strange frame: Love & Sax

Lena Horne, graced our planet with her beauty, sensuality, stunning musicality, and redefined film for minorities, died yesterday at age 92.

Here she is in ’strange frame’.

“Don’t be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it’s just death.” – Lena Horne
Lena Horne on Wikipedia

Ultra Low Emissions Filmmaker. I guess that’s me.

You hear a lot of talk about “carbon neutral films”. Most of these films have a part of their budget set aside for buying carbon credits to off set the carbon foot print of the film. Usually in the form of promoting alternative energy – like wind farms. The films themselves chow carbon. Lots of it.

Today we bought tilapia to stock our fish pond. It is right next to our water tank where we catch 100% of the water we use. It is just south of our solar panel covered garage where we generate most of our power. By the time we get an electric car, we will be generating 100% of our power. Down by the house, we have a chicken run. 13 hens making sometimes 13 eggs in a day. Chickens are the easiest way to deal with your home’s table scraps and other compost. The chicken manure goes into our vegetable garden.

We also have 3 goats, 2 sheep, a mess of koi, and tens of thousands of guppies (to control the mosquitoes).

We try to limit our waste, but we only have to take the trash out once every 6 weeks.

If you think we are roughing it, trust me we’re not. We have a large pool, ocean view, and wild birds regularly roost in the tree line surrounding our house. We have two streams which will eventually have microhydro installations on them.

If you’d like to know more, just ask.

I’ve been corresponding with a fellow animator up in Canada for a number of years. Today he wrote a nice piece about my work on strange frame.

Joshua Tr3

Mahalo Keith!

strange frame and I are featured in the Reel People section of September’s Film & Festivals Magazine. I encourage you to check out the magazine.

If you want to order a print-on-demand copy I suggest you do it by Monday as they are still offering 20% off the usual price until then.

You can also join Film & Festivals Magazine’s FB group

Almost my whole crew
has gotten the swine flu.

We’re a little behind schedule, but hope to make it up soon. Kali is coming in for extra hours this week and I’m getting about 5 seconds of screen time done each day that I can focus on animating.

Daniel is making a great documentary about our process here within the context of the Big Island. Hope to have it up here next week.

First they cut Act 221 and now they put the Film Commissioner’s job on the chopping block. KHNL caught me and tried editing my rant together with some images of Johnny Depp

Of course I didn’t Direct Pirates of the Caribbean, but KHNL’s clip implies it was my production.

In “actual” I’m more articulate than on television.

I like how the other clip they used has Jason Scott Lee who is indeed in our film.

Enjoy.

If you wan to pick my brain on how we do this style of art, I’m on a panel for Animation at the Tech Hui Conference. Click on the flyer below for more info. Hope to see you there!

Ralph Bakshi really has insight why we do this.

Every animator should see/hear this:

Now go make your own film!

Building a Film Community

With: GB Hajim
Info: Jul 9 • Thu • 7:00-9:00pm • Yukiyoshi Room, Krauss Hall 012 • Free • Call 956-8244 for information.
Event ID: EV0010319L

How do you develop a film industry and retain talent during tough times? Hire locally and train your employees to meet global standards. Following the example of WETA in New Zealand, GB Hajim and friends are building a film industry from the ground up. Come see what is being done on the Big Island to create a unique production niche while developing the local production community through internships.

GB Hajim is an award-winning independent filmmaker living on the Big Island. Since 1995, he has been directing, shooting and editing Hawaiian language dramas, animations and educational shorts. He has produced over 100 projects ranging from the many 15-second long Hawaiian Word of the Day spots on KITV to feature length dramas and documentaries. Currently, Hajim is working on a series of science fiction animated features. He has dedicated himself to making the process as important as the product and has been working with local schools to find talented artists to train in animation. In 2005, he won an INDE Award for Inspiring and Educating Hawaii`s Youth.

I was extremely excited to see some of our favorite thespians and genre stars on the lists of people who want to do voices for the movie. Like a kid in a candy store as the saying goes. Every character has a fantastic person wanting to play the role, but alas- too many choices! And some kind of funky heartbreak too.

For three years, I wanted a certain musical star to play a role in our movie. I even did full character art based on her. I listen to her music almost daily as I animate. Naively, I tried to contact her directly with no luck. A few months ago Shelley and I decided to move forward with the soundtrack. Drawing from the very talented people that Shelley already has worked with she came up with some fantastic music.

Last week, that very musical star asked to be in our movie. I was happy and crushed at the same time. The animation for the scenes I wanted her in are 30% done. The artwork for those scenes is 100% done. I made a commitment to the musicians and they made a commitment to us to do great which they delivered on. With all this weighing on me, I cannot go backwards.

We might have this R&B Queen play a different role, but, for now, I’m feeling like Stanley Kubrick, who wanted Pink Floyd to play on 2001: A Space Odyssey and only finding out years later they’d love to have done it. I feel kind of futzed up….at least we lined up our Floyd song last year.

Floating down through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now.
In the space between the heavens
and in the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream.
I had a dream.
Good-bye Max.
Good-bye Ma.
After the service when you’re walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel
And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream.

-Roger Waters – Pink Floyd – The Final Cut