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The life and times of ToddleFly
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| TBALC ftw! |
[May. 29th, 2009|02:57 pm] |
NOMINATION - Best Costume
NOMINATION - Best Use of the Line
NOMINATION - Best Actor (Scott Koorey)
NOMINATION - Best Cinematography
WIN - Best Original Score
WIN - Christchurch 48Hours Regional Winner 2009.
Now we go on to C4 to compete with the other city winners and the Peter Jackson wildcards. |
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| A couple reviews to drum up anticipation |
[May. 17th, 2009|02:33 am] |
From "Mista Teas":
Team: TBALC
Title: New Fish
Genre: Musical
Eligible: Thank God!
After committing fraud, Alex finds himself the new “fish” in prison and the inmates all want a piece of his ass; in particular his homicidal cellmate.
If you’re going to do a musical – you do it like this. TBALC have delivered everything they promised they would. Great music, clever lyrics, superb song transitions, humour, acting, a slow motion fight sequence with accompanying instrumental and it all looks great as well. “The Rock” song was very cool. Little wonder you punched the air with delight when you got this genre.
Strong, strong, strong contender to win Christchurch. Does it have any faults? Well, at a stretch the prison courtyard looked a bit too nice and the quantity of inmates was noticably sparse during this scene. A stretch though...
Story (5/5) - Entertainment Value (5/5) - Adherence to Genre (5/5) - Production (5/5)
AND from "chchreview":
Team: TBALC
Title: New Fish
Genre: Musical/Dance
Comments: Ahhh… the dreaded musical - but not for this team. It was a perfect fit. My opinion is it is one of the most serious contenders for Christchurch winner. The only note I jotted down was “awesome”.
Ratings: 8.8/10
then "SuspectTV" says:
TBALC hit it right out of the park this year, certainly the team to beat. |
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| Post-48 post, 2009 edition |
[May. 11th, 2009|02:53 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | 48hours | ] |
| [ | where |
| | gregor | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "I killed a man with a rock" | ] |
Genre: Musical or Dance
Character: Alex Puddle, an exaggerator
Prop: a rock
Line: "It doesn't fit"
We made a pretty kickass prison musical called "New Fish". It's probably TBALC's funniest and best-produced film yet. Great collaborative effort (more so than any film previously), with everyone bringing something cool to the table. It's got some sound issues, but there are some magic moments that totally steal the show - it's ball-bustingly entertaining.
Our use of the prop is a bit obvious, but yields the finest comedy moment in the film.
I love 48HOURS so much. |
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| Pre-48HOURS post, 2009 Edition |
[May. 8th, 2009|06:22 pm] |
I'm sitting here at Base Camp (aka The Red Room) and contemplating the next couple of days' filmmaking awesomeness and pain.
This year TBALC has the best gear we've ever had (including two brand-new HD cameras, many lights, sound gear, strobes, smoke machines, lots of grip equipment, and an outrageous array of gel colours), the best core team we've ever had (with new additions Mssrs Clark and Koorey), the best potential cast we've ever had, and a wide array of potential locations. We're shooting in High Definition for the first time. We have a company logo. We, seemingly, have it all.
The day has been pretty chilled - getting the gear sorted, and so on. Got a decent but not huge amount of sleep last night. This year I will have sleeping bag and extra clothes, towel etc at Base Camp so can stay the night more comfortably. And...yeah. Kickass.
I can't foresee what could happen. Apparently the genres this year are particularly difficult. I say "bring it on!", for obscure genres are my bread and butter. TBALC will rise to the challenge, regardless.
LET'S DO THIS DANCE! |
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| Casting Call |
[Apr. 15th, 2009|11:59 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | film, uni | ] |
| [ | where |
| | gregor | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Arcade Fire | ] |
I'm looking for cast members for my new short film (my 4th-year project for Fine Arts), working title MIDNIGHT CLIMAX, to be shot in June during weekends and evenings (TBC once cast is determined).
The script isn't fully written yet, hence some character descriptions being kind of vague. Also the characters may change - I'm primarily looking for interest at this point, with a view towards casting in the next week or two.
All cast must be available for the shoot period (there probably won't be more than 5 or 6 days of shooting all up, but I'll figure the details out once I have an idea of who's in it) and be able to do a convincing American accent.
The story (based on true events) concerns part of the CIA's mind-control experiments in the 1950s, specifically Operation Midnight Climax, in which prostitutes were hired to lure clients into CIA safehouses, at which point the clients would be drugged and observed from behind two-way mirrors. The film will centre around George Hunter White, the old-school narcotics cop hired to run the operation (who, by day, would hunt down drug pushers, and by night would feed drugs to strangers while chugging back martinis and taking notes). It'll be set in 1950s San Francisco (I'll manage it somehow).
CHARACTERS:
- GEORGE WHITE: 40-50yo. Tough, disgruntled old-school narcotics cop with a thirst for alcohol, kinky sex, and power. A son of a bitch, but with a sort of charming side too.
- SIDNEY GOTTLIEB: 40-50yo. Head of Project MKULTRA (the parent operation of Midnight Climax). Has a stutter and a club foot, and is religiously enthusiastic about the use of LSD in espionage.
- IKE FELDMAN: 30-40yo. White's partner/assistant, very patriotic. Poses as a drug dealer and a pimp in order to catch drug dealers and recruit prostitutes.
- ALBERTINE CALEF: 40-50yo. White's wife. Bubbly, intelligent, aware but consciously ignorant of her husband's activities. (may be cut from final draft)
- PROSTITUTE(S): 20-40yo. Drug-addicted and hired by White to do the dirty work for him. Kind of scared by the whole operation (understandably).
- CITIZEN/CLIENT: 30-40yo. upstanding citizen who loudly applauds White and Feldman for arresting the junkie, then visits White's prostitute, and gets drugged and observed.
- DRUG BUYER: 20-30yo. seedy 50s junkie type, roughed up and booked by White and Feldman trying to buy drugs.
- EXTRAS: for potential exteriors/group scenes.
If you're interested, flick me a message (or comment here). Additionally, spread the word if you know anyone who might be keen (and capable). And any questions, ask me. Rock. |
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| Notes on MKULTRA |
[Mar. 9th, 2009|12:37 am] |
So I'm now looking at making my film about Project MKULTRA, the secret CIA überproject that dealt with all things to do with the mind: mind-control, truth serums, chemical warfare, Manchurian candidates and so on. What follows are some notes to do with it and related things that I've been reading about:
- Mind control was looked into using "chemical, biological and radiological means".
- In many cases the subjects were unconsenting.
- Operation Midnight Climax: the CIA sets up fronts of brothels, hires prostitutes to lure unsuspecting citizens in and drug them, then studies their reactions. Pictures of women being whipped or tortured were on the walls.
- These, along with mental patients and prisoners, were chosen to be subjects due to their relative lack of credibility if they chose to talk.
- Those who DID volunteer tended to get the most extreme experiments, including one person who was subjected to 77 straight days of constant LSD intake.
- US Army biochemist Frank Olson threw himself out of a tenth-story window after having a major psychotic episode. He had been slipped a drugged drink (presumably by a colleague, as this kind of thing seemed to happen reasonably frequently for testing purposes before they decided to test on random civilians).
- LSD was being weaponised for use on the battlefield (to make the enemy more docile). Program director Sidney Gottlieb was ordering it in "tonnage quantities" for practical application.
- One interrogation experiment involved IV drips of barbiturates and amphetamines; the barbiturates would be fed in until the subject started to fall asleep, at which point the amphetamines would start, prompting incoherent babbling.
- "Perfect Concussion" used ultra-low frequency soundwaves to attempt to erase memory.
- Project Artichoke: explored hypnosis, and also forced addiction to and withdrawal from morphine, to produce amnesia and other vulnerable mental states...to be used as an offensive program to get people to do their bidding.
- Operation Paperclip: a program to recruit former Nazi scientists and spies (particularly experts on torture and brainwashing) for employment in this project (among others), including some who had been marked as war criminals.
- The whole thing started soon after the Nuremberg medical trials impressed upon the world the illegality of experimentation upon unknowing human subjects.
- Jonestown has been considered a possible testing site for MKULTRA.
- Sidney Gottlieb, head of the project, also hatched many schemes to assassinate Castro, including a poisoned wetsuit and an exploding conch shell.
- Gottlieb was also known to have funded research into paranormal phenomena such as remote viewing and ESP.
- He also had a club foot, but that didn't prevent him from indulging in his lifetime hobby of folk dancing.
- Dr Ewen Cameron, notorious for unconsenting ECT/drugs/lobotomy experiments, was funded and sponsored by the project, including for his "psychic driving" experiments, involving drugged and shocked patients being played tapes sixteen hours a day in an effort to dictate their "new personalities".
- Major General William Creasy, chief officer of the Army Chemical Corps, strongly advocated use of acid and other chemicals being put in water supplies as a "humane" alternative to bombs in terms of essentially nullifying a population's threat to the US.
- He was also reportedly very disappointed that the US government prohibited large-scale testing of such concepts on the American public. "It was denied on reasons that always seemed a little absurd to me."
- Ken Kesey was a subject of MKULTRA, which allegedly led directly to his promotion of LSD and his role in the birth of the hippie culture.
There are quite a few cool character/story ideas here. I don't really know where to start. I'm quite keen to centre a film around Gottlieb and/or Creasy, since they seem to be quite interesting characters potentially...and the Midnight Climax concept seems appropriately bizarre and inhumane. I don't know. Brainstorm, rarrr. |
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| Birthday Engrish |
[Feb. 28th, 2009|12:54 am] |
So my dad gave me a big-ass box set of 100 Oscar-winning films (mainly from the 30s through the 60s, so I can start filling in those embarrassing holes in my film-viewing CV). Which is awesome. But he also lives in China, so the box that contains these films has written upon it the following things:
"CENTURY OSCAR
GLORY TREASURE UP!
Handed Down Collectables Easy Vanish!
Special gift to you:
100,000 words writing with full color & Oscar best movie posters for collecting.
Have all Oscar literature at internet .
Have 100 classical movies which are seen as everlasting at the movie world.
Worthly collected movie series for century.
Elegant packing and a rare memento.
It was about one century after movie was birth, and Oscar is one of the most famous encouragements at movie world, which is with wide influence and high fame. Hence, Oscar has become the top target for the movie artists, and thousands of audiences also love the Oscar movies.
Now,100 classical movies are packed at one series, which are worth of collecting.
With it, our family culture would be improved at another high level.
This is what you seen "century Oscar".
This is a best gift to the movie artist and all of you.
This is a gift to you who are eager to enjoy your life, or are chasing the life's essence, or have tasted the sweet or tearful life.
Missing this opportunity to collecting, you may have to wait for next century."
I'm glad it's only *a* best gift. If it were *the* best gift it would cut out all the other superlatives out there.
( Titles behind this cut ) |
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| Up on the ladder |
[Jan. 22nd, 2009|12:12 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | film, theatre, uni | ] |
| [ | where |
| | gregor | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  confident | ] |
| [ | music |
| | GTA4 theme stuck in my head, AGAIN. | ] |
I've sent all my festival applications away...now it's just a matter of time before I get the inevitable rejection letters. :P
On the other hand, I've picked up another job at the Court - which is actually kinda scary-big, this time. I'm gonna be doing A/V and sound design for THE GREAT GATSBY, which is being put on for the Christchurch Arts Festival in Court One this July. This is quite a big deal...a lot of pressure but should be heaps of fun. Ross is directing too, which is cool. And I get a free pass to the CAF as well. It's lucky I'm being told about this early, so I can plan my shooting schedule for my OWN film around it.
Speaking of which... |
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| Film Festivals |
[Jan. 14th, 2009|08:34 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | film, uni | ] |
| [ | where |
| | gregor | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The GTA4 mission-complete musical sting is stuck in my head | ] |
I'm submitting NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH to the following film festivals:
- New Zealand International Film Festival (everywhere in NZ)
- Melbourne Underground Film Festival (Melbourne, Australia)
- Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas, USA)
- Zompire Undead Film Festival (Portland, Oregon, USA)
I don't expect to get into any of them, but this is more about the process of submitting to festivals than anything else.
Wish me luck anyway :) |
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