Shall the future of animation be outside Hollywood system ?
It was previously mentioned on
this page about the strange tribute paid to Ray
HARRYHAUSEN, by SFX leaders and film makers at the top of their
game employing processes the opposite to Ray's work, to
create special effects, the first one being Dennis MURREN, perhaps
the main promoter of today's
CGI that rules everything in mainsatream movies today and
disrespectful speaker against practical effects, even if he
officially shows his friendship to those practical artists by
creating Harryhausen like material with CGI in some movies, the true
inheritors of Ray HARRYHAUSEN should be sought, not among the
ranks of Steven SPIELBERG, George LUCAS, Peter JACKSON and their
peers, but among some less famous authors, who are fighting to bring
back modernised on screen magic created originally by
celebrated Master's of stop motion photography.
FRAME BY FRAME ANIMATION OF SMALL REALISTIC
MODELS STILL EXISTS IN LIVE ACTION MOVIES
While Hollywood’s producers refused Ray Harryhausen
the chance to give life to a third mythological movie, THE FORCE OF
THE TROJANS and through personal reasons of Ray's, which would have
been a fair addition to the trilogy of his SINBAD works, some
recently produced features in that ilk made instead by
big players within the studio system, substituting practical
for CGI. However, some of his followers remain faithful to Ray's
techniques. THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD is one such example, designed
as an extension of the series on the eastern heroes, which Ray
Harryhausen gained most fame for- also the artists Ron COLE
(author of animation sequences including the miniature versions of
ALIEN METAMORPHOSIS’ monsters) and Peter MONTGOMERY unite again
their talents to animate frame by frame the monsters populating a new
project from RIGAR UK, DARK EARTH joined by the Australian Nick
HILLIGOSS (PREHISTORIC AUSTRALIA.) and some British artists
including Kevin CONNOR (AT THE EARTH'S CORE - WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS
combine to bring to the screen, a journey through space and
time similar to the Titus Crow adventures invented by Brian
LUMLEY, even if the official inspiration comes in the form of
the science-fiction authors H.G.WELLS & EDGAR RICE
BURROUGHS, the film DARK EARTH plans to propel the viewer from Earth
to an alien world populated by some frightening creatures from the
depths of imagination and of Earth's prehistoric era by way of
impressive stop motion techniques and groundbreaking post production
enhancements, along with puppetry / miniatures and animatronics.
A very beautiful plesiosaur by Norman YEEND
that was to be used in the movie no replaced by a new monster. NOTE:
the readers may recognize this article from the
french blog "Comme des poissons dans l'eau" published
in September 2011 ( to see the beast moving, click on this
link :https://images.indiegogo.com/file_attachments/952908/files/20141022223713-plesi_pitch.gif?1414042633 ).
An arthropod-like extraterrestrial made by Peter MONTGOMERY, its appearence reminding one of another very nice stop motion model, the scorpion from HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS.
DARK
EARTH site : https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dark-earth
DARK
EARTH blog :
http://darkearth2014.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/blog-post.html
Another article about the movie :http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/helensburgh-film-maker-pulls-together-hollywood-4699832
A spot on TV :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-wAqH1AW00
One
of the most known masters of stop motion/go motion, Phil TIPPETT uses
himself Kickstarter. Seen at the time of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and
DRAGONSLAYER as the inheritor of Ray HARRYHAUSEN, the animator was
pushed away in favour of CGI made by I.L.M. during the making of
JURASSIC PARK, becoming then a simple consultant, before to move himself
into virtual effects, by the scanning of his models and their animation
across computer animation for movies as for EVOLUTION and DRAGONHEART.
For a personal project in two parts, MAD GOD, a universe a bit in the
style of the SILENT HILL’s virtual one, Phil TIPPETT was allowed to do
his work across Kickstarter. The movie casts only some animated
characters, telling the story of poor creatures indeed a nightmarish
future.
Creature sculpted by the artist Victoria ROSE for the Phil TIPPETT’s movie.
A
wormlike creature looking like a bit the DUNE’s Navigator – with some
touch of the grotesque monster from THE FLY 2’s climax, waiting for a
very awful fate indeed the second part of MAD GOD.
There
is a rather close universe indeed JUNK HEAD, another animation movie by
Takahide HORI (also known as Yamiken), full filled by strange creatures
and cyborgs. This japanese man who asked money to people loving his
work used Indiegogo too in order to collect enough funds to do the
sequel – it wasn’t allowed to use Kickstarter because this one asks for
an american address and for an account indeed a bank in USA. He asked
for not less than 100.000 dollars, he raised 16%, 16 000 dollars being
already a welcomed help; no doubt about the will of the artist to do the
sequel.
site of the artist :
site of the artist :
http://yamiken.com/
site Indiegogo with the link to the first part : https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/junk-head-2--2
site Indiegogo with the link to the first part : https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/junk-head-2--2
Some frightening worms attacking the little humanoid robot tracked by some fierce creatures.
This
monster from JUNK HEAD 2, standing on its spines, looks like a lot to
the cambrian mysterious fossil discovered at Burgess Shale, britannic
Colombia, nammed Hallucigenia – with something of the GIGER’s alien more.
SPECIAL MAKEUP AND ANIMATRONIC MONSTERS
The
readers would probably remember that we already spoke about Kickstarter
across the HARBINGER DOWN project by Alec GILLIS and Tom WOODRUFF
(Amalgamated Dynamics) we supported then, with the goal to put onto
screen a movie monster relied only to special makeup and mechanical
effects, after the frustration of the two special effects makers and the
fans both, when THE THING prequel was released, because the producers –
perhaps even against the director’s wish – had made to do across
computer the animation of built creatures (as for PROMETHEUS’ aliens) or
fully replaced the robotic effects by CGI, as for the final monster –
it happened to THE MIST’s climax too. HARBINGER DOWN is based upon a
story of a little team of searchers
in the arctic infected by some biological experiments conducted on
tardigrades, these microscopic animals incredible enduring ( see the
article on the French blog, “la vie sans oxygène” dealing about their
ability to survive outside the air, and in addition the drawings about
made for the contest few time ago). We have to hope that Alec GILLIS who
always wished to direct a movie will do an inspirated work able to
bring again the flavour of the great fantastic and science-fiction
movies, at least, we will be allowed to see lately some new concrete creatures on screen.
After to have fought the famous alien predators from James CAMERON’s
ALIENS, sequel of the well known Ridley SCOTT’s movie, the actor Lance
HENRIKSEN is in front of a mutant creature what is like some inheritor
of another frightening monster from another classic, John CARPENTER’s
THE THING – there is a three part tribute about this latest indeed the
french blog.
Signed photo by Tom WOODRUFF of a victim of HARBINGER DOWN, sent to the people who pledged for the project
STRANGE
NATURE by Jim OJALA is a bit linked to the topic, dealing of some freak
frogs suffering of some mutations as surnumeral limbs – seen indeed
ponds of monster, studied by the french naturalist Jean ROSTAND, now
becoming more current in some places in USA. A parasite was recently
identified but the pollution is probably another cause of these
mutations. In the movie, a mother and her son came to live in the
great-father’s house, indeed the woods, have to deal with awful
mutations of animals and humans. This time again, the creators decided
to use only practical effects to picture the monsters.
Behind the scene photo of STRANGE NATURE; when the man begins to play with the laws of the nature, it begins with misshapen frogs but what will be the next ?
Jerry
LENTZ doesn’t think, like Stanley KUBRICK for 2001 THE SPACE ODYSSEY
and John CARPENTER for GHOSTS OF MARS, to show to the watchers the
extraterrestrials of his project NEBULA, made possible thanks Indiegogo.
He plans for this film thought to reach the highest level of the
science-fiction, too often limited to action nowadays, to only cast some
real models of spaceships too he creates himself with the contribution
of Robert VANCEL, although he raised rather few money instead the
requested amount. The release of INTERSTELLAR directed by Christopher
NOLAN puts him to change the scenario in order to avoid that people
could think he took some inspiration from.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nebula--2
An
animatronic Tyrannosaurus that Jerry LENTZ created few years ago,
helped by the experience of Stan WINSTON whose the first article of this
blog paid a spontaneous tribute.
Model
by Jerry LENTZ
Model
by Robert VANCEL, with aesthetic recalling the great tradition of the
space stations of THE BLACK HOLE movie and some episodes of GALACTICA
series whom the creator just disappeared (see the tribute on the French
blog ).
If the realism isn’t the main goal for the alien being of the movie CREEP!, it’s because
this one relates the behind the scenes story of a little B-movie of the
sixties, THE CREEPING TERROR (1964), filmed with very few money and a
creature made very quickly because the original monster would have been
stolen the day before the filming. Originally planned as a documentary,
the lack of archives pushed to film some shots in order to recreate the
filming, and at first place, the rather unfair director who vanished
suddenly with the money, giving the proof of his dishonesty. The movie
was possible to do thanks the funds received by Kickstarter, a bit money
more for the postproduction was provided across Indiegogo.
Reconstruction
in colour of a scene with a woman fully eaten by one of the two hungry
creatures of THE CREEPING TERROR, made by the crew of CREEP!
The realism is no more the first interest of SCIENCE
TEAM, science-fiction comedy about the adventures of a young man with
his dead mother, an extraterrestrial able to read in minds and the
government burocraty having the mission to track the space creatures;
this movie too banned CGI. The movie was first released into Australia
the 2d November 2014 at Sidney, few time before the USA.
The autopsy of a little monster by the young casting of SCIENCE TEAM.
Of
course, all the projects have not a so lucky end, the magazine
Fangoria, already producer of several movies, SEVERED TIES about a cut
hand living from its own, CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, a vampire movie, and
another one about some mutants, MINDWARP, at the early nineties, tried
to put on Kickstarter THE FACILITY dealing about scientific experiments,
fierce fishes and living deads, but it didn’t met a public interest
since the project obtained only one hundred purcent of the hoped amount,
, and thereof it only stays the trailer dealing of the Katrina typhoon
what wrecked the New Orleans in 2005 :
Indeed a closet, a fish probably not kept for the lunch purpose.
A singular project was launched, in order to « actualize » the famous master piece of horror from the silent era, Friedrich MURNAU’s NOSFERATU, using the new computer abilities for visual effects as they already done for THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI. The project is to replace the original casting by new actors (like Doug JONES instead Max SHREK as the Vampire of the Carpathes) indeed the original itself, in order to bring spoken dialogues and a new soundtrack to the movie. This great classic, unofficial adpatation of Bram STOKER’s DRACULA because MURNAU wasn’t allowed to have the legal rights, was previously redone as a remake by Werner HERZOG with Klaus KINSKI as vampire, the director succeeded to use the modern abilities of cinema to recreate the morbid and hypnotic strength of the original. Difficult to know what the admirer will think about this project trying to put -excepted the colour – modern standards to the original movie picture itself, so much the rhythm and the silent are deeply linked to the aesthetic end the power of suggestion of the MURNAU’s work. Whatever, the project drains a lot of interest since two weeks only were enough to bring half of the needed amount:
Another project, MUST FEED AND WATER, LOVE IS A MONSTER by Michael LANGMAN and Raphe WOLFGANG ends the first January 2015. the little monster is a metaphore of a love story and is intended to be built by Mark VILLALOBOS, who worked on several horror movies before, like the frame by frame animated miniatures on ED WOOD, EVIL DEAD 2 ARMY OF DARKNESS, and the dinosaurs of LAND OF THE LOST serie with the CHIODO brothers, the makeup effects of the two STARSHIP TROOPERS sequels, the sequel of HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP, the three sequels of WISHMASTER, RAIDERS and PROGENY.
To
ask to fans to pledge for a project becomes very usual now; after a non
successful temptative across Kickstarter, Alba GARCIA-RIVAS was allowed
thanks to Indiegogo to do his animation movie TIME SPACE REFLECTIONS
casting some figurines in miniatures sets carefully done (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/time-space-reflections);
the Stop motion magazine dealing of frame by frame animation dealed
about and spoke of some special effects artists on DARK EARTH like Ron
COLE and Nick HILLIGOSS too– the enterprise stopped because its creator
John IKUMA wishes to use his time to work himself on some projects but
it’s still possible to download freely the issues on this link: http://stopmotionmagazine.com/.
Sandy
adventurer, a little mouse previously created by Alba Garcia-Rivas, one
of the creations that the artist has resolved to separate, to buy a new
home, following the disaster that ravaged her home.
Note that in a totally different field, underwater scientific expeditions are also calls to subscribers, like Aquatilis, supported by researchers in the worldwide as Stephen HADDOCK of the renowned Aquarium Monterry.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aquatilis-expedition
A GREAT MAKEUP ARTIST COMES BACK BUT ANOTHER LEAVES
A GREAT MAKEUP ARTIST COMES BACK BUT ANOTHER LEAVES
Since
the nowdays’ Hollywood producers choice more and more to bring onto
screen similar products, with the same standards, and mainly related to
CGI, the latest real monsters makers have often no other opportunities
to cast their art outside these sites of crowfunding, the only way to
give birth again to almost flesh and blood creatures, made of latex
foam, silicon or polyurethane, around an armature, mimicing a real skin
and reacting with the light as every concrete object does. Remind that
george LUCAS himself began to create the first STAR WARS outside the big
studios before to obtain some interest by an executive.
About
STAR WARS, the new trilogy produced by Disney was said to use more
practical effects, as this full sized giant pig prop, although Jeffrey
J. ABRAMS (creator of LOST and FRINGE series) has not shown an
inordinate love for traditional art forms of special effects in his
recent films, SUPER-8 and the last two iterations of STAR TREK on the
big screen.
Construction of a giant pig for the new STAR WARS produced by Disney.
Creature
shop, created by Jim HENSON, after to have included a lot of CGI indeed
his latest works - as the full body of the LOCH NESS’ monster – tries
to put more interest on practical creatures across the Jim Henson's
Creature Shop's challenge aired on SyFy chain cable (formerly Sci-fi), a
contest like Face-off asked to some artists to design and to animate
strange beasts in front of the camera.
Sea
creatures designed for the competition Henson Creature Shop's challenge
broadcasted by the same SyFy channel that has produced so many TV
movies filled with monsters created by computer in the style SHARKNADO,
it’s almost heretic!
We
learned that the makeup artist and special effects master Steve Johnson
(GHOSTBUSTERS I and II, THE ABYSS, SPECIES and its sequel) who had
decided to leave the special effects field like Rob BOTTIN and Patrick
TATOPOULOS because increasing weight of CGI indeed movies (article on
the french blog "Les
derniers grands créateurs déclarent forfait") said he was hired to do
the mutant creatures for a movie based upon the short story of Philip
DICK, THE CRAWLERS, from designs made the australian artist Patricia
PICCINI, well known for his hyperrealist transgenic beings made in
silicon by her sculptors Paul KATTE and Nick NICOLAOU of Make-up Effects
group.
If
some movies like DARK PLANET and HARBINGER DOWN meet a public success
with their promises to offer mainly practical effects, keeping the
digital special effects to the minimum (composition of images by simple
integration in the same plan of some separately filmed elements), we
could lately hope a rebirth of the real special effects, allowed to us
to wait for some other fascinating creatures patiently sculpted in
workshops and living thanks modernized although traditional techniques,
after a long period of interruption. It becomes urgent since even the
famous makeup artist Rick Baker, who thought that unlike the mechanical
special effects made by Stan WINSTON, his own special makeup could
survive the CGI, closed his shop and destroyed his collection of molds,
outputs of so many memorable creatures, victim of competition with
virtual imagery. Another film history page turns sadly.
So,
it’s an evidence that the independent projects raised thanks
crowfunding are needed in order to keep the flame of the imagination and
ingeniosity, proving that to create some concrete fictional beings and
landscapes, in a tangible way and not just as a virtual simulation, is
only a matter of will; another fantastic cinema is possible, the one
that brings really magic on screen. The future isnt written..
