12 cameras from Craig Crane on Vimeo.
Look how small my studio is!
facecapture setup 001 from Craig Crane on Vimeo.
this is me just giving a little tour of the new setup in my pokey office
more mocap setup from Craig Crane on Vimeo.
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Project-Palitoy is supported by:
Due to the small nature of the room I am working in, its been hard moving around and also the paintwork in the room creates a few highlights on the I.R tracking of the cameras and I have decided to get some black felt for the room to give me 100% control over the room. So, found some on ebay and should be here in the week in time for next Saturday
as you can see, size is cramped. Its not the best space to do this in, but its convenient
Its a shame, but I had to slide the camera i.r intensity so far down, they were barely on and I think that would cause me a problem if I decided to marker up and shoot. Its easier to address the physical restrictions in the week, and then maximize the tech capabilities as a result, instead of working with a compromise…
What a week…..! Week two on john Carter, and cameras rolled yesterday for the first time as planned. However, watertight NDA’s and sheer proffessionalism prevent me from saying anything else about the project.
But you know what, we have cameras rolling this weekend as well. P-P style. I set up 12 cameras for a face capture session tomorrow, and will be lip syncing to the Thunderous tones of my Tom Stone actor…… Now, it would be unfair to throw his name in here and then leave it at that. So, I plan to announce who is Tom Stone around about the same time that I show you a video of how tomorrow went, as well as a walkthrough the process. Then I can explain to anyone following the project just who has provided the thunderous yet silky tones of Stone!
The next time I do a TS test, I plan to get actor and voice all at the same time, so I dont have to mime to his audio. Trust me, his voice and my face do not look like they belong to each other 
Hopefully in the mean time, we can get a little head shot of him and a rendered Tom stone (just like the recent Lewis image) and of course that takes us all a step closer.
Anyway, the audio for the test has been recorded, cut, edited and sounds mighty fine. Its an abridged version of a scene from the screenplay where TS tries to get through to a somewhat distracted Lewis. It works as a standalone as well, but maybe thats because I know its context. To the viewer of the test, it may not be so clear. The next test, and one for the pitch will be a lot more concise and give the viewer a much better idea of things. Needless to say, my actor nailed it, and its great as I see him slowly start to take ownership of this character and wear it like a 2nd skin…
Of course, there are so many steps… but tomorrow though will feel like a hurdle overcome!
With Giz in Chichester also playing about with some fab musical themes and really embracing a lot of the themes I have mentioned in earlier posts, this really is starting to feel like its a living breathing entity…. Dam! I forgot to add the Soundtrack to Who Dares Wins to his long list of things to listen to… *mental note to myself to find it and get him some ref…*
Who Dares Wins….. Its not just a motto, it lies at the very heart of Project-Palitoy! There is some daring & winning talent already attached, some waiting in the wings… watching with interest and more as yet undiscovered possibilies and delights waiting to be discovered. My Tom Stone actor being one of the most recent delights to jump on board….. so hears to seeing whats to come
Im wondering if there may be some mileage in changing the term used for the bad guys from the Dreggs to the Creeps. I shall mull this over for a short while…
There is a drive to this that I really like….
Weekends and evenings have been reclaimed! Next weekend I am doing a face capture session for the audio that was recorded last year for Major Tom Stone. I think the plan is to design a new face template on Saturday and then shoot on Sunday. I will be videoing the entire process as I go along. Then, in parallel to that, I need to get the TS head and body finished. Im of to Utah in April for 3 months and plan to do ALL the post work on this test in the lonley Utah evenings
Shortly after the shoot, I hope to announce a little more about Major Tom Stone
Now, I like James may. But how would he feel if I steam rollered his plastacince garden, joy rode his Scalextric or stuck the wrong type of leaves on his Hornby???
Took delivery of a garage band project today that really took me by surprise. The project included numeropus reads on the the stuff we workshopped last week…
I feel spoilt for choice and will no doubt whittle it down to one or two cuts. But it was the first time I heard Tom Stone come alive…
I need to get the TS build done so that I can mocap this to audio
Friday: 9pm. Skype comes alive all the way from NYC.
Spent about three hours on line chatting about everything and anything with the man who I hope will become Tom Stone.
Having had the scene for a week or so, I was keen to see what he was going to do with it. In any situation like that, no one ever nails it from the get go. Ever. It takes a lot of to & fro from the artist and the director. We did a few reads and dissected them after each read with me doing a rough & gruff Lewis that sounded like a cross between Lewis Collins and Jason Statham…. and boy oh boy, we hit the nail on the head with Tom. At about 11:30, we were looking at some ref footage on you tube of well known performances that would be a good starting point and suddenly my man in NYC found the missing link and dropped it into his read. IT WAS NOW the voice I have been hearing all this time. Suddenly Tom Stone was no longer a part of my inner monologue as I try and shape the character and script. He was a living breathing entity BOOMING through my monitors with thunderous ease… He was Proposition Joe, Martin Luther King, Rev Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakahn, James Earl Jones…. he was Tom Stone! As I left my man in NYC, he had nailed TS and I look forward to hearing what he records in the coming weeks for the Anim test. The timing and more importantly the soul of Tom Stone was there and it felt goooooood! But above all else, above all those names mentioned, my voice man in NY (who I need to find out if I can announce his participation at this early stage with his agent……..) imbued Tom Stone with just the right balance.
Exciting times and a great moment!
Fridays are great! I like fridays. This new gig in Surrey means that I get home very early compared to a London based gig, and that means that I get time to focus on some writing. I have been doing a lot of that recently. I am pleased to say that we now have a new opener! Of course, any producer reading it will of course question the financial aspects of such an ambitious start
Aim high, I say.
I also have the entire short blocked out. Some scenes are done, some of the flashbacks are penciled in for fleshing out, and a pivotal Tom Stone scene between he and Lewis is not only done, but we are recording vocals for it in the coming weeks.
We are rapidly approaching the point where I will at some point have to pull the site or freeze it, otherwise I run the risk of giving it all away and spoliling some of the coolness
I also have to be very careful about casting anouncements and stuff like that. No other reason than I dont want to spoil any cool surpises. Needless to say, between now and Feb / March I have a lot to do and I have already started to get this movin. The irony is that the CG build is playing 2nd fiddle to the writing and I am really happy to be focusing on the writing at the moment because I seem to be in the midst of a really fervent period of just wanting to write for these characters. Of course, it will be a while before you see the fruits of these labors, but those that have seen it (i.e the people who will be breathing life into these characters) are really enjoying the read.
I try to write in a very visual and descriptive way, so that the words become accessible to everyone reading them. I need the look and feel of P-P to be very specifc and what I dont want to do is leave any of it open to interpretation. I am very comfortable with the writing side of things and cant wait to put on those cans and hear the thunderous tones of one of my leads breathe life and wisdom into Tom Stone. Its a shame there is the NYC / UK distance thing as I think the voice sessions would be brilliant on a face to face situation. But for these early tests, technology and skype save the day (I can hear what he is recording his end, as if I were in the room… taking delivery of high quality files moments later). But when we do this for real, I will insist on everyone being under the same roof. The Lewis I want to cast and the Tom would work best working together in unison. I also think some symbiosis will develop between the leads that I hope will see its way through the entire project / brand.
I like the Pixar docs where you see voice artists recording their lines on their own, delivering numerous reads on the same line, but I think some key scenes should be done en masse. especially the Tom Stone Lewis buddy stuff as well as the Lewis / Mack stuff…. I have yet to see any reason why i have to do it in such a cold clinical manner as one artist, one session.
Right, just adding some last minute changes to a few pages for the first vocal tests. And I cant take any credit for one of the lines being inserted.. that line came all the way from NYC. Its a great line and really adheres to the core of P-P.
Also listening to a lot of music at the moment that I feel sets the tone for P-P. Its a very eclectic mix. I seem to be leaning to wards a bleak cold Synth based sound of Gary Numan and the modern day equivilent in outfits like Hybrid. I find both have a direct result on my mood and feel for P-P. No idea if this will go anywhere beyond just helping me set a tone and feel. But I feel Numans bleak nature to be fitting and Hybrids high octane cinematic style very apt for the fight. But equally John Barry-eque in stature for the opener. One track in particular I love.
spotify:track:1kebcL50eAQ3rIaF3rf2fh
they even have a strings only version. I just wish that their management will one day decide to answer my e mails… Grrrrrrrr
spotify:track:4uSNxdPos5PKqZSJXfBczN16 secs in… and 2:18 in… I like this as an intro. Bond like without being overtly Bond like.
This works with the opening in terms of tone and feel, and if MK3 is reading this and has access to spotify, I would be most keen to hear his thoughts on the “tone”. I think those Barry-esque strings would work….
I also like the feel of this live versions of Are friends electric. It comes nowhere near my soul/jazz/R&b roots. But then Im not making a film about music.
spotify:track:1YzyBxkfGjEcm1bMs6OhF8
this is the original album release
spotify:track:4YMjssjl6JWPF4ZIcvcwkg
I think that sort of tone works for the machinations of the bad fellas, but would need reworking. Would need to be even darker, colder, bleaker.
Its funny t hough, because I do have very specific playlists building up depending on who I write for. Im find Tom Stone words flow better when I listen to The Specials: Ghost Town and other music of that ilk… as well as my fave,
spotify:track:3E0dHzJ1WIkm58RhJAe13n
There is no place for this track or its feel in the current episode in development, but with one very Tom Stone / Lewis centric episode also being developed, which chronicles the genisis of their friendship, this theme runs deep Ha! On a Womack related note, I worked with Womack and Womack 5 years ago on this crazy TV show hosted by Suggs from Madness. I was too in awe to knock on Cecil’s door and say hi. Big regret. Both he and Linda were there… Teardrops… tune!
Oh, and if Tom needed a theme, the opening bars to this get pretty close
spotify:track:157llmCqs15bAa3T4z3H1a
Whilst Lewis seems to work with this. I like the prowling nature of the fretless bass from Pino Palladino. very eighties
spotify:track:4fqRCykZ9uVe4PNSjWIR2f
But ultimatly, I think Lewis would have to get the song that I love the most of all… This is the song I have always imagined would play us out of the first instalment. The one that sees Lewis at the end of this current episode as he makes his way towards an uncertain furture with possibly hellish consequances and some of the tunes helping me shape P-P. Now, if only I could find a way to get to Roger Daltrey andget permission to use it as I have always intended
spotify:track:1l6l0OUVBnzz92BelV6gqi
Anyway, thats a little insight into what I listen to whilst I write the scripts.
Right, need to tidy up the two page treatment before calling it a nite or settling down to a film. District 13 II. fast paced french free running Parcour silliness that I hope to get inspired by. I find Luc Bessons Eurocorp output does just what it says on the box. Entertaining and not too taxing!
Thematically I like this as well. Its pretty much consistent through the franchise. I like the way it reflects some of John Rambo’s quieter moments, but then the tone takes a darker turn and we see the darker parts of his soul come to the fore….
Jerry Goldsmith – Escape Route
I would like to develop a real sound for the characters that not only takes its cues from the characters but may also go some way to informing me more of where these characters are going.
I also like some of the cinemati c qualities that come from Eric Serra’s output in the late 80’s to mid 90’s
especially some of the more industrial sounding compositions such as last mission from Nikkita
the opener to this Goldeneye suite is pretty bang on as well sonically for how I imagine the overall score to feel. Industrial, a little retro, a little out of the box. Would something like this work for the new opening scene?
Then of course whilst writing the main incursion into the Dreggs stronghold, I have been constantly listening to anything with a driving beat that pushes you forward, in a very mechanical sense… just as the lead hero’s are unwittingly being pushed towards a trap and potential.
Various Artists – Terminator Main Title The Terminator
Tangerine Dream – The Dream Is Always The Same
Tangerine Dream – Rubycon (Part One) (Excerpt)
Cabaret Voltaire – Do The Mussolini (Head Kick)
Cabaret Voltaire – Theme From Earthshaker
Various Artists – Get Carter Theme – Get Dancing Remix
Spotify doesnt have the original soundtrack of Get Carter by Roy Budd, but this to demonstrates that drive forward whilst still keeping the signature theme!
Why Spotify dont have it is beyond me
anyway, a few sonic swatches.
Well, the original vintage head arrived from the USA. I thought the postal strike was going to cripple me and I would have to wait weeks, but it dropped in the mail this saturday. So, cleaned up the surfaces and ran a scan. The head I was scanning before was a walmart reproduction head, and I always vowed that where possible I would use originals… and so far I have. Also, there are a few differences between the Hasbro Walmart re-issue and the 1978 original.
So, this week I have to get this new scan cleaned up in Topogun and ready to rig. The incredible voice for TS is ready to jump on board all the way from NYC and we need to get that voice on this rig.
NewTomStone head from Craig Crane on Vimeo.
