3/27 Status Update... Loading...

 So I'm a bit tired this morning. Why? Well, last night we broke in some of our new actors doing an o'dark hundred test shoot. In spite of the late hour, the collective energy remained high, with people randomly breaking into song and/or dance. As per Murphy's law, the normally quiet road behind the actors was suddenly bustling with activity, leading to takes that went something like this: "Three, two, CAR!" *sigh* Wait a couple minutes... "Okay, take thirteen, attempt two. Three, two..."
 

Earlier that day, we ran through several scenes, and cast Paris' ears in preparation for sculpting the elven tips. After that, we adjourned to the shop so we could run through a pivotal scene and the ensuing fight. The process was intricate, but the results were well worth the effort.
 

Monday we finished Savara's armor (minus some of the grommets,) so pictures of that will be forthcoming. Sunday the stunt team met, but this time the focus was on fighting like the races of Aarde. Below you can see examples of:

Yrechen...

 

Ayur...

 

Gohl...

 

...and early Hashurun

...To name but a few. All in all a good week. Well, we're downloading the footage now, I'm off to see the wizard, (fine, Adobe AE.)

Until next time!

Hello Again!

 Yes, that title accurately describes the week. After a week off, we have contracted yet another nasty bug around here, but we don't let that kind of thing stop us. First off, we had a practice day where we once again focused in on a select few scenes, particularly one where Mike and Gwynmareth meet Iallafan. That scene alone took over an hour, as the subtleties of the non-verbal communication of status, rank, intent, etc. was particularly complex. There are a few other scenes that we can't divulge at this moment because they'd give too much of the plot away.

Really, they hate each other. *cough* Honest.

 We also finally cast the test ear in silicone. Let's just say that the parts that worked worked beautifully, other stuff... not so much. However, we successfully cast the prosthetic of an important scar for a lead character. It looks quite good, if I do say so myself. In fact, we were quite happy to discover a simple trick for casting scars in general when we dumped some of the leftover silicone onto clay wound sculpts. the resulting wound "negative" looked remarkably like a scar "positive." With that in mind, we quickly sculpted the scar and voila! One major prosthetic down.

Thus ends the brief chronicle of the week. Until next time!  

Axe and Ye Shall Receive

This week we finished the Yrechen shield, giving it straps and a coat of paint:
 

 Dallas, our resident metalworker, fashioned the first axe:
 

The stunt team met again.
 

  We are now just a few weeks away from bringing the actors in again to start developing fight scenes. Some of them received a roughing in this Friday at acting practice. We had a full house, with the four leads and Morrigan present.
 

 We chose to focus on developing a select few scenes and, in so doing, stumbled upon some unscripted actions that enriched the scenes. People became so immersed in their parts that they would sometimes break with the script and do something entirely in character and entirely brilliant. The actors have taken full ownership of their characters, and I'm looking forward to seeing how all this plays out in the months and years to come.

Thanks for reading. Until next time!

Takes a Lickin', Keeps on Tickin'

  In spite of a virus that's been going around putting a hold on several things, we still had a full week. The goblin prosthetics arrived, and we now know which ones we are going to use. First we had to research how to cure the masks to allow them to accept airbrush makeup (castor oil, in case you were wondering) and how to preserve their usefulness, as the harsh adhesive removers tend to degrade the mask over time. With that research done we turn to finding a good airbrush for the makeup application.
The next phase of ear casting went a bit awry, as the lower half of the two part mold crept up a bit too far over the ear to make removal possible, so we had to chip open the mold and sculpt a new ear tip. Fortunately the base ear was still intact, so we will finish the sculpt and try again.
The final elements of Savara's armor have been designed and cut, now we must dye, rivet, grommet, and detail them.
The stunt team met again this Sunday, and it was quite the day. After running through the basics of rolling and falling, we detoured into the fine art of taking a hit...
 

Explained how the victim's reaction sells the hit (sometimes with comedic results...)

 

...before stepping out to review the basic principles of swordplay. With that done we moved into fighting with and against the spear. It's a good feeling when your students begin teaching the newest recruits.
 

Despite the illness, it was a good week. With a little over three months to go until the shoot begins, all I can say is, that's a very good thing.

Thanks for reading! Until next time.