Discussions are also underway
with Zurich based producer / director Ray McCormack regarding a
feature length documentary, potentially being shot later this
year. McCormack's previous film, A CRUDE AWAKENING, won several
festival awards, has been screened worldwide, and was i-tunes
most downloaded film on the week of its release. It is also
available on DVD:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crude-Awakening-Oil-Crash/dp/B0011W2IL0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1213492844&sr=1-1
Subject matter remains
confidential for the time being, but I been asked to
helm 2nd unit and undertake all motion control timelapse
cinematography on portions of the shoot in Europe, Asia and
China. The development of a lightweight timelapse dolly system, and dedicated focus controllers for
shooting with digital SLRs, will form part of the pre-production
process.
NO-MAN's album SCHOOLYARD
GHOSTS has now been released to an extremely warm reception by
both press and fans alike. The dual CD + DVD-A is available from
Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schoolyard-Ghosts-No-Man/dp/B00163JGZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1213491780&sr=1-1
Or from band member Tim Bowness' label BURNING SHED:
http://www.burningshed.com/store/noman/collection/271/1087/
8th May 2008
Just returned from
Stage 02 of the ANCIENT SKIES project, having generating 15 mins.
of material on location in Wales and Anglesey. I will shortly
embark on Stage 03, to Cumbria and Scotland. A couple of shots
from the work in progress have been sold to the BBC for a
TIMEWATCH programme about Stonehenge, due for broadcast later this year.
The edit for ANCIENT SKIES is
scheduled to take place between June 5th and 25th in Amsterdam
under the supervision of Jan Tonsmann, and a 7 min. reel will be
premiered at the end of the month as part of the International
Planetarium Society annual conference and DOMEFEST being held
in Adler Planetarium, Chicago.
The NO-MAN videos for
WHEREVER THERE IS LIGHT is now available for download
on the
showreels page.
Shot over the course of four days, original 13:9 aspect
images were captured at high resolution and animated and cropped
to 16:9 in After Effects. The timelapse only version is featured
on the DVD-A 5.1 release of the album 'Schoolyard Ghosts.' The
'sentimental' version is only available on this site.
www.no-man.co.uk
8th April 2008
After a highly successful IMAX
conference, the REMNANTS project proceeds apace and has morphed
into a more wide ranging FullDome production with the working
title ANCIENT SKIES. I have returned from a week's shoot in
Cornwall, where I generated 12 mins. of motion
controlled time lapse material.
Two more shoots are planned
(Wales and the Midlands; Scotland and Cumbria) to coincide with
full moon sequences in April and May. And with major
investment in equipment, two fully feathered, long duration and
night capable motion control systems are now available.
We are delighted to welcome
post-production supervisor Jan Tonsmann to the project, with
whose help a high resolution demo will be cut.
Now completed
is the video for NO-MAN's song WHEREVER THERE IS LIGHT from their
forthcoming album SCHOOLYARD GHOSTS. The film will included
alongside two others in the DVD-A 5.1 release, and information
about the album can be found at
http://burningshed.co.uk/aconfession/
I have also edited three
sample reels for my long cherished documentary DREAMING
OUT LOUD which will chart the life and legacy of the late, great
acoustic guitar maestro Michael Hedges.
13th February 2008
Shooting of daytime exteriors at Wayland's Smithy chambered
long barrow are complete, and production is also underway for the NO-MAN
video, with approx. 3 minutes of timelapse material captured so
far. I will be attending the forthcoming Imax / Large Format
film conference in London, March 4th and 5th (with many thanks
to Glenn Smith of SKY-SKAN)
A modified proposal of GODS OF
BRITAIN - written with Toby Marks (BANCO DE GAIA) - has been submitted and is currently under
consideration in the 'ITVS International Call'. Mike Greenwood
is slated to direct if the application is successful.
31st January 2008
Further night shooting for
REMNANTS has been hampered by poor winter weather conditions,
though one partially successful session was undertaken at The
Devil's Den in Wiltshire in late November. An upgrade to the 'Mini Moco' motion control system has been
undertaken and is now operational. The system is now able to
perform 'feathered' accelerations and decelerations whilst in
timelapse mode.
I have been invited by
Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson of the band NO-MAN to create a
video for a song from the forthcoming album, working title
SCHOOLYARD GHOSTS. Not for broadcast as a promo, the video will
however, if selected for inclusion, appear on the DVD-A release
and likely on the NO-MAN website.
www.no-man.co.uk
My timelapse library is now represented by
www.timelapsedigital.com
For direct access to my page
please visit
www.timelapsedigital.com/products.php?cat=103
Wishing Ron Fricke and
Mark Magidson the very best of luck with the production of
SAMSARA, which is now underway. The follow up to the critically
acclaimed BARAKA, it is being shot in 5 perf. 70mm over the next
12 months or so, and is likely to be the last ever feature film
to be originated in this format.
7th November 2007
Two night shoots for the
REMNANTS project demo film are now complete - one at
Stonehenge, the other at West Kennet Long Barrow.
Thorsten Quaeschning recently
used some of my other visuals as projections during a
concert in Berlin with his band PICTURE PALACE MUSIC. The
concert may have a DVD release.
Awaiting feedback from the
academic teams, final tweaks and picture lock for the Open
University SACRED SPACES films are now expected to be completed
by November 15th.
6th October 2007
The REMNANTS project is
underway
I'm delighted to announce that
a major development deal for the REMNANTS project has
been struck. A 4 min. test film will be shot over the coming months
for the new 'FullDome' format, with sponsorship provided by Glenn
Smith, Managing Director of the European division of SKY-SKAN, one
of the world's principal manufacturers of dome theatres. Logistical
and screening support is being provided by Mario Di Maggio, Manager
of Thinktank Planetarium, situated in the Birmingham Science
Museum, UK.
We are also delighted to
announce that the soundtrack will comprise music by former
Tangerine Dream member Johannes Schmoelling - re-mixed and interpreted by
new member Thorsten Quaeschning.
www.johannesschmoelling.de
www.thorstenquaeschning.com
The finished reel will be
ready for premiere at the forthcoming Giant Screen Cinema
Association conference in London, March 2008, where we will seek
partners for full production finance.
Shooting multi-axis motion
controlled time-lapse with full frame sensor cameras, I
will focus primary efforts at
Stonehenge, Avebury and West Kennet Long Barrow, as well as
undertaking further day-time shooting in the South West of
England throughout November and December.
Fine cuts on the SACRED SPACES
project are now complete and awaiting approval, prior to final
tweaks, sound mix, animation and picture lock. The
soundtrack for these 3 x 15 min. programs has been selected from
the back catalogue of BANCO DE GAIA.
www.banco.co.uk
6th September 2007
Both
principal photography and 1st assembly edits for the Open
University SACRED SPACES project are complete, under the supervision of former BBC
director and producer Mike Greenwood. The 1st assemblies have met with
approval from all parties and final cutting will commence shortly with
picture lock and delivery scheduled for late September / early
October.
I will be returning to Beauvais,
France in early October with FULL RANGE MEDIA to update the AGCO /
MASSEY FERGUSON corporate videos shot last year, where once again he
will assume motion control time-lapse duties. Major investment in
new equipment has recently been undertaken in preparation for this
shoot. The total system will shortly comprise 3
x Nikon D-70s cameras, 3 x intervalometers, and 1 x rotary
table plus new grip equipment and a SIGMA fish-eye lens.
Lasse Hoile utilised and manipulated
several minutes of my time-lapse material shot for MIRAGEMEN
in a tour film / video for the band DREAM THEATRE, which will be used
during the promotion of their new album SYSTEMATIC CHAOS. The
PORCUPINE TREE material is still showing as part of the final 2007
shows of the band in the US and Europe.
2nd June 2007
I will be spending
much of the summer shooting video and motion controlled time-lapse for
an Open University DVD for Pier Productions, entitled SACRED SPACES,
as well as editing the final 45 min. programme.
Lasse Hoile's videos for
Porcupine Tree, featuring my images, are currently showing on
their US tour, and hopefully will be posted here in the near future.
21st May 2007
I have just returned from a three
week trip to the USA where I shot both HD 720p video and
time-lapse for the second half of John Lundberg and Mark Pilkington's
forthcoming HD documentary MIRAGEMEN. Locations included New Jersey,
Arkansas, Los Angeles, California, Arizona and New Mexico. The project
is currently in the edit and is due to be completed by the end of
2007.
The pictures below were part of
the time-lapse material and were photographed at Trona Pinnacles in
the Mojave Desert and outside of Alamagordo, New Mexico.
To read Lundberg and Pilkington's
highly regarded journal of all things odd and paranormal, please
visit:
www.strangeattractor.co.uk
24th April 2007
The PORCUPINE TREE - FEAR OF A
BLANK PLANET image gallery and downloadable video are now available.
Please visit the
galleries page, and see the video on-line at
http://www.vimeo.com/1105748
23rd March 2007
I am working on an additional
treatment for a more expansive NO-MAN video, but the first
prospective test video GONEFLAKES is now complete.
An alternate edit of a taster
reel for Porcupine Tree has been cut, and awaits feedback, but in
keeping with the band's general approach and visual continuity, this
taster, a 5-6 min. reel and the image gallery will all be posted on
April 18th to coincide with the opening night of the tour.
25th February 2007
I have been working some
additional days on the Lurpak commercial, and also winding down the
Porcupine Tree shoot which should be completed in the next 7-10
days, unless extra footage is requested. A one and half minute
taster reel has been cut, and awaits approval and permission before
it can be posted here. A gallery of images is also
planned.
I have committed to shooting the
second half of the documentary MIRAGEMEN for director/producers John
Lundberg and Mark Pilkington.
Prior to the shoot I will be
creating the video sketch GONEFLAKES for Tim Bowness and Steven
Wilson, who comprise the band NO-MAN. Intended to simply demonstrate
an idea, it hopefully will lead to a commission to direct a video
proper later in 2007.
1st February 2007
I have spent most
of January assisting Oxford based DoP Phil Ball with one of a series
of commercials for Lurpak butter. With working title 'The Mighty
Shroom' - it has involved set construction, lighting and general
digital camera assistance in the production of 8 plate shots and 3
long duration motion controlled time-lapse shots of mushrooms growing
in custom built 'macro' sets. Over the Christmas period, and in
between the commercial, he has continued to generate material for
Lasse Hoile and Porcupine Tree, whose deadline has been extended to
the end of February. Over 20 minutes of footage has now been created,
and a target of 30 mins. is desired.
I have also finalised all the
elements of a promo DVD for the planned IMAX production 'REMNANTS'.
The DVD will be sent to all European and selected US IMAX theatres in
order to attract funding.
