I am an ex Puppeteer with Hensons etc etc etc. Spent 11 years at Nickelodeon in the UK. Real time performance animation with Medialab, Paris. Recently quit puppeteering all together because the CG has taken over entirely. Married and two lovely daughters. Recently left the awesome Double Negative VFX in Soho where I was working on film projects such as Harry Potter, Stardust,10,000 bc, Hell Boy II. After a stint at Centroid 3d fantastic Mocap stage at Pinewood studios, I am now back in the thick of it in Soho. Any spare time is currently spent getting Project-Palitoy up to speed!

Project-Palitoy is a short film, based around the misadventures of a small band of elite Action Man dolls, abandoned years ago. Regrouped, and with a new sense of purpose, each PROJECT-PALITOY mission follows one particular soldier in his quest for revenge on the one person he always considered to be the last person ever to betray him.

Born from a wasted youth looking aimlessly at this poster.

Besides the horrific attempt to cash in on Star Wars with the Space Ranger concept, Palitoy created THE childhood icon for over 20 years.

For me and countless other kids back in the day, when Branding wasnt a buzz word… the Palitoy logo just meant that it was probably going to be a much better toy! Thats why the shorts current working title is Project-Palitoy…. in the hope that the name will spark a little wave of nostalgia long before the lights dim and the short plays out!

Now, thanks to ongoing support from Autodesk, NextEngine, Natural Motion, PixelMachine/Topogun, Plowman Craven and digital-tutors, I hope to bring one exciting Mission from the mission dossier “Project-Palitoy” screaming to life in BETRAYAL AT BLOOD POINT.

Everything you see on this blog is WIP (Work in Progress). As the show develops, you will see a natural progression from basic idea, tests, wanton experiments, dead ends, success’s and failures. Hopefully you will get something out of it, as much as I do. Its a challenge, with a clear idea of where its going… but like Indianna jones once said… “I dont know, I’m making it up as I go along!”

I have a rock solid screen play, the concept and a growing arsenal of CG assets. So, feel free to join in as I hit the ground running, balancing a day job with evenings and weekends spent on this very personal project.

The short is intended to be released as a short film on the short film festival circuit, both domestically in the UK and the USA. The Animated GI Joe film Festival will be Project Palitoys debut roll out in 2011.

The short is a non profit fan film, which will be very sympathetic to the brand, and hopefully at some point receive full co-operation from Hasbro and their representatives. In the mean time I just have to battle on single handed and slowly realise a life long dream to make a film about toys (yes, I know its already been done!)