I Knew Him When

So, many of you know that my family is extremely talented. All my siblings have their own unique talents and they all excel at them.  This last weekend was my birthday so my little brother Jess decided to paint me a picture. I love Star Wars and I love zombies and he was feeling inspired by the book Death Troopers so he decided to paint me Zombie Darth Vader. People he painted this in a morning. This would have taken me a week to try and paint [and with out doubt fail] and he did it in a single morning. Jess has so much talent, SO MUCH TALENT. His forte is spray paint art which blows my mind watching him do. People this kid is awesome. Feel free to check out his work on Underground's website here, you can even buy his art right from the site. There are videos of him working posted on the site as well as his work samples you can check out. Jess has talent people and now you can say you knew of him when... 

www.UndergroundCreative.co/Elvin-art

MRJP

As a few of you know Underground Creative hosts and sells local artist's works so over the last year I have been looking at a lot of art. Last September Utah had it's first Comic Con (and it was a hit!) that is where I met Mr Jake Parker. Jake Parker is a freelance Illustrator, designer and comic artist. He has a great portfolio including some awesome films such as Titan A.E., Horton Hears a Who, and Epic. Now Underground does not host or sell any of Jake Parker's art but as I was looking for future artists to feature I came across his work and having not seen his art before I found I enjoyed his work instantly. His work is so fun, and so full of character. I bought one of his books and find myself picking it up often and browsing through  its pages looking at all the cool characters he has created. As you look at each character you can tell each one has it's own story to tell. 

I asked him about a few characters in particular, his "Tiger Robots" and he told me that the idea for those actually came from his son. His son was making up a story about these Tiger Robots and so he began to sketch them as his son told him this newly imagined story. Another one of my favorite characters of Jake Parker's is the astronaut "Space Skull" and he is exactly what you picture. 

"Skull was one of 7 astronauts sent to inspect a space anomaly. Some sort of black hole on the edge of the solar system. The whole crew got sucked in but Skull seems to be the only survivor. He can't remember any thing, and his life is devoted now to uncovering his past. Perhaps a second crew member survived an astronaut all in black. he's hunting skull for some reason"- Jake Parker Drawings pg. 76

This is the type of story you get from each of his characters. Just by looking at his stuff you begin to make up you own adventures that these characters go on in your own mind. And I find myself thinking "What was he thinking when he created them all".  Below is the book I bought from him and you can too by clicking on the the picture or this link Here. Go to mrjakeparker.com to see more of his awesome characters and illustrations. Thanks Mr Jake Parker for your awesome work.

Darkly Dreaming

I have always been a fan of Showtime's hit show about Americas favorite serial killer, Dexter.  Before you read any further know that if you have not read or watched any of Dexter this may contain spoilers. Dexter is a killer, a killer with a code, Harry's code. He only kills those that deserve to be killed. I have been a fan of the show, faithfully watching every episode and owning every season. After throughly enjoying and finishing the t.v. show and having a goal of reading 14 book by the end of this year I decided to pick the original novel by Jeff Lindsay.

Season 1 of the t.v. show is one of my favorite seasons and is based on the Book Darkly Dreaming Dexter. The book and the show deal with the same story line, that of the Ice Truck Killer and the origin of Dexter's "Dark Passenger" (The thing that gives Dexter the need to kill).  But they deal with the story line in different ways. The book is much more descriptive of the nature of Dexter's Dark Passenger in a way that made my skin crawl so much more than the show ever did. It was clear that the Dark Passenger is driving Dexter's need to kill. There is a constant theme of learning to be human in both the t.v. series and the book, but the in book you can tell he is not human, he doesn't know how to be but fakes it. The show deals with this a lot and Michael C. Hall (the actor that portrays Dex) does a really good job, but the way that Jeff Lindsay (the author) describes him and his inhumanness sends chills up and down my spine. To think that there are really people out there that experience life the way that he does and that have a need like Dexter's need makes me cringe. 

People that don't die till late in the seasons of the show die in this first book and people that don't die int the book die in the show. Events that take place in the first book don't in the series. Just like any other book translated into screen things change. All together I can see why the producers made the decisions to add, and take away to Jeff Lindsay's novel to put on the screen to create content for a whole season. With the events that happen in the book that don't happen in the series I wonder how the remaining books coincide with the rest of the seven seasons of the show. The voices in my head give this book a blood curdling four out of five stars **** 

The Gravity of the Situation.

In October last year one of my favorite films of the year came out. This film was such a emotional ride, for Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullok's character) and for myself. From the second the film started till the credits rolled I was glued to the screen and a bit of a mess. You see this film came out at a moment in life that I felt like everything was spinning out of control.  So many things had abruptly changed and I didn't know what to do.  So when I went and saw Gravity and how Ryan's life was literally spinning out of control I could relate. I was ready to give up, shift gears, and chase after a someone else's dream. 

When the universe was literally throwing everything it had at her, Ryan Stone kept fighting. So when I felt everything was being figurative being thrown at me I had the realization that I should keep fighting. She had reason too, I had reason too. I had strived to make so much out of my life, my work, my family, my relationship. I am still so young and I have so much ahead of me. And I had so much support in doing so. By the end of the film I couldn't stop, well I couldn't stop feeling. I left feeling inspired and moved. That is why I make films. I love being able to help move people, help them to see, to feel and understand. That is why I do what I do. The way that that movie inspired me, I want to inspire others.

When I started this post I wanted to remark on how phenomenal the CGI was, how the acting was  moving and real. How the first shot of the film ran for thirteen minutes before it cut and showed show much beauty it was breath taking. And how the rest of the cinematography was just as astounding as that first shot. But instead you got the mushy feelings that the film created. That to me is how I know it was a good film, it made me forget the technicalities and be immersed in the story. Let's hope that the Academy feels the same way I do. The voices in my head give it five out of five stars. *****

Trees of Light!

Color and Texture, two of my favorite qualities of light. Here are a few pics from my last design of the show The Servant of Two Masters where I had to quickly make a decision using these two qualities to create stylized looks. When I first got there I was under the impression that the flats where going to be black, and when I found out they where painted to take color I had to quickly go back to the drawing board. So adjusting a few systems of lights I had already drafted, I moved the system of trees that cast leaf textures over the stage to cast them onto the flats to create a stylized trees, then adding splashes of color to distinguish location in a stylized way.  After a few quick adjustments, being electrocuted and some hard work from my electricians the show ended up looking really good. 

14 for 2014

On occasion I do this thing, maybe you are familiar with it. In the past not everyone could do it and today I think everyone takes it for granted. It's this little thing called reading. Kurtis and I have this goal of 14 for 2014. That's 14 books read by each of us by the end of 2014. I am already on book three in month two and feeling pretty confident that our goal will be met. My first two books of the year where written by author Michael Crichton, (best known for Jurassic Park). Michael Crichton died in 2008 but his assistant found two manuscripts left on his computer, so using what was left of these manuscripts and all the notes that Crichton had made on these books the publisher finished and published them. 

Micro, "Vintage High-Concept Crichton"- NY times best seller list.  Bugs, Bots, & Bruises. This book was not finished when they discovered it on Crichton's computer so the publisher brought in sic-fi writer Richard Preston. This book tells the story of a few graduate students from Cambridge University who find them selves in a "little" trouble in the Hawaiian rain forest. For fans of Crichton and sic-fi fans alike who are willing to push through a few over explained boring chapters I would say pick this up and give it a read. For those squeamish, bug hating people as well as those who find the become attached to characters easily maybe pass this one over.  This one started like a classic Crichton book and if he had more time with it I feel all the "bugs" would have been worked out.  The voices in my head give it three of five 

stars. ***

Pirate Latitudes tells the story of one Captain Charles Hunter, a British Privateer that sets sail from Port Royal in the Spanish main to raid and plunder a Spanish Galleon. This done in the name of the king of course, Hunter and his crew expecting their share for putting their lives on the line. Pirate Latitudes reads how a good pirate movie is watched. I felt very much part of the adventure the entire time, never felt bored and very much appreciated the realism that Crichton brought to the story.  If you want a book that is accurate to the time and every detail of living the life of a privateer this is the read for you. The voices in my head give it four out five stars. ****

Thank you Michael Crichton for all your works.