Not a vast amount has happened in the last week, but I have been doing a bit of online location scouting, and, without wanting to completely reveal my address to the internet at large, here's what I've come up with.
Here's this weeks work - recreation of the anomaly matrix/time map effect from Primeval series 3. The artifact was something I felt was hugely underused (and completely ignored in later series) and it'll be featuring in Revelations. This effect was achieved using bezier curves and particle systems with a volumetric spot lamp to create the light rays effect.
In other news, the draft script is finished, with just a few more revisions to be made before I can get to work on the pre-vis animatics.
PRIMEVAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "They tried to take me over, Con. But I fought them. I fought them."
Happy Primeval Day! Tomorrow, 23rd February, marks 6 years since the finale of Series 2 of Primeval - how time flies! This project has been going on for much of that time too - initially the overblown dream of my ten-year-old self, I gradually learned the skills that enabled me to recreate the effects seen on the show. I started out with rudimentary stop-motion animation out of clay, and then moved on from until I found the 3D animation software Blender, and have spent the last three years or so attempting to master it.
The first Primordial (as it was then known) script was written in half an hour or so on a warm, sultry night in 2008, and was, to put it politely, a complete unmitigated disaster. Since then I must have written at least 25 different scripts for the series, and my friends will often complain that I have filled their folders with hundreds of pages of screenplays of various quality and completion.
I mention all this because, at long last, what I hope to be the final iteration of the script (aside from any alterations post script-checking) is pretty much complete. There are perhaps just two or three more pages to write and then I can hand it over to be checked by Martin Dan Rasmussen, who is very kindly working as script supervisor on the project.
So what next?
Early attempts at filming previous scripts have always been marred by unusable footage, missing bits of dialogue, poor framing and continuity, and all manner of other things. The main reason for this is, ultimately, bad planning on my part. Once the script is finalized, I plan to produce a full-length storyboard/animatic showing the timings and framing of the whole film. I already have locations in mind for most of the settings and so it will simply be a case of matching their layout digitally and then essentially animating very rough 'stick-figures' to get an idea of how things will pan out.
After the pre-vis is done, casting will be sorted out. I already have a few people who I know for certain are willing to act in the film, but there are a few empty spaces still to fill.
Next comes prop making & costumery. In the past, costume has not been much of a concern for me, but in fact it can have a major effect on the production values. There won't be anything too flashy, but establishing a good wardrobe is good for continuity and the overall feel of the film.
In terms of props, there will be a few key challenges. A number of props already exist, including wooden rifles (that need a little more detailing doing to them) and a handheld anomaly detector. The challenge of finding a cheap way to manufacture decent-quality props is always a fun one to try and overcome.
Finally, dates must be set for filming, and equipment must be gathered. I have most of what I need now; camera, audio, stabilisers and steadycams, and the only area I need any more for is lighting really. Once everything has been collected and planned to a tee, filming will begin, and after that shall commence the long process of editing and visual effects. It'll certainly be an adventure.
Other Stuff
The new anomaly effect finished rendering. It's all rather shiny.
The raw anomaly effect
Anomaly comped onto generic background to show displacement effects
PRIMEVAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Tell Abby and Connor...to stay out of trouble." -Last words of Stephen Hart, Series 2 Episode 7
From now on, I'll be trying to keep up the practice of uploading a new blog post and some sort of new content at least once a week until release time. Hopefully.
Weeklies
The idea of this is to keep everyone who's supported us all this way 'in the know' as it were. It dawned on me that although I have been working on the film a fair bit lately, I haven't actually posted anything since, well, last year really. If I can post something once a week, then you know things are getting done, and I know I have to get things done. Win-win. The weeklies will probably be posted on a Saturday, since Saturday was and always shall be Primeval Day. And Doctor Who Day. Basically, just Saturday-Night Sci-Fi Day. But it fits well enough.
Writing
Over the last week, I've begun writing the second draft of Revelations, and, while it is certainly far from finished (10 pages in), I'm rather proud of it so far. Why did we not hear about draft one, I hear you ask? Well, it was crap, to put it bluntly. I got about 6 pages in and then had to softly smother it with a pillow while whispering, "you are no child of mine." But we're back on track now. While I don't want to give away the whole plot, the basic premise is that a girl finds what appears to an exact copy of herself lying in a field at the edge of some woods, and has to somehow work out what the hell's going on. Of course, we, knowing that this is a Primeval short, can take a good guess at what the hell's going on, but let's not spoil it. This short will try and focus more on the time-travel aspect of the series and less on the 'monster-of-the-week' style (though do not fret, there will be plenty of monsters), as well as perhaps offering a few ways of tying up loose ends left by the cancellation of the show.
Whatever
In addition to writing the screenplay (something that I am currently doing simultaneously with this thanks to the wonder of multiple tabs and Google Drive), I've been creating a bit of artwork to reflect better the nature of the film. The first I can really show is the new cover photo for our Facebook page (which is pictured at the top), featuring Stumpy the Albertosaurus and some rather fetching CGI Northern Lights. I'm not saying there are Northern Lights in the film, but there are Northern Lights in the film, and hopefully it all seems rather clever and not too implausible. Hopefully. As well as that there are some other bits and pieces that I'm not prepared to share yet, such as concept art for our new Mystery Creature (which I'm rather excited about but don't want to ruin for everyone) and some snazzy revised anomaly effects. Stay tuned for that (and more!) in the next month or so, as well as more updates on the screenplay. If you've made it this far then my thanks go out to you for wading through the wall of incoherent text that has spewed forth from head and onto the metaphorical page. That metaphor seems like a good place to end.
PRIMEVAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "We are not flatmates. And if I ever find your sock in the bread maker again, you're fired."
Happy Christmas/Holidays/whatever it is you celebrate! Hope it's a good one and not spoiled by Matt Smith regenerating/the kind-of mediocrity of his final episode of Doctor Who!
Anyway, as promised, here's our special Christmas gift, a brief animated teaser for the film. Revelations are coming. But what will they be?
OK, so not as much of a gift - yet. We've revamped our website (if you can't see it, it'll be coming online shortly)! We're going to be adding more content as time goes on, so keep your eye out for a completely redesigned 'creatures' page in the next couple of weeks! I thought it'd be best to move to a cleaner, less cluttered design. Be on the lookout for an extra-special something tomorrow!
Hello everyone! Merry Christmas one and all! As a special thank you to everyone who's stuck with us through both good and bad for yet another year, I'm going to be releasing some special xmas content for the next few days. First up is the first draft script for Episode 1 of the would-have-been series. Since we're now producing a short film rather than a series, this script doesn't really give anything vital away, and I thought it'd be good for everyone to see the direction the series would have taken. Bear in mind this was the first draft; I've been having issues logging on to my Adobe Story account so I am unable to access the more updated scripts that were very kindly edited by Martin Dan Rasmussen.
Enjoy! Let me know what you think in the comments. Merry Christmas!
The last you heard from us on this site, we'd published part II of an anomaly creation tutorial. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly, and all sources seemed to confirm a release date of April 2013. As April approached, suddenly things seemed to dry up, and it seemed like we had disappeared off the face of the planet. Those who follow our Facebook page received a message stating that production had ceased and that the series had been cancelled. Fortunately, rumours of our demise had been over-exaggerated...