Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum Short Film

I suspect the folks over at On screen & Beyond.com Mission Control had little expectation of sitting on the horn for nearly an hour for this interview, as I concocted heady responses to their various questions concerning my background in animation and what all... but nearly an hour it was! Had a good time too, and I still think Brian had some fun too. Lots of laughs, and some cool stuff surfaces from the deep, secret past...that and a few choice stories covering the machinations of stop motion animation production. Have a look around the site, as Brian's got some very cool interviews with a bunch of celebs you'll likely know and remember from the distant past and more recent "folks-of-the-moment". Meanwhile, I'm wrapping up the DVD production process here at Pit Central Headquarters (literally) as I work out the graphics for the DVD case and label! IT"S THAT CLOSE. Also working on the soon-to-be-released COMIC BOOK from Blue Water Productions, a graphic version of the stop-motion film adaptation! How cool is that? News on that forthcoming- hang tight! Cheers, M. On Screen and Beyond.com Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum Trailer Social Bookmarking

This Sunday, June 22, at 2PM, Wildsound.ca hosts a screening of some of the best animated films on the planet...! Lots of award winning films from around the world will grace the screen all afternoon, with several of the filmmakers making an appearance for Q & A's following thier films- here's your chance to throw down some of those burning questions on animation technique, method and off-camera shenanigans! The matinee screening goes down at the National Film Board Mediatheque cinema at 150 John Street, downtown Toronto. Here's a map to the show. THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM Director Marc Lougee will be on hand with Producer Susan Ma... along with some news of the upcoming release of the film on DVD, as well as some special goodies for a lucky few audience members (be nice- this could be YOU)! Rain or shine, the party will be happening, so get on down in to town, and catch some of the coolest animation goodness that Wildsound will be cramming into the afternoon... great films, cushy seats, cool films, live filmmakers, directors of all shapes & sizes, food...what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than in a room full of animation fans? National Film Board Mediatheque cinema NFB Mediatheque Map Marc Lougee Interview w/ Wildsound.ca Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum short film!

Article by Marc Lougee The point of this foray is to share the lay out a very basic DSLR/ shooting system that I had assembled for production of the stop motion animated short film, Ray Harryhausen Presents: The Pit and the Pendulum. in shooting the stop motion animation for the film, we utilized Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera’s in place of traditional film camera’s. In this, we’d found a high quality, cost effective digital alternative to 35mm film. So, to help sort out the process a bit for those hopeful souls who want to know, I’ve laid out the basic system used to achieve a digital finish for theatrical presentation, festivals, broadcast & the DVD release for The Pit and the Pendulum (which is slated for a June/ July 2008). I don’t profess the following diatribe to be gospel, only reflective of what I feel were great results for a lower cost than we could expect with 35mm film cameras and the required lab & post production processes inherent with film. This sort of digital image capture system has been around for a few years, becoming widely known with the production of Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride. The Corpse Bride crew took the High Road (theirs was a pricey set up- the Canon camera’s were reportedly over $6K each). Alternatively, scores of filmmakers have trundled along the Low Road on their way to a less costly, high-resolution version of the system (think DIY vs. Disney). Hence, the popularity of Nikon’s D70s Digital Single Lens Reflex camera and it’s sub-$1000 price range among our budget -challenged crew. 
 Thankfully, I didn’t have to sell any internal organs or participate in drug tests to get hold of the equipment we needed. Total costs for the computer, monitor, camera, hard drives, lens, mini cameras, et al worked out to less than $2400 per system, ready to shoot. Considering the cost of a RED One camera and peripherals, that worked out to be a bargain. (Then again, the RED 'Scarlet' is due this summer, for a whopping $3K- and it's apparently single-frame friendly... more on that in another article). Once you own (the DSLR package), you can rent or sell, recouping some of your production costs to throw a wrap party! Since we produced The Pit and the Pendulum, the D70s has dropped a few hundred dollars in price, new. Of course there are newer DSLR's with live video viewing, output to external monitors, etc, etc, making life alot easier for those shooting animation, so look around before diving in to an older camera. Personally, if you consider buying, I recommend highly getting new gear, with warranties intact. Though the camera’s are pretty hardy, they are not built for the rigors of stop-motion production and the warranty may be void with such use. There is info online concerning life expectancy of the DSLR shutters, body, etc., not holding up, but the argument remains fairly vague. Of course there is always that chance, but for my two cents, the DSLR's are pretty rugged. We shot a television series with 10 D70s camera’s running 10-15 hours a day, 5 days a week for 10 plus months with scant few problems. Our biggest problem was the power supply cables being crushed and frayed due to on-set traffic. The camera’s shot upward of 30-40,000 images apiece, with daily cleaning. Life expectancy of the camera's is apparently in the 100, 000 frame range, so you can fully expect to shoot a few shorts or a feature with the system before it's prime time to trade up. So, careful use ought to get you a long way with these things. My experience with this system has been positive, and the resolution just can’t be beat. Newer camera's are sporting a live feed with Firewire output, and these things are due to change the DSLR / stop-motion landscape. I’ll stick with the D70s in this article, as it’s what I’ve the most experience with at this point. Here we go… In The Beginning…
Basically, we started much the same way any animated project hits the ground; running wildly through the steeplechase of production, our hair on fire. Our take on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story started with writer Matt Taylor and I discussing the script in April and Matt’s delivery of the final draft in May. Much kneeling & begging ensued as I pitched the project (and our need of favors) to our friends and vendors. Meanwhile, producer Susan Ma negotiated deals and finalized contracts as we lurched from pre-viz into production. Generous funding from Bravo!FACT and the National Film Board of Canada came in super-handy, allowing us to go about building sets and puppets in preparation for the looming first day of shooting. 

Pre-Viz for everybody! 
‘Pre-viz’, or pre-visualization, proved a key aspect on our animated adventure. Everybody finds a process for pre-visualizing ideas and concepts to tell their story, and I’ve got mine, which goes something like this; I draw little thumbnail sketches in the script as I read, transcribing the text into images for reference later on. Here’s a sample from The Pit and the Pendulum (script by Matt Taylor): Collecting the best thumbnails, then scanning and re-assembling them into my storyboard template, I add dialogue and shooting notes. By now, I’ve a rough version of the storyboards with which I can shoot from directly. If illustration is not your forte’, no worries. There are lots of alternatives and options, from simple stick figures to any number of storyboard software packages available (some even tout free ‘demo’ versions to try out). When I can afford the luxury (usually on series or commercial gigs), I have storyboard pro’s plow through my thumbs, cleaning them up for clarity. In this case we were shy on cash, so I scanned the thumbs and came up with my own version of the storyboards. As you can see, one need not be gifted to get the point across… Once finished scanning the thumbs up for the storyboards, I drop the thumbnail images (as jpegs) into Final Cut Pro as a slideshow, adding a rough dialogue track I’d recorded to help sort out the timing for animation. This stuff is then edited, becoming our animatic or Leica reel (a version of the film in illustrated form). This is shared with the cinematographer, dialogue actor and animators. The purpose is to get everyone cognizant of the direction, look and feel for the film, in hope of saving us a lot of frustration while shooting. In my humble opinion, animation lives and dies in the storyboard stage, so be careful and strive for clarity in what you’re trying to achieve. The devil is in the details and you'll need the aspirin for other stuff. Digital Image Capture and why we went there
From the outset, I wanted to shoot the film utilizing as high a resolution source as possible. My experience with digital capture for animation started while Animation Director on MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch in New York, where we had used three-chip cameras built for medical operating theatres. The image resolution & color was great for standard definition television, but was untested for theatrical screening. In addition, the body of the camera was tethered to a control box, gamma scope and computer via cables, power cords and whatnot. This bundle of cords and cables greatly limited maneuverability and placement options for the camera. The necessary antics to work around this assortment of cabling and hardware (on an already cramped set) often landed folks on a chiropractor’s table.A smaller, more mobile digital image capture system was what I was keen to find. Problem was finding cameras that were affordable, yet would deliver very high resolution (at least 2K), full frame images. While in our research stages, The Corpse Bride folks made it known of they were looking to shoot with DSLR's as well. This nugget of info was a trumpet call, making me a believer. We were on the right track. (To Be Continued). Part Two up in a couple of days- stay tuned! Cheers, marc

Finally! The Bristol International Comics Expo is going down this weekend, May 9-11 in Bristol, UK! If that weren't enough, The Pit and the Pendulum short film will be on the screens at the Bristol International Comics Expo Film Night '08! (Say that a few times fast- it's a workout). Lots of very cool films of all manner make the evening one not-to-miss, so get your silly selves out to Bristol, check in at the Ramada and have a great time at the fest Film Night, sponsored by the wonderfully creative folks at Orang Utan Comics Studio- brilliant stuff there, and they're friendly, too. Don't forget to fill a seat at the 'Swinging with The Orang Utans' panel...sure to be a real hootenany. Bring your plastic bananas. For the lowdown on the weekend, check out the Comic Expo main page - and for a taste of what's all planned for the happy bunch that manage to get there, here's a little somethin' somethin' to slake your curiousity: Held on May 9th at 6pm at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Bristol, this year's Film Night will be bigger and better than ever. So far we are pleased to announce the - UK Premiere of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Tears Of The Dragon, the largest Tomb Raider fan film ever to be created. Hailed as "what the Hollywood version should have been", this film is brilliantly written and directed, action packed and full of adventure! A must see for any fan of the games, or a good action flick - first ever 'Ray Harryhausen Presents' production; the legendary visual effects creator, animator and producer presents The Pit And The Pendulum, a stock motion animated short based on the Edgar Alan Poe classic - first episode of Revelation, an independent anime production from D7 Studios which features awe-inspiring animation (especially for such a low budget), a gripping science fiction setting, and an apocalyptic plot of Biblical proportions! Entry is FREE (yes, it's true!), and the first 100 people through the door on the night will also receive a Goody Bag from hosts Orang Utan Comics, sponsored by Forbidden Planet London! Be there or be squared and quartered! Have at you- and cheers! M.

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!