MICKEY MOUSE has grown up A COW :: Tom Gameson's blog ~: February 2011

Swing heil work so far.

Heres all i've done for Swing Heil so far. Putting it here to show Andy tomorrow.

http://spamtheweb.com/ul/uploads/2712011/831_shot004-done-methinks.swf

http://spamtheweb.com/ul/uploads/2712011/880_shot005-draft.swf

Short film - behind the scenes MTV special.

1920's cop or weird goth (with a tash)?

Hair and makeup department.

Luke on the turret

Our prop designer gets cracking.

A kerfuffle on set.

Our leading men.

The crew

Sneak peak:

Am posting this up ahead of our pitches tomorrow (or today..) I am really happy with how this one has turned out, as it catches the mood of the show. Although perhaps a little to lively, this would be more for an inner city enviroment rather than slow-moving, empty Venice.

This is the fisherman character

Good luck with your pitches tomorrow people. Time for bed.

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We're filming tomorrow for our cinematography assignment, so look out for us if you're out and about in town. We will be dressed in 1920's clothing. Summint like this mebbe..

the guys, just chillin'

Pre-production - inspiration

Have been working hard on the pre work hence all the blogging. It's going quite well, am keeping up the tempo on it and cracking on.

Here's some images I took when I was in Italy last summer. I was very lucky with this project to get Italy related subjects (Futurism, Venetian Villa, Fish Monger) I took a wealth of pictures while in Italy that are perfect for research, and plus saw & experienced the whole feel of the place.

These Fishermen were out and about every morning on Lago Maggiore. They would stand there for most the day. Check out the two guys in the bottom left, Italians love to lean like that while in conversation.. it's kinda like a 'right of passage' for them I presume!

I drew a picture of the guy in the top right one morning too :-

Then here's some of the inevitable thousands of pictures you end up taking in Venice! :

And lastly, was having a look through last years sketchbook yesterday, and came across some images that fit the style i'm going for in some way or another. Specifically the one on the right, was a hung-over drawing:

And finally, here's a little bit of a descriptive imagery for the fisherman character. When I did my presentation, Kathy said he seemed a little personality-less, and told me to think about what are his characteristics that make up his character.

It was an interesting observation because I want him to be a bit of a 'every-man' character. A bit of a nobody, so perhaps a bit bland and missing character. Similar to how we don't know the personalities of the animals in a nature documentary, we dont know there name (or how much change we got in there pocket) we just assign them as 'Lions', or 'Tigers', or 'Zebras' etc. This is what I want to go for with my fishmonger. I want him to be nameless.

However, being human, and having a human audience, there's going to need to be something a little deeper, and this sums up what i'm trying to go for, what kind of character:

I think perhaps the only one that maybe shouldn't be there is Clint Eastwood. Obviously a dude with alotta charisma. However I stuck him on there for that 'lone-ranger' character principle more than anything, the lone maverick.

The war you don't see

Just watched this really interesting documentary called 'The War you don't see'. I'm not sure if it was originally broadcast on television or as a film, but it's in the university library if you're interested.

It's one of them, that for me, helps defy your own ignorance of such subjects. Still after watching you get a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that you wont fully understand until you are a part of it (in this instance, a journalist) but it does give you that ability/obligation to question what you're told.

Another documentary that is in a similar vein is 'The road to Guantanamo'. It's been a few years since I watched it, but essentially it follows the lives of these Birmingham born Muslims who go out to Iraq to offer help. They are taken by the Americans as suspected terrorists, and tortured in Guantanamo for information they dont have.

Ironically, one of the actors in the documentary was arrested on suspicion of 'being a terrorist' at the airport on the way home. His name is Riz, he's a MC, and was also in....

Four Lions. One of the best films i've seen in a while. Chris Morris = genius. Go watch it now.

Joanna Quinn life drawing class

Went up to Animated Exeter the other day and took part in the Joanna Quinn life drawing class. Wahey:

Rozi, Joanna Quinn, Moi

Gotta say, she's a real leg-end and a brill teacher to have for the day. She's very animated & articulate. It was cool too, because although a lot of the people in the class weren't animators, it was still taught from an animators point of view, doing mainly quicker poses and an emphasis on trying to catch the feeling of the movement.

Here's me drawings all together:

Get me away from here im dying

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Ooh! Get me away from here I'm dying, Play me a song to set me free. Nobody writes them like they used to, So it may as well be me..

Here on my own now after hours - Here on my own now on a bus. Think of it this way -You could either be successful or be us - With our winning smiles, and us With our catchy tunes, and us:-Now we're photogenic.. You know, we don't stand a chance..

Oh, I'll settle down with some old story About a boy who's just like me, Thought there was love in everything and everyone -You're so naive! After a while they always get it; They always reach a sorry end..Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then With a winning smile, the boy: With naivety succeeds, At the final moment, I cried - I always cry at endings.

Oh, that wasn't what I meant to say at all. From where I'm sitting, rain Washing against the lonely tenement Has set my mind to wander - Into the windows of my lovers, They never know unless I write "This is no declaration, I just thought I'd let you know goodbye", Said the hero in the story "It is mightier than swords. I could kill you sure, But I could only make you cry with these words".

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Life Drawings from Yesterday:

Radiohead

New album out today. Go get it!

And lets not forget:

Thom Yorke

Pre production - characters

I have finally designed my two characters. the Narrator & the Fisherman. Here's there heads below, bodies will follow tomorrow.


the fisherman

the narrator

Metropolis

Watched Metropolis the other night. Here's some handy screenshots I took from the film. The city-scape will directly reflect on the design of my cities in the show.

Drawings/paintings from today

Gunna do a bit of painting today. Here's one of Venice. Tried to use some futurist techniques, mainly with the colours, but to be honest I was just having fun getting used to using Corel Painter.

UPDATE - tried to 'futurist' it up a bit, which is the image on the right. Still needs more work but am posting it for now anywho.