I'm Back!

Okay I'm back!  Sorry i haven't been around.  so much happening and I haven't found the time to be able to write.  Today i got out early from The Gingerman (the bar where I work).  A rarity for sure.  I got home and saw the laptop and here i am. So where are we....

The Short film that I was in pre-production on has been postponed.  Just a couple of months, until the winter passes.  We had some great momentum but the location proved to be very difficult and towards the end there, I felt like we were reaching.  the truth of it is that I didn't want to make the movie like that.  I was going to be asking people for money and I felt a responsibility to make it right.  


I am taking a couple weeks off to relax, I felt like I was really pushing myself towards last three weeks of the project.   I really wanted this movie to come out right and really worked hard but that's that and now I'm off to relax a little bit.  


I have been doing a lot of thinking and I've decided that I'm going to go back to my prior plan which was to buy a camera.  On the three projects that worked on, the one guy that always makes money is the guy that owns the camera if I am going to be able to segway my way out of the bar and work in film somehow I am going to have to get out there and work on stuff.  I figure I can learn what i need to and film stuff and that will feed my portfolio and resume.  i am going to pick up any kind of work and be around filmmakers.  


So for the last couple of weeks I have been looking into cameras and saving as much as i can.  It's hard to save when you have kids. there is always something that comes up.  I'm trying though.  i haven't gone out to spend a dime.  Hopefully I can get a good price on some gear.  


Today, Thomas came over to the studio and we spent all day just working on the structure and arch types of a story.  something we hope to make into a screenplay.  It was great.  We just spitball all day.  We worked on Curio on my Mac.  Its a great program to get your thoughts in order.  You should try it.  Check it out here


The Housesitter is in post as i write this.  I got to see a very rough cut a few days ago and I has happy to see its progress.  Still needs a lot of work but its coming along.  


That's it for now.  I will try to be more consistent on the posts.

On the train and into the city.

Well im off on a 7 am train to do auditions for my short film "Gas Mask". I figured you could park at the train station and pay there for an all day pass but of course with my luck you need a permit, so instead of driving to the next stop and seeing if I could park there I have left it at a 2 hour parking. Hopefully at worst I'll get a $20 parking ticket. But with again my luck, I'll come back and it will be towed. But who cares right, Im auditioning actors for my movie, which by the way is really taking off.

The last three months has been great. Marianella graduated and got a job. So with a little more money coming in, I am concentrating on my film stuff. I worked on the 48 film race, then right after that had the opportunity to produce "The Housesitter" and now I am concentrating on my project. One that has taken me quite sometime to get going although there was breaks for opportunities that were just too good to pass up. But now it's full force on it and we are really moving along.

I have posted up ads on the Internet for various positions on the film and the response has been tremendous. So I'm happy with that. I'm hoping that its not the economy that has people answering the ad rather than artist looking collaborate. after the auditions I am meeting up with a director of photography, that will hopefully shoot this movie. His work is really awesome and I think it would great to collaborate with someone that has real knowledge of the medium. He seems excited about the project and that is what we need, excitement to create something extraordinary.

The last couple of weeks I've had people coming to the studio to work. It's great because olive having that energy there. It is contagious. I think they feel it too and believe there is something special with this group of hungry filmmakers. Wo knows, it might just be the right combination of determination and passion for the medium that can make things happen.

I've been plugging away at the social media and it's coming into it's own. I checked this morning and we were almost at 500 followers. There has been a big spike since may. If you work at it long enough it starts to generate faster. Make sure you check us out @humungoidfilms

I'm hitting the ground running just like I have been planning all along. Nothing is going to stop me. I am determined to accomplish this.
Okay the train is stopping so I'll be off and running. I'll post more later.

- Pabs

From The Vault: Magee

 

Again I was looking through the vault at some of the files and I came across this one.  Rod, my friend and great artist, always passes me drawing  when we work together of people at the bar.  Connor is one of my customers and a regular character over at the satchel of life blog.  if you haven't visited that blog, go and check out some of the drawing they are hilarious.  I warn you though some of it is NSFW.

Here is the original drawing, small part of a larger one.  I just had to throw on some color and up the ante.

From The Vault: Li'l Jose

I was looking through some of my files today and I came across this one.  My friend and great artist Rod always hands off a drawing across the bar at work and just cracks me up.  you can see some of his drawings on his blog The satchel of life.  Check it out when you get a chance.  

Anyway Jose is a food runner at our restaurant and Rod just makes and awesome rendition of him.  I had to import it onto my mac and mess vectorize it in Adobe Illustrator and color it in Adobe Photoshop.  

I just love this, he reminds me of a chicano Pikachu doll or something....

BBQ Invite

I was looking in the vault and found an invite I made for my kids birthday BBQ party.  It's been about a year and I have to design another one.  We had a great time, the wife and I rented out this park and invited all the kids friends.  We had volley ball, softball and a bocce tournament as well all the food you eat.  I brought the ipod and ran it through some speakers it was a blast.

Samurai Champloo

I have been looking through some of my old files, to try and post them up on the net.  i have never really been good about keeping up with that sort of stuff, so I am making an effort about it.  Anyway I figure it will make for at the very least content for the blog and will keep my posts regular.  

I found this little pic.  I had just gotten my cintiq and wanted to test it out by coloring in some line art.  At he time I was watching the entire Samurai Champloo run.  An awesome mix of animation, hip-hop and Japanese samurai culture.  Three things that fascinate me on a constant basis.  (I have a idea that I keep tying to outline called Codename: Hip-Hop Samurai) something I will eventually write and direct but not until I have access to the type of funding on the scale of a summer block buster (so who knows when that will be).  Anyway you should check out that series.  It rocks!


So back to the pic, right.  I was just testing out color on the line art.  I thought it came out decent.  What do you guys think?

From The Vault: Vita is Video Games

 

I was digging through the vault again and I came across this logo that I created a couple of years ago.  It was part of an idea I had for producing a podcast on video games.  My good friend Pete Vita is a master when it comes to knowing the inside scoop on the industry.  I was looking for something to make that would hone my skills at all around production of content.   

I remember taking this picture at my job one night as I hung out with Pete.  I was talking about the idea of creating this podcast based on him and his knowledge of video games.  of course he said Yes. I literally snapped this pic when he agreed. 

I sent the pic over to my good friend Rod, a great artist, he runs his own blog The satchel of life, go check out out if you haven't yet, it is hysterical. 

On the left you'll see the illustration he made.  I brought it into Adobe illustrator and made a vector drawing out of it.  There I made the titles and imported all of that into Photoshop for color purposes. 




From there it was pretty easy to import all of that into either Motion or After Effects.  I used them both on a regular basis but recently I have proffered After Effect.  I was able to keep everything on it's own layer.  I made the music up in Garageband, they offer of array of sounds that you can throw on a timeline and just try different  stuff.  it was a fun little program to mess with.  I have no musical inclination and it helped me out a lot.  

I figured why not use all the characters from video games we played as kids, so it was just googling the names of them and bringing them into Photoshop and basically creating a green screen around them and then keying it out in After Effects where you can move everything around.

I would have liked to see this take off.  I thought it had a lot of potential, especially with how popular video games are and how powerful a marketing tool social media is.  Oh well.  I can say I did learn a lot from this project. 

Concept Art Video

I have been real busy working on pre-production for a short film I wrote and will be directing as well as co-producing over at Humungoid Films.  If you haven't had a chance to check out that blog you should swing by there when you get a chance.  I have been posting up pictures and behind the scene stuff there.  I hope to catalog the journey of this project as it goes through the phases of making a movie.  Here is a link.


Before I started story boarding(really I've been thumbnailing a lot). I decided to do some concept art.  It really gets me in the right state of mind as far as tone and colors and all around general feeling of the movie.  I wanted something to kinda ground me as I draw these boards. 

I made a list of a few favorite scenes in the film that I love.  This one, I call BLAM!!!, I felt was the image I came back to in my thoughts as I wrote the story.  So I decided to use it as my first attempt at some concept art for the film.  I really like the point of view of the audience and felt it was indicative of the visceral experience that I am looking for in the story.  

I used Sketchbook Pro and Photoshop as well as two pictures I took with my iphone.  I have been using a program called Screen Flow to record my desktop as I work and the result are the following videos.  I put a little audio so you could understand the process a little better.  I had to split the video up into two parts because Youtube wouldn't let me post it up at 12 mins, that is why it has taken so long to get it on the blog.  Well, I hope you guys like it.

This is Part 1

This is Part 2

 

 

I will be posting up some more of videos like this as I make them.  In the coming weeks I will be posting up some images that I have come across as I have been cleaning up my files and trying to put them in order.  

Now it's back to trying to storyboard this project....

Art Nouveau Girl

From time to time I will be reaching into my vault to post up a drawing or two that I have made in the past.

I made this one one day just messing around on my cintiq.

I like to screen capture my work.  Something I have been making myself do to have a type of journal about the process itself.  Hope you like it.

Memorial Day Weekend Update!

So I wanted to swing by the blog and just let you guys know about some of the stuff that has been going on in the studio.  I am sorry I haven't been as consistent as I wanted to be when I first started this blog but it hasn't been me being lazy but just having so many things on my plate at once.


First order of business... Congratulations to my lovely and (now officially) brainy wife.  After such a long journey she has finally graduated with her Masters Degree.  Marianella Bonelli SLP.  (speech language pathologist), just so cool, I wish I had one of those, reminds me of ESQ. or MD.

Marianella Graduating!

Here is a pic I shot of Marianella receiving her diploma up on stage at the County Center where the ceremony took place.  She worked so hard to get here and I couldn't be any prouder than I am now.  She has raised two kids, worked a job, put up with my crazy ass and kept our family tight all these years.  She inspires me every single day of my life.  All that and a bag of chips gentleman.  Now you know why I smile at the world every day.

She has started her interviews and even though the economy stinks, she has had numerous job offers already.  She is narrowing her decision  and will be selecting one this week.  All the pieces seem to be falling into place according to plan.  Let's keep all our fingers crossed that it continues.


Okay on to the next order of business.

Some of you might know that I am currently working on my next short film.  I wrote the screenplay and after what seemed like endless revisions and even more video conference calls with my writing partner Chris Buddy,(I am sure I drove him crazy), we are in pre-production. so that means storyboards and concept art.

GASMASK CONCEPT ART: JAMES

I posted up this image on the HUMUNGOID FILMS BLOG a week or two ago.  If you haven't visited that blog yet, you should swing by there and check it out.  We have a lot of great stuff we are working on.

I screen captured the process of this image and sped up the 12 hours it took me and put some audio to it.  I  finished it a couple of days ago but didn't realize youtube has a time limit for videos.  I am still a little new to this so bear with me.  Later today, if I can squeeze it in.  I will spit the original video into two parts and I'll post them up.

GASMASK THUMBNAILS PART 1

So I have been thumbnailing some scenes now and I took the pic above a few days ago. It is the view from my computer desk.  There is still a long ways to go.  This about an 8th of the movie so far.  it isn't going as fast as I imagined it would as I am still very green and i am trying to find a flow to this film.  there are so many elements to consider.  Once I complete these thumbnails and I am happy with the flow of the movie I will redraw them in Adobe Photoshop and create animatic video from the stills for timing purposes.  My good friend Jeff (an amazing musician) is making some musical rough sketches for the movie and we will be meeting later this week.  I am so excited to hear them.  I feel like another piece of the puzzle is going to fall into place and I will feel a lot more comfortable about the storyboards.

Well i guess that is it for this week,  I woke up at 730am today (Sunday) to work on some of this stuff but I have off from work till Wednesday and my wife says I need to enjoy it even though i just want to get as much as I can done.  So I will take her advise and just relax for a day or two until I go back to slinging drinks at The Gingerman. 


I will try to post up more content on a regular basis, again I am rather new to this blog and social media stuff so bare with me folks. 

If you like any of this stuff, please share it with your friends and come by our Facebook Fan page and hit the "LIKE" button at the top.  It would really help us out tremendously!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!!

Pabs

Mermaid

Occasionally. I'll listen to my wife's request.  I installed Sketchbook Pro on my desktop a while back.  She asked me for a mermaid and this is what I came up with. 

I can't emphasize how great this program is.  I own a Cintiq, which is a monitor that lets you draw directly on the screen.  A bit expensive but a must own for anyone doing any type of digital art (paint, Photoshop, sketching or even mechanical).  Anyway I have a few more on my computer and I'll post them up as soon as I find some time.  I hope you like it!

Drawing on the iPad

Sundays. I try to chill a little, since I run around all week nonstop and either draw or read or something a little less crazed. Marianella loves her cat, Sunny as most of you know. I joke around with her all the time about how he is treated like royalty in the house (which he most certainly is). I decided to paint Sir Sunneth from a picture she took of him, while sitting on the couch and waiting for the Knicks playoff game against the Celtics (which they lost). I have been testing out the limits of Sketchbook Pro on the iPad. I like it very much and definitely worth $7.

It's amazing how far technology has come. I'll try and post up some more SBP stuff as I make them.

- Pabs

Storyboard thumbnails all night long,

It is midnight on Saturday.  I have spent the entire night on the couch drawing thumbnails for the first scene of the short film we are producing.  I am using sketchbook pro for the iPad to draw now.  I have practiced on it for a couple of days and am getting very familiar with it.  It has a little bit of a learning curve but there a ton of videos and websites that have tips and tutorials.  If you google any program with the word tutorial after it, you can learn just about anything without paying for a class. 

I woke up today with the intention of blazing through this work, but it has not happened like that.  Every time I try to sit down and get in a groove, something inevitably comes up.  I have to deposit money to pay a bill cause its due on monday morning or we are out of something and I have to run out to the grocery store.  I am not complaining, it's just it takes me a little while before I can get my creative juices flowing and constant interruption really messes me up.  I have to find a better way to be more efficient with stuff I do control like my daily chores. 

So after finally getting to it, the most I could get through was one scene.  
I think the problem lies in so many different combinations of shots to tell the story.  I am still trying to figure out the tone and pacing of this film.  I guess every filmmaker goes through this, at least I hope they do.  I have no formal training in filmmaking.  Everything I have learned comes from endless hours of reading books, watching interviews with filmmakers I respect and sitting through movies with the director's commentaries on.  

Tomorrow I will try and get another scene done.  I want to try and have as many thumbnails done before Rodney comes by the studio on Tuesday afternoon and I have to work the bar Monday night so I won't have much time.  Oh and did I mention the kids are off from school this week. 

There is a laundry list of stuff to do for this film and it's only a short. I can't imagine what the work load will be when we get to make a feature, but that is a long time away. 

Pabs

First post

So.
It's almost 2 am on Sunday and I have finally figured out how to get this blog online from my iPad.

This blog will chronicle my life in filmmaking, my family and slinging drinks. A place where I can write my thoughts, obsessions and progress. A showcase for my family and friends can see what's going on in my life.

Pablo Bonelli
Filmmaker