Nitrogen and Neon: February 2006

EgGS (1995)

EgGS (1995)
Here are a couple of shots from a short film that I made when I was at Newcastle College: School of Art & Design. It was a lot of fun to film and make and was my first real short drama film.
The Film, EgGS, shot on S-VHS, starred David Reid, a Scotsman and fellow Media Design student, as a psychopath, Brad, who finds himself trapped in a nightmare of split personalities and ends with shocking realization that it all comes from his crazy parents.

"Brad, a lonely troubled man, returns home for tea with blood on his hands and a terrible secret...Brad enters a world of fear and redemption. A world lived in by the spirits of Indians and mad men" (Video sleeve tag)

ABOUT THE IMAGES: The top banner is a bit of design work I did to make a video sleeve. The shot of the eggs frying is from the opening scene of the film. Also note the Tribal Man logo on the left, I've been making films and writing under the Tribal logo since the mid 1990's. In the first screenshot image David is dressed as The Indian personality (Native American). He is crouched in a forest (Jesmond Dene) and is imparting some philosophical knowledge as a bewildered Brad (also Reid) watches on. In the second image we see Brad ripping open a girl's (Kath Cullen) shirt before plunging a knife into her chest. Actually this theme of random murder is something that pops up again in Bloodshot and I think I'm pretty much done with it as an idea. In the second shot we use a lot of colorization in post to give it a red hue. The title EgGS (note the strange use of one lower case g) refers to the ideas of the egg being the symbol of life/the soul. This is another idea that I took from Angel Heart (see previous post).

The Eyes Of Madness
Finally, two shots of Brad both focusing on the eyes/the face. Here are the other 2 personalities the bleached out close up of the eyes is the Madman in straightjacket character and the one with the pink hue is the Sensible man. I know it all doesn't make a lot of sense without seeing the film itself but at the moment I don't have the facilities to show it online.

Full credits (on video)
A Newcastle College Film
Tribal Pictures in association with Daisy Chain Productions Presents
A Richard Loffman Film
EgGS
Starring David Reid
Featuring Kath Cullen
Director of Photography Jason Woodward
"End Of The Night" Performed by The Doors
Produced by Sara Watson & Kath Cullen
Story by Richard Loffman
Screenplay by Richard Loffman and Sara Watson
Directed by Richard Loffman

Girl Alone Update 4

Manga Kiss
I've been searching for images that relate to ideas or themes from GIRL ALONE. I found this image on a google search. It's a soft (romantic) kiss. I like the angle of the shot and the warmth of embrace.

Camera back!

I picked my camera up from Yodabashi today and it's now working fine again. So now it's time to get some serious film making done.

Girl Alone Update 3

Girl with Dress
Well this is a stolen image from a Japanese girl's Manga. I've taken to going in to convenience stores and searching for images that might inspire me somehow (I got a very strange look from a young lady when I held my keitai over the comic book and took a picture, she must have wondered what the hell this crazy Gaijin was doing!) . I'd like the film to have a manga feel to it, both in the photography and editing but also by using some original manga at the start (credits) and between each act. I've asked a friend of mine Satsuki Yamazaki, an up and coming manga artist, to produce a few stills for me. The one I've found today is kind of what I'm looking for...also interestingly there is a scene in the script where the girl puts on her favorite dress so this image resonates quite well with GIRL ALONE both stylistically and in theme.

kitchencynic

kitchencynic

Met up with Richard 'Jakey' Slater tonight and had a few beers. Jakey did some of the music for BLOODSHOT and we discussed my new project GIRL ALONE. Jakey will help out the sound both during production (he's got some nice gear he says) and in post, mostly helping me with the music. I asked him to stick some strings under whatever I belt out on my acoustic. Should be interesting. Anyway, Jakey has a number of musical projects going on right now so please take the time to visit his very cool website to find out more. He is The Kitchen Cynic!