Ryan Colucci's Blog, page 24
November 3, 2011
First Round of Chasing Rabbit Layouts
Somehow Sigit turned up the heat on Chasing Rabbits. After spending just over a month on character designs (there were a crazy amount of characters)... he pounded out 23 layouts in a week. And these aren't thumbnail layouts with stick figures. They are a step away from pencils.
If I was excited about this project before (it was and continues to be my personal favorite of all of my projects)... now my head is ready to explode.
Wanted to share some with you all... remember these are just layouts. It's like this guy was reading my mind with some of this stuff.
If I was excited about this project before (it was and continues to be my personal favorite of all of my projects)... now my head is ready to explode.
Wanted to share some with you all... remember these are just layouts. It's like this guy was reading my mind with some of this stuff.
November 2, 2011
Goodreads Reader Choice Awards: Nominate 'Harbor Moon'
If you're into reading, chances are you have a Goodreads account. It is a great site that lets you connect with like-minded people, authors you like (and don't like)... and chart your own reading. If you want to do all of those things, but don't have an account yet - what are you waiting for?
Goodreads just started the nomination process for their 2011 Reader's Choice Awards. They have a ton of categories - and a few readers of my graphic novel Harbor Moon have submitted the book for nomination.
If you feel so inclined, swing by the Nomination Page (you can submit for Graphic Novels & Comics as well as Horror) and below the list of titles you will see a line that reads "Write-In Vote" and next to 'Your Choice' just type Harbor Moon... a drop down list will appear and it will be the top one in that list.
Then submit.
Goodreads just started the nomination process for their 2011 Reader's Choice Awards. They have a ton of categories - and a few readers of my graphic novel Harbor Moon have submitted the book for nomination.
If you feel so inclined, swing by the Nomination Page (you can submit for Graphic Novels & Comics as well as Horror) and below the list of titles you will see a line that reads "Write-In Vote" and next to 'Your Choice' just type Harbor Moon... a drop down list will appear and it will be the top one in that list.
Then submit.
November 1, 2011
4.2.3. (Trailer)
As you may know, I directed a short film in the spring entitled 4.2.3., which is a prequel to my feature film project/graphic novel R.E.M. I got sidetracked a bit from promoting that film as I went right into production on
White Space
and was then dealing with
Harbor Moon
promotions and post on the feature.
But I'm starting to get back on track, and I've recently completed a trailer for Harbor Moon and now 4.2.3. The score for the Harbor Moon trailer is currently being done... but I was able to use composer Nathan Matthew David's awesome score from the short in the trailer.
Without further ado...
But I'm starting to get back on track, and I've recently completed a trailer for Harbor Moon and now 4.2.3. The score for the Harbor Moon trailer is currently being done... but I was able to use composer Nathan Matthew David's awesome score from the short in the trailer.
Without further ado...
October 31, 2011
A Good Weekend
It started off poorly... with snowfall in October. October! And I knew my best bud was leaving for the week with her dad, which always blows. But the weekend rallied strong. First with 8 pages of layouts from Sigit on Chasing Rabbits. Then 15 pages from Sigit on Chasing Rabbits.
23 jaw dropping pages. And these are just layouts.
Then I received the first assembly from our new editor on White Space - Eric Potter. It's no secret that I wasn't a fan of the first edit. But I had supreme confidence that there wasn't a good movie there, there was a very good movie. However, I was a little nervous and put it off for a few hours. Then I couldn't resist anymore and buckled down for 90 minutes of uncertainty.
To say it was night and day would be an understatement. It was like Christmas and my birthday and Easter all rolled into one. I wasn't expecting Eric to pull off a miracle, but we didn't need one - we just needed an editor who got it. And he did. He nailed it for the most part - and I say most part because this was just a rough assembly to make sure we were all on the same page as he moved forward. He hasn't even really started editing this thing.
I'm pumped. I'm excited. I'm the exact opposite of just about everything I was feeling before we brought Eric on.
White Space is coming...
23 jaw dropping pages. And these are just layouts.
Then I received the first assembly from our new editor on White Space - Eric Potter. It's no secret that I wasn't a fan of the first edit. But I had supreme confidence that there wasn't a good movie there, there was a very good movie. However, I was a little nervous and put it off for a few hours. Then I couldn't resist anymore and buckled down for 90 minutes of uncertainty.
To say it was night and day would be an understatement. It was like Christmas and my birthday and Easter all rolled into one. I wasn't expecting Eric to pull off a miracle, but we didn't need one - we just needed an editor who got it. And he did. He nailed it for the most part - and I say most part because this was just a rough assembly to make sure we were all on the same page as he moved forward. He hasn't even really started editing this thing.
I'm pumped. I'm excited. I'm the exact opposite of just about everything I was feeling before we brought Eric on.
White Space is coming...
October 28, 2011
Top 5 Political Movies
Films dealing with politicians and government in one form or
another. No films dealing with legal
proceedings or cases that are inherently political (In the Name of the Father is out).
No films dealing with espionage (sorry The Quiet American, Three Days of the Condor and Marathon Man). No war
movies (even though they are inherently political). Films such as Team America: World Police are out.
I'm torn on films about political violence/uprisings. Films such as The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Bloody Sunday, Battle of Algiers… so I'm going to include them.
The list is dominated by Robert Redford.
Top 5:
Great Dictator, The
Battle of Algiers
In the Loop
Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
Election
Next 5:
All the President's Men
Bloody Sunday
Milk
The Candidate
Manchurian Candidate (Original)
Honorable Mentions:
Good Night, and Good Luck
Hunger
Wag the Dog
Frost/Nixon
Outside the Law
JFK
Parallax View
another. No films dealing with legal
proceedings or cases that are inherently political (In the Name of the Father is out).
No films dealing with espionage (sorry The Quiet American, Three Days of the Condor and Marathon Man). No war
movies (even though they are inherently political). Films such as Team America: World Police are out.
I'm torn on films about political violence/uprisings. Films such as The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Bloody Sunday, Battle of Algiers… so I'm going to include them.
The list is dominated by Robert Redford.
Top 5:
Great Dictator, The
Battle of Algiers
In the Loop
Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
Election
Next 5:
All the President's Men
Bloody Sunday
Milk
The Candidate
Manchurian Candidate (Original)
Honorable Mentions:
Good Night, and Good Luck
Hunger
Wag the Dog
Frost/Nixon
Outside the Law
JFK
Parallax View
October 26, 2011
Top 5 Losing Their Mind Films
To be eligible the lead had to be losing their mind, not a
co-star (Full Metal Jacket is knocked
out of the running). That lead has to
start the movie somewhat sane and then unravel as the story progresses (The Machinist is out). Also, if alcohol or drugs are involved the
film is ineligible (Scarface).
Fight Club
Pi
A Clockwork Orange
Being John Malkovich
Taxi Driver
Next 10:
Mulholland Drive
Aviator, The
One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest
The Shining
Requiem for a Dream
8 1/2
Vertigo
Adaptation
Barton Fink
Player, The
Honorable Mentions:
Black Swan
Scarface
Schenectady, NY
Jacob's Ladder
Solaris
Beach, The
Donnie Darko
Moon
co-star (Full Metal Jacket is knocked
out of the running). That lead has to
start the movie somewhat sane and then unravel as the story progresses (The Machinist is out). Also, if alcohol or drugs are involved the
film is ineligible (Scarface).
Fight Club
Pi
A Clockwork Orange
Being John Malkovich
Taxi Driver
Next 10:
Mulholland Drive
Aviator, The
One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest
The Shining
Requiem for a Dream
8 1/2
Vertigo
Adaptation
Barton Fink
Player, The
Honorable Mentions:
Black Swan
Scarface
Schenectady, NY
Jacob's Ladder
Solaris
Beach, The
Donnie Darko
Moon
October 24, 2011
Back to NY... Hopefully for a While
After heading to Vegas, Ann Arbor, NY Comic-con and then Pittsburgh I am finally back in NY. Hopefully for an extended period of time. The last month has been tough because I was also dealing with a cough/sore throat that wouldn't go away. It was hard to get much done, although I tried. I have a lot of projects on my plate, which is a good thing... so losing my weekends is a real killer. I'm looking forward to get back to business. And to start training as hard as I can. I bought a month's worth of Bikram Yoga on Groupon for $25 and I plan on starting November 1. It was my goal to be able to do a full split by the new year - but I'm not sure I'll hit that mark. I did lose 5-6 months of serious training/stretching because of 4.2.3. and then White Space.
Time to get serious.
Time to get serious.
October 20, 2011
Is Your Phone the New DSLR?
With a few big filmmakers experimenting with work on their phones... the thought of shooting a feature on a cellphone doesn't sound that preposterous. But more as an exercise in doing it than creating a work of art, right?
That may not be the case anymore. I just saw a video shot on the new iphone 4S and was blown away. It's not up to the level of the Canon 5D just yet... and without the ability to add high quality lenses... but wow. The video, shot by Benjamin Dowie, looks pretty damn good.
A video shot on the iPhone 4S from Benjamin Dowie on Vimeo.
One could easily shoot a no-frills feature on the phone. Go for natural lighting when possible, get a small sound package... man, this is exciting.
I wish the iPhone had the ability to flip open with a qwerty keypad. I just can't type on the thing.
That may not be the case anymore. I just saw a video shot on the new iphone 4S and was blown away. It's not up to the level of the Canon 5D just yet... and without the ability to add high quality lenses... but wow. The video, shot by Benjamin Dowie, looks pretty damn good.
A video shot on the iPhone 4S from Benjamin Dowie on Vimeo.
One could easily shoot a no-frills feature on the phone. Go for natural lighting when possible, get a small sound package... man, this is exciting.
I wish the iPhone had the ability to flip open with a qwerty keypad. I just can't type on the thing.
October 19, 2011
Vdio - a viable competitor for Netflix?
I am usually pretty plugged in to things like this, but a new service just started to crop up - Vdio. It is being hailed as a possible rival (threat) to Netflix.
The team behind Vdio is pretty amazing: the founders of Skype, Napster, NBC, TV Guide, Skype's design team, someone from Netflix's content acquisition's team... and probably the most interesting (and in the long run, besides content, most important part of the equation - a systems engineer who worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is experienced in "data management and modeling, data analytics, and statistical analyses of large data sets, including data mining, visualization, and interpretation." Which means their algorithm for curating your viewing could potentially blow Netflix' away.
No other details are really known about it - when it will come out, what format it'll take, etc... But consider my interest heavily piqued.
The team behind Vdio is pretty amazing: the founders of Skype, Napster, NBC, TV Guide, Skype's design team, someone from Netflix's content acquisition's team... and probably the most interesting (and in the long run, besides content, most important part of the equation - a systems engineer who worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is experienced in "data management and modeling, data analytics, and statistical analyses of large data sets, including data mining, visualization, and interpretation." Which means their algorithm for curating your viewing could potentially blow Netflix' away.
No other details are really known about it - when it will come out, what format it'll take, etc... But consider my interest heavily piqued.
October 18, 2011
Movies That Are Better Than The Book
Publisher's Weekly had an interesting article on Drive the other day, talking about how it was one of the few films that outshines its prose counterpart. For the most part, the book is typically better than the movie. There is just so much more ground that a book can cover. So many more layers. Plunge deeper into the depths of characters.
But for every Atlas Shrugged and Bonfire of the Vanities there is a Jaws. Or The Godfather. I have yet to read Drive, but from the article there's a good chance I would agree with them. In fact, his opinions on A History of Violence jive with my own. A rather incomplete graphic novel that is far superior onscreen.
Although a good book by a great author, I believe Fight Club the film triumphs (it's also shares my favorite film of all time honors with Rad).
Better than the BookFight ClubJawsThe GodfatherConan the BarbarianBlade RunnerThere Will Be Blood (based on Oil! by Pulitzer Prize winner Upton Sinclair)The Princess BrideThe ShiningThe WarriorsThe PrestigeMarathon ManLord of the Rings (full trilogy)WorstThe Scarlet LetterThe Count of Monte CristoThe Time Machine (noting a trend of 'classic' period films)Alice in Wonderland (2010)The League of Extraordinary GentlemenHow the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyEragonCaptain America (1990)Batman and Robin (1997)Fantastic Four (1994 and 2002)X-Men 3I Am Legend (2007)What do you guys think?
But for every Atlas Shrugged and Bonfire of the Vanities there is a Jaws. Or The Godfather. I have yet to read Drive, but from the article there's a good chance I would agree with them. In fact, his opinions on A History of Violence jive with my own. A rather incomplete graphic novel that is far superior onscreen.
Although a good book by a great author, I believe Fight Club the film triumphs (it's also shares my favorite film of all time honors with Rad).
Better than the BookFight ClubJawsThe GodfatherConan the BarbarianBlade RunnerThere Will Be Blood (based on Oil! by Pulitzer Prize winner Upton Sinclair)The Princess BrideThe ShiningThe WarriorsThe PrestigeMarathon ManLord of the Rings (full trilogy)WorstThe Scarlet LetterThe Count of Monte CristoThe Time Machine (noting a trend of 'classic' period films)Alice in Wonderland (2010)The League of Extraordinary GentlemenHow the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyEragonCaptain America (1990)Batman and Robin (1997)Fantastic Four (1994 and 2002)X-Men 3I Am Legend (2007)What do you guys think?
