2 Awards Later

We just got back from 2 Days Later, tired, a little hung over but still unashamedly revelling in our success at our first ever competition.

There were 51 films submitted this year so just getting shortlisted was really exciting but we are very pleased to report that we also walked away with awards for Best Visual Effect and Best Gore and that Woodie also won a runner up prize in the best fancy dress for his awesome silicone face wounds.

Over all it was a brilliant night. The crowd was really enthusiastic, the other films where great and varied and set some very high standards especially in the cinematography department, we met some cool people and came away from the night feeling inspired and raring to go on our next project (watch this space for more details on this very soon).
Competitions will definitely be featuring more in our grand plan in the future after this. They are a great way to work on ideas that might not normally think of and also a great way to meet other film makers and actors working at the same level.

We are collecting together photos from the event and uploading them as we get them so you can see what we got up to in sunny Margate.
Click the image to visit the album.

RDD at the Whitley Arts Festival

Last night was the first truly public showing of The Light. It ran as part of a film evening at the Retreat in east Reading and we are pleased to say that it was very well received and the night was great all round.
We knew very little about the festival or the venue and wondered how well The Light would fit in to a night of experimental film and while it did seem very linear when played next to the like of Street Of Crocodiles by the Brothers Quay we got a lot of positive feedback and met some really cool people with a genuine interest in what we are doing which is always very encouraging.
We also got to do an impromptu showing of Dead Time ahead of official competition showing on Saturday night.

What was interesting about the night was that it almost passed us by un noticed. When we made our first film we didn't think there would be an outlet for films like ours or anyone who would be very interested in them beyond friends and family but what you find is that with only a little searching you begin finding small festivals and competitions, new venues that promote local film and arts and a really friendly and encouraging group of people all eager to help each other out and get involved.
It all reinforces our belief that if you want to do something like make a film then just get out and do it. It really doesn't matter if you know what you are doing or not. The best way to learn is to just give it a go and the chances are you will find that there are others doing it too and a whole scene that you never knew existed.

Platsil Gel-10. Harder than it looks.

Our first attempt at working with silicone quickly descended into hastily slopping it around just to see what it would set like and all we really learned was that without thickener there is not a lot you can do except make a mess. So, after picking up a bottle of Thi-Vex Silicone Thickener from 4D Model Shop we set about trying again.

The second attempt is definitely a step up from the first but it is safe to say that it is not as easy as Brick In The Yard make it look and that many hours of practice are going to be needed.
That said, Gel-10 is great stuff. It is much nicer to work with than the latex and tissue paper we have used in the past and while it is more expensive I think it is definitely worth the money.
The main thing to learn is going to be how thick to make it for different applications and how it behaves at different stages in it's curing process so you know when to stop shaping it and just let it set.
There is also a shopping list evolving with each session. Currently it is only some more pigment colours and a set of Skin Illustrator alcohol activated makeup (which is by no means a cheap list for a next to nothing budget) but there are plenty of other things on the horizon that will become 'essential' to us soon as we get in to more specific applications and maybe start to do some moulding work as well.

Whitley Arts Festival 2010

As part of the Whitley Arts Festival there will be a screening of The Light at The Retreat on St Johns Street in Reading on Wednesday 27th Oct.
Our film will be supporting the main feature, Street of Crocodiles , and the evening promises to be a really cool event. If you are free and in the area then get down there for 7:30 and enjoy the show.
We will of course be posting pictures and comments from the event via our shiny new Twitter account so if you haven't already done so then get following. You can expect a universe of witty and incisive comments and probably some drunken ramblings as well.

Operation Dirt Dragon

The latest addition to our YouTube Channel is Operation Dirt Dragon. This was made for the 2010 ATB Junkies Film Festival where it went down a treat and won the Best Film award which is not really surprising when you consider that it combines mountainboarding, beautiful girls, machine guns and several men in boiler suits and gimp masks.

Coming up very soon will be part 1 of Loki's Gate, our (very nearly) full length zombie extravaganza which we are finally releasing on YouTube for anyone who didn't make the original screenings and who didn't buy a DVD (if this is you then SHAME ON YOU! It is the greatest piece of cinema ever to flow from the mind of mortals so check it out).

Fun with silicone

In the past we have done soem pretty cool makeup effects just using latex and old newspaper but after spending literally hours watching brickintheyard tutorials on YouTube we thought it was definitely time to have a go with some silicone.
Knowing absolutely nothing about this and finding myself in Fulham on an unrelated mission I took the opportunity to drop in to Guru Makeup Emporium and have a chat about how to get started. They where really helpful and enthusiastic and I came away with a starter kit of Platsil Gel-10 and some silicone pigments.
Unfortunately I didn't get any thickener so the results of the first test are rather sloppy but it still looks pretty cool considering I just slapped it on randomly to see what it was like to work with.

First impressions are that it will take a bit of getting used to but with practice will definitely improve the quality of our prosthetics and effects in the future.

On the down side, as well as needing some thickener we are quickly building up an expensive list of other bits and pieces to do more moulding, casting, modelling etc. This stuff is great but it puts an end to the days of buying a 5 litre bottle of latex and it lasting us for three films. Ah well, I suppose progress comes at a price.

Dead Time still

The press release for 2 Days Later 2010 just came out on their website and we were most chuffed to see that it includes a still from Dead Time.

The shot does a great job of showing of Clive, our alien foetus, in all his slimy glory.
Once the comp is done and out of the way we will put up a post about how we made him as we think he doesn't look too shabby for a pair of rubber gloves gaffer taped to a bundle of old newspaper.

Red Ded Dog on YouTube

We are the now the proud owners of our very own YouTube channel where we will be uploading our films as we make them.
The first upload is The Light which was filmed in August and over the coming weeks we will add the rest of our back catalogue as well.
Hopefully people will enjoy our films but it is also a channel for us to meet other like minded film maker types and for them to give feedback and comments (hopefully good) on our work.

Check out the channel here and subscribe if you would like to support our grand works.

Well done us!

We are feeling very pleased with ourselves today having found out that Dead Time has been shortlisted for this years 2 Days Later competition. This means that out of 51 submitted films it made it in to the final 13 that will be shown on the big screen and could win us some nice prizes as well.

The comp takes place on Oct 30th at the Theatre Royal in Margate and entry is free so if you are in the area drop in and get some horror in your life. The shortlist screening starts at 7pm and there is some kind of after party as well.

The night is optional fancy dress with a prize for best costume as well so now would be a good time to dig out the zombie clown outfit and start making up a batch of rubber intestines from our brilliant tutorial.

We hope to see you there on the night but if not we will definitely have some good pics and stories to post here after the event :)