Before we get into all that, just did some production art for Brighthands Studio. Tristan doing things big as need be. And I think it is that time of the year where I give the industry an illuminated pimp slap with some new endeavours. Good luck to you all and remember me when you get large. Reason I am not posting what I did up here is because its top secret because who is potentially involved.... thats all I will say.
Now, Spirit of '76.... not '67. Of course the American Revolutionary War was a great struggle for America to seperate themselves from the British. but Social change never took more prominence than in the 60's and 70's. This little book I did some years ago is testament to that. As I said before it used the word as central to the design. Have a look and tell me what you think... all you voyeurs. Ill be posting 2 -3 pages over the week.
Over the next couple weeks Ill be putting up some pages from two books Ive put together during my university days. One was called "Spirit of 76" which placed a carnivalesque interpretation of civil rights history, using the word in a unique interpretive way. Also wrote an anthology, poetry when I had at least 1 creative bone in my body entitled 'Harbinger'.
Also remember those stills for that animation title sequence I promised to show you all well here they go...
This is a preliminary image, ended up going for a a more John Bass look, more graphic, overlayed with a paint texture, better type.
The newer version is abit cooler
Sum up,
Why didn't you tell me you wanted the export to be 1920* 1080 when all the clips you sent as references were in 1440*1080?
Football Fever is here! Awesome. Really. Inflated spherical leather being kicked around. on grass. for 90 minutes. But ive kind of got a bit caught up in the mix... the ideological standpoint. Not a big fan of the games, but the concept of going against another country, branded by the colors of ones own flag, facing adversary...it's kind of like traditional war. It's no wonder England think they are good. Any match here- the chants, epithets etc. Triumph des Willens. England played USA...a sad case indeed... they were given a run for their money from a country that doesnt even call football football. And, like every world cup since they won that one star, the English go through certain stages of being. First, everyone's beefed up. 'C'mon England' from slurred, jagged toothed lips, the only time patriotism shines here is when there is confrontation. Flags are branded everywhere where they shouldnt be or the flag itself is branded. Oh the england flag... with the Sun written on it. Another flag... with Gillette. Oh so your flag barely covers you pubes. great stuff.
2nd phase- they all get behind one person. not the Team. It is one person that all their hopes and dreams are cradled in. Too many eggs in one basket. And the basket has a gaping hole. Rooney has been that in recent times. And before him, the Metrosexual. You know who I'm talking.
3rd Phase- The games begin and they arguably always seem to start off in an easy set, which they barely conquer or they get through on some technicality. Dumb luck? Underhanded dealings? No one knows. And I dont really care, because then comes phase 4...
Phase 4- True colors. The Pride becomes white hot, spewing hot. And quintessentially they have reached the quarter finals...maybe the semi finals...big MAYBE. And they lose.
Phase 5- Scapegoating. The team lost. that hope they put on the back of their golden balls or (laughably) the 'White Pele' falls terribly short. Some one has to be blamed. Against Argentina, Beckham was blamed. He received death threats and harrassed for his little kick. Then it was the coach following that. Who or what will it be this year? The black dude that broke the other black dudes leg? Commentators have already started pushing blame for the teams poor gaming towards the coach. The pumpumani ball? The problem child's comments at being booed? Who knows. But it will be interesting and unsuprising to see it come out in the end. Or maybe England will prove me wrong... maybe theyll start playing like a team.
A lot of interesting (albeit, irritating) things happened this week. Work tempo has escalated a bit but still trying to keep loyal to the blood oath I made when I started blogging.
But I think the one unifying theme, that can collectively describe all the weeks events is Courtesy. Professional Courtesy. PC. Not to be confused with Political Correctness. Political Correctness is something you regurgitate when societal cues warrant it. Professional Courtesy goes deeper than that and involve rewiring the way you think and act towards others in business. The tacit just got clearer.
I'm not sure if I am just a stubborn a$$hole that forgets that capitalism is really a numbers game. For all you working class people and entrepeneurs that voted Cameron, I currently have stockpiled an array of weapons you can use to commit suicide with. But given the circumstances you may not be able to afford it. So I am doing society a huge favour and Ill give 'em to you for free.
But we digress.
Matter at hand, professional courtesy. I'll break it down in bulletproof points, and these tips are far from hollow. Shell we proceed, indeed (bit of a stretch):
ETTIQUETTE -please, thank you, simple primary school stuff. But some people have the brainspan of a gold fish swimming in Russian vodka. Example: dude comes to me some months ago asking to design a DVD cover for his pitch. No pay of course. And I had to make a hell of a lot of changes. No "please could you..." Just "I need you to do this ASAP" or "You sent the wrong file, send it through again". Matter of fact I'm still waiting for a copy of their supposed pilot.
COMMUNICATION- thanks to innovation in technology, we have ways of communicating to each other...phones, email, social sites, SMS, slap on the head. Endless. So if someone is putting work for you, keep em in the loop. This week I got a call from a dude who I agreed to do boards for. So what's the problem? I agreed to do it late Spring 2009.
Met him back then, talked, and it was agreed the story art process would start in the following week. He disappeared for a couple months then popped up back out of the blue, demanded more than asked me to meet him so we could do the storyboards, even though he did not respond to my email i sent after our meeting. Stupid me, I entertained him, and he wanted me to sketch every single panel and show him in the meeting, so when a meeting with a director would usually entail going through a hefty feature film script in an hour, we hardly finished going through scene 1 of a short film in the same time. He had no clue of what he wanted. I made sketches, which he said was all wrong. So i would sketch some more trying to put his acid-thoughts on paper. And when i finally sketched something that he agreed with, all you had to do was compare the sketch with the first sketch i rendered- same, identical. "Oh yeah yeah, that's what I want". Plus the dude took more skittles than I was giving him by knocking the bag. Skittles from Miami dude!
So I left that meeting frustrated and sent him a hefty email, along the lines of "you need to be sure of what you want to see, be precise of camera distances you want [how can you mix up a WS with a LS or a CU with MS] etc." I attached pencil sketches of the frames we discussed, and said if you want the rest done, you have to come and see me. I sent that email September 2009. I had no response. not one. until the beginning of this week- June 2010. Funny thing is he was responding to my email as if we last talked 1 day ago. He wanted me on the project. He said he is available to meet Tuesday, Wednesday. He didnt ask me when and if I was available to meet. No offer, no compensation for time wasted. Nothing. I dont respond fast enough so he calls. And has the nerve to say that the offer to work on the boards would be 'an experience'. Let's face it shrimp, if making story art was like sex, Id get more satisfaction from doing it myself than collaborating on your project- No homo. Told him to kick rocks. I really did keep my composure.
INSULTS and THREATS- I never respond kindly to them. A tutor in university said in my last year that if i didnt come in for an unimportant assessment, that my grades would suffer-"I promise you that". Another tutor, in my first year said he was 'really suprised' that I got the highest mark in the class, and that I should participate more in class instead of "talking to your bro". You know, the only other black guy in the class. It was the hand and body gestures that got me. Hm another instance, working on the set of Fantastic Mr Fox, the Head of Production, or at least I think she was ( not with those hooker boots) sent me home prematurely and made no fun to flaunt in my face that my hail mary chance of 'making it' in the company was unequivocally snuffed out and I was just 'wrong'. And on the marvellous Facebook I've seen 'bosses' refer to people that have helped to give 'em shine as 'freakin' mouses', and personify himself as 'the trap'. The cheese was payment of services etc. Really clever stuff. Also been called a "black [immigrant] drugdealler by RIZ MC, in jest of course. So, please dear friends, keep your sh*t to yourselves people, I have the tendency to show my bad side to people who speak loosely.
KEEPING PROMISES- "a comfort to a fool". If your folly is being a man of your word. Be careful of promises made by bosses, 'Specially if your working for crumbs. A man is only as good as his word. A director is only as good as his team. Anyone who is dishonest in business is dishonest in life. A few words to live by, friend and remember, if this was a different life, your broken promises could never be mended by cacophonic pleas.
Sum up,
I have a sudden urge to watch Goodfellas...anybody know why?
Kinda putting in overtime, so not much time to spend online. Despite the respite, from blogging that enlight(ens), i will post images for you to see, so hold back grimaces.
This is the Red Man. Called so for many reasons. The English hate 'gingers' it seems. So who better to bring about the demise of the pork men? I had another still... a crown falling into the abyss, but silly me, the file got corrupted.
Currently working on animation titles i know i promised to show today, but yesterday...ah f*** it, I am tired. Gtg people.
Sum, Loving my internal rhyme display. Pay Homage hommes.
Dude, Its Sunday and currently weighing the stress of the coming week. Few things happening, not sure in what order. Had an interview postponed (yet again but nothing surprises me). So Red Man is well on its way, I have a still for here but forgot to transfer it to my Laptop (tomorrow promise.)
Thought Id share something with the film graduates; Diva Films (Diversity in Visual Arts) has a Graduate Fellowship programme, so if you like such films as Dance 3D and Kidulthood, get a placement with them. Of course I could go into the fact that you are a retard for loving the aforementioned films, but we digress. I'm applying tomorrow, and see what happens The due date is the 18th I think so you dont have much time.
http://www.divafilms.co.uk/
Get it in! Currently making animation title sequence for a music video. Apparently it has a band, a guy in a straight jacket, a broke back mountain cowboy, a lime green Muscle Car and all set agains an industrial wasteland. ah Dirtbag work. Neo western graphics. John Bass is my hero. So you will get two stills tomorrow.
Sum up, Image reasearch, brainstorming, drinking Whey Protein, secretly plotting your demise and listening to:
"I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none"
Always was a fan of the play Macbeth (even if it is a 'Shakespearian' play). So an idea for making a short animation has been churning in my head for over a year now. So (on and off) iive been putting together storyboards and animatics, reworking the idea twice (serves me right for not meshing out a script first). What got me about Macbeth when I came across it in my studies in Ja. it wasnt like the others..it was the first 'tragedy' I came across, and when you surpass the language barrier, it becomes a gruesome tale of ambition and the callous pursuit of greatness. Yes, I am a Scarface fan.
Red Man, the title of the animation I'm doing really came about after watching a documentary of Scotland and reading about the true King Macbeth. What became apparent was:
Scotland has always been a country that has desparately tried to ferment their independence from foreign king and rule, battling corruption from tyrannous home bred kings and traitors to France and England.
King Macbeth, by all appearances was an ok king. No witches, no scandals. None.
So obviously Shakespearian Macbeth is just English propaganda, xenophobia and Anglophilia all molded into one.
So my film will be a twist on the Shakespearian play, but remaining within the play's paradigm. It focuses on Macbeth's last hours and gives an alternative interpretation of why he committed regicide and took the throne. Patriotic, crimson defiance all around.
Plus I always believed Macbeth's greatest flaw was never being overly-ambitious, but being superstitious. I got through fully animating two scenes and it looks cool. I'll get some screen shots up here soon.
Sum up, Words to live by: "There 's daggers in men's smiles".
In order to thrive, albeit survive in the turmoil of Britain's "creative" landscape, you have to decide who you will emulate and surround yourself with. There are generally 2 types of people, in any creative industry, whether it is music, film or art: The Creatives and the Gatekeepers.
The Creatives are holders of great phantasms, weavers of whims. We take something, ordinary or blande, and make it tremendous, a monolith amongst the drab and bore. Their lives become testaments to their craft. It was an Egyptian philosophy (and im transcribing here)that said the first thing a man must realise is that he will never truly master his craft, but his aiming to do so, even though he knows it is never truly going to happen, is the mantra of the Creative. Nihilistic yet triumphant all in the same breath.
The Gatekeepers are a whole other beast. They usually have high positions in your industry, an industry they have little or no knowledge of or attachment to. Sycophantics and socialites by nature, they usually have access to sh*t loads of money. Profligate and insidious. Money gives them power, and through their small minds they determine what gets made and which projects get overturned.
So essentially the Gatekeeper is really a wall of mortar and ignorance, creating a barrier between the Creative and his or her artistic expression.
But there are hybrids that come from these two influences. There is the Quasi-types, that blend the best of both, and usually have a strong creative background.And there are the Pseudo- Creatives (Creatives who arent really creative) and Pseudo-Gatekeepers (even more pretentious, the ones that play the part, but arent good either at art or handling money). I would call names... but the list would be too long for this blog and they arent worth the sweat under my ball sac. Want to see an example of this dynamic? Read this article.
Saturday was a real pain in the ass. DIY. Bed. upstairs, downstairs. desemble, reassemble. Lifting. Bending, hunger pains, shish, Allens head, philips head, screw this, screw that, screw you. Facebook, subliminal sparring with a mental midget, taking hours to assemble one chair (instructions and illustrations were utter rubbish. But its done. :) and I'm resting.
One more day to vote for the paypal ad i did, or at least go view it:
Bout to get sum dinner boy. I'm also happy cause even in the confusion I helped erect a bed, dining table and just about finished my sisters site ( just a bit more coding etc needed, nothing major).
Ignore the margins...theyre just for structuring.
A few promising meeting this week and next. One- storyboarding, two- editing. Ill let you know.
Oh Remi got that Sweet short filmed...he says it's 90% shot. I say that's 100% awesome. Cant wait to see post production.
What's up...hell yeah, it's all good, taking in this sun. F*ck yeah. Yesterday was cool, went got some food, rice and peas, jerk chicken... Fu gave some leasons on that HTML, CSS sh*t... yeah, finally getting the hang of it,,, seeing the logic behind all that code. "Whoa, I know kung-fu". Revelational stuff. Currently doing a shit course...CIW Web design... a panic course I started in the midst of the credit crunch climate (consonance number 3). But at the very least, when I need to promote a film, Ill be able to build something functional meng. Provided I finish the goddamn thing. Started 2009... havent fully jumped the 2nd hurdle...there are 4 main hurdles. But it will be done...just had to pay some bills, make that guap, dineros, wonga (what a stupid slang), paper, stacks. Breakfast/lunch time and i'm hungry. Anyone buying? Currently designing my sister's site...top a top chef, Managing director of her own culinary/cake decorating business...ill give y'all the link when it is done. Any way, did the Sweet boards in the nick of time. Ill show you first one I did., yeah, here ya go:
Gone to do some work, Peace out and love life baby. Im here to save the world, so hold on.
Mellowed out, and understands why the Egyptians gave their allegiance to the sun god Ra.
Working on the Sweet script with my boy Remi. He's directing it, I'm doing the story art. will have something to show ya by friday. It's a nice little short, with potential for some film festival prizes, so we'll see.
I told you all I'd be dishing out advice. In a business where being screwed royally is as naturally occuring as cave formations, you kind of need to protect yourself. If you are as trusting as I am, you tend to want to trust the maniacal utterances of a dirtbag Managing Director or "Creative" Director. Don't. Get some one paper, and signed, no matter how small the job is. This is to make sure you are iron clad, whatever the outcome.Emails- detailing parameters for a job...you think that would be enough, but electronic data can be more easily altered...therefore there is deniability. A signed contract less so. Due date, amount to be paid, what needs to be done, all should be addressed.
Dont get me wrong there are some honest bosses out there, that stand by their word and pay up what they owe. I love those few, and they get my best work. Whatever you do, always do your best, and if you see a company acting shifty, divorce them. To tell you the truth I don't always follow my rules...stubborn yes. I'm in contention at the moment with one particular company. Well they were a company. Latest victim of the Credit crunch? No...more like poor financial handling. They either give me the ring-around or dont respond to emails. Meh. As much as you get screwed however, you remember, the work is yours. Sign everything you put out.... one that is visible, the other embeded somehow and made a part of the design in the image (if possible). Thats what I do with my story art, illustrations and film. Get it. Good.
Sum up, Never put a company's needs above your own. You can tell alot about a man by how he runs his business. And if your boss is a righteous asshole, you, unlike other employees, have the privilege of severing all ties.
Thought I'd some reminiscing this week. It's bleak and cloudy outside, as is expected from British weather. I mean , c'mon, it's summer. What you call this?! Poor. But I guess its perfect conditions to get lost in the head.
Recently did 2 music videos at the beginning of the year/last year for indepedent artist Candy Rose...she's been making some remarkable headway and I wish her Buddha's blessing.
Indeed she's managed to create a whole new platform for my work, and kinda made me realised that im not terribly limited by my skills: graphic design, storyboard, directing, animator,package design, editor... I pretty much can go toe- to-toe with anything. You think I'd be content with that, but can't help feel like I'm a Jack-of-all-trades. But i guess if you look at all those titles, one thing sews them all together: whether you want to call it art, aethetics, illuminated third eye,quasar-tapping - it allows me to express creativity in numerous platforms, yet always humbling me when I see someone else's work that is phenomenal.
I did the main design for her album cover, singles cover and remix cover, she was content so I guess that made me content. Used mixed styles, photo texturing, painting, illustration, CGI. Have a look:
The first music vid I did was for single You Are everything, done in the style of motion comic, (you know like watchmen). Result: about two months in, tired of seeing paper, ink pen ( which i cutely dubbed animator fatigue. Plus I had to balance my work on another music vid. But at the end I managed to get it all done:
The second vid I did, was a bit easier cause I properly gauged what had to be done, The motion style may use simple animation, but it is design and illustration heavy...that's what eats up the time. End result: I think given the time, it was ok:
Sum up, God, I do try to keep busy, but how can I when this keeps distracting me
The last proof I saw was hella wierd. "Take your index finger and thumb, wrap it around the base of your tail, and stroke up to the tip of you tale" Oh, babies. Hella gay!
