Sunday, August 2, 2009

Space Ships......CHECK!!!

Shel here:Thirteen weeks later (four more than i had hoped for)............and after a Really FUN Big Push this last week with more than a couple inspired late nights (i'm not generally the late night shift in this team, but having an end in sight is pretty motivating!).....i'm happy to say the ships are D O N E.

here's some pics......







Since we are starting our shoot on a desert planet with two crashed ships......they have sustained some damage already......



Some parts are replaceable for "fixing" on camera......
There are many other parts that i'm still making as props..... and a third "mystery ship" that is just in the finishing up stage......but after tomorrow, i start the transformation of our garage from WORKSHOP to STAGE...... HUGE STEP FORWARD!!!!

So many hands have helped with these puppies, whether with an hour or two, or days, or weeks, i've been extremely grateful for the support from interns, friends, family, a guy i met one morning who used to like to paint models, and even a composer (?!).....

Stop Mo Set Master JEFF CROSS who showed me how, and taught me tons.....
The extrodinarily generous and knowledgable DICK KANESHIRO who came in and worked steady for many weeks and has been a HUGE help.

Our newest intern in front JUSTIN CONNELY, who just moved to LA to start an animation degree at USC Sept.....we are so fortunate to have his great sculpting skills and friendliness on the project! In back that's ROBERT LITTON, our multi-talented (and very game!) composer.


JOHN SUMNER from Buddy Systems Studios generously stopped by one day to help me figure out the Flea's ship paint job.


CAM LEEBURG who came in early on and made some serious contributions, before he got real work and had to leave......i miss his easy nice in the shop.

Justin's brother TODD did a super professional job making the "bucks" for our windshields and welding those mighty legs on Flea's ship.

my lovely friend RALF, an oh-so-beautiful dancer, choreographer, teacher and world traveler, made a guest teaching stop in LA and gave a hand one afternoon. Aedon's and my friend KEYA, who has an artist's heart, a love for stop motion, and a beautiful curiosity about how things work in general.


ROBERT LITTON, and the consistantly upbeat and awesome, not to mention an amazing sculptress, BRIDGET DASH


RENE who, lucky for me, is very friendly and likes to paint (and who i had met just 3 hours before this pic was taken!)


Justin's sister JENNA put her dentistry skills to use on part of Dober's dash board (and conveniently on Aedon as well in a fluke dental emergency!)

I've learned so much from and about each of these lovely peeps, hanging out in the garage, talking, not talking, listening to music, sharing showers of blue dust and paint splats.....it's truly been a joy sharing the process with each of them.


So NEXT:


1. CLEAN and ORGANIZE the "studio" (seperate and make accessable the stuff we'll need in the space for the next 2 years and pack up and store the stuff we won't)

2. make and put a LIGHTING GRID on the ceiling

3. finish up researching and order a POWER CONDITIONER to keep the flicker at bay

4. design and build the SET (dress it)

5. design and build the BACKGROUNDS (paint them)

I would love to have all this done by september 30....... HA!!

a girl can dream........

27 comments:

Robert Litton said...

Super exciting...and thrilling to be a part of.

NOW CAN WE SCORE IT?!?!?

Darkmatters said...

Wow!!!! So AWESEOME!!!!

The ships are so freakin professional... they look like they can really take off and fly through space!!!

Hey, about that lighting grid, you might want to think about using PVC pipes or even wooden dowels... you can get them the right diameter (well, depending on what kind of lighting clamps you plan to use) -- and so lightweight compared to steel pipes hanging over your head!

Gregory Sesma said...

Wowie wow wow!, the ships are GREAT!!!

Three cheers for you and your team.

a guy in a gorilla suit said...

Incredible. Like Strider said - they are looking like they are ready for take off. And then the replacement part stuff. Amazing. Congratulation and my deepest admiration for the whole team.

Alonso said...

SWEEET!!! They totally look ready to be torn out of a plastic and cardboard box and played with all christmas morning, so fun so cool!

What's really neat is the feeling that you've made an excuse for gathering a lot of fun people together and hanging out, which is really inspiring as a way to live, let alone run a film shop :)

tonychauzer said...

Many smiles in that garage! Ships came out great, some of those flea ship shots look like it was taken on on another planet - very cool.

You can tell the joy that goes on there just through these photos, must be a blast to take part in, in person! Keep livin' the dream!

Shelley Noble said...

Check? That check-box wasn't just checked, it was smashed and destroyed! These are so great, Shel and her happy [massive] team.

Ryan McCulloch said...

You guys never stop, you're putting together quite a dream team! I want to watch the film now:)

David said...

Lots of work, but HUGE payoff! All of it looks just AMAZING!

Craig Harris said...

!!!!!!!!!
BAM
!!!!!!!!!
POW
!!!!!
Ka BOOOM
!!!!!!
Great job Shel ....congratulations!!!

Alonso said...

hey, just out of curiosity, what kind of schedule are you guys working on? Every day 9-5, twice a week after dinner? You guys are making great progress just wondering what kind of time contstraints you are working around to do it? Keep it up whatever it is :D

jriggity said...

Robert}- Thanks dood and You KNOW How EXCITED WE ARE about this project!!

DarkStrider} Shel did an Incredible job on Everything!! I am sooo proud of her work and She Runs the shop like shes done it for years.

Our crew of Interns were such a blessing.

as for the lighting grid....we took your advice and shel designed a whole grid out of Wooden dowels..

we go into construction tomorrow.....

Gregory} -Thanks dood!

Gorillasuits}thanks man....Ill tell you what man....there is TONS of stuff these pics dont show...

lots of replacement part stuff....and weapons and Ship interiors....more magic to come.

Alonso} my thoughts exactly man!!!
This film is chock full of my little kid fantasy action toys...

and as for inspiration...coming home to a garage full of people who want to be a part of OUR little cartoon is so INCREDIBLE....and completly Inspiring.

tonychauzer} thanks man...and YES ...we are Livin the DREAM!!!200%

Herself} - Thanks a bunch!...This was a big milestone for us and this film..... It was another complete mystery to us...

Build spaceships-???? uuughh ok.....here we go...

and now BOOM....There it is...Thrilling - Next

Ryan} Thanks man...and Its just plain torturous waiting for an animated film to be made...It takes forever.

Dave} thanks man!

Craig}thanks and MORE ta come.

Alonso}Heres a schedule breakdown....

Shel is working mentally - alot!

She is in the Garage {Every Tuesday} from 11 am...to 10pm throughout the day with any interns that want to help

She works a bit{3 -4 hours } on Thursday early in the day

other wise....she might sneek an {hour} or so at night while Im excersizing a couple times a week.

sometimes more or Less....depending on Life..

I {Justin}have been working on a completely seperate schedule - I dont start till about {12:00 midnight}....and I try to not go past 2:30 am. Sunday Night through Thursday.

I have been trying to sleep 8 hours a night for as long as I can before we really start shooting the film.....which will require more work.

we also both have 2 Fulltime Jobs and Lots and Lots of Responsabilities..ha!

We must really LOVE this stuff!!!ha! YEP....

jriggity

rich said...

justin, u must be so pumped to start animating those beautiful ships!

grats to the whole team! ships look fantastic!

Alonso said...

Hey Justin, Since you don't get to start working on your personal film until late in the day, after you've already put in a full day at your day job, how do you get your energy and mind revved up and fresh again so you can do your film justice?

I also don't get a chance to work on my stuff until late at night, and while I find that once I'm going I can get into the zone, it sometimes takes a big effort to get the ball rolling.

Mike Adair said...

Go, go, GO!
Totally out of this world work!

jriggity said...

rich} - man....you have no idea how excited I am to start animating on this film!!!

Alonso} Discipline man...thats my only answer....When I finally sit down to work at night....

I pop in a dvd to listen to while I work and then I just make that first move. Once I start I am off to the races...

I know I use Goals as motivators and deadlines keep me working toward a goal. I hate not making my goals...so I dont want to feel that failure.

Mike Adair} thanks man!

Anonymous said...

I love the details on the spaceship such the bolts on the exterior, the landing gears, the engine interior. Awesome dude!

Vanessa said...

This looks AMAZING!!!! The ships look so great... I love all that texture and age on the metal colored one. wonderful.

Thanks Justin for all the comments and support you give me on my blog! THe interview I had went well and now I am an intern over at Buddy System Studios - so needless to say, I recognize a couple of those bright shiny faces in the pics you posted above(John and Dick - both of whom I met briefly last week).

To answer your Q, I live in Oxnard but I hop around downtown all the time. Now I will be frequenting North Hollywood quite a bit :)

amoebaboy said...

yet again, lovley work guys

B.Oakley said...

Man, your puppet parties look like so much fun!! I wish I could help out. The spaceships look awesome.

Daniel Driscoll said...

Simply amazing- everything looks great!

Jacque Pierro said...

WOW! Amazing work guys! The ships look really AWESOME!

Kelly Shon said...

Wow....O.,O
I can't say anything but wow

Unknown said...

Everyone is right, those ships look ready to be played with! I think i want one right now in my living room to have awesome outer space daydreams with. and the crew looks amazing.... I don't think i could get that many people over to help me out with dinner, let alone a movie! Great job on a terrific feat with a terrific crew. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Fish said...

HOT DIGGITY

Immencely briliant. Well done guys =]

Marnik

jriggity said...

HwangNguyen} thanks brother!

Vanessa Soberanis}thanks vanessa....Im sure Ill meet ya at Buddy systems soon.

amoebaboy}thanks dood-from the ship master himself!!

B.Oakley}if your in town....stop by the garage man!

Daniel Driscoll} hey dood! First time poster....thanks for stoppin by!

Jacque} thanks and thanks for stopping by the blog!!

Kelly Shon} Hey there!! So cool to see ya here...Ive been watching your blog.

Nathalia M}Thanks alot!

Fish}thanks man!

The Beauty and a Geek said...

Hey Gang LOVE the ships! Your skills and creativity just astound me. Can't wait to see more.