final piece

i won't bore with details, but here is the final piece, expect to see the prep. work over the weekend.

see you all tomorrow

tree models

Now these are actually modelled in Zbrush, as with my limited knowledge of maya, my trees would have turned out looking rubbish.

originally i looked at a tutorial on how to model these, i took a few pieces from that, and made these.

they obviously aren't textured yet, as i'm going to leave that until the scene is fully set. much like the treasure chest scene. as you can see, even when rendering them as bmp. files, they came out crap with parts missing. hopefully my upgrade will be here soon.

and yes, the finished concept piece is done, although i noticed a massive flaw which i'm changing now.

EDIT: I lowered the sub-divisions so these would render faster, and now the option to raise them is transparent (not available) any help on this? i know that obj. does not carry subdiv. info but they were ztl. originally

Product/era research

This research was actually done weeks ago, but i am only putting it up now.

the poem was first released in 1845, therefore having my scene with a block of flats in the background (one extreme) or the house being the wrong shape/look for that area and period, is going to make my piece look weak.

the tree's usually found in this part of America at this time of year, and this period in time were most commonly oak trees. tall strong trees, which were made bare at the very start of an autumn season, therefore, the tree i want to put in my piece (or trees) are going to be large trunked, pale brown, leafless trees like such.

very branchy, again, thick, distorted trunks with a pale grey like brown and flat smooth texture.

as for the houses, in this part of America, a so called student would have been staying in a basic, yet large house, usually wooden and symmetrical. they would be neutral colours e.g. white or wood natural colour.

although this is a more spruced up version, it was the clearest picture i could get of a house this style. notice the slats of wood running along and the symmetry in the windows and door. again, notice the bare trees running along house, this was common as trees were considered highly decorative in this time.

Now as my image is likely to be a close up from outside to inside, the detail on the window is going to be very important. as you can see on this house, the windows are very large, yet broken up into symmetrical sections and are usually opened by lifting from the bottom.

this is one of the clearest shots i could get of such mentioned window panes. obviously, all these above images are just to guide me in getting an accurate reference, as i remember Phil commenting particularly on peoples lack of referencing when it comes time to draw something.

anyway, next up, concept drawing of said piece.

Hello again

It's been a very very hectic season for me, work abroad and at home plus an overseas competition this year so you will understand the sudden lapse in my blogging. anyway folks, hope all is well with everyone, and i shall be reporting with my ''seasonal'' work first thing in the morning. as for now, i think sleep is in order

Unit 3 Interim feeback

It's probably going to be quite difficult for me to get much feedback, as i'm aware, in terms of visuals there isn't much up, although i will be posting my concept art tomorrow evening.

I have my idea for my essay, and my tableaux vivant thumbs are there albeit a bit blurry.

i do have a goal in my head, and i know what i want to achieve from this unit, so any feedback, any ''kick up the ass'' motivational remarks are welcome Phil, although i am heading in a good direction and have been for a good amount of time now, only a a couple of weeks until i reach my destination!

The Thing REEEEMIIIIXXXXX!!!!

ok so because of the Halloween remix earlier, i decided to do a crazy dubstep remix of John Carpenters 'the thing'.

its not finished and i know i should have been doing my concept art, but in a way, this is demonstrating to you all that i am capable of sound design etc.

all sounds and drum samples are created by myself. all movie pieces are obviously not mine.

i hope some of you enjoy, and feel free to tell me what to add or take out



ps. the picture is a picture my brother drew which i just think is funny as hell.

Halloween

I think it is possible, John Carpenter is one of the most talented men the film industry has ever seen. His Hitchcock style of control never ceases to amaze me, and as i said earlier today, other than John Williams' Star Wars soundtrack, it is one of my all time favourites and just screams horror whenever you hear it.
It does upset me to see that some of Carpenters more recent releases, such as 'ghosts of mars' are terrible films at best, but i guess you can't stay on top forever right? The man is a legend, The Thing is one of my favourite movies of all time and to be allowed to watch Halloween in the warm lecture theatre, lights out while it's all cold outside, filled me with that joy we used to get at school, you know, when it was the Christmas holiday week and your maths teacher says
''OK class today we're making Xmas cards!''

Anyway, before i ramble on any more, as Phil said, there isn't much of the uncanny in this film because it is what it is. despite this there are the obvious moments of ''is he there? am i imagining this?'' which to some degree makes the movie.

over the years I've had hundreds upon hundreds of thoughts about this movie, and now that my opinions are of significance, i have sweet FA to say about it.
Nick castle is an abomination of an actor, however, in this movie, no lines and intentional wooden walking make him seem like a god. Kane Hodder, the man behind the hockey mask of Jason Voorhees says on DVD commentary (Friday the 13Th 7: the new blood) that he was inspired by Castles emotionless as a killer and even eliminated grunts from scripts, in other words, Jason is totally and utterly silent no matter what.

Let's go back to the soundtrack (this isn't the most linear review i must say) I'm utterly in love with this composition. Music plays a big part in my life, my brother and I could both read music before words, so therefore you'll understand why i care so much about it. The 10/8 time signature gives it that creepy offbeat syncopation, while the clashing minor chords sit at the back of your fillings on some notes, until the melody comes together at one point. Amazing stuff!
An overseas colleague of mine, composed a contemporary remake of the Halloween theme and in my opinion is the best remake I've heard on the Internet.





The soundtrack, it's done, let's move away from that now Elliot. Unfortunately, there a number of sequels to Halloween, and even more unfortunate is happen to own all of them - with the exception of anything Rob Zombie touched. That man is a fucking dick. sorry, but he ruins everything he touches. If anyone here was unfortunate enough to have seen house of a thousand corpses, then you'll know what i mean. the mans music is terrible, and every movie I've ever seen of his, is just an excuse for gratuitous amounts of sex and violence, and the prat puts his wife in everything he makes. What a pretentious bone head. Let's not even go there.
this rant makes ME want to do a video review too - spoiler alert <

the movie is a genre defining trail blazer. If you haven't seen it, you've at least heard of it, if you haven't heard of it, then you're going to have seen the mask somewhere. countless spoofs, video games and conventions for this film show just how big of a deal it should be. i was shocked to hear some of my fellow classmates say it was their first time seeing it, yet they're all too happy to talk to me about the
Saw franchise (something i have never and will never watch).

I could go on for days about the Halloween franchise, It was a masterpiece, and then one day i saw Bustah Rhymes doing KungFu kicks to Michael Myers, and the magic died.

Long live Slasher movies!