Troy Dennison's Blog, page 7
June 26, 2013
Daily Doodle #1
I realised that I don’t draw anywhere near as much these days. So I’m trying a little experiment – one drawing (any subject, any media) a day for the next thirty days.
Hopefully some of them will be kind of okay…
Daily Doodle #1 Venom
May 26, 2013
Hanging Loose with the Crew – ten years of independent film making
Once upon a time (because all the best stories begin that way)…
I was introduced to Dominic Holmes by his sister Rachel during the early part of 2003. He had a screenplay that he had written, he wanted to film it and my name had been suggested for the villain of the piece. When I met Dom for the first time he was quiet, a little nervous and very sincere about making a film called The Courier. It was about a small time gangster, the courier who had stolen cash from him and a newspaper reporter intent on getting the whole story. 
The Courier began filming in May and after a small false start everything ran along rather nicely. We had guns, we had stunts, we had chases, we had skateboards (for all of ten seconds) and we had a lot of fun making the film. I got ‘shot’ for the first time, and accidentally punched Simone Dunne in the nose during one memorable scene. We shot around Cannock College and on location using what we had at out disposal.
My car even made an appearance in the film and would go on to appear in other Loose Crew features. 
Our next film was Last Time She Lived, a tale of witchcraft and resurrection. We spent a lot of time up amongst the trees of Cannock Chase for chunks of the filming and managed to pick up some nasty sun burn along with the fabulous footage. 
The Clown featured a homicidal clown slaughtering his way methodically through a group of friends. The Clown featured the infamous ‘Lasagne shot’ where one of the characters gets his arm torn off and is then bludgeoned with his own bone! 
Over the years Loose Crew has produced features, short films, music videos and documentary work. Always with a ‘can do’ attitude of taking a camera, a small group of people and shooting. Some of our friends are still working with us to this day, some have gone on to successful careers and we are always meeting new people.
The hoody I’m wearing in the photo above is the same one I wore during that very first day of filming with Loose Crew all those years ago on The Courier.
The last decade went past in a bit of a blur, but it’s always been entertaining and fun. There are new projects on the horizon, new friends to make and always new things to try.Loose Crew Productions goes from strength to strength and the next ten years promise to be as much fun as the last decade.
May 10, 2013
The Dark Carnival is here…
There is something out there.
In the darkness, out beyond the flickering firelight.
Something is moving amongst the twisted frames of the trees.
Dark voices carry on the night air, full of despair, full of pain.
They call out, promising wonders, offering forbidden pleasures.
And they are hungry…
The forgotten souls of a once vibrant community now haunt the forest, their clothes tattered, their spirits almost vacant, Their routines so engrained in their memories they still perform, subconsciously to an audience of trees. The big top tents taken down, rotted, decayed and lost to the mists of time….
The Ring Master, a corpse of his former self beckons the audience to enjoy a night of laughter and suspense, yet his calls are unanswered.
His assistant, the once glamorous showgirl, now dances, her clothes all but rags, her corset stitched and repaired. Her gaunt skin covered in over saturated makeup to disguise the reality of her age.
The clown, his real smile long gone, he cut his face to scar himself with a fake twisted grin, stapled together with rusty pins. His wig, knotted, covered in twigs and moss.
The Harlequin clown, wearing naught but a sinister mask and ragged underwear, her fishnet stockings torn. She writhes around in the grass almost serpent like.
The Stilt performers standing tall amongst the others, they beckon and bow, still demanding a presence, yet dwarfed by the trees the live amongst. The puppet, strung by her veins, she is controlled and contorted, limp and lifeless by her master.
The stripper, she taunts the audience, twisting, turning, hoping for one last admirer to tell her how beautiful she is.
Dark souls, condemned to play out their final performance for all eternity. Haunting the backwoods and by-waters, preying upon the unwary and the innocent. When the light dims and the cold wind brushes the leaves on the ancient trees they stir. Their shadows dance and writhe in beautiful grotesquery to the faded melody of the calliope. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the Dark Carnival…
Saturday the 4th of May 2013 saw the rise of the Dark Carnival. Seven models, two make-up artists, one award winning photographer, several designers and a film maker to record the event. From a rainy start to a sunny finish, with over seven hours of shooting – these are some of the unique images captured on the day.
With no water, shelter or electricity available, the models were prepared mere yards from the location in the middle of Cannock Chase. Everyone was in good spirits, whether they were preparing, being photographed or being interviewed for a behind the scenes feature from Loosecrew Productions. Time flew by and there was a certain reluctance to call the shoot to an end because of the friendly working atmosphere.
Copious amounts of fake blood flowed, models posed, a dazzling array of accessories, jewellery and costumes were worn. And at the heart of the orchestrated madness was the dark genius of Andy Simon, a great photographer and a genuinely great guy to work with. The Dark Carnival was a resounding success.
And then…well, it was over. Cars were packed, trains were caught, people went home. The forest was empty again, filled with the almost imperceptible whispering of the trees. Empty…but perhaps something was left behind. Not seen, or heard, but a feeling, something barely perceptible. A dark energy, a shadow of the grandeur that once was, an echo of what had been.
So perhaps a lone backpacker will disappear, or a cyclist will become lost in the dark woods, never to be seen again. Maybe a dog will run off its lead and not come back. And if there is an area of the forest where the trees stand tall and the animals are somehow absent…
Where the birdsong is muted and the shadows seem just that little bit darker…
Where the wind seems to whisper your name…calling you…beckoning you…
Somewhere in the darkness the Dark Carnival is waiting.
Words by T. Dennison and Andy Simon.
All images are copyrighted by Andy Simon / Darkslide Photography.
Models: Lilliana Watkins, Billie-jo Cox, Grae Davidson, Luthien, Cecily Byard, Laura Powers and Harry Craig
Makeup and SFX by Troy Dennison and Helen Burton MUA
Costumes and Jewellery by Off With Her Head Millinery by Lisa Jones, Waisted Creations and Twisted Trinkets
May 1, 2013
Here comes the buzz
Those awesome people over at Scifind.com are putting together a new science fiction/horror/fantasy magazine called SF Buzz. The project will hopefully be funded via Indigogo and the page for it will go live very shortly.
In the meantime though a FREE teaser Alpha issue of the SF Buzz magazine is available.
Featuring interviews with award winning Vampire Gene author Sam Stone, Doctor Who, Torchwood and Cockneys Vs Zombies writer James Moran, a “what if” concerning the Cornetto Trilogy’s Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and a short story by yours truly.
Go check out this brilliant tease for a potentially fantastic new genre magazine.
(and yeah, that is my face on the front cover!)
April 29, 2013
Great Escapes volume 1
This is a wonderful project I was involved in recently. The Great Escape website is a home for independent films, comics and fresh new stories. They’re also the nice people behind the brilliant Gabriel Cushing web series (go check it out – it’s fun!.
Great Escapes volume 1 is a collection of fiction covering creepy horror to sweet romance. All of the fiction from the website’s first year comes together in one anthology, along with new contributions from new authors.
The first print run for this volume was funded through a successful Kickstarter project and released into the wild earlier this year.
It’s available though The Great Escape website and also on Amazon and Waterstones.
I’m incredibly proud to be associated with this brilliant indie Kickstarter project.
March 11, 2013
Sometimes it hurts
Once upon a time…
Actually it was a little over two years ago that I found myself with a rather large painting challenge. I was asked to produce some artwork to go around a band stand in the middle of town. It was going to be used as Santa’s grotto and had to be finished for the switching on of the Christmas lights. In under 2 weeks I did what was needed and it actually made the middle of town look a bit brighter while it was in place.
There were 14 panels, painted on both sides, all nicely secured by ten anchor points on each panel (I did a risk assessment before I even started sketching the design).
The whole thing was done for the Market Traders Association and I donated my time and effort free of charge. I even offered to maintain and alter the artwork if they wanted it changing the next time they used it.
After Christmas was over it was taken down and the following year it wasn’t used. However this Christmas it was back in place – or rather some of it was. Only the lower section was used and whoever installed it did a very bad job, only anchoring each panel at four of the ten points required. Needless to say in the high winds panels were getting blown down. I rescued three of them myself and eventually all of the panels of artwork had come down and lay inside the bandstand.
The weather warped some of the panels, which was sad and a couple had been damaged slightly – but could have been restored. They lay there for two months and I walked past every day wondering when they would go back into storage. Then the council started doing up the town centre, repainting the place and making it look nice. However this is what happened to the artwork I had produced…
Smashed, scratched, covered in paint and equipment. I walk past that bandstand every day and it is heartbreaking to see how badly the work I produced has been treated. I’m not precious about my artwork, but it isn’t nice to see something you spent so much time and effort over getting treated so badly.
I’m not sure if this story has a moral, and it certainly doesn’t have a happy ending, but I wanted to share it anyway.
February 28, 2013
January 21, 2013
January 18, 2013
Tales From The Lounge # 57
Usual Suspects
January 14, 2013
Tales From The Lounge # 56
Cryptid Confusion
