The Conspiritorium of Doctor Parnassus

The first time I saw Gilliam's Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus I was struck by a few things. First being the amazing practical work on the oversize horse-drawn traveling circus.

Ignore the eye in the pyramid. Conspiracy is so passé...

Second, Tom Waits as the devil. How perfect is motherfucking Tom Waits as the devil? Gorgeous. Third was how incredibly well the guest actors, tasked with replacing Heath Ledger after his death, worked into the plot. Sure, Jude Law showing up as sort of a motivational dream speaker was a little bit of a longshot- but his perpetual glued-on grin is hilarious. Colin Farrel was an easy plant as a magazine model the daughter is obsessed with. But still. You lose your lead to overdose halfway into principle photography, and you manage to recover with some really creative workarounds that even, I might argue, add to the depth of the film. Lastly, and more unfortunately, was how poor some CG can play onscreen in contrast to ole fashioned craftsmanship.

But there was something else that struck me- the similarity between George/Tony's (Heath Ledger's) predicament and the Propaganda Due (P2) conspiracy.

In the film, Parnassus, along with his daughter and troop, discover a hanging man from beneath a bridge in london. He has a brick with strange marks in his pockets and similar symbols written on his forehead.



Later (spoilers follow,) it's revealed that he's stolen/embezzeled/swindled money from the Russian mafia. He eventually turns into a villain- difficult to predict on first viewing as it could go either way. Add to that the fact that Ledger's character switches faces. Here's the thing, though. The circumstance of Ledger's appearance is a clear analog of the murder of Italian banker Roberto Calvi in 1982. Even moreso than I thought-- a quick follow-up in conspiracy lore reminds us that Calvi was indeed hanged in London, not his native Italy.

The P2 conspiracy is generally regarded as one of the more concrete conspiracy theories of the 20th century. It has many confirmed facts as well as both money and paper trails. It deals with a Masonic lodge (yes, Freemasons, no, I don't think much of Masonic conspiracy.) What makes it abnormal, aside from the fact that it is documented, is the fact that certain members of this Italian Masonic lodge were using the cover of a Freemason lodge, itself a secret society, as cover for yet another internal secret society, Propaganda Due. (This is called a 'black lodge,' or a 'covert lodge,' operating independently within a Masonic lodge) P2 had been, among other things, laundering money for a major Italian bank with ties to the Vatican. This sounds crazy, but it's all there.

The P2 lodge is eventually linked to, among others, the murder of Roberto Calvi- a banker closely tied to the Holy See and the money flow of the Vatican. The day before the discovery of his body, he was dismissed from his bank and his secretary jumped to her death from the 5th story window of their office. Suspicious. Calvi had fled to London a few days before. He was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge (significant to Masons) in the financial district of London carrying about $15,000 in 3 different currencies, and more notably, bricks in his pockets- a Masonic symbol. One of the oaths taken during Masonic ritual is, approximately, should I betray my brothers may I be hanged over the rising tide with bricks in my pockets. Of course, if you needed to kill a banker and make it look like someone else did it, pinning it on the Masons via a series of clear ritualistic clues would be a great way to do it. And here is where the conspiracy breaks the reality-barrier and should be treated as an unprovable uncertainty. What is certain (via documentation, investigation, and trial) is that P2 existed, and a real assassin was hired to take care of Calvi by somebody. Unless he fled his country, withdrew tons of cash, then filled his own pockets with bricks and jumped off a bridge after strangling himself with a noose. Anyways.

I have to think that Gilliam read about Propaganda Due and used it as inspirational source material. In this context, the addition of the throat-reinforcing flute is inspired. The second viewing of this film was better than the first. I wonder if there are more hidden things in it. And I sort of wish there were more films like it. It reminds me of The Fisher King in a lot of ways, but more fantastic. It takes balls to mix classical theater and storytelling with contemporary film.

The Production Beast

Well, I gots me a job, and after the first month I can wind down for a day and post some strange things. Like, I suddenly shoot, edit, and design graphics for local car commercials. I build and disassemble a Jimmy-Jib Triangle and shoot with a Varicam. If I said I could do any of this with confidence before starting this job, it would be a stretch. But if I were to look around for anyone more qualified, I'd be hard pressed. In any case, here I am plugging 50-60 hours a week on salary with the understanding that I am to build up and maintain the largest production company in this little city. There will be some misunderstandings, (it's not a well-oiled machine) but for now, I work hard and talk little. And drink.

Production is a funny thing. Having been around so many different productions gives one a strong sense that no one production is bound to be alike. There are similarities. Grip work and Production Assistant work are a great place for someone like me: I do what is asked, power through the strange, and come away having observed every single mistake and communication breakdown that has occurred. After several overlong days of coming home with split fingernails and hands smelling of blood and metal, as if you'd been rubbing a lucky coin pilfered from a gangster, one can relax and pay bills. It's honest work in a creative field. Then again, there's also shooting six cars while strapped into the flatbed of a pickup truck going 70 MPH over a bridge. Don't worry, I'll strap myself in, I say, meaning really, If I'm going to die, it will be because I strap me in wrong, and no on else. Also thinking, No worries. I've done this before. Ignoring the lesser voice that says, "Last time was safer."

I'm not really a cinematographer, but I am an artist and this jives with me as a shooter. Production experience has been invaluable to me, and being an artist (whatever that brings with it) had been simply an afterthought out of tune with money most of the time. But why separate the two? Why separate any experience? Am I to find a career as a fractured, schizophrenic talent? Fuck 'em. I'm a production guy, a painter, a writer. Animator, server. Who cares.

I think I've been in Greenville, SC for too long. Small towns and I do not agree on many things.

Meanwhile, I have a commission for a large oil painting due in April, a webcomic about to launch (Guardians, please let this issue post now, I've been sitting on it for two months) and, yes, a film about an elephant to work on again. When I can.

The Gauntlet, The Standfast, and the Intuos

I built this abomination in order to do some paint-on-glass work for Plus et Plus. This was my second time doing something for them with this medium, unfortunately it turns out they didn't need much of it.

The Gauntlet:

Canon EOS SLR (in this case a 20D) controlled via DSC plugin for Framethief 2.19 mounted to c-stand via superclamp. Panasonic HVX (or summat) on a tripod for lo-res playback. A few units from a light kit. A desk lamp. 2 pieces of plexi, 1 opaque white, 1 opaque black, cut to size at T and T plastics, 315 Church St. just up from Canal. Then lots of acrylic pumped full of retardant and stored in squirt bottles. For those of you paying attention, yes, due to the use of opaque plexi this is a top- (or front-)lit rig.

I've never really had this much trouble from a setup. Some of it was my fault, some of it was the fault of the studio in charge of the equipment, and some of it was just plain bad luck. My Mac died on day 3 and had to be replaced- The DSC plugin for FT is crummy and doesn't support newer cameras, so when we wanted to switch to an EOS 5D that held a Zeiss 80mm Macro lens, it wouldn't work. So we put the lens on the 20D- which wouldn't work. Evidently the lens and the body wouldn't be friends and upon any attempt to take a picture, a big "Err 001" sign would flash in the EOS LED, then the whole camera would lock up.... On and on like this for days, every day.

These are just a few tests I did one day, then the client cut all my paint-on-glass stuff. I was all pumped to do some moving Turner-like fog, but evidently they misunderstood what "paint-on-glass" animation is. So, again, I never got to take the stuff past simple one-off tests. It seems that just when I'm ready to get rolling with this stuff, I get cut off. Grr.

The 1080p versions are a bit more eye-candy lookin', but they're still just tests. I will say this: I'm strongly considering picking up Dragon Stop Motion for my stand alone P.o.G. rig. Framethief works for pencil testing, and I own a commercial license for it. Still, DragonSM works the same way but with a better interface and more support for various models of SLR cameras, and in some cases allows for viewfinder preview without an additional firewire video source. This cuts out a whole fileset and piece of gear so I'm considering taking the plunge. Not to mention they aren't charging an exorbitant amount for their software, something I truly appreciate these days.

The Standfast:

Now that I have my own camera stand, I could theoretically get some non-drying sculpty and do some stop motion films with no added setup. Oh, I forgot to mention. My lovely, fantastic, amazing cousins donated an old camera stand to my efforts. It's a CS-5 TestRite. No more jury-rigged tripods.

And, for my christmas present to myself, a brand-spanking new Wacom Intuos 4. Cost: Relative. Size: Medium. Impact: Huge. After years of gifted graphires and hand-me-down tablets, I had to take the plunge and get a pro model.

Next post will be about this feature film that I'm cutting on contract. It's nearing completion, I'm just waiting on some pickups. After this job, I'm not taking any more contract work until my film is complete.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Boarding Process is Complete

No posts ≠ A lull.  Quite the opposite.  I've been meaning to finally announce it but haven't had the time:  Storyboards are finished, and the animatic along with them.  The film grew quite a bit, and when people hear the final running time they seem surprised.  Maybe even a bit wary.  I assure you, it moves very quickly and the run time doesn't feel long.  Trust me, I loathe nothing more than a short that overstays its welcome.  I sincerely appreciate, probably more than most, a short that holds itself to under or around ten minutes.  But gods, this thing got epic.  The story is almost worth blowing up into a feature.  With much effort, I've paced it out quite deliberately so that the run time doesn't feel long at all.

A quick statsheet before all-out breakdowns and budget revision begins:

 

Paperwork

• 527 shots.

• 29 minutes and 37 seconds give or take a few credits and thanks.

• 5 paint-on-glass sequences interspersed with the traditional 2D.

• Opening sequence covers social change over many centuries of history in 1:48 seconds.

Backstory: History as Truth and Symbol

• Main character first appears at shot 22, almost 2 full minutes into the film- and isn't seen in full, in daylight until shot 58, the first few seconds of minute 4.

• First elephant fight sequence from 7:18 to 8:40.

• Only ONE dissolve to relocate/pass time, and it's a match move.  There are 3 more dissolve transitions in place, but they are to denote when 2d gives way to paint-on-glass in the animatic.  All other necessary transitions are done through an original visual or audio cue.
  

• 10 Distinct, remarkable *NOMS*  ...For some reason, food became a motif all its own.

 NOM #3

  

So I'd love to say that I'm starting animation yesterday, but as it turns out there have been several welcome contract jobs of late.  So, I've been slammed with other people's projects.  My next post will be covering my second attempt at a paint-on-glass rig, a pile of gear I arranged for recent work in NYC on a MAC cosmetics corporate and online promo for their Spring 2010 line.  Unfortunately, they cut most of my paint animation- it turned into more of a photography job.  But that doesn't mean I didn't abscond with photos of the rig and the few animation tests that I'll post here soon.

Battered Diplomats

My most recent gig is finishing editor for a local SC feature by Skellenger Films, "More Than Diamonds."  At the moment I'm working through several difficulties to migrate all the footage to my edit bay- the largest of which seems to be the strange tendency of the SONY EX1 to shoot .MP4 extension files that feature the MPEG-2 video codec shell called MPGV.  It seems Apple and Quicktime don't like this new devilry.  Oh, tech.  How often I loathe thee.

Until the next.

An Open Letter to The Hadidas, Roger Avary Regarding Silent Hill 2

Gentleman. Congratulations on moving forward with a sequel to Silent Hill, a labor which produced perhaps the most faithful video game adaptation to date. I can't say that I agree with all of the creative choices made for the film, namely restricting the main character's need to kill in order to survive. But you probably don't care what I think, after all- who the hell am I? Well it doesn't matter who I am, that's argument ad hominem. We aren't talking about me, don't change the subject! We're talking about Silent Hill. Most importantly, the upcoming sequel being written by you, Roger Avary and produced by you, one or both of the Hadidas.

In 2006, immediately after seeing Silent Hill in theaters, stuck in an hallucinatory state brought on by flu, torn between what was right with the film and what was folly, I sat down and in six days produced a first draft of Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams. After a second revision it's still admittedly a bit rough around the edges. Some of the dialogue is rocky, there's far too many parentheticals and ellipses, it sometimes relies too heavily on the details of ammunition count or status... You get the picture. But it also contains some real gems- original action sequences motivated by character and location, creative use of lore to tie together films one, two, and three, and most importantly- a few really affecting scenes that are straight out of a Lynch nightmare. Of course having one of the most cinematic game stories ever told to build upon was a big help.

I contacted the CAA in 2006 to see if they would put me in touch with you. As I expected, they sent me a nice big middle finger disguised as industry lingo. I have enough experience to understand the screenwriting business, and why I'll probably never be a contributing professional on the industry's terms. That's why I'm self-employed, setting my own terms, animating my third film with my bare hands and making sure no punches are pulled. Regardless of you, your status, your skills, our industry, our economy, I am here to kick ass. I am here to produce things that push boundaries, challenge the mind, and I will no longer stand for tepid tripe stuffed with fake, forced universality.

It is evident through what you attempted with your adaptation of Konami's first Silent Hill title that you have this fire in you as well. I want the sequel to be great- hell, we all want it to be better than great, and we all want to see it smash [video game adaptation] box office records with a great opening weekend and a long, smoldering wide release that brings steady ticket sales. I don't want to hear most of the crowd booing or japing about how they want their money back as they did after the first Silent Hill at the UA Court Street Stadium 12 in downtown Brooklyn. So I want to offer some additional fuel for your fire. There is good stuff here, and it's stuff you don't have. How do I know you haven't got it? That's easily answered: because I'm currently the only person on the planet that does.

I know you don't need this per se- that's why you're here, Avary. A Hollywood staple and proven screenwriter, WGA member (presumably) and all-around industry workhorse. I don't presume to stick my foot in your door like a vacuum salesman. I certainly don't want to undermine this process or in any way replace anyone. But I do presume to know when I'm sitting on art because I'm an artist. Classically trained, time-tested, industry-approved. And, sirs! Gentlemen! There is art in this script. It's not ready for shooting. Hell, it would need another revision or two to stand on its own. I wanted to do this but in 2007 I put the spec down because there's just no way for me to get it into hands that give a shit. That is the travesty of this broken industry- collaboration is squashed, new talent is crushed, original ideas are squandered for no good reason. None of that matters for your purposes, though. I understand this.

So make your sequel! If you do it without any of the scenes or sequences in my script (US Library of Congress Copyright dated 2006,) then you are missing an opportunity to imbibe some really inspiring Silent Hill material. I daresay your film will be poorer for it, but then I don't know exactly where you're headed after the first one so don't take that as hubris.

If you are even slightly interested in these fresh ideas, I would be happy to put inexpensive exclusivity on the table. I'm not unreasonable, but I know enough about the industry to know that I shouldn't be the one offering any deals as of yet. Just know that I require hardly anything at all from you if it means making a better Silent Hill experience possible. I know something like this is outside of the industry standard but so long as it doesn't violate union rules I fail to see the harm in something unorthodox if it promises to be mutually beneficial. After all, nearly any deal can be made provided the proper documents be drawn. In any case, you've probably got paperwork or scheduling to do. I've got an original animated short to get back to. All the best.

Cheers,
-j-
Jeff Martell

Edit

In light of Roger Avary pleading guilty to drunken driving leading to the death of one and the severe injury of another (his wife) it looks like this will most likely suffer a delay.

I may not be in the immediate position to screw up another Silent Hill feature, but at least I'm not in jail for vehicular manslaughter.

State of the the State of Things

There are certain realities that I've been facing for the longest time; now ranks among the more palpable of them. I've worked for many others- a dishwasher was my first job. One of my favorite things from that was playing with all the leftover wasabi from the sushi platters. From there I graduated to busboy- and aside from breaking a glass in the ice chest one night (complete service-job snafu followed by madness and chaos) I excelled. It was expected that I move on to server and that through high-school I would move on to assist the chef and possibly stay on for managerial or even chef positions. Alas, my artistic skills got in the way.

Since then I've worked many jobs. I worked retail at the extinct video game shop Multimedia 1.0, a staple of St. Marks until the lowlife owner with many fine children fled the scene of his enormous debt, selling the store to a compadre of what I can only assume has similar sinister conceit. Offer under 10% of value on something then mark it up to about 150%. Jerks. The sad fact of this job was that again, I was very good at it. I know video games and could sell the proverbial sand to the proverbial desert-dweller. I rarely did this as game taste is easily measured in just a few questions. Just the same; not to be. Not unlike the relationship I was in at the time (psycho much?)

After that was freelancing: nonlinear cutting of promos, shooting some corporate videos, interning at an animation house, nominations for some films, and freelancing at an NYC design firm of note. Sadly all this has come to an end, the economy is bunk, the United States will collapse if the Obama administration doesn't have a perfect run, and I'm staring down the barrel of the blogosphere.

I regret nothing. I know my potential and I know I've not yet scratched the surface of it. I know that there are those that believe in me. I know that they are right to, and thank them for it.

I am a few days away from packing up and about a week away from leaving NYC. Balls!

Production on this film will continue regardless of where I am so tune in anytime.

Aught Nine

Through the thick and the thin of this year- and after all the crap I've been through in the last 3 weeks, I'd like to quote everyone's favorite pocket-picking, booze-hound robot:

"I'm back, bebbeh!"

See y'all on the flipside. May your toasts be heard by all.