Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Clues to a Great Story

Found a another great TED talk on storytelling by Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall-E). 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Prometheus has all the signs of a modern cinema classic

I'm growing more and more excited about Ridley Scott's 2012 prequel to his 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien. It stars two of my favourite actors, Noomi Rapace who played the original 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and Idris Elba from the BBC's excellent crime drama Luthor.

From the trailers it appears that Ridley has managed to successfully create an original new angle on the franchise while still retaining the feel and atmosphere of the original. If he succeeds then he will have thankfully disassociated it's previous disjointed sequels while at the same time reinforcing his original vision.

This is the perfect kind of film to utilise 3D technology as an additional storytelling tool to create a more immersive cinematic experience and I am sure Prometheus will be a breathtaking journey, sitting beautifully alongside his original classic.


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Script meeting for Henry Bramble ...the feature film!

While we wait in limbo for the visual effects team to get moving on the short, I met up with the producer Charlotte Wontner and Script Editor Vicki Jung this afternoon to flesh out my ideas for the feature film version of The Infectious Imagination Of Henry Bramble.

The key questions that I wanted to discuss in expanding the short was what Henry's journey would be and how that would link into the reason why Henry's mother has to abandon her son with an estranged relative.

In the short film it is really the uncle's story, as he discovers, through Henry, how to imagine again. Henry doesn't really change throughout the film he simply represents the wonderful innocence and wild imagination of children. For the 90 minute children's feature film however Henry has to have a strong character arc if he is going to be the central character.

From the original set up of the short it was clear that the problems Henry must face would stem from his absent father and all tie in with why his Mother has to abandon him suddenly. During our meeting we bounced many ideas and possibilities, but agreed on some basic foundations for the film.

I'm not going to give too much away, but the main thematic thread of the story will be about the importance of telling stories and that sometimes they can be powerful enough to save lives. Everything that happens in the film all stems from and connects together by this theme. If you have had the opportunity and the patience to read all 700+ pages of Storytelling - The 7 Basic Plots, then you will know how very important storytelling is to Man's very existence. If you haven't read it then I recommend you find a copy. It is truly mind-blowing stuff.

The feel and style of Henry Bramble is comparable to the wonderful Narnia films, but rather than setting it in World War II (and therefore being in danger of being accused of copying these stories), it was important to come up with an equally dark but contemporary backdrop that directly threatens Henry's future and sets it apart from any other children's story that has gone before. I am pleased to say I think we have achieved this, but rest assured, as in all good children's storytelling, there is an uplifting conclusion, but for now my lips are sealed.

Friday, March 16, 2012

How does a Voydarkatron walk?

The latest update from the Visual Effect Research Lab in Dundee are some crude but very cool test animations on how the Voydarkatron moves. This one is of him strolling through the forests. The video really needs to be set to loop to get a proper feel for the creature.