This weekend coming, Raven Con 2008 in Richmond, VA gets under way with a swinging program designed to keep you on your feet and off the rack..! There's plenty to do for most everyone in the family thru the weekend, as RavenCon celebrates the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Join their special guests for panel discussions and workshops that can only happen at RavenCon! The Pit and the Pendulum short film is slated to screen over the course of the weekend...stay tuned as details come online at the RavenCon website! And if that wasn't enuff to satisfy, The Poe Museum is hosting a couple of very cool, very Poe-centric events as well! Here's the skinny on things creepy in The Poe Museum- Unhappy Hours in The Enchanted Garden Starting April 24 from 6-9 pm Enjoy live music in the Poe Museum's beautiful Enchanted Garden. Admission is free! Visit the Museum's amazing collection of Poe artifacts and memorabilia. This month featuring the music of the Matt Koon Foundation. Family friendly! For more information contact Becca at 804-648-5523 or becca@poemuseum.org. Poe in Comics Exhibit Exhibit opening April 25, 2008 This exhibit will run through October 7, 2008. April 25-October 31 with a special preview at the April Unhappy Hour. This is the first ever museum exhibit devoted to Edgar Allan Poe's presence in comics and graphic novels. The exhibit includes the work of renowned artists Rick Geary, Gris Grimly, Richard Corben, Gahan Wilson and many others. Housed in the newly remodeled Carraige House, the exhibit will showcase Poe's inspiration in such beloved comics as Scooby Doo, Batman, and many others. Don't miss it! For more information contact Chris at 648-5523. Now THAT is going to make for a very cool weekend...hope you can all make it to see the film, check out the panels, workshops, lectures and more at RavenCon and be sure to swing by The Poe Museum. Also, in the spirit of trumpet-blowing on spectacularly cool upcoming news and events, We (Hand Made Heroes) have a comic in production of our own! We partnered up with Bluewater Productions to produce the comic adaptation of The Pit and the Pendulum, using the short film as our visual launching point! The comic is scheduled for a late Summer/ Fall release...preview teaser pages will be available over the summer months, so keep an eye peeled for notices here and on the Bluewater Productions site...! The book will make an awesome companion to the film DVD (loaded with extra features) coming out in June, 2008! Awesome! Coming Soon: Horrorfest 2008 / The Pit and the Pendulum wrap up! Marc

Just when it felt like the finale would never come, lo & behold...Part Three of the 'Stop-Motion on a Budget' series is now online! Thanks to the generous support and coolness of Lance Weiler @ the Workbook Project, we have uploaded the remainder of the Stop-Motion on a Budget Article for all to see, complete with audio files of a chat I had with animator Mike Weiss. In the article, Director / Creative Producer Marc Lougee breaks down the production process used to shoot Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum short film, executive produced by Ray Harryhausen and Fred Fuchs. Here's a bit from the installment- 'Mini Cameras: Small, like Diamonds- There’s much talk on and offline concerning the advent of mini camera’s used in stop motion animation, specifically when used in tandem with DSLR’s. Some folks love’em, some hate’em, but either way, they keep proving themselves useful, relatively inexpensive and hard to boot.... I’m a big fan of the mini cam and keep a couple in my toolbox all the time. Light weight, reasonably durable, replaceable lenses and output to various devices (like television monitors, VCR’s, etc) make these things handy." For the full article, head over over to www.workbookproject.com... The full article can also been found on another one of my favourite Film Resource SItes, www.wildsound.ca. Check out the WIldsound Monday Nite Radio show online-it's a hoot. Cheers, Marc

Feast your eyes on this, mateys! Yes, it's true, the much long awaited design from Rue Morgue Magazine's Ghoulish Gary Pullin has arrived, and is slated to premiere on T-Shirts and limited edition mini-posters at the HorrorFest Entertainment Media Convention 2008 in Denver, CO, April 18-20! All this hubbub is leading us to the next, and even bigger news-blast: The Pit and the Pendulum DVD's are nearly complete, and scheduled to be released in June, 2008! EGAD! I know, I know, you've heard this gas-baggery before, but I can assure even the most skeptical, the interviews are in hand, the editing is nearly complete, and the extra's are going to be a treat to behold...lots of info on the behind the scenes film production, including 'Foley 101: A Pit Tour' featuring the fine fellows from Urban Post Productions (Saw 2-4, Eastern Promises) who bring us on a tour of the sound effects process used on The Pit and the Pendulum! Interviews with artists from Switch VFX (Saw 2-4, Repo: The Genetic Opera, Everest, George Romero's Land of the Dead), explaining the Visual Effects processes utilized in making The Pit and the Pendulum! If that ain't enuff, we've got animator interviews, director interviews, sneak peeks at the puppet building process, and even more interviews with writer/ conceptual artist Matt Taylor, composer Philip Stanger, and....a chat between The Pit and the Pendulum Director Marc Lougee and Executive Producer Ray Harryhausen! How cool is that? All this and more is coming your way in a short time, so stay tuned...and keep an eye peeled for upcoming convention screenings, film festivals and sneak audio interviews! Stay in the know and sign up for The Pit and The Pen Newsletter! The Sign up box is on the right and down the column... take moment, send along your email addy and Lo & Behold...you find about about upcoming news, cool goings-on & whatnot before it lands here! Folks on the list will recieve offers only open to Newsletter recipients...and we aren't sharing anyone's info, so no worries. Only between US and You, and you can bail anytime you'd like...and it's free! Cheers! Marc

 

 Check out the music from the film, composed by the brilliant Philip Stanger! Philip is a masterful musician, with a tremendous background in feature films, television series and performances on both sides of the Atlantic. Here for your enjoyment, is the original music from the film in several clips. Have a listen... We'll also be posting audio interviews weekly, as I chat it up with the cast & crew from the film...including updates from upcoming festivals & conventions, culminating in a chat between Ray Harryhausen and myself in Montreal, following his first look at the footage from the film. Stay tuned, and share the widget with your friends! Marc

Yes, it's true...we have a top designer working on our soon-to-be-infamous The Pit and the Pendulum T-shirts! They are cool looking, for sure...so, who's designing, you say? None other than Rue Morgue Magazine's Art Director, Mr. Gary Pullin! How cool is that? Gary is the man behind the look and feel of the artistic endeavors over at Rue Morgue Magazine, known to horror fans the world over...so the stuff we have going on is in good hands, indeed. Classy! For all the latest and greatest from Mr. Pullin, have a look at his rockin' website- lots of art, illustration, design & cool stuff to keep you bug-eyed for a long while... note the sample of his work to the right... Meanwhile, I'll be spotting a sneak peak of the shirt design here shortly, then we're off to Starsfest/ Horror Fest 2008 in Denver, CO April 18-20 to screen the film, attend filmmaker panels, juggle some Q & A's...and premiere the new T-shirt and posters! Now, don't you wish you could be there? It'll be a lot of fun...stay tuned!

Yes, it's true...we have a top designer working on our soon-to-be-infamous The Pit and the Pendulum T-shirts! They are cool looking, for sure...so, who's designing, you say? None other than Rue Morgue Magazine's Art Director, Mr. Gary Pullin! How cool is that? Gary is the man behind the look and feel of the artistic endeavors over at Rue Morgue Magazine, known to horror fans the world over...so the stuff we have going on is in good hands, indeed. Classy! For all the latest and greatest from Mr. Pullin, have a look at his rockin' website- lots of art, illustration, design & cool stuff to keep you bug-eyed for a long while... note the sample of his work to the right... Meanwhile, I'll be spotting a sneak peak of the shirt design here shortly, then we're off to Starsfest/ Horror Fest 2008 in Denver, CO April 18-20 to screen the film, attend filmmaker panels, juggle some Q & A's...and premiere the new T-shirt and posters! Now, don't you wish you could be there? It'll be a lot of fun...stay tuned!

We just love Australia... the beach, sun, cool accents, Hillsong United and lots of spots to screen our film! Just got the official word; The Pit and the Pendulum is an Official Selection in the Melbourne International Animation Festival. We are proud, thrilled and very excited to be participating in this year's fest. Very cool. Here's a bit of the skinny on what's going Down Under: "Get ready to strap yourselves in for a six day blast of exceptional animation from around the world in the 8th edition of the Melbourne International Animation Festival! This will be your only opportunity in Australia to see such a comprehensive line-up of current animated short films in competition and specially curated programs that highlight recent productions and absolute gems from the archive. MIAF aims to challenge and inspire audiences with thematic, aesthetic and technical diversity from award winners, outstanding industry veterans and those wonderful newcomers who are exploring their talent on screen for the very first time. We're in the process of busily programming the 2008 festival, so check in here for regular updates and info between now and June. In the meantime... here's a sneak peek of what we are planning for MIAF08... Competition Programs The back-bone of the MIAF program – the very best of more than 2,000 entries created and sent from all over the world carefully assembled into nine different programs. The ultimate showcase for this stunning artform. Digital Panorama From the leading edge of international computer generated animation and digital design. Puppet Animation Panorama – MIAF 2008 Technique Focus This most hands-on technique produces some of the most enthralling & fascinating animated films. Masters Of Puppet Animation – From the 1920’s Until Today An important retrospective celebrating the finest puppet animation ever made – 2 years in the planning." OMG...if this isn't going to be just the coolest place on the planet to be...now to fire up the cash machine and get myself down there! Cheers, M