Long-term personal projects

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Recently, I’ve been pretty active in forum topics about intellectual property development. It’s a topic dear to my heart because I started my career as a comic book creator, and when I worked in the video game and animation industries, I also worked non-stop on developing my own IP’s. At one point I even had a short film ready to go into production, with all the pre-production work already done, just to run into funding problems at the studio I was working at as a writer/director. Now that I’m freelancing, I’m more than ever convinced that if my career is to move on to the next level, it’ll have to be my own IP’s, as I’m just about done with playing with other people’s toys. I’ve done the whole “working for the man” phase of my career, where I worked in studios on other people’s creations and stories, and 90% of the time they were products I’d never have paid money for as a customer. I think I’m particularly unfortunate in that regard, as many of my colleagues have gotten to work on projects they are big fans of. Perhaps if I had gotten to work on projects I was excited about, I’d still be working for other people. Maybe it’s meant to be–that my discontent was meant to fuel my passion for my own projects.

In the next few years, there will definitely be some big developments on my end when it comes to large scale personal projects. For the longest time (since after I left the comic book industry in the late 90’s), I’ve only done a lot of pre-production work on my own projects, but never something that could meet the public in its finished form (other than short-term projects like paintings and music), since the full-time jobs and freelance work takes up most of my time and energy. This is going to change. I’m still working on the CG Workshop course I’ll be teaching, but as soon as that’s done, I’ll need to get started on (or continue) a long-term project. Since I’ve quit my job as studio art director last year, I’ve been busy with the designing and construction of my new home and recording studio, and then the CG Workshop (which has turned into a monster workshop that’s many times the scale and complexity of what it should be, which means the students will be getting one heck of an education for a price that’s a total steal). I’m hoping by the end of the year, I’d be able to devote most of my time to a long-term personal project–be it a graphic novel, a screenplay, a new body of musical compositions, or a novel. Whatever it’ll be it’ll have to be something I can do by myself. Logistically it’s just too troublesome to seek the help or collaboration of others at this point in my life–everyone else seems to all have their own personal projects or jobs anyway. I’ve always enjoyed doing things on my own, so doing it lone wolf style is really the norm for me. It’s always been that way, and will remain that way until specific projects that require me to interface with a team or collaborators.

The hardest part would be to actually pick a project to concentrate on, since I have so many I’ve developed over the years. High on the list would be Promise (the short film project I created and was working on a few years ago, but had to stop due to funding problems. It was originally envisioned to be a graphic novel) and continuing Enchanted (the comic book series I created/wrote/illustrated back in the 90’s). If I do any kind of visual storytelling right now, it’ll most likely be some kind of multimedia presentation that involves prose, illustrations, music, and maybe some simple animation. I would prefer to avoid animation simply because I would much rather get the most bang for the buck in terms of ROI (Return On Investment). For the amount of time and energy I spend on an animated scene, I could have written and illustrated far more story content, so it’s not really worth it from the point of view of a storyteller. I personally prefer to deal with animation and live-action only when there’s some semblance of a decent budget and manpower–they are not things I have an interest in tackling alone. When in lone wolf mode, I think the format of graphic novel, novel, screenplay, or multimedia hybrid of prose, images, and music are much more realistic and practical.

If I do continue Enchanted, I would have to think about if I want to do an re-imagining of the previously published issues and then continue where I originally left off, or simply post scans of the original issues so new readers can catch up on what’s already happened and then just pick up where I left off. Much of the old art don’t hold up anymore, and that would be the main reason for doing a re-imagining. The storytelling also gets a bit clunky in some spots since back then I was just a young pup and didn’t know nearly as much as I do now about writing and storytelling techniques. Maybe I’ll simply redo the whole thing but interweave the previously published storyline with the new material so that they work seamless together instead of being in sequence. I kind of like that idea since the whole thing will receive a fresh take on the premise and with much better art, while looking and reading cohesively instead of having this disjointed “before and after” vibe. I might do Promise first since that’s a one-shot, and I could do it as a proof of concept to get the process down, then apply the tested process to Enchanted, which would be a long-term project.

I don’t know if I’d still call it Enchanted though. Ever since that Disney movie came out it’s been bugging me. I would definitely need a new title.

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Elena’s been pretty busy lately, as her company’s doing some major expansion and it’s been a mess in terms of management, administration, quality control…etc. She is in many ways the spiritual and morale backbone of the company as she’s the only person at the top that the employees dare to spill their guts to, which is no surprise since she’s personable, fair, nurturing, and even tempered. She’s in many ways the good cop in the partnership, which also generates more headaches for her since everyone will come to her to bellyache.

These are a few of the latest expansions of the franchise and individual restaurants they’ve been adding (and they were lucky enough to actually rent all three spaces next to each other, so the three different restaurants are all under the same ownership:

The restaurant on the left with red lanterns is a claypot restaurant. The one on the right is also a claypot restaurant, but a different name and not part of the the franchise.

The one with the yellow and red sign is a Hong Kong-styled business lunch type of restaurant.

The hardest thing about running a business in China is personnel. The way China’s modern culture has developed has resulted in a largely irresponsible and immoral generation. Trying to manage employees with those undesirable qualities would try the patience of a saint. You know those books on management written by industry experts? They’re useless here because those books typically deal with the kind of employees and managers that are raised on western values in developed countries, and do not match the kind of corruption and selfishness of modern Chinese culture. I don’t envy Elena’s job one bit.

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I’m pretty excited about The Secret World, the new MMORPG that Ragnar Tornquist is working on. I’m a huge fan of The Longest Journey (although Dreamfall fell a bit short of expectations), and the theme of dark magic and demons are right up my alley (my comic book series Enchanted had the same theme). I almost never care about MMO’s because I simply don’t play them–I find single player storytelling so much more satisfying. I almost wish that TSW wouldn’t be fun so that I don’t have to finally become addicted to a MMO after having been immune to its allure in all the years I’ve been a gamer. The trailers do look awesome though, even if they are pre-rendered cinematics.

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Quickie movie reviews

Appaloosa – Is it just me or does it seem like in the recent years, there’s been a string of really good westerns? In fact, I almost can’t remember the last bad western I has seen–they were all very good, this one included. The three main male leads are some of my favorite actors, so it was such a treat to see them all in the same film. I’m becoming a bigger Viggo Mortesen fan the more I see of him–there’s just something about the characters he plays that makes you empathize with them immediately.

Melody – I had heard about this film before but never seen it, and I’m glad I finally found it as a Japanese import DVD. Although the film is dated (from 1971), the subject matter really works for that time period. The same film probably couldn’t be made today, as the world has become so much more complicated and jaded. I think it’s hard for anyone to watch it and not be taken back to the time when we first had our puppy love at age ten. I distinctly remember in my late teens, I had already begun to lament the loss of innocence and I longed for the purity and the uncomplicated way I used to feel about love.

Burn After Reading – Brat Pitt was hilarious in this film, and in fact, it’s probably the only role where I actually found him to be very endearing and likable. If you like the Coen Brothers, then there won’t be any rude surprises–it’s got the same vibe as their other films.

Eden Log – Although I respect the unconventional approach to the film, I found it to be a bit convoluted and vague at times, and ultimately, it wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped. One critic said it had the same kind of appeal as other first time directorial debuts like Pi or THX1138, and in some ways, I agree, except Eden Log is not as good as those films IMO.

2Fast 2Furious – These types of films are always entertaining, and I watch them when I’m in the mood for some fun. I didn’t know Jin was in the film, and that was a nice surprise. It’s a shame his rap career never really took off.

In Bruges – A strange mixture of comedy and drama. The characters were interesting, but surprisingly, it was Ralph Fiennes, who had the least screen time, that stole the show for me. I wish they would make a film with him as the main character.

The Mutant Chronicles – These type of B movies for some reason tend to have writings that are about as unremarkable as their visual effects. Why is that? Is it because the screenplays for these types of films are mediocre so no one wants to invest too much money into them? Or is it because the expensive films get the best and most expensive writers to rewrite them? Either way, I think I’ll try and stay away from these types of B movies from now on because most of them just aren’t worth the time.

The Fall – Interesting premise of mixing fantasy with reality. Although I enjoyed it for the most part (the little girl was awesome–very natural and expressive), I wished the stakes in reality could’ve been higher–something more dramatic and thrilling, and the ties to the fantasy story more profound and devastating.

27 Dresses – Hollywood romantic comedies can be really annoying and predictable, and while this one was predictable like the rest, it had enough charm and the main leads were likable enough that I enjoyed it.

Eastern Promises– David Cronenberg is one of the most interesting directors working today, and I think I’ve liked all of his films I’ve seen to date. Viggo Mortensen was really good in it–he really pulled off the Russian mob vibe. The knife fight in the public bath had me on the edge of my seat. I have this phobia of blades since I’m very accident prone, and watching that scene just put my heart in my throat.

Reality Bites – Took me all these years to finally watch this film. I never liked Ben Stiller and I think this is the one film of his I actually think is pretty ok.

Evil Remains – A pretty predictable horror film with really bad digital grading. I’ve become very annoyed by the way filmmakers abuse digital grading, because some of them just look horrible and contrived. In Evil Remains, they really jacked up the mid to black points to give the film a “horror look,” but they overdid it and many of the normal day light scenes just look stupidly contrived, and the readability of some scenes were degraded significantly by the horrible grading. In some ways, I wish people would lay off that shit because most of the time it just doesn’t look very good. I think digital grading looks best when it’s done judiciously–to enhance instead of trying to completely change the dynamics of the original. If your original photography has so few merits that you need to actually molest the footage to the point of making the audience choke on the digital grading, then you need to just fire your DP and find someone who actually knows how to create compelling images in-camera.

I’m not really a fan of the Sin City/300 approach either, although I can tolerate those more since the visual style has been pushed so far that it’s beyond digital grading and into the realm of VFX.

Journey to the Center of the Earth – Harmless family fun. When I first noticed Brandon Fraser in his earliest films, I thought he would one day become a great dramatic actor, and it’s a little bit disappointing to see him in these family adventure films, as they really don’t stretch his acting chops. Strangely enough, he’s done dramatic films between his comedies and family adventures, but I really haven’t had a chance to see any except one or two.

Disturbia – I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The script was clever, and the characters were likable. I never really warmed up to Shia LaBeouf in all the previous films I’ve seen him in, but in this film, I finally saw the charm that made him popular. This film also reminded me that when I was a teenager, in the house behind ours, lived a girl that went to the same high school I did. Her bedroom window faced my bedroom window. Yeah, you can imagine the rest.

Starship Troopers 3: Mauraders – I enjoyed the first film for its campy fun and the great visuals, and I hoped that the sequels would at least have interesting stories and good direction if not the same level of visual effects. The first sequel was actually ok, but this one was just horrible. It’s horrible in so many ways that I don’t even have the interest to type them out.

Defiance – It was better than my expectations, and I highly recommend it. Daniel Craig’s fake Russian accent was just unbearable though–in some scenes the accent was barely even hanging by a string. Viggo Mortesen’s performance in Eastern Promises wiped the floor with his ass in that department.

Casshern – I don’t know why I bother with these bad Japanese live-action sci-fi crap. None of them are ever any good, yet I keep hoping that one would come along and change my mind. Ridiculous premise, bad writing, bad acting, and always style over substance.

Death Race – Mindless fun. The car chase fights get a bit numb after a while since you have to really concentrate to understand who’s doing what to whom, and with all the fast editing and crazy action, it gets a bit fatiguing after a while.

Beaufort – I liked this film more than I thought I would. It’s unique in that we never see the enemy–just mortars and missiles terrorizing the protagonists. It’s really a psychological drama about the minds of the soldiers holding a fort they’re about to abandon in the final days of occupation. Another film to add to the list of excellent unconventional war films (such as Jarhead, The Hurt Locker…etc).

The Wackness – I thought the usage of slang and the way the writer/director tried to evoke the feel of the mid-90’s was kind of laughable. It didn’t feel natural, and had all the awkwardness of someone trying too hard and making it too obvious. Other than that, the drama itself was ok, but nothing worth noting.

Blow – As much as I enjoy seeing Johnny Depp play eccentric characters, I always relish the opportunities to see him play relatively normal characters, because I find I relate to him better in those roles. I has said in the past that I generally don’t like biopics, but I quite liked this one. I liked that the film didn’t try to judge the character, and even though it didn’t denounce his crimes, it made very obvious the price he paid for his criminal lifestyle. After watching the film I looked up the real George Jung, and he’s got his own official website! I was glad to find out that a year after the film came out, his daughter finally visited him in jail and said she felt bad for not visiting sooner.

Unearthed – If there’s one genre that I think thrives in the B movie market, it’s horror films. Most other B movies tend to be pretty bad, but horror films seem to fit the B movie market perfectly, and plenty or really good horror films have come out of the B movie market. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them. I actually fell asleep in the last part of the film (and I very rarely ever do that. I can count on one hand how many times that’s happened in my life thus far), and it’s supposed to be the most exciting part of the film. The acting was substandard, and considering I’m usually very tolerant of mediocre acting and find most critics to be too picky about it, the acting would have to be pretty damn bad for me to actually complain about it. The directing was also lacking as well, with no grasp on how to actually work the camera to induce anxiety and fear. Even the score was annoying. I hate it when the composer and the director try to underscore perfectly normal scenes just to force the horror stamp on them, even if nothing scary happens at all. It could be just a shot of a character walking out of a restaurant and to the car in the parking lot in bright day light, and there would be this evil and menacing sounding underscore drone accompanying the shot. WHY? It’s about one of the stupidest creative decisions a director or a composer can make. Please people, stop the nonsense.