N. T. Bullock - Writer/Editor/Director

This project was three months of constant tedium. I've taken on quite a few self-inflicted projects since 1999, but this one I place in a separate category. I would go so far as to say that this movie was the hardest to pull off technically. It surpassed "A Glitch in the Matrix" in that respect.

Originally I thought it'd be a piece of cake. Sure, I had to learn how to shoot greenscreen, but that would be the end of it. Back in November ['04] I ideally thought that we could shoot this entire thing, edit it together, then shop it out to animators to fill in the backgrounds and do the compositing work. I put a very small call-out for animators. This didn't garner many results, and the results it did get weren't up to par for what I wanted to do at that point. I quickly started forming
Plan B...

This plan was to somehow do the backgrounds ourselves and cut out the extraneous, obligatory graphic shots altogether. But, this also meant that I had to learn how to actually composite the video. This took about 2-3 weeks of research and 5 rounds of greenscreen tests. It was time consuming. Nothing else was really being done on the project, as far as props and costumes, at this point because I didn't want to waste anyone's time if I didn't feel we could pull it off. But, after those few weeks I felt confident we could do it. Admittingly, because I found scifi3d.theforce.net

With the help of scifi3d we now had plenty of backgrounds to use. We didn't have them all, but we had most everything we would need. But, this meant I had to learn how to use 3D Studio Max. Scifi3d basically has a lot of downloadable Star Wars environments through which you can move a 3D camera. This replaced my CG background artists for the most part.

So, we were back on track with Plan B, but this plan was MUCH more time consuming and involved than what I originally had in mind. I basically had to composite around 70 shots by myself. The script was being written early on in the research period. It shaped up quickly - maybe a week or so for the rough draft. I promptly contacted my stable of talent once the script was a go. Everything was steady work from that point.

The rest is history... or at least that's how I'm going to bring this to a close. We learned, we laughed, and we succeeded in our goal. Case closed. On to the next project...

- NTBullock

ERIC KOHN - Writer/Asst. Ed./Dir.

I've been at least marginally involved with Sequential Pictures for a few years now, I guess. Very minor stuff really, up until "A Glitch in the Matrix" when I got a little more involved. But this project represents my biggest involvement yet, and I'm just really thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of it. Throughout the writing, preproduction, production, and post-production phases, I feel like it was a real collaboration in the truest sense of the word, and I want to thank Todd for inviting me in on this.

What a project! We learned a lot and managed to have a lot of laughs in the process. The biggest element of this project was undoubtedly the introduction of greenscreen technology into the SP arsenal, and I've got to say that I'm really impressed with what Todd accomplished there. Frankly, I had my doubts when Todd first pitched this idea to me. "I want to do it ALL with greenscreen," he said. I sort of had one of those Dr. Evil moments of --- "Riiiiiiiiiiiight." But in true N.T. Bullock form, he dived right in head first and made it happen. Technological issues aside, it really changed the way we worked as a "film crew." Before this, SP was almost a "guerilla filmmaking" operation, snagging locations when and where we could. This project was much more controlled, allowing us to pretty much set up shop in one location (thank you, Anthony) and concentrate more on the actual filmmaking side of things instead of having to worry about the variables of location and weather, etc. I don't know how much of this kind of thing SP will be doing in the future, but the great thing is that it's available now if it's needed.

I loved working with the usual SP suspects again, and it was also great having Jeromy (an old bandmate of mine and longtime friend) and Michelle bring some new blood into the SP "family." I also had the pleasure of meeting Matthew Magee and Jared Hopkins, who are a couple of really great, funny guys. And as always -- Scott, Clayton, Anthony, Sarah.... You guys are the best. And Ms. Judy, your costumes really tied the whole thing together. Thanks for humoring us and putting up with it all. Couldn't have pulled it off without you.

As for Star Wars --- I confess I'm a lifelong Star Wars geek, and I'll always have a soft spot for those classic original movies. And despite everything, I do believe that the prequels have their place. No one can blame Mr. Lucas for making the films HE wants to make. But for my money, it doesn't get any better than the original trilogy. And so, Mr. Lucas will just have to indulge us cantankerous old fans if we "give him the business" once in a while. At the end of the day, he still manages to end up with my money in his pocket.

Thanks, and enjoy.
Eric

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