For the "Drawing Mindy" post, I let you know the results of the NOIR Indiegogo campaign, included a work in progress of SC 07 and a quickdraw video of our Mindy character. As usual, your comments and suggestions were greatly welcomed. And as promised, there will be only discussion from now on about the making of this animation short from here on out.
If I were do this again, I would tell a shorter story like :30 to :90 seconds with a production schedule of 1 to 2 months at the most. I would also make at least 3 finished films first, before downloading them to our Youtube channel. That way, while I would be working on the next 3 chapters, the first 3 episodes would be released, 1 episode every 2 or 4 weeks.
In the meantime, August is just around the corner and this blog has just passed its 8,000 all time views!
I now have 14 scenes to go and I can't wait to get them all done. Thanks for reading this blog and any comments or feedback are always helpful and keeps me going to the finish line. Here's the first episode of Watchcat.
I want to thank everyone who took at look at the NOIR Indiegogo campaign and made a contribution. Making any film project no matter the length is a huge undertaking which takes a lot of time and expense to do it right. The campaign has raised $ 4,175 by 105 backers.
I
am still working on the last 15 scenes of this epic by myself and
hoping to finish it in August or September of this year, 2016. I want to
post some scenes, but I'm afraid I'll spoil it for you. So, here's Scene 7 as a work in progress. This is just the first pass and I will post revisions later on
I'm also offering another drawing tutorial of sorts featuring Mindy, a character briefly seen in Episode one. This time I'm drawing in Photoshop for a change and letting Mindy talk to you.
Do you like Mindy's voice? Which version did you like the best? Or were you creeped out by both? Please let me know your opinion by leaving a comment below. If we make another episode featuring Mindy, we will probably get a real female voice and use these as temp tracks.
If you donate a comment or click on an ad on the sidebar, this will help support this blog and let us know we have a real audience and not a bunch of web robots.
No more live blogcasts on Youtube for this cat. We tried another one and while doing a test, we played a Tex Avery cartoon called "The Cat who hated people". During the test, Youtube alerted us that we were showing copyrighted material and immediately shut us down-- Worldwide! Our apologies to Warner Bros, Youtube and the late great Tex Avery. This was not a good way to start a blogcast.
So, these are the last few days of the NOIR Indiegogo campaign and we are hoping everyone can give anything they can to help finish this film. 85% principle photography has been completed and a few more bucks will help push it to the finish line. Greg and Tony knew making a film was hard, no matter what the length, but it is possible to do. Here's our last minute plea for your support.
50 years ago today on this Watchcat Wednesday. the TV version of Batman first debuted in color on TV screens across the nation. Watchcat was inspired by this as a kitten.
I know, I know what you're thinking... "What is happening with WatchCat? This is the Watchcat files blog, right?" "I'm a very confused and I must know, my whole world is being turned upside down, again."
Don't worry, final scenes are getting done on Episode 2 and I am happy to report that we only have16 scenes to go until the short is finally completed. You also might be a little confuse why we keep promoting NOIR and less time talking about WatchCat. Well its simple, our friends are making NOIR and we are trying to help them get as much $upport as possible. You can help support their Indiegogo campaign to help make this feature dedicated to Film Noir, Mystery and Monsters.
Here are two interviews of the stars of NOIR, Thessa M'loe and Andrew James Jones talking about their experience in making this film. There are even a few clips you haven't seen yet.
So put down that Pokemon GO, and go help some real people funda feature to end their funding campaign on a high note! And tell em, WatchCat sent you...
27 scenes to go until Watchcat episode 2 will be done, but until then, here's an article about the topic of Film Noir and a project that needs your help, called NOIR. Click this link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/noir--5#/to help support NOIR. Synopsis of "NOIR" (Horror/Thriller) Written by Gregory J. Bradley Edited by Thessa M'loe
When Private Investigator, Max Specter, is hired by Lilly Thorpe to find her missing father, Jack Thorpe, a screenwriter responsible for creating B-monster movies, he soon discovers the writer's enemies are ending up dead. These enemies killed in the same way described in the writer's scripts, which eventually leads our hero deep into the macabre, supernatural underworld of the occult. Who does Max trust in this dark, seedy world especially when he starts to fall for Lilly? But every time he gets closer to her and the case, more people wind up dead and his soul seems to be more and more compromised,
WHY MAKE A NOIR FILM?
Well it's simple really, because one of my favorite movie genres is Film Noir. I have always loved movies, and who doesn't! Every movie has a story, and every story taps into a different part of the emotional spectrum of the human condition. How they can move people and bring them together in a dark space to share something as simple as watching a shared experience. This was much like the first time I saw a Noir movie, except there was something special about these films that had me hooked immediately! The images always pop!! There was something about it being shot in black -and-white that made it feel timeless and classy, like I was looking into another universe. I was amazed by the incredible use of shadows and lighting as well. Cinematographers had to be very creative back in those days of the 30's and early 40's. Using very inventive camera angles to give an interesting perspective on the world they were showing.
A lot of Noir films back in the 40’s were considered B-movies
to be shipped out to theaters with the A-movies for double features. For every "Gone With The Wind" or
"The Wizard Of Oz," a movie theater would get "Kiss Me
Deadly" or "Out of The Past."
These B-movies were given half the budget with B list movie actors (most
of them character actors). How did these
producers manage to compete? They would
have very titillating, salacious stories from pulp novels that involved sex,
violence, and greed. The protagonists of
these stories were usually doomed from the get-go. It wasn’t unusual in these dark, disturbing
tales to begin with the lead hero either dead or dying as he narrates the story
on how he got into this certain situation.
It was usually a woman, a dame. These
stories were cautionary tales letting us know that people aren't always who
they seem and to trust your instincts.
But if you go against them, there were consequences, usually ending up
in death. A Noir world is usually full
of darkness, smoke, and rain to add to the tapestry of the world in which a
down on his luck private detective or gum shoe would be seduced by a dangerous
woman.
When I further investigated these Noir films I found there were so many classics! It really is hard to choose between
"Maltese Falcon" and "Sunset Boulevard." Last year,
TMC did a whole summer of noir films called "Summer of
Darkness." To continue my research,
I watched as many movies as I possibly could. A lot of these movies were missing
for years and I had never seen them before. One of the best ones I've ever seen was
"The Window" made in 1949 about a boy who witnessed a murder from the
fire scape of his neighbors window. He tries
desperately to convince his parents that what he saw was real. And the actor who played the little boy was
incredible.
It was a great little gem that made money once the movie was
released and this was before Hitchcock's "Rear Window." It saddens me that a lot of people don't know
these films and what Film Noir is. This
is mostly a younger generation, “Millennials,” as they are called don't even
like looking at black-and-white movies.
A lot of them don't even look at movies past a certain date. As if they somehow have an expiration date like
bad milk. Even some filmmakers have
mentioned to me they’ve never seen a black-and-white movie. I believe these black-and-white classic Noir movies really do
matter. They were my teacher and
inspiration for becoming a writer/director.
They can teach us all so many things if we just let them in and allow
them to do their magic on us. I believe
a great film doesn't have an expiration date. A classic will always will be a classic no
matter what year it is made. There are
so many great B movies created with little to no money that told amazing
stories with fantastic acting. Character
actors back then were the stars in Noir films.
Bogart was known for playing
gangster films in the 30’s. But when he
played Sam Spade in the 40’s, he truly came into his own and became the movie
star we know today. If our film “Noir”
does nothing else but shine some light on the old, classic Noir films and the
talented people who made them, then that alone will make it worth making. If our film can make people, young and old, who
would normally not see a Noir film go rent one, then I have done my job for I
feel they would be entertained and inspired just as I was when I was exposed to
this whole other universe called Noir.
The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari (1920) Nosferatu (1922) Metropolis (1927) London After Midnight (1927) Dracula (1931) Frankenstein (1931) M (1931)
The Vampire Bat (1934) Hound Of Backersville’s (1935) Mark Of The Vampire (1935) Dracula’s Daughter (1936) Son Of Frankenstein (1939) Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes (1939) Stranger On The Third Floor (1940) High Sierra (1941) Citizen Kane (1941) The Wolfman (1941) Maltese Falcon (1941) Johnny Eager (1941) Casablanca (1942) Cat People (1942)
Ministry Of Fear (1944)
Double Indemnity (1948)
I Walk With A Zombie (1943)
Shadow Of A Doubt (1943)
Laura (1944)
The Lodger (1944)
Detour (1945)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Gilda (1946)
The Killers (1946)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Strange Loves Martha Ivers (1946)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Out Of The Past (1947)
Dark Passage (1947)
Lady From Shanghai (1947)
Brute Force (1947)
Nightmare alley (1947)
T-Men (1947)
Key Largo (1948)
They Live By Night (1948)
Abbott And Castello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
The Big Clock (1948)
Criss Cross (1949)
The Window (1949)
Side Street (1949)
The Third Man (1949)
Armed Car Robbery (1950)
DOA (1950)
Gun Crazy (1950)
Narrow Margin (1952)
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
Macao (1952)
On Dangerous Ground (1951)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Woman On The Run (1950)
Strangers On A Train (1951)
The Big Heat (1953)
The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
While The City Sleeps (1954)
The Harder They Fall (1955)
The Big Combo (1955)
Night Of The Hunter (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Horror Of Dracula (1958)
Touch Of Evil (1958)
Psycho (1960)
Marlow (1969)
Night Of The Living Dead (1969)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Chinatown (1974)
Dressed To Kill (1980)
The Shining (1980)
American Werewolf In London (1981)
Blade Runner (1982)
Angel Heart (1987)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Seven (1995)
Heat (1995)
Ed Wood (1995)
LA confidential (1997)
The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
Dark City (1998)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Sin City (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)From Hell (2007)
The Dark Knight (2008)
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