Adventures in RED© and Beyond

Here it is! The trailer is done and director Elissa Rosati is shopping it in Cannes. MAKE ME RICH! Below is the poster designed by Ben Robinson and of course the trailer. ENJOY :)

Trailer Title: Y4 The Death Loop
Director: Elissa Rosati
Producer/Sound Designer: Ben Robinson
Assistant Director: Billy Lau
Director of Post Production: mrvix
Director of Photography: Ross Clarkson

Starring:
Man: Darren E. Scott
Harpy/Wife: Emilie Guillot
Doctor: Peter Jordan
Burly Man: Simon Yin
Burly Man: Eric Ng
Burly Man: Samuel Yau
Butoh: Tommy Tse
Butoh: Andrew Ng
Butoh: Jean Luc Bonefacino

Y4 is also being done in conjunction with Focus On Film which was assisting production with it's Apprentice Program, a program which allows the kids enrolled to assist and learn the ropes on a real film set. A special thanks to all of them for their excellent work and tireless efforts :)

The Y4 Post tattoo Production is almost at an end (thank god)! There are a few minor graphic titles to be created and inserted and Mr Ben Robinson is still working hard on the music score and audio. I just wanted to get in a quick semi-Y4 post production wrap up up on dah blog.

As far as a tech summary, the Y4 trailer was shot on the Panasonic HVX-200 using a MOVIEtube mount. The mount is in fact a angle shaped piece of circular metal housing a prism. This mount allows the use of 35mm lenses which results in a more filmic look. We shot recording onto the P2 card which is a solid state flash card. This allowed us to shoot at 720 25PN. That means at a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and at 25 frames a second. The "N" in "PN" stands for native which means that it's true progressive and not a in camera interlace to progressive conversion which happens in some cameras (most notably the pro-sumer models that claim to shot 1080 25P). So you might wonder why am I boring you with all these specs? Well, cuz I have issues with the equipment used. First, I just want to make it known that I am very impressed with what was done with the very very small budget for this production, and in no way am I criticizing any of the amazing and talented people that worked so hard on everything :) What I am doing is what us post production people do best, and that is to lay it out with our acute 20/20 hindsight ;)

So here is the breakdown:

Regarding the MOVIEtube, I caution people who are considering using it to understand it's limits and possible pitfalls. I say possible because I am not 100 percent sure the problem we faced is the same across all the models, but... the one we used had a serious serious issue regarding the exposure and color accuracy. Below are two frames that were shot, one with the MOVIEtube and one without. As most of the environments we were shooting were meant to look dark, with our limited lighting kits, we found that we were most always stopped all the way up (lens open all the way to allow the most amount of light). Having your lens open all the way is a sure way to increase the amount of noise that registers in the blacks and mid tones of your picture. The HVX-200 is not known for it's low light capabilities and with the MOVIEtube attached, it was adding insult to injury in the way that the noise in some of the darker shots was almost a show stopper. Also the MOVIEtube tended to mute out the colors as well as is very apparent in the example below. The before and after shots are have pretty much identical lighting, the only difference is that we threw some blue gels on the screen lights to bring out the blue as the bluescreen we were using was actually kinda purple.

   

My second bit of beef is with the whole HDV and DVCPRO HD codecs. They both use rectangular pixels instead of the square pixels that we see in all true HD spec cameras and also with the RED cameras. What that means is the actual picture size being shot is 960 x 720 at true square pixels and then the video gets stretched so that the square pixels get elongated across the horizontal plane thus stretching the width of the screen size from 960 to 1280 making it 1280 x 720 (which is the smaller of the two standard HD specs). This little bit of rectangular pixel magic is one of the reasons they are able to get their files sizes so small. Yay for them! But what this also does is take the noise that is already in the shot and amplify it. See the example below. Basically noise is a bitch. Film has grain, but video has noise. Noise can look like grain at times but it is extremely annoying in dark shots because when you go to adjust the grade and do color correction, it in fact becomes more enhanced. The noise can span multiple color channels (rgb and beyond) so when you start messing with the color balance, you might be effecting individual channels of noise which could have an end result of a rainbow extravaganza of noise dancing all over the screen. Truly annoying and very upsetting for me.

   

So recap, MOVIEtube causing exposure to be close to two stops lower then what the light meter reads (BAD) and then HDV/DVCPRO HD codecs not being square pixels (BAD ON BAD) and then color grading to correct exposures and color problems from the already mentioned faulty gear really does equal BAD ON BAD WITH A SIDE ORDER OF MAJOR SUCK. Kay bitching done. On to the post end :)

I hit this project with the usual line up of software, Final Cut Pro, Color and After Effects. But this time around I was able to try out some new software called Monet and Mocha (thanks to Andy Stokes for putting me onto them). These are both made by Imagineer Systems and utilize something called planar tracking. I used these two apps to do motion tracking and to map textures to the motion tracks. The advantage (and what makes these apps so powerful) of Monet and Mocha is that by being planar trackers, they track planes instead of points. Point trackers, like what comes native with After Effects, really can spoil the show when there is lots of noise (BAD!) because the noise and/or grain can cause the tracker to jump all over the place destroying any attempt and having an accurate track.
 
Now for the show and tell! Here are some before and after color graded shots.

           

And finally I leave you with a quick little timelapse movie involving some of the post effects I was working on. Coming Soon... Y4 The Trailer!!!

More on the FOB cast and talent involved. Firstly we have a lead actress. We have casted up and coming talent Jenna Lomazzo as the lead role of Blondie.

           

Below are some recent illustrations depicting the character design of some of the main characters in FOB. First illustrations where done by David Millgate and the last black and white illustration was done by Gustavo Vazquez.

             

Just want to mention (as the emails of amazing work come in from artists all over the world), Digger T. has begun asking his multiplexitude of musicalistic artists all over this spherical planet to contribute their amazing amounts of talent in some sort of compilation of tracks all inspired from the title "Fistful Of Blood". I imagine these will be used in a soundtrack of sorts for the FOB trailer as well as for the site launch happening in July and perhaps greeting cards with those little musical chips inside (i kid). But seriously... I don't know where he finds these people but they all have mad talent (both musical and otherwise) and are all contributing their abilities to make this movie/trailer something amazing.


 

First out of the gate is Gregory Moore of "Blind Generation" fame.

Here are stills of what I am dubbing "The Son Of Burly Man" . I am imagining this is what it would look like if our two Burly Men Simon Yin and Eric Ng had a son. However I was not setting out to create one for the Yin-Ng family album, this is in fact relevant! Stay tuned for more Y4 goodness.

       

Fistful Of Blood is in the pre productions stages now and I wanted to post some recent artwork. First of the logo has finally been created (by yours truly). Special thanks to the person who pointed out "Fistful" has only one "L". I owe you one!

   

Also, a serious amount of design has gone into the design of Blondie's (the main character)gun. Digger came up with his concept and design's based and a few criteria which in turn was based on Blondie's character and what she had to actually accomplish with her weapon of choice. I am not sure if Digger has given his creation a name yet but I am sure it's gonna be something super bad ass. Illustrations were then knocked out by illustrator/designer David Millgate, who resides in London.

         

After the illustrations where finalized, it was translated by Rob Arcidiacono (hope I got his name right) into 3D software called Rhino which is used by product designers and architects and animators to create 3D objects that are going to enter production. Below are some simple 3D renders and there is also a quicktime 3D version that you can interact with. It's pretty amazing what kids are into these days :P

         

This is a quicktime VR player and it may hang while the content is being loaded. Please be patient :)

More pre production news and artwork to come!

Following up on the last post, here are the behind the scenes of Day 2 and Day 3.

I also wanted to take the time to list some of the main players on this trailer production:

Trailer Title: Y4
Director: Elissa Rosati
Producer/Sound Designer: Ben Robinson
Assistant Director: Billy Lau
Director of Post Production: mrvix
Director of Photography: Ross Clarkson

Starring:
Man: Darren E. Scott
Harpy/Wife: Emilie Guillot
Doctor: Peter Jordan
Burly Man: Simon Yin
Burly Man: Eric Ng
Burly Man: Samuel Yau
Butoh: Tommy Tse
Butoh: Andrew Ng
Butoh: Jean Luc Bonefacino

Y4 is also being done in conjunction with Focus On Film which was assisting production with it's Apprentice Program, a program which allows the kids enrolled to assist and learn the ropes on a real film set. A special thanks to all of them for their excellent work and tireless efforts :)

I will be hitting the Post Production on this sooner than later so stay tuned for some bitching and whining in a style I like to call my own :P

                                                                                     

Hi all. Making a quick post on the morning of day 02 on the production of the "Y4" trailer by director Elissa Rosati, Produced by Ben Robinson, Director of Post Production Me, Director of Photography Ross Clarkson and Assistant Director Billy Lau. "Y4" is off to Cannes with Elissa beginning of next month. Let's hope the French like weird things. Sorry to be brief, bet have to get back on set :P (they don't appreciate blogging on the clock!). Also a quick spec breakdown, this is being shot on P2 (feature will be shot on RED).
 
Y4 is a cross between Jacob's Ladder, Pan's Labyrinth and Angel Heart. It's a cross genre art house horror flick in the tradition of Dark City.
 
I am going to be doing some cool Post visual effects on this one so looking to getting some fun stuff on the posterous. More to come!

                         

Fistful of Blood sold over 1 million copies worldwide since it’s release through Heavy Metal Magazine and the hardcover graphic novel– also created by Kevin Eastman and illustrated by Simon Bisley. Heavy Metal Magazine has a loyal and dedicated fan base with over 1 million fans aged between 18 yrs – 45 yrs old. Heavy Metal – the movie will be directed by David Fincher (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Fight Club”, “Seven”, “Zodiac” and “Alien 3”, “The Game” and “Panic Room”) is expected to start production this summer.

My obligatory copy and pasting from the official doc is almost done...here is the outline of the basic story line:

Fistful of Blood is an ultra action-packed Western Horror film in the tradition of Underworld, Evil Dead and From Dusk till Dawn. Using the latest (SPX) special make up effects and CGI computer generated imagery. The main filming is expected to be in Asia where production costs are low (and the budget can be maximized). Post production will be handled in Asia as well under western supervision.

And so ends the copy and paste session. So then... depending on who you are and what your tastes may be, there are a few things to keep in mind. This is very much an interpretation and adaptation of the graphic novel. A lot of work has gone into this with all the interested parties to update and modify a lot of the character development and plot lines in order to create a unique approach to best match all the artistic avenues. One of the major goals of this feature is to produce a feature movie in Asia but with the ideals of a Hollywood Production. We are trying to execute a stylized work of art here people, but we are trying to use the best of the talent pool in Asia. Lots of action, lots of sets, lots of "kick ass" and the target market for this movie is GLOBAL. We are not trying to create some added marketing appeal by trying to include a popular Asian actor into a western movie with hopes of crossover market appeal like many of the east meets west productions of the past.

There are going to be a lot of technical hurdles as this is looking to potentially be a stereo-scopic adventure. For those who aren't familiar with that term, it means it is probably going to be shot in 3D. I have yet to truly decide whether or not this is more gimmick or if it's a new approach to the artistic medium of film/video, but I have been aggressively researching and attending seminars to get to the bottom of this. I have gone from one side of the fence (being against it) to sitting on the fence. I am starting to lean towards in favor of it but the technical aspects of shooting CG are phenomenal and as it is still a growing and maturing medium, there is a lot yet to be discovered. I will be posting more on the whole 3D side of it and what it entails, as that is a series of posts all on its own. As the Director of Post Production on this film, I am conducting all the research into the CG (computer graphics) end, all the special effects required on the post end including compositing, morphing, wireform, environmental, particle, architectural and watever else. I will be doing the editing for this film all whilst co-ordinating all the other post aspects and being involved on the pre-production and production to make sure everything post related is followed through from the beginning. It's daunting but fun cuz you know I am getting kinda sick of working in the commercial world, I am dying to get my hands on something meatier that I can actually sink into some/all of what I have learned in my adventures. I am looking to kick ass, and what better than a "kick ass" film.

This whole thing is being directed by the infamous (at least on this blog) Digger T. Mesch. I guess this is where I copy and paste his credentials as I couldn't be arsed to type and hotlink everything.

Digger T Mesch was ranked in Cinescape magazine’s “POWER 100” of the most influential personalities in science fiction and entertainment genre alongside the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Steven King. He has worked creatively with the likes of Marvel Entertainment, Lucas Film, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Clive Barker, Kevin Eastman, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss and Rob Zombie.

Films, Animation and Music Videos include:

Largo Winch, Ultraviolet, The Body Guard, The Counting House, Big Daddy, Spy Kids 2, The Medallion, X-men Dark Tide, Batman New Times, The Medallion, The Twins Effect, Kodai Djinns, Maitreya/LotaLuv, Blind Generation, Dead Air Space

For any more information on Digger try this.

This is all a lot of typing, but now for some visuals. Below are a series of images from an assortment of sources. First off, here are some frames from the comic:

                 

These are some characters that were developed from what I believe to be the development of the video game. As you can see the character design is really detailed and we are looking to maintain as much of this as possible in the film.

                         

Finally... here are some on site pictures of a location we have been actively looking at for the shooting of the trailer. The trailer takes place prodimently inside a Chinese Tea House/brothel set in an old western town. Btw the trailer will be shown at Comi-Con in San Diego this July. The timing is tight but somehow we have to pull off this trailer by then.

sorry had to take these down as the location might still be changing, will have something back up on confirmation

Just a final note... this is all information that has be interpreted by my brain. My brain is not the most accurate of devices so I will most likely be updating content on this for mistakes, inaccurate information and for stuff I left out by mistake.