills!

Since when do airplanes cast shadows on the sky? Since I adopted a puppet show aesthetic for my new documentary! That's when.

Gustave Whitehead exhorts his assistant to stoke the steam engine!

…And has been for a little while now. Recent episodes have covered a wide and interesting range of topics. We’ve tackled White House suppression of Climate Science under the Bush Administration, Dr Wigand – “The Insider” and tobacco whistleblower, and most recently, whistleblowers in DC’s own fire department.

It’s pretty interesting stuff. What it lacks in “reality tv” excess it makes up for in its encounter with real human lives and moral dilemmas. These are real people who have put their careers and reputations on the line to do what’s right. Very few people sign up to be a “hero”, but here are regular people who are heroes.

http://www.whistleblowertv.org/

This is a piece (at the time of this writing, the featured project video) that a colleague and I edited and finished with some graphics for the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center. This project came to me as part of Prof. Larry Engel’s course in advanced documentary production at American University.

Channel G is an interesting organization. In their own words:

Channel G produces short format documentaries, Project Presentations, for distribution on television, the internet, film festivals and other video outlets. Project Presentations showcase environmental, social, and health-related projects from local and international nonprofit organizations.

With Channel G, the American television and web surfing public is educated and informed while getting the opportunity to participate in the success of great projects. Channel G highlights the projects’ scientific and educational value, as well as the personal stories of the people involved.

You can watch the video here: http://www.channelg.tv/video.php?project_id=71

Advanced documentary production with Prof. Engel was a pretty tough course, but truly rewarding. I think I discovered that I really want to make documentary films more than any other film in that course, and he also taught me new ways of thinking so that I have half a chance of making good documentaries. Thanks, Larry!

Hello!

If you are blessed enough to have DISH Satellite TV, then you can watch a TV show that I’ve had a small part in. It’s called Whistle Where You Work, it’s been picked up by Free Speech TV, and it’s an interview/panel discussion show that tells the story of people who had the courage to do the right thing – to blow the whistle on wrong-doing and corruption – even though that integrity can come at a great cost. You can read more about it here at GAP’s website:

http://www.whistleblower.org/template/page.cfm?page_id=22

For my part, I did the intro graphics, an ad for GAP in the middle of the show, and I edit and do post-production for each show. It’s fun, but the heart and brains behind the show live over at GAP, and they are doing great work.

(above are the opening titles, with music donated to the show by Penmachine.)

I have some good news! My short animated documentary, Pac(hyderm) Attack! is one of the 2008 Official Selections at the Anchorage International Film Festival! This is some welcomed affirmation as I struggle with a fiction script I’m writing.

Please check out the festival here: http://www.anchoragefilmfestival.org

And my short film here:
http://kristianperry.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/its-nice-to-be-recognized/

To sample Flaherty’s documentary classic, Nanook of the North, try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_wS-Li-9eE

The judges have spoken, and our noble effort garnered us (The Knights of the B) the prize “Best Use of Character”. Sadly, they are not referring to our personal virtue, but to the use of the specific character, Scarlett Johnston. The top honors go to a film I’ve yet to see, called “Of Mares and Men“.

Cheers!
KP

I just stumbled upon an interesting site. If you are of a particular bent, this is the sort of place where you might lose many valuable work hours. It is the International Dialects of English Archive. It might be helpful to listen to this when trying to get a handle a new character! Also, nerds just like absorbing catalogs of stuff.

Enjoy: http://web.ku.edu/idea/

By the way…I make no claim that this is the best or a unique resource, so share if you’ve got something cooler!

I’m doing some work this summer for an excellent group called The Government Accountability Project (GAP). They are the people that help men and women of conscience blow the whistle on unethical corporate or governmental practices….which is something that requires courage.

They are producing a television show to air later this summer, and I’ve produced a short ad for them. It was partially shot by me, and was put together in After Effects and Soundtrack Pro. Enjoy!

I’ve just discovered that our short fable, “Scarlett Johnston’s Tales to Amaze and Delight”, won the Audience Favorite Award for screening group A. To refresh your memory, this is our (Knights of The B – led by Rob Benica) entry into the Baltimore 48 Hour Film Project.

The rest of the award should be announced in the coming weeks! So…. We wait.