Delays, compromises, and deadlines

Technically, this monday i am supposed to be starting filming. There are a number of things that need to be finished and though i would have liked to be ready to start the filming it looks like it's going to be Wednesday 4th that i will actually be starting. Setbacks are one of those things that happen and as annoying as they are you have to just get on with it. I had originally planned to post images of the current progress Monday just gone, but today will have to do.

(above: Me varnishing the floorboards.)

The final stages of getting the set ready to be transported to the studio went by without a hitch. The floorboards that Lorna had cut out for the shop and back room look amazing now they're painted.

(above: Lorna painting the set walls)

I had left it late in choosing the right colour for the walls of the set. After a few hours i eventually came upon a colour that i thought would give a nice warm feel to the shop without being over the top and take the lighting change when the Demon enters the scene.

(above: Devin editing the audio in Adobe Audition)

Not only is Devin the voice for the antagonist (a demon named Xigaligalig) but his audio skills have been put to use in cleaning up the sound for the film. On friday just gone we spent six hours solid recording and editing sound, and this Sunday will see a similar slog, but hopefully not quite as stressful as the last session.

(above: Ed sculpting alchemists jars)

One of the people i am lucky to have onboard at short notice is a talented ceramasist called Edward Austin. I have known him for a long time now and after a conversation one day he offered to help with a vast amount of crockery based props for the film to take a lot of preasure off me. The props he has made were originally sculpted in sculpting clay, then two part moulds were made using silicon so that multiple items could be cast. At ptresent he is spending his spare time cleaning and painting up these items which should all be ready by Wednesday 4th.

(above: The set in the studio)

The set is now up in the studio and i have been doing some lighting tests that i will hopefully continue doing later on today. I had originally wanted to light the set entirely with the bulbs inside the set to get a more real feel to the film, but the problems that causes has meant that i am now going to be using abient lighting aswell.

(above: Thomas hair and glasses that he wears on a sculpy cast of the original sculpt)

Thomas (the protagonist of the film) has been a bit of a learning curve when it comes to the puppet. The time it takes to make all the seperate components is one thing that i have miscalculated though i am now on top of it. the only things left to do are to finish off a couple of the mouth shapes and paint the head and replacement mouths. This is all something that will be relativley quick to do and will hopefully be completed by the end of this evening.

(below: Thomas with his silicon hands and neck, hair, eyebrows, glasses, and one of the replacement mouths. He's looking a bit chilly here as he's waiting for his shirt to arrive!)

I'm still awaiting the costume for the demon whic should be arriving tomorrow The only thing left for the demon is to finish sculpting the masks, which is a simple process, and cast his hands. I've already tested the armature which works fine. The only concern that i have with the puppet is that due to the floating nature of the puppet it may have a bit too much bounce in it which could become annoying during filming. If i have enough time i may well make a less springy support armature.

(above: The alleyway outside the shop)

Up until Wednesday the 4th, and maybe even the Friday, it's going to be pretty full on with filming and finishing off the little bits and pieces that need to be done. As always i remain optomistic.