Darth Angelus' Meditation Chamber

A History of Darkness

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:38:51 GMT

Yesterday I posted the teaser for A Galaxy in Darkness, the final part of story I started developing way back in 2000.

Yes, that's right, eight years ago. It was originally just going to be fan fiction (I wrote some of it, which I still have) but I really felt that it should be a film of some kind. Except that I was 16 at the time, the only camera I had was a webcam (which I did make a video with later on), I didn't know enough people that would be willing to take part, at least not locally. And then there's all the different locations, planets with different environments, starships etc. It was way more than just a lightsaber duel in a forest that many fanfilms tend to be.

Anyway, in 2002, after seeing Attack of the Clones, I really wanted to tell my story, so I started looking at alternatives to live action. With some work and a few changes, it became a trilogy and with all the characters and events figured out. A little different from the fan fiction I had originally written but I was much happier with it. The result was a 2d animated film (Falling into Darkness) which I put online later that year. It was really awful (and probably the only video I have yet to put on YouTube) but it was a start and I was so pleased with it.

I still had two more to do but over the next few years I got distracted by other projects and college work.

Then towards the end of 2004 I started making machinima. Consanguinity (a Buffy/Angel inspired series for those who don't know it) came first and while I considered making another season of that, the hype for Revenge of the Sith was beginning. Maybe it was time to make the second part?

I looked at the story and realised that the second episode was actually too long, I had to split it in two, which was fine, it would come over much better that way. Jedi Academy seemed like the best choice, it was highly modable so I could have the characters as they looked originally and with all the maps available I could have all the locations I wanted.

By this point I had realised just how awful that first film was, so rather than subject people to it, I thought I'd create a catchup video, retelling the important events from before but using Jedi Academy and it would serve as a test to see if it was actually possible. That video kept growing, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes. By the time I got to 10, I figured I might as well just retell the whole thing.

So that's what I did, with some reworking of the story to strip away the unimportant parts and expanding upon areas that needed it. It was released in 2005, a few weeks before Revenge of the Sith.

A few months later, I started on the sequel. I had to recast the role of Verrier but I feel lucky to have reacquainted myself with an old friend, who it turns out is a very talented voice actress (just wait until you hear her in the final episode!). She was kind enough to record all the dialogue for Falling into Darkness as well, so in 2006 I rereleased that followed by The Darkness Consumes a week later.

Towards the end of the year, my computer died. Annoying at the time but it turned out to be a great benefit, since the replacement system could run Jedi Academy at a much higher resolution.

In 2007, inspired by the success of The Death of Jar Jar (and it being one of the finalists in the official fan film awards that year), I worked on the third episode, Darkness Unleashed which was released in November with a premiere at Festival Arcadia in Montreal.

And so now I am working on the final episode which I'm aiming to release this November, again in Montreal as part of a Machinima workshop, wehere I'll be teaching people how to make their own. It's weird, something that's been part of my life for so long is about to end. I'm going to miss it in a way but it's great to have almost completed something I began all those years ago.

Star Wars: A Galaxy in Darkness

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:04:50 GMT

Best viewed by visiting the actual page on YouTube and selecting high quality.

EDIT: Now available on Vimeo.

I have it

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:49:58 GMT

The Truth is out There

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:05:23 GMT

I saw the new X-Files film today. I was expecting something awful but it turned out to be pretty good, so I was pleasantly surprised.

To celebrate, I thought I'd upload the X-Files fanfilm I made years ago onto YouTube. This would be the only live action film I've made and the acting is terrifying but it should still be enjoyable to anyone curious.

Part 1
Part 2

And a few weeks ago I uploaded the original version, which was filmed using just a webcam.

Link

Machinima in Montreal

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:58:39 GMT

For the last few months, I've been working along side Ingrid Moon, Ricky Grove and Phil Rice to organize the first Machinima Expo, which is going to be held this november, in Montreal.

There will be screenings, workshops and discussions, it's set to be a lot of fun. We're also on the look out for submissions, anything with machinima included to some extent is welcome, see the website for the details. Oh and there are prizes ;)

Dr Horrible

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:46:45 GMT

It's out!

For those in the dark, it's a three part musical being released this week and it was created by Joss Whedon and his brothers, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion.

Link

This is not war, this is pest control!

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:07:49 GMT

Newly enhanced after finding a mod I just couldn't resist.

The Death of Jar Jar (Supreme Edition)

It had to be written...

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:26:34 GMT

"Had enough of your limited human body? don't want to get sick anymore? Then the upgrade chair is the perfect Christmas gift for you! Although extremely painful, the process removes your brain and encases it in a suit of metal armour that can withstand all but the most deadly assault. Get one now and upgrade the entire family! All orders will be hand delivered on Christmas day by one of our already upgraded Cybermen units"

Victory!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:57:53 GMT

Award obtained: (Qualification): Bachelor of Science (Classification): Second Class Honours (First Division)

That is all :)

EDIT: Thankyou everyone who commented :)

The fires of Mount Doom

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:51:01 GMT

So, last Sunday I was walking around the edge and inside the crater of an active volcano (Mount Etna, which I didn't realise at the time was used for some of the Mustafar footage in Revenge of the Sith).

Oh yeah, it erupted that night too :D

More tomorrow. And photos...hopefully.

Doctor Who Rumor

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:30:04 GMT

Yes, sadly still just a rumor but an interesting one.

"According to columnist Rich Johnston at Comic Book Resources, Neil Gaiman has already been asked by forthcoming Doctor Who producer Steven Moffat to write an episode of the show in 2010."

Oh and yesterday was my last day of college. Now to await my results and graduation :)

London Expo

Sun, 25 May 2008 00:17:45 GMT

So today I went to the London Expo and got to meet four members of the Battlestar Galactica cast.

Alessandro Juliani (Lt Gaeta)
Rekha Sharma (Tory)
Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol)
and of course Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama)

They were all very friendly and it was nice to see them messing around with each other, I could see they really got well. I asked them all to sign the box that my model of Galactica came in. They all said they hadn't seen them before and I said how I bought it at Star Wars Celebration Europe last year.

It was great fun :)

Some other photos include:

Me with Indiana Jones.

Stormtroopers about to be attacked by a Dalek.

And someone had stuck this note on the back of that Dalek.

More Photos

Invasion: The Battle for Earth

Wed, 21 May 2008 15:46:51 GMT

This has got to be the most amusing and well edited movie mashup I've ever seen.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

And to give you an idea of what to expect, there's a Trailer.

Watch the Guild

Fri, 16 May 2008 02:01:48 GMT

I've posted about it before when I made a video to support it and maybe before that (I'm too lazy to go back further and check) but I can highly recommend this show to my fellow geeks and gamers. The first season finished tonight but another is in the works. So stop reading this and start watching ;)

We have a winner!

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:21:14 GMT

The Death of Jar Jar won Best Comedy (bronze) at the Online Machinima Film Festival last night, so I'm very pleased.

Meme

Wed, 07 May 2008 20:04:51 GMT

BE HONEST! Answer the questions in a comment, then repost on your own journal.

1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?

2) What was your dream growing up?

3) What talent do you wish you had?

4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?

5) Favorite vegetable?

6) What was the last book you read?

7) What zodiac sign are you?

8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.

9) Worst Habit?

10) If you saw me walking down the street, would you offer me a ride?

11) What is your favorite sport?

12) Do you have a pessimistic or optimistic attitude?

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.

16) Do you have any pets?

17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?

18) What was your first impression of me?

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?

22) What color eyes do you have?

23) Ever been arrested?

24) White or red wine?

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?

26) I have no idea what this original question was, so make one up and answer it! :D

27) What's your favorite place to hang at?

28) Do you believe in ghosts?

29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

30) Do you swear a lot?

31) Biggest pet peeve?

32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?

35) Do you believe in God?

36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Something great happened today, I'm not quite ready to reveal what it is yet...but I'm very pleased :)

Online--kind of

Fri, 02 May 2008 04:40:24 GMT

I found my old DSL modem, so I'm able to access the internet again. Still, I want to get my main computer back up and running.

I also found my old copy of TIE Fighter (Collector's CD, DOS version) and managed to get that working as well ;)

Offline

Thu, 01 May 2008 23:30:38 GMT

The PSU on my main computer has died and it looks like my modem is giving out too, great timing :/

So I won't be around until I can replace them, hopefully tomorrow.

Dissertation Complete!

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:30:30 GMT

I finished putting it all together last night.

Word Count: 14188
Page Count: 67

With appendices:

Word Count: 23049
Page Count: 130

Today I get to print, bind it and then submit it.

On another topic, it looks like I'll be receiving another royalties cheque from Lucasfilm for The Death of Jar Jar :D

This will bring back memories

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:38:50 GMT

To anyone that used to play the X-Wing series of games.

Link

Now I want to find my copy of TIE Fighter but I have to finish my dissertation :(

A letter

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:24:35 GMT

I had a letter from Peter Jackson today.

Unfortunately it was just a guy from my bank, not the film director :(

The Alcohol was with him....

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:02:12 GMT

So a drunken Darth Vader has been on a rampage.

Link

Impressive

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:16:54 GMT

A friend of mine found these.

Star Wars Photography

Almost there...

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:53:55 GMT

The two research chapters that each make up a third of my dissertation are now complete. I only have to finish writing up the rest and I'm done! :D

Twitter

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:26:14 GMT

I was just wondering if anyone else uses it.

Mine

Also, this is near where I live. I had better prepare for the pig invasion :D