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Vampire Steampunk Silurian is the name of my cover band

7/22/2013

So the creative bug had been biting me pretty hard lately. I really want to do some cool stuff, though I know a lot of it I just will need to learn how to do and it will be crap. I made a list of everything I want to do, and looking at it (it is pretty long) I think I am going to need to make a plan if I am ever going to get any of it done.

Warning: LONG post! Lots of bullshit! A bunch of pics! Feel free to read or skip as appropriate.

First thing, I have been working on a new stop mo. My camera has pretty much crapped out on me, so I am going to have to figure out how to do it without the camera. I have my iPad. I have figured out how to get pics from my iPad to my computer. I have found a few camera control apps for the iPad, though nothing that lets me control the focus the way I want. Also I need to anchor that sucker down somehow so it doesn't look like my characters are in an earthquake all the time.

Here is a quick pic of the set I built. Still needs some work but not too bad.

I plan to make a frame out of this PVC pipe that will hold my iPad and screw onto my tripod.

So I have designed a frame thing that is made of PVC piping and foam insulation tape. I had planned on cutting the PVC with my hacksaw and mitre box. The box is missing. I packed them together, because I usually do not use either one by themselves. One of these days I will either go get another one or find a friend who has power tools to help me cut them at a 45 degree angle and cut a slot in the top for the foam insulation and a place to rest the iPad. Then I will drill a 1/4inch hole in the bottom for mounting to the tripod platform. Project number one. :)

So last weekend I helped a friend move. As per usual she wanted to get rid of stuff, and as per usual I accommodated her and took it off her hands. The first thing was this awesome globe thing that lights up.

Yup, it lights up. It pretty much reminds me of the Ood from Doctor Who...

A face only a mother could love. :P

Now I have to figure out how to costume this bad boy. I can't sew, and I have other sewing projects I want to do. So I will need to find a place to find South Korean looking jackets and grey slacks. And of course the mask. I HAVE to take a shot at making a mask of that face. I have no mask making experience. I do have liquid latex. I have been looking online and if I do it in 3 pieces I may actually be able to pull it off. One piece for the face, another piece for the tentacles, and a final piece for the head. I am currently researching the cost of latex foam. I also need to get myself a few styrofoam heads to use as bases. I think I would make a thin latex mask for the face, a molded latex foam for the head, then attach the tentacles to a large mesh frame that attaches to the mask. that will make it easier to breath. It would also be awesome if I can find a cheap voice modulator.

On the latex mask front, I decided if I am going to do an Ood, I also need to make a Vastra mask.

This is Madame Vastra (picture property of BBC and Doctor Who). She is strong and beautiful and a warrior and everything I wish I could be. She is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. She is married to Jenny, the lady behind her in this picture. If you don't watch any other Doctor Who, it is worth watching the episodes she is in just to bask is this dazzling character. I have been waiting out the last few years of less than stellar storylines and Moffet's version of Psych! and a Doctor who doesn't really feel like the Doctor, but her alone has made this wait worth it. As masks go, this one looks like the most comfortable one to wear for long periods at a time. I would do her Victorian outfits, though. She has some gorgeous black dresses I really want. Though, my next project could conceivably be used for her character.

I also got a green leather coat. It is HUGE. It is very 80's. The shoulder pads are gone, but thiey have left thier mark in the shoulders of this coat. there is enough leather fabric in that coat to make a steampunky vest or two. A vest that would go with the brown leather coat I found last winter. It would also go with the Vastra mask. I also want to sew some aviator pants to use with steampunk.

I want this look, pants boots and all. Except I want to make them black. These pants could go with steampunk and Vastra.

I also was given several sets of vampire fangs. So....I can do regular vampire, steampunk vampire, or vampire Silurian (Vastra is a Silurian). OR Vampire Steampunk Silurian! Oh this is going to be awesome. :)

I can't sew worth a damn, so I will have to find someone to supervise.

So the list....

Not in priority order...

1. Latex Ood mask
2. Latex Madame Vastra mask
3. Build a more interactable stop mo set
4.Leather steampunk vest or two, depending
5.iPad frame with foam insulation
6.Button over aviator pants
7.Steampunk goggles
8.Crochet sweater and vests out of mounds of yarn I have laying around
9.Spin the fleece I have sitting around
10.Play with armatures and different materials to decide on puppets for stop mo.
11. Finish all writing projects (web series, 10 minute short, play, novel)
12.Finish filming current stop mo

I once told someone I am never bored. If I had a bajillion dollars, I would have plenty to do. They didn't believe me. :)

So now I have to decide what needs to be done with each of these projects, when I want to have them done by, and what I need in order to finish them. Then I will make a general plan to get them done.

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Busy as a beav...er, bee

12/9/2012

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Well, it has been a very productive weekend. I haven't finished recording and posting stories yet, but it still has been very productive.

I spent several hours yesterday rewriting the story arc for the webseries. This is re-write number 3. Re-write because the direction it was going has changed so dramatically I had to go back and change the first few episodes and reconfigure the story arc. For some reason this time my characters are telling me where they want go with it, and it is not what I had in mind at all. However, it is truer to the characters themselves, so I guess I don't mind the rewrite. It is also necessitating the addition of more great characters, so I starting losing track of it all. And little jokes, story threads and character interactions are popping in, giving little touches to what was a good silly little story thing. It has become more than I meant it to be. I do not think it is bad. But it really isn't what I had in mind when I started this. it is tons better. I just hope I can make it fully to fruition.

One thing I noticed was I kept having to flip around through my notebooks to make sure I was referencing each character correctly, and not leaving dangling story threads through out. I found cheap foam board at the Dollar Tree, which I had planned to use for light bouncing. I decided that having everything easily accessible was a better idea.

So now, my walls look like this:

I just taped the foam board to the walls using packing tape. I will still be able to use the other side for lighting. I also am saving a few to put animation notes on. As crazy as it looks, it is actually helpful. I have never been in a writer's room, but after I did all this I realized this room now looks like pictures I have seen on the intertubes. So maybe I am on to something. Probably a lot less efficient, as it follows my logic not general conventions, but still. Sitting back and looking at it all I feel like I actually accomplished something. And I feel that much closer to this thing becoming a reality.

Also this weekend my friend drove me to the hardware store so I could purchase some supplies. I bought plywood, 1x1, 1-1/2x1/2, etc. I glued and nailed the boards together for a frame, then I glued and nailed the plywood to the top. Once it is dry I will have a base I can clamp to the table and attach a background.

Here are some pics:

So that's now done. I also purchased some small pieces of sheet metal. I am still figuring out what exactly I want to do with them. One of the ways I anchor my puppets is by using magnets. Unlike some, I put my magnets in the feet and use a metal base. Even if I feel the need to go the other way with my new puppets, a sheet metal base for the floor will give extra stability. I just haven't exactly decided how to execute it yet.

So that was my weekend. I still have a ton to do, but I feel like I am moving forward instead of stagnating.

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Now I just need a mini Doctor......

4/5/2012

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I looked through my script and through the book and I couldn't find anything I needed for this video. The drawers idea looks awesome, but has some serious altering that is needed and I am too tired to do that today. It shows you how to make a dresser or drawer cabinet with matchboxes. They use the large ones. I have the tiny ones, though they are still a bit big for my 1-1/2 inch guys. I would need to cut them in half length wise and width wise, which would lose the drawer-like quality of the matchbox. I need to go to the dollar store to get some groceries anyway, so tomorrow I will see if they have smaller ones. If not, and I have the energy, I will see if I can take one of the matchboxes apart and make a shrunken pattern from it.

So instead I tried to make a mini replica of my David Tennant era Sonic Screwdriver. Here are the results, for better or worse:

Here is the original....

And here is my attempt at a replica.

Yup...the original is 7 inches, and my replica is just over half an inch. it is kind of hard to see. The top has blue paint on it. I plan to enhance that with GIMP magic when I do the actual shooting. the original has a blacklight on the end that glows blue. It order for it to glow I pretty much decided when I wrote the scene that it was going to have to be enhanced. I may try to do another one, just to see if I can get it carved better. I really am not a sculptor. It was completely square when I started.

And I did this:

That is going to be the remote control. I haven't decided if I am going to attempt to add button like things or not. It is so very, very tiny.

And that is all the energy I have. I was up until 3am last night. Stressing about not having a job yet is effecting me in a big way. I had to get up this morning, though, to fill out applications and resumes. I think I did ok with them. I hope I did not say anything stupid in my sleep dep state. But I got a few in for places I really want to work, so please send good vibes from wherever you are. Employments is a must. At least the cancerous looking lip scab is gone, though I still can't move my lip correctly.

Ok, lastly but not leastly, you can still go vote for my Douglas Adams Video. Ten more days and voting will be done. I just wanna know already. Apparently grouchy tired Eleanor is grouchy and tired.

EDIT: OK, I had to do it. I took pictures with the guy and the Sonic Screwdriver. Here's the best one. Look at these pictures, though, seems I am going to have to take a whack at making another one. The black part split.

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Vampire Steampunk Silurian is the name of my cover band

Busy as a beav...er, bee

Now I just need a mini Doctor......

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