Fags and Flames

This week were were mostly throwing cigarettes past the camera and blowing up retired company directors; in this case Niel Simpson (friend of our film partner and financier, Ken Fraser). Normally chavvy scum like us rarely get to meet anyone wealthy or interesting, but making movies changes things, and sometimes we meet the most fascinating of people.

Most people wouldn't allow you to set off explosions in their back yard, but Neil actually lent me a car battery to set the charges off. Also very willing to spray petrol about for flame shots. Great chap.

A series of pick ups shots and 2 explosions took 2 weekends to film, due to bad weather and availability of light. Trying to film fire in a gale ain't easy, neither is flicking cigarette butts to a specific location. But we eventually got the shots and hopefully they all turned out ok.

Highlight for us (me) was setting 2 small charges off (anti terrorism act means I can't say how or what was involved - but I may mention balloons). These were done at the location and hopefully saved us doing too much post production and fakery with the shot. Here are some shots, taken by the invaluable Mark Wyness, of explodey things and us freezing our arses off. Which explains our outfits.

Mark Stirton (director and smoker) looks on with disgust at Clarkie, preparing stunt cigarettes for filming. (rubbish herbal things)

Neil, acting in crucial scene while nutter with flaming tray provides effect.

Clarkie, in foreground, sets off a small but loud charge.

Movie moguls - this is what Speilberg does between takes. Honest.

Mean Streets
A short break between movie work led me to purchase some great models from the Daz 3D site (home of Poser and Bryce stuff), so here are some renders in Vue 6.

The models are from a vendor called Stonemason and they are very well done, I just stuck a few billboards for the film up, the rest comes with the model. As this is a poser model, the lights can be switched on and off and you can even have those funny looking poser folk, with their twitchy little legs, wandering about on it.

Once the model had been setup and saved in poser it was imported straight into Vue, with textures intact. The photo textures are very detailed and it's fun to have a wander about the back alleys looking for discarded porn (or is that just me?).

So here you go, a few semi-promotional images before I get back onto the film graphics and new website (opening very soon - finally).

Interview Time

A recent review of "The Planet" by M.J. Simpson, of SFX magazine etc., led a few of the Stirton Towers crew to get in touch with him. The review was sort of good but we thought it had missed the mark (pardon the pun) a bit in it's criticism of the movie's vagueness and lack of explanation of events - for those who haven't seen the movie, that was the point: lots of things happen to normal folk and they can't explain them. Star Trek it ain't.

The reviewer didn't however tell us to 'sod off' when we got in touch, and even asked if we (Mark and I, sorry Kerwin) would be willing to do a short interview. So here are links to the interviews about the movie, from 2 different points of view.

Original movie review.

Mark Stirton (Director) Interview

Michael Clark (Producer) Interview