Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 358

March 9, 2016: New Dark Matter Episode Title!

Today, on set, I came across this –

And I was like: “Damn.”  And moments later, I happened by this –

And I was like: “DAMN!”.  And then, later in the day, I saw this –

And I was like: “OH, COME ON!!!”

P.S. My fruit and greek yogurt were delicious.

Congratulations!  We have a winner!  The fans have spoken and we have a new episode title…

“Episode 19: We Should Have Seen This Coming”

Well, I am now 3-3 on my picks.  Anyone out there 6-0?

Today, I leave you with this pic of our lovable Android getting a tune-up:

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

March 8, 2016: Dark Matter season 2 production report!

Oh sure, making a t.v. show is very impressive but, every so often, something comes along that makes you stop and really put things in perspective – an article, a news story, or, in this case, a video that forces you to re-evaluate and re-think your place in the grand scheme of things.  I mean, yes, what we do on Dark Matter is very cool and I appreciate the contributions we make through our modest production but this…THIS is truly amazing work:

Wow.

Anyway, this morning we kicked things off – quite literally – with a 6+ hour stunt and action sequence.  And breakfast burritos.

Bad to the bone: Marc Bendavid and Melissa O’Neil.  Or, to be more specific, the characters they play.

A little something from Roxanne Borris in the Art Department.  The Ferrous Corp logo in advance of that press conference scene.

Director Peter DeLuise becomes the latest member of the Dark Matter Whisky/ey Club.

A little something via playback artist Seth Molson.

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

March 7, 2016: Dogs! Dark Matter! And YOU get to choose a new episode title!

Today’s work day started with a dog and, appropriately enough, ended with one as well.  I rolled onto set for the 7:30 a.m. call and the first thing I did was meet Key Grip Chris Toudy’s new addition to his extended family, an adorable Mexican street dog named Oslo –

Ah, this takes me back to the good old days on Stargate when dogs roamed the production offices, sitting in on story meetings, racing through the corridors and, occasionally, stealing Michael Shanks’ tuna sandwiches.

Everyone has done such a terrific job this season, but I want to make special mention of the Art Department (lead by Production Designer Ian Brock and Art Director Russell Moore) and everyone from construction and paints who worked doubly, often triply hard this year to bring these impressive sets to life.

Meanwhile Costume Designer Noreen Landry and her team in wardrobe are working their butts off as well, creating some eye-popping designs including someone’s new work-in-progress coat.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s entry, today you have the chance to vote on an all-new episode title.  You have chosen all five Dark Matter season 2 episode titles to date.  A little refresher…

“Episode 14: Welcome To Your New Home”

“Episode 15: Kill Them All”

“Episode 16: I’ve Seen The Other Side Of You”

“Episode 17: We Were Family”

“Episode 18: We Voted Not To Space You”

And now it’s time to cast your ballot for the Episode 206 title.  Your choices are…

Take Our Poll

Poll closes in 24 hours!  Tell your friends!

Finally, like I said at the top of this entry, my day started with a dog and ended with one as well.  From set, I headed back to the office for the production meeting, the notes meeting on Episode 209 with Jay, then back to set for the cast read-thru of Episode 208, then back to the office to put out some blue pages, then over to editing where I completed my producer’s cut of Episode 205 and went over 206. On my way out, I dropped in on fabulous Wendy Hallam Martin who had her dog, Coal, in for the day, assisting with the editor on Episode 207.

Waah.  No sooner do I complete this entry than I receive the updated work-in-progress producer’s editor of Episode 206.  Well, you all know what I’ll be doing tonight!

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

March 6, 2016: The calm before the #DarkMatter storm!

As I told Paul yesterday: “Between the scriptwriting, notes, rewrites, prep, onset production, post, and seemingly interminable email and dropbox approvals, I’m dangerously close to hitting critical mass” – which is why the weekends are so important.  They give me a chance to set Dark Matter aside, however so briefly, and decompress.  Granted, with scripts and cut notes still looming,  the prospect of a totally Dark Matter-less weekend is unlikely for about another month an half, but I’ll take what I can get.

In the case of this particular weekend, it was quality time with Akemi and the dogs –

Bubba visits the dog park, observing the action for the relative safety of the other side of the fence.

A little local shopping –

Comic books, purple dress shoes, and these ray run cufflinks. I’m not on the hunt four some Flintstone cuffs.

A little online shopping –

Got a bunch of these Juanita Nakamura originals

(here: http://www.zazzle.com/angelicalcradle/products?sr=250430484475676180&prsnl=False&pg=1&sd=desc&st=date_created)

A nice Saturday dinner at Parcae –

Squid ink risotto with sturgeon marrow.

A lot of walking –

The weekend would not be complete without a visit to my friend, Tova, at Don’t Call Me Cupcake in Kensington Market.

https://www.facebook.com/DCMCbakery/

And dim sum with VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson and director Jason Priestley who offered a very spirited argument for why I should keep my house in Vancouver despite the prospect that I may spend a good chunk of the next three years here in Toronto, shooting Dark Matter.

Tonight, it’s Walking Dead night with Roger Cross, Jodelle Ferland, and a whack o’ eclairs at which point the respite will be over and I’ll be back at it.

Looking ahead to this week:

MONDAY:

Director Jason Priestley’s final day of main unit on Episode 207 concludes with some infiltration, a discovery, and a rooftop render-vous.

Our last day of prep on Episode 208 with director Andy Mikita.  While John Stead oversees the stunt rehearsal with some surprising guest stars, I’ll be in morning meetings (a timeline review, a tone meeting, the 208 production meeting), and taking a walk-thru the newly built “systems control room”, before sitting down to the cast read-thru.

In the afternoon, once the dust has settled, I’ll make my way over to post where I’ll review the recently completed Android scenes for Episode 205, and the Episode 206 “producer’s cut in progress”.

Notes meeting on the script for Episode 209!

Script work continues on Episode 212!

And, if I remember, I’ll post the poll for our next Episode Title Vote, this one for Episode 206!

TUESDAY:

Prep begins on Episode 209 (written by the lovely Ivon Bartok) with fab director Peter DeLuise!  Location scout.  Set walk-thru.  And another Stargate alum who we haven’t seen since – oh – Episode 14: Kill Them All makes a triumphant return to Toronto.

Production begins on Episode 208 with director Andy Mikita at the helm.  Things get downright messy on the bridge of The Raza.

And I’ll still be working my way through the script for Episode 212.

WEDNESDAY:

Prep continues on Episode 209.  Concept meeting.  Stunts/Special FX meeting.  VFX meeting.  I suspect I’ll also be putting out new script pages to reflect anymore necessary changes.

Production continues on Episode 208 and we’re back on the bridge for some desperate diplomacy before shifting over to the as-yet-unseen Systems Control Room.  Meanwhile…

Jason Priestley returns to direct second unit for his episode, a little bit bar scene and some Marauder in-flight action.

Episode 212?  That script aint gonna write itself.

THURSDAY:

The Episode 209 Art Department meeting will be followed by the Props meeting before we move on to the Costumes meeting and conclude the day’s festivities with  the Graphics/Playback meeting.

Day 3 of production on Episode 208 continues on our standing sets while the final day of second unit photography on Episode 207 takes place over at Tabor’s swanky bachelor pad.

I’m hoping to be well into the third act of Episode 212 by this point.

FRIDAY:

Off the top of my head, I’m not sure – but I suspect it’ll be Dark Matter-related.

Haven’t been keeping up on the blog?  Pressed for time?  Well check out Tom Gardiner’s Dark Matter digest for the rundown:

http://www.threeifbyspace.net/2016/03/dark-matter-digest-mar-06-smoke/#.Vty-fcdllAY

Finally, the weekend wasn’t all fun.  We learned today that the little pug Akemi had her heart set on adopting (she’d wanted to name her Konatsu), passed away last night.  So, today’s blog entry is dedicated to little Konatsu’s (aka Rodgie’s) memory:

https://www.gofundme.com/Rodgie

http://www.pacificpugrescue.org

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

March 5, 2016: Dark Matter and dogs! What else were you expecting?

 

It would seem that, every third or fourth episode, the Art Department tries to sneak some cosmic bongs into a shot.  And, every time I see them, I have them cleared out before we start rolling.  So determined are they to get these multicolored interstellar moofs onto the show that they will casually and quietly place them into background of the most innocuous locations: a bar (Episode 102, a prison cell Episode 202, a space station corridor Episode 207).  I think I’ve been pretty good at catching them so far but, just in case, I’ve decided that the next time I spot them on set, I’m loading them into the back of my car and dropping them off somewhere far, far away.

Editor Paul Day was on set yesterday, scouting things out in advance of his directorial debut later this month.  His accurate take on the days’ action: “Like watching really slow dailies.”

Hey, it’s the imperial crest of the House of Ishida.  Long time no see.

Awwww.  One big happy family!

Hey, with Sunday just around the corner, here are a couple of pics of Bubba and Lulu in their Sunday Best…

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

March 4, 2016: Wecome to Balda-9!

I was walking the corridors of space station Balda-9 today and was amazed by the  artwork adorning the walls.  From the techy cool to the comically bizarre, check out the visual background offerings that come c/o 1st Assistant Art Director Roxanne Borris…

From Hyperion-8 to Balda-9, Regulus-12 to Earth, our crew will visit some distant locales this season – but next episode sees them journey to the one of the most far-out destinations yet.  It’s out of this universe!

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

March 3, 2016: Dark Matter sneak peeks and comic book recommendations!

Director Jason Priestley was in action today, shooting Day 5 of (the as-of-yet-untitled) Episode 206.  He’s a crew favorite for his infectious enthusiasm and dynamic pacing.  Also, his heavenly shoulder massages.  The grips and electrics skip lunch just so they can get him to work their tired delts!

Also seeing action today was this stylin’ fashionista, THE agent of the future: Tabor Calchek (played by David Hewlett).  P.S. Check out the socks.  This season, Tabor finds himself an unlikely guest aboard The Raza.  And one of our crew members find themselves in the unenviable task of babysitting.

Uh oh.  Design by Victor Mare.

Speaking of Victor, he stopped me in the hall yesterday to ask about the Dark Matter comic that (seemingly) started it all – and we got on the topic of other titles we’re reading.  I promised to put together a list of some of my recent ongoing favorites – and here they are:

ARCADIA (written by Alex Paknadel, illustrated by Eric Scott Pfeiffer)

When 99% of humankind is wiped out by a pandemic, four billion people are “saved” by being digitized at the brink of death and uploaded into Arcadia, a utopian simulation in the cloud. But when Arcadia begins to rapidly deplete the energy resources upon which the 1% of survivors in the real world (aka “The Meat”) depends, how long will The Meat be able—and willing—to help?

The trade paperback, volume 1, will be available May 3, 2016.

LIMBO (written by Dan Watters, illustrated by Caspar Wijngaard)

A detective with no memory, no identity and no manners. A femme fatale seeking escape from a powerful crime lord. A voodoo queen with a penchant for mixtapes and hi-tops. A goat-eating TV… Welcome to Dedande City, where good people check under their beds at night and reality is never quite what it seems.

The trade paperback, volume 1, will be available June 7, 2016.

ROCHE LIMIT (written by Michael Moreci, illustrated by Vic Malhotra)

“Our destiny is the stars, and I will lead us there.” Twenty years after this promise, billionaire Langford Skaargard’s dream of cosmic exploration is no more. Roche Limit, a colony situated on the cusp of a mysterious energy anomaly, is a melting pot of crime and terrible secrets. When Bekkah Hudson goes missing, the search to find her will plunge her sister and a cadre of the colony’s underworld figures into an odyssey that reveals a grim future for mankind.

Trade paperbacks, volumes 1 and 2, available now.

THE VIOLENT (written by Ed Brisson, illustrated by Adam Gorham)

Meet Mason, an ex-con and former drug addict who’s trying hard to give up his old life. He’s got more important things to live for now: a wife struggling to contain her own addiction and a young daughter who needs them both. When threatened with losing his daughter, Mason falls into old habits, stumbling through a string of desperate criminal acts whose repercussions quickly become deadly serious.

Trade paperback, volume 1, coming your way July 12, 2016.

THE LAST CONTRACT (written by Ed Brisson, illustrated by Lisandro Estherren)

A retired hit man, known only as “The Man,” is forced back into the game when a list of his kills is leaked by a mysterious blackmailer. The list makes targets out of anyone associated with one of the The Man’s previous jobs, not to mention The Man himself. As he fights to protect those the list exposes, The Man sets off to uncover the identity of the blackmailer so he can move on with his new life once and for all, but will the truth ruin those chances forever?

PLUTONA (written by Emi Lenox and Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Emi Lenox)

Five kids discover the body of the world’s greatest super hero, Plutona, in the woods after school one day. This discovery sends them on a dark journey that will threaten to tear apart their friendship and their lives.

Trade paperback, volume 1, available May 24, 2016.

THE SHERIFF OF BABYLON (written by Tom King, illustrated by Mitch Gerads)

Baghdad, 2003. The War on Terror has been raging for two years. Iraq’s capital city has been devastated, and without a police force to keep its citizens safe. In an effort to establish some semblance of order in the war-torn city, Florida cop-turned-military consultant Chris Henry has been assigned to train a new group of cadets who will take up the cause of law enforcement. But even those with good intentions are not immune to the chaos found in the post-9/11 Middle East.

Trade paperback, volume 1, headed your way July 12, 2016.

VISION (written by Tom King, illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta)

The Vision wants to be human, and what’s more human than family? So he heads back to the beginning, to the laboratory where Ultron created him and molded him into a weapon. The place where he first rebelled against his given destiny and imagined that he could be more -that he could be a man. There, he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition -or is that obsession? -the unrelenting need to be ordinary. Behold the Visions!

Trade paperback, volume 1, available July 12, 2016.

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE (written by Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, illustrated by Francesco Francavilla)

When Jughead’s beloved pet Hot Dog is killed in a hit and run, Jughead turns to the only person he knows who can help bring back his furry best friend—Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Using dark, forbidden magic, Sabrina is successful and Hot Dog returns to the land of the living. But he’s not the same… and soon, the darkness he brings back with him from beyond the grave begins to spread, forcing Archie, Betty, Veronica and the gang to try to escape from Riverdale!

Trade paperbacks, volume 1, available now.

Start with these and let’s circle back next week!

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Afterlife with Archie, Arcadia, Dark Matter, Limbo, Plutona, Roche Limit, The Last Contract, The Sheriff of Babylon, The Violent, Vision

March 2, 2016: Jay leads the Dark Matter charge!

Well, look who it is.  Dark Matter Executive Producer and Prodigy Pictures President Jay Firestone has been jetting across the globe, wheeling and dealing – but still finds time to for the production, weighing in on scripts through edits to final mixes.  Recently, I sat down with him to go over Episode 208 and our notes session lasted all of twenty minutes.  Like the cast, he REALLY liked this one. As do many who have read it – despite it’s somewhat…complicated narrative elements.  This one’s gonna be wild!

Speaking of wild – UK fans take note!

SyfyUK has joined forces with SFX to offer one lucky fan the chance to win a visit to the set of Dark Matter.

“You’ll be given the chance to have a tour of the Dark Matter studio, meet and greet cast and crew, and leave with a bag full of Syfy goodies. That’s not all – while on set, you may even get the opportunity to be filmed in an exclusive extra role.“

And what, pray tell, could that role be?  Drunken Miner #2?  Defenestrated Security Guard?  Or, perhaps, even the part of THREE for a scene (provided you sign off on the Bubba liability waiver).  The possibilities are endless!

To enter, answer a skill-testing question here: http://www.syfy.co.uk/DarkMatterSetVisit

And, if you’re looking for a good read, might I suggest the contest’s terms & conditions: http://www.syfy.co.uk/DarkMatterSetVisitTermsAndConditions

Speaking of fans of the show – we’ve got one right here in the Production Offices. Check out Assistant Coordinator Travis Lowry’s fine cross-stitch salute to The Most Dangerous Crew In Outerspace:

Let’s go in for a closer look…

Hey, speaking of closer looks, check out a couple of key props from some upcoming episodes…

Now where have we seen this before?  Oh, yeah, on this blog a little while back. So who does this little rocket ship belong to?  After all, our youngest crew member, FIVE, seems to have outgrown toys and moved on to gak and gadgetry.

It’s the little things.  Pick a set of pills.  Any set of pills.  ‘Cause someone’s gonna need ’em!

Whoa!  What weird cosmic elixir has the props department concocted for this episode?  No, wait.  That’s not a faux drink from the Dark Matter props department.  That’s actually my morning bulletproof matcha courtesy of my girlfriend, Akemi.  Vibrant, no?

On deck tomorrow: One more day on our standing sets with director Jason Priestly (Secrets!  A terrifying test!  More Tabor!) before production shifts to the high tech environs of Hamilton (Disguises!  Discord! Daring escapes!)

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

March 1, 2016: New Episode Title Revealed!

The fans have spoken.  We have a new episode title!

Episode 205 shall henceforth be known as:

“Episode 18: We Voted Not To Space You”

Thanks for taking part in the democratic process.  Join us next week when you’ll get a chance to name yet another episode!

Hey, what is the Dark Matter art department up to?

Well, I’m glad you asked.  Check out these works-in-progress:

Finally, speaking of creative construction, check out what Akemi made the dogs for breakfast:

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

February 29, 2016: Vote on a new Dark Matter episode title!

Hey, have you heard?  Fandom will be choosing ALL 13 episode titles of Dark Matter’s second season.  To date, they’ve selected:

“Episode 13: Welcome To Your New Home”

“Episode 14: Kill Them All”

“Episode 15: I’ve Seen The Other Side Of You”

“Episode 16: We Were Family”

And today, we kick off our Episode 17 vote!

The nominees are…

Take Our Poll

Cast your ballot!  The polls close in 24 hours!

And, while you’re feeling opinionated, why not weigh in on the design for Reynaud’s ship.

Designs by the amazing Jon Hrubesch.

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter, Jon Hrubesch, spaceship designs