Catching up...HOUSE OF BLACK WINGS
Going back to talk about projects I missed...
Last year I got an email from Craig Mullins of UNFILMABLE.COM (one of my favorite websites, devoted to Lovecraftian cinema) introducing me to a creative & driven young director named David Schmidt, who heads the Chicago-based SWORD & CLOAK PRODUCTIONS. David and his colleagues were finishing up on his second feature film, the Lovecraft-inspired HOUSE OF BLACK WINGS, a wonderfully creepy tale set in an old hotel infested with "Dreamfeeders"--strange, insect-like creatures that feed on people's subconsciouses. David asked if I'd be interested in creating a stop-motion shot of a Dreamfeeder for a sequence in the film.
David, you had me at "strange, insect-like creatures"...
It was interesting that this came along after I had done the fly puppets for the COMFORT DRAG video, since I was going to be using the same bug-making techniques again, only on a fantastical kind of animal.
I ended up making a wire armature and using Magic Sculpt for the legs and carapace--the long drying time makes it possible to sculpt in nice details and insert individual nylon hairs.
The puppet was fully poseable with a segmented body, antennae and a couple of whiplike tails. I don't mind telling you, the damn thing creeps me out...
The Dreamfeeder was lit with one 60-watt bulb bounced off a small, adjustable mirror that could be animated like a flashlight beam. We talked out the blocking of the shot, and I filmed it in one, ten-hour session.
I'm really excited to see the finished film...'until then, here's the super-creepy trailer:
Last year I got an email from Craig Mullins of UNFILMABLE.COM (one of my favorite websites, devoted to Lovecraftian cinema) introducing me to a creative & driven young director named David Schmidt, who heads the Chicago-based SWORD & CLOAK PRODUCTIONS. David and his colleagues were finishing up on his second feature film, the Lovecraft-inspired HOUSE OF BLACK WINGS, a wonderfully creepy tale set in an old hotel infested with "Dreamfeeders"--strange, insect-like creatures that feed on people's subconsciouses. David asked if I'd be interested in creating a stop-motion shot of a Dreamfeeder for a sequence in the film.
David, you had me at "strange, insect-like creatures"...
It was interesting that this came along after I had done the fly puppets for the COMFORT DRAG video, since I was going to be using the same bug-making techniques again, only on a fantastical kind of animal.
I ended up making a wire armature and using Magic Sculpt for the legs and carapace--the long drying time makes it possible to sculpt in nice details and insert individual nylon hairs.
The puppet was fully poseable with a segmented body, antennae and a couple of whiplike tails. I don't mind telling you, the damn thing creeps me out...
The Dreamfeeder was lit with one 60-watt bulb bounced off a small, adjustable mirror that could be animated like a flashlight beam. We talked out the blocking of the shot, and I filmed it in one, ten-hour session.
I'm really excited to see the finished film...'until then, here's the super-creepy trailer:
posted by Michael Granberry at 8:56 PM
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