Saturday, 27 February 2010

A Day Of Rest...

Well, today I finally got a break from school-work today, having already done my essays/coursework and handing in a 77 page book to go with Vengeful Retribution for my Extended Project. So I decided to relax & work on my script for Nameless a bit more.

I genuinely feel sorry for Lee acting as the lead character, within the first 8 pages (which means approximately the first 8 minutes of film) he has to get chased across a field in the middle of the night from soldiers with dogs, get shot in the back, fall into a ditch and then climb over some razor-wire.

Obviously I will not be working with dogs, and the whole dog-attack issue will be implied, as will climbing over razor-wire, but you can get the idea of the sort of thing I'll be putting the actors through.

The script is really coming along now, I'm just tweaking various things as I think of them. I realised that as long as I don't do anything silly like writing in big explosions or something, that the entire story can be done quite easily as a film. The main thing I need are some tents, costumes (which I've mentioned before), and a few empty rooms, quiet streets & alleyways (and seeing as I've basically been writing about several locations I have seem, it really shouldn't be that hard).

As the script is so close to completion and Vengeful Retribution is almost completely out of the way now, I am aiming to start gathering up props and costumes and really hope to start filming some time in the near future.

Glenn

Thursday, 25 February 2010

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Well, as I mentioned in my last blog, I went away for a bit to Hollywood. It was awesome! Apart from seeing the sights & going round major studios (Sony, Warner Bros. & Universal) we did a one-day film-making course which was amazing, I got to direct in it & loved every second. Everyone on the trip was really nice & it was an extremely enjoyable experience.

It was also quite fun sitting by a pool at 6AM in the middle of February wearing a t-shirt & shorts in 70 degree heat whilst listening to Demons Of Razgriz & jotting down ideas for Nameless in my little notepad.

I don't think Lee had sent me Demons Of Razgriz the last time I blogged, but all I can say is "wow". Lee has written a 10 minute epic, & when I say "epic", I really mean it, if you listen to it whilst following the poem you can hear how it has been separated into 4 parts, just like the poem is into 4 stanzas, & how it fits the feel of the poem, whilst adding something to the mood I've been trying to create whilst writing Nameless... just wow.

Then came the return to the UK & school... yay.

Actually it hasn't been as bad as you'd expect, obviously there have been deadlines for work etc. but nothing too bad. I've been quite busy getting back into the school routine & editing things like the extended project & film studies, but seeing as I've been working on these for the past few months it hasn't been a problem, I've actually been able to tweak them whilst carrying on with writing Nameless & discussing more songs with Lee, who has said that some orchestration will be added to this soundtrack, something which me & him both seem to be looking forward to.

I also got some critical responses for Vengeful Retribution recently from people who weren't involved in the making of the film, here are some of them:

"The plot was well-thought out, and the film seemed as though it were professional. I particularly enjoyed the opening credits with the overdub of a police radio, which effectively created tension, grabbed my attention, and added authenticity to the film." - Coral Brown

"WHAT A TWIST!" - Stefan Cato

"I thought Glenn established a very convincing tone through his use of sound and his script, and I particularly enjoyed the innovative opening scene to the film." - Helena Roots

"Interesting and good use of camera angles. Editing was well put together and I would consider possibly buying a copy." - Dharyl Wilson

"The editing was amazing and it was almost as if it could be put straight onto the big screen!" - Nicole Broster

"Amazingly crafted art" - Daniel Coogan

I am actually amazed by these responses & am very happy that Vengeful Retribution was so well received, and would just like to give a huge thanks to everyone who helped work with me on it. I hope that Nameless can do just as well, if not better.

Glenn

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

A bid farewell... for a couple of weeks

Well, I had to take a little break from blogging for a little while due to work and everything, but in that time quite a bit has happened, I've finished the concept art & have been working on the final version of the Nameless script (which basically involves me putting it into the proper layout on the proper screenwriting software & tweaking it a bit more). I will probably put up some pics of the concept art in the next blog or on Facebook or something...

Lee has also been busy working on writing & recording stuff for the soundtrack, he told me that Demons Of Razgriz has gone from 2 mins 30 secs to just over 7 mins with a bit more to add as an outro, which should be awesome. I can't wait to hear it.

I might not be blogging for a while due to preparing & going to Hollywood (which should be awesome), so I guess this is goodbye for a bit... I'll be back in a couple of weeks & will probably have lots of new ideas & Hollywood stories to write about...

Oh, & just after writing this, Lee sent me a text saying that Demons Of Razgriz has now gone up to 10 mins & he just needs to mix it.

Glenn

Friday, 5 February 2010

Watching the world burn...

Well, I didn't post a blog last night, but I have good reason, & that reason is RAMMSTEIN! I saw them at Wembley Arena... it was one of the most incredible shows I have ever seen.

On the train journey beforehand, me & Lee were discussing Nameless, I filled him in on some of the key plot events & twists & turns of the story, and in return Lee told me about his ideas for another song called Bi-polar for the soundtrack.

Bi-polar seems to be living up to its name, Lee said that the feel of the music will range between soft acoustic stuff to more 'thrashy' riffs.

I have also started thinking of possible locations to film in, and I'll tell you this now, there will be none of the suburban feel that came through in parts of Vengeful Retribution, this film is its own monster, and the feel of the whole thing will be much bigger & much nastier.

I have almost recycled some ideas from an earlier script I wrote when I was about 15, which had the working title of Dark City (obviously the actual film Dark City did come out, so I wouldn't have used that name anyway). At the time I was young, & like most kids, did not understand limits & what was humanly possible to do on film. When you're a kid you feel like you could conquer the world if you wanted. I just wanted to write a huge action story! However, coming back to it with an older, more mature mind I have realised that even though some of the stuff that I wanted in Dark City was impossible, some of the shots I wanted in that film were so striking and some of the themes in there were powerful. So although the characters, setting and overall story for Nameless is completely different, those who read my script for Dark City will notice moments which are almost plucked out of that film.

Glenn

Tuesday, 2 February 2010

Demons of Razgriz

As I mentioned before, Lee has thought up some ideas for the soundtrack for Nameless, & he told me that one of the ideas for a song stems from the ancient Japanese poem The Demon of Razgriz, he felt that some of the lines in it reflect various aspects of the main character's story throughout the film, & after seeing which lines Lee was referring to, I completely agree.

So here is the poem:

The Demon of Razgriz

(the Demon from the North Sea)

When history witnesses a great change Razgriz reveals itself, first as a dark demon
As a demon it uses it's power to rain death upon the land, and then it dies
However after a period of slumber Razgriz returns...

Amidst the eternal waves of time
From a ripple of change shall the storm rise
Out of the abyss peer the eyes of a demon
Behold the Razgriz, its wings of black sheath

The demon soars through dark skies
Fear and death trail its shadow beneath
Until men united wield a hallowed sabre
In final reckoning, the beast is slain

As the demon sleeps, man turns on man
His own blood and madness soon cover the earth
From the depths of despair awaken the Razgriz
Its raven wings ablaze in majestic light.

Lee's also text me today to say that he will be writing & recording it tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to hearing it & also wish him (& anyone else doing A2 Psychology) the best of luck with the Psychology exam tomorrow.

Glenn

Monday, 1 February 2010

Happy February!

Well, at least it should be a happy February, mainly due to the fact that I'M GOING TO HOLLYWOOD! I actually can't wait!

A friend of mine, Piers, sent me a link to a site to stream Vengeful Retribution over the internet after I've done a screening in school, & I'm cutting together a minute long trailer at the moment to put on YouTube & advertise the live internet streamings (I'm thinking I might do one a night for about a week). Anyway, I'm looking more into the whole streaming thing before I put any info on the trailer.

I've had 2 home study frees today, so I've looked into getting the basic materials for the costumes for Nameless, but to be honest, I think that most of the cast will just have to wear some of their oldest & tattiest clothing, the only really costumes are for the uniform for members of the regime. The reason for this is that the members of the underground movement are just meant to be outcasts of society, and they practically do come from the underground, most of them are homeless, so they wouldn't be able to afford specially designed clothing. I just think it will give it a more real feel.

Anyway, as I said before, I'll have to start casting everyone before I can think of ordering in materials/anything else for the costumes, and before I do that I need to finish working on the script... good thing that I should have more frees tomorrow then!

Glenn