Feel what you mean, but not what you say!

Bar scene in Southside of Elsewhere (Antonio Lexerot, Katherine Joan Taylor, Ben Governale & Hailey Nebeker)
So I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I'm going to post today- since I have resolved myself in keeping this blog very active to AT LEAST two postings a week. I was planning on doing a post about ADR or cubist editing.

The day got away from me as started going through my lostskies email (it doesn't hold very much so I'm pruning out old emails) and I came across this advice I had posted on a forum a few years ago. I saved the text in an email so I could keep it for my own records. In any case, my foresight is helping us out here :)

The forum person asked why their dialogue felt so stale even though he felt his plot was exciting. This was my response:

SUBTEXT

Dear ******,

I know you didn't ask for tips, but I just felt that some advice on scripting dialogue might help you find out why you're running into some problems, and offer advice to others who might be in the same quandary.

Most of the time, as I've seen with many new writers when they feel that their dialogue all sounds the same or doesn't seem "witty" or catchy, is that they haven't found the character's voice.

"Mmmkay... what does that mean, exactly?"

It means you may be just throwing down what you want your characters to say, but you're not exploring on how they'd say it- or WHY they are saying it, or saying something other than what they are feeling. This is called subtext.

Dialogue should be motivated- coming from inquiry or demand on the part of the one, and conflict, confusion, manipulation, from the other. Once you've figured out WHY a character would say something, and the other gives an ironic response- especially with SUBTEXT- the rest will fall more easily into place and thus magic is born.

Read. Read as much as you can- and not just other screenplays, read from literature... read from graphic novels... read the newspaper! This might give you an insight on what may motivate people, and how they'd react when faced with conflict- especially with words.

Practice writing- even if it's one scene, one page.

Observe other people in the store- why is that new mom mad at her husband? Why does the cashier keep glancing at the door and ignoring you while you check out?

Also, it's also been in my experience that the actors can bring their own voice and SAY it better than you could script it. While admittedly it's saved my behind more than once, it might be counterproductive to what you are trying to SAY with your story... and suddenly something doesn't jive right. When an actor asks for motivation, again, in my experience, it's because it's not really there in the story... but the best screenplays, the motivation is clear. Everybody wants something... and everybody wants to protect what they have.

I hope this helps!

I've updated some of the text, but the jist is the same: trying to write witty dialogue without any substance from a thinking character will come across as being stale, or worse- phoney. Remember, your characters have feelings, use that to your advantage so your audience can connect to them. What do you think? I'd love to hear if you have anything to add- post below!

My Education Continues...

So, as I prepare to rebuild the carburetor, I decided I want to know ALL the science behind it to really know what's going on- that way it works correctly. I found this video- you can skip past the guitar open to about 30 seconds in:



I've read alot of books on the subject, and a ton of articles, but this demonstration sums it up in a couple of minutes.

I've also been thinking about one of the last things I'll be doing to the LeMans- the upholstry. I found this quick timelapse video, but it gave me quite a bit of insight on how I can approach it DIY style:



There are tons of videos on this, but I liked how they took the existing foam and patched it. Now to find someone who can sew!

Flaming Hot Surprise

Photo by Mike Berry, courtesy The Wichita Eagle at Kansas.com. Please buy some of their prints- it's worth it!
I love the title of the article.  Kansas.com has a gallery feature of a family who pulled together to fix up their son's 1972 Pontiac LeMans as a surprise when he came home on leave from Afghanistan.  Here's the link to the story told through a gallery of pictures: Flaming Hot Surprise.

I can appreciate the flames- I love the way they did the graphic lines and I absolutely LOVE the interior.  Looking at it, the grill, the automatic transmission, and the factory emblem, this was a Luxury edition like mine.  I was seriously thinking about finding a sports edition grille to replace the luxury grille until I saw this article.

Hats off to the family for restoring this, and thanks to The Wichita Eagle for bringing us this story!

Fireball!

Definitely needs a carb kit. Definitely.
Sorry about the delay in posts- it's getting cold and I've been doing some winterizing around the house... so I haven't had any chance to play. However, when I went to start up the LeMans to move it over in the garage to make room for my other car, and as I did a gigantic fireball flew out the carburetor! It backfired. Completely my fault, I knew better- the choke is missing and the carburetor is tuned really rich- a note the previous owner warned me about, and in my haste I certainly had a close call.

I need to rebuild the carb anyway. It's a 2bbl Rochester 2GV, and I've discovered many places with kits and detailed manuals to rebuild it. Sure, I could just replace it with a newly rebuilt one, but where's the fun in that?

After the carb rebuild, the fuel tank is next on the replace list.

The Future of Digital Sketches

I love paper and sketchbooks. I prefer them to my plastic Wacom tablet. Don't get me wrong, I'd be lost without my Intous... but Wacom has created something very much worth looking into:



I seriously believe this is going to change how we work. And for only $199, I want one.

The Future of Digital Sketches

Meaner Stance

I always love finding videos of people enjoying their Pontiac LeMans. I found this one- I really, REALLY like how they've done the front end- no bumper and black grille- it looks really aggressive:


The ONLY bad thing about this car is they put a Chevy 350 in it.  I realize he's still working on it, but it sounds like it's cutting out... aw well, as long as he's having fun with it- which it looks like he is.

RALLY ON
I managed to get the wheel locks yesterday using a 19mm socket and breaker bar- came off like nobody's business.  After that I got the rallys on and my daughter even noticed it raised the car by 2 inches.  It's stance is more brawny and it's amazing how much difference tires and rims can improve the looks.
Used my cheap digital camera on these.  Here is the front looking back.

Back looking forward.

A detail showing how much they fill out the wheel well... SOOO much better!
My other brother-in-law Mitch offered to help me rebuild the engine- he has everything we'd need to do it... I'll definitely be taking him up on that offer.  He's been working on cars for over 30 years, so I know I'll learn a thing or two!  Maybe we'll be able to get this thing out on the street sooner than I thought- exciting!

Taking Stock in my Stock Car

So, I was all excited to put those Rallys on the car this weekend.  I got a new 2 ton jack and some jack stands and popped the hubcaps off only to discover this on both back wheels:
Yeah.  And I don't have the key.  Luckily, I was able to find the correct one online- but I'll have to buy the entire wheel lock set just so I can have a key- only about $25.  

I know I could probably get this thing off by tapping on a socket and using a breaker bar... but I don't want to ruin the lock or messing with my bearings if I don't have to.

As promised, here are some pictures of the fuel tank intake- you can see what I mean about it being mangled and not taking a gas cap.  Not safe at all.  Replacing the fuel tank is the first item on my list.
Licence Plate Door

"This doesn't look good."
"What the #@$%!? Oh man!"
I really think it's because someone pried off a lock cap.  
Here are some undercarriage pictures of the tank:

On the opposite end of the fuel system is the vapor canister.  I am going to replace the filter on that.

I wanted to also show the carburetor- it's a Rochester GV 2bbl, which came standard with the Pontiac 350.  You can see the serial numbers too:
Definitely needs a carb kit. Definitely.

I actually came across a website that explains what all these numbers mean- I'll have to dig it up and post it!

Alrighty, more coming soon... and wish me luck with that wheel lock!!!

First Steps

FUEL!
The car runs decent, and is in fair shape but I'd say out of everything the fuel system is probably the worst (and definitely the most dangerous) part of this car. So the first thing I want to do with the car is get the fuel system working properly so I can drive it safely if I need to move it before the strip down next year.  I'll need to:
  • Install a new Air Cleaner to replace the missing one - the guy had a pie tin and crumpled plastic bag protecting the carburetor... luckily he took it off before he sold it to me but all I can think is the mangled hood pad fibers being sucked into the carburetor when I have to move it.  I just want to know what happened to the original Air Cleaner...?
  • Replace the Vapor Canister Filter or the Vapor Canister itself.  The thing is rusted and should probably just be replaced.
  • Replace the Fuel Tank - if I can't get the cap on who knows what kind of condition the tank itself is in.  I've been researching this one carefully- I'm definitely going to buy this one new, but I have to temper cost with quality.  However, I think I have some good leads.  
  • Replace the Fuel Pump and all the Fuel Lines (including those that go to the Vapor Canister - might as well since I'm putting a new Fuel Tank in.
  • Rebuild or Replace the Carburetor - Again, I've been looking in the classifieds to find a decent deal on buying a used Edelbrock or Holley.  I have the option of buying a carb kit and rebuilding my Rochester 2bbl... that might have to be my long term temporary solution until I can rebuild the engine.  Actually, it might be better to wait on getting a new carburetor so I can get the best fit for whatever form my 350 takes after the rebuild.  (bear with me folks, I have a tendency to work things out while I'm writing)
  • Install a better Intake Manifold - This will have to wait until I rebuild the engine, which I'm not planning on even attempting until next May.

I realize some of these things aren't necessarily part of the fuel system per se, but they're all related so I might as well start from there. 

So I bought an air cleaner stud kit and a siphon to empty the tank. Of course, the hose was too short to reach any of the gas a the bottom of the tank... but I have some tubing that I used for my swamp cooler that should work.  The stud kit was only $5 at O'Reilly's Auto Parts.  I got the siphon from wally's world, it's a cheap one but it beats doing it the old fashioned way.

I also took some pictures but they all turned out blurry, so I'll use my better work camera to get some decent photos.

TIRES!
I was going to hold off on installing the new Rallys, but my wife wants to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks and I felt that would be a great opportunity to sell the old ones.  The old ones still have good tread and no cracks- they're really decent, they just don't look good on the LeMans.  They'd be decent spares for anyone with a 5x4.75" (5x120.7mm) bolt pattern on their car.  I'll probably sell them for $20 each.  Plus, it will improve the look of the car, which satisfies my need to have something cool to look at :)


COOL '71 and '72 LEMANS VIDEOS




Some oldies but goodies



I did these a number of years ago, but I still really like how it has held up. They're simple character designs for a Role Playing Game I had donated art to... the project has gone on to a series of books.


This is a cityscape concept I created for a space opera comic book I had started years ago.  The project is ongoing, and will be making a debut within a year.

Archangel Alpha

These were created a little while ago, but I thought I'd post them as examples of Key Scene pitch concepts.  The film, Archangel Alpha, is a feature length Sci-Fi film slated for a late 2011 release.  Director Aaron Martin had asked me to create some concept art pieces to be used in early funding pitches.

Old Friends Contemplate the War
Alphas Attack
Elena and the Sea of Glass

Aaron has been furiously working hard at finishing it up.  Check out the official Archangel Alpha website and 'like' his Facebook Fan Page!

Space Ace!

I'll admit it- I'm not super thrilled with this image, but it turned out decent enough.  The idea is that this Space Ace is stranded on some weird planet, doing repairs on his spaceship- until he's interrupted by some unhappy natives!  The spacesuit was an homage to 50's Sci Fi, and a salute to one of my biggest influences in particular: Al Williamson.


Chloe from "Corner of the Mind's Eye"

Another digital painting... experimenting more with effects and backlighting.  The illustration itself is an exaggeration of the character Chloe from my feature screenplay- she is a magic user, though the magic within the film is more along the lines of incantations and consequences... you only see the actual magic lighting up the room once :)


Howdy!

Thanks for checking out my new blog! I've decided to branch my illustration work from my Lost Skies blog, especially since all the freelance I do is under my name.

So I thought I'd start out with my one of my favorite illustrations I had done in the past few months- "Sky Pirate!" It turned out decent.  I had made the unfortunate choice of a green sky and left it like that for a couple of months before I re-tackled it and gave it a better background.

Alrighty, swing by often, I'll be posting more!

Session 1138: Day One Shooting


I didn't get much of a chance to take very many photos, but we shot all the flashback scenes of the main character's (played by Allan Groves) wasted life.

It was a pretty freeflowing shoot- I got to mix a technicolor cocktail that got a close up for shock value, and also played as an unfortunate visitor that got the business end of fists and kicks.

Sunday is the main shoot- large crew and large cast.  I'll post more as it happens!

Location, location, location!

I'm going to start something new here, posting snapshots of areas I think that would be fantastic as locations.


This little dilapidated warehouse district is the one Mario DeAngelis is using for "Session: 1138"


But just around the corner was this great pothole strewn street with questionable powerlines and worn buildings.


This is closer to where I live- I pass by these tracks quite often and I love this backdrop. The watertower dominates the area, it is easily 6-8 stories high.

Well, I'll be adding more photos as I take them!