Some facts about Batman for y'all

Commissions Closed! But heed dear faithful ones...

Hi all,

I'm afraid I'm going to be well out of office for the next couple of months. As University and summer have rapped I'm moving out and finding a job. This means I'll have no internet or time for all your delicious ideas. However come late October/Early November I should be back in full swing, just in time for Christmas!

I'll be having an offer of free delivery for UK commissions, overseas will have to cover charges I'm afraid. All commissions will receive a high-quality digital file to do with what you wish.

So if a loved one or pet wants a full colour Baloo the Bear riding a Mech into battle, keep us in mind.

Hope all is well your sides of the fence.

SmudgeDredd

Deadpool and Freakazoid are BFF's

I really think they'd be the best of friends. This will be painted/coloured at some point in the future but I'm currently 'out of office' as it were. Originally this was going to have captions but in the end I felt it wasn't needed.

My favourite Freakazoid clip.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises Baby Batman has been running for about two weeks now. I you haven't already give it a whirl!

Under Dooms Mask...

Found out about this earlier. Haven't stopped laughing since! So naturally this had to be done.

Baby Batman Webcomic

Bane's Punishment

After doodling 'Baby Batman' with my Sister I decided to turn it into a webcomic. You can check it out here. I'll be updating about twice a week.

Baby Batman, Batman, Webcomic, Joke a day, Gag, funny, Parody, Silly, Batcave, stick drawings, Bane, Bane's punishment, Dark Knight

Hey Ladies

Dedicated to all the pretty girls, all the pretty girls in world and the ugly girls too. 'Cause to me your pretty anyway baby.

So I had a bosh at doing that survey that's been doing the rounds. For some reason I kept on saying antagonist instead of protagonist. Don't worry regulars, I have recorded a normal video but uploading takes all day at the moment. One will arrive soon!

The original by Rosianna.

QUESTIONS:
1. Who are your favourite female YouTubers?
2. Who are your favourite female athletes?
3. What is your favourite book written by a female with a female protagonist?
4. What is your favourite film written by a female with a female protagonist?
5. Who is your favourite female fictional character?
6. What is the biggest problem facing female creators today (and any solutions)?
7. Do you think youtube and online video in general are better or worse suited than
television for tackling the problems and prejudices women face in the workplace?
8. What do you pledge to do to make the internet a better environment for all creators?
9. Tell us a story/secret whatever featuring women!
10. TAG PEOPLE!


Tagged: http://www.youtube.com/user/sarcaschicks?feature=results_main
http://www.youtube.com/user/PressHeartToContinue
http://www.youtube.com/user/communitychannel
http://www.youtube.com/user/LizzieBennet


survey ladies female creators feminist 'Waitress film' 'His Dark Materials' Lyra 'Kate Or Die' 'meredith gran' 'emmy cicierega' webcomics sarcaschicks presshearttocontinue communitychannel lizziebennet questions hip hop' comic books youtube DexterityBonus

Free Pussy Riot! Dark Knight Rises (Spoilers?) & JJ DOOM Hip Hop Hooks & Comic Books vlog

Free Pussy Riot!

I missed a bits off my Dark Knight review I wanted to touch on, mainly Catwoman and how Nolan plays with audiences expectations and our collective knowledge. I might talk about it next week or write about it.

My crap

JJ DOOM Tracks

"Free Pussy Riot" "Dark Night Rises Review" "JJ DOOM" "MF DOOM" "Jneiro Jarel" "KEY TO THE KUFFS" Bane "bane's voice" "The Dark Knight Rises (Film)" "hip hop news" "comic books news" "Bane (comics)" Batman "Comics (Literary Genre)" "christopher Nolan" Hip Hop Rap "Hip Hop (Exhibition Subject)" Joker Level "Riot (Disaster Type)" Game Book Heath Trailer Books Tournament Ledger Reading Map Asylum alfred analysis imax digi

Why must we fall Bruce?

I assume these are real.

Why must we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up? So we can use these AWESOME BAT-PLASTERS! Batman funny picture comic band-aid

Dark Knight Rises, Adventure Time, Pip vs Grist and Free Mixtape! Hip Hop Hooks & Comic Books

After a slight hiatus I return covering the new Marceline And The Scream Queens comic, the Scroobius Pip vs Mark Grist battle tease, the Rock The Bells Mixtape and basically tell you I know that Dark Knight Rises is out.

Rock The Bells Mixtape.

Pip calls out Grist.

DON'T FLOP - Rap Battle - ‬Blizzard Vs Mark Grist.

Mark Grist on Girls who read.

If you've read this far I'll let you in on a secret...I might run a competition soon. So stay tuned for some wack prizes!

"Adventure Time (TV Program)" "Hip Hop (Literature Subject)" "Hip hop hooks & Comic books" "Mark Grist" "Scroobius Pip" "rap battle" "marceline" "Scream Queens" "rock the bells" "free mixtape" "vlog" "hip hop news" "comic book news" "Meredith Gran" "all i want for christmas is you" Book "Comic Book (Literary Genre)" "batman meme" "meme"

My Friend Mingus: Bonus Pictures

So I was taking a little look through my fliptop the other day and came accross these. I'm doing a sterling job acting like a film maker. Talking with a camera qualifies you more than a degree I think. It was a fun evening filming, but if you'd seen the bloopers you'd know that already. trivia for you: James (Mingus) was asleep whenever the camera wasn't on him because he was drunk. Pics were taken by the man responsible for this.

My Friend Mingus Bloopers Reel

Blooper Reel for My Friend Mingus. With all my work in it made sense to trawl through the footage and create a little bonus round as a thanks for everyone involved. Thank you and enjoy! If anyone is interested in seeing the film it is being entered into a number of short film festivals, you can find out when and which by following us. Trailer Soundtrack

Canibus vs Dizaster, The Oatmeal & Ninja Turtles : Hip Hop Hooks & Comic Books Vlog

Once again I have a bit of a sync problem, my apologies! Hopefully I'll have it sorted by the next vid.

Canibus vs. Dizaster

The Oatmeal's splendid campaign

Ninja Turtles Pie Chart

The Motherfucking Pterodactyl

"Hip Hop Vlog" "The Oatmeal Funnyjunk" "Comic Book Vlog" "KOTD" "Rap Battle" "Canibus vs Dizaster" "DJ Skee" "Ninja Turtles Movie" "The Oatmeal" "Canibus Notepad" "Rapper's Delight Lyrics" "Bearlove Good Cancer Bad" "Webcomics" "Hip Hop News" "Comic Book News" "Slack Space "Hip Hop Hooks & Comic Books" "Canibus Diss"

Green Lantern is Gay, Rock The Bells 2012, ComMission & Mixtapes: Hip Hop Hooks & Comic Books Vlog

Madlib Mix

Chopped Herring Mix

In this episode I cover the Rock The Bells Lineup, some mixtapes, El-P's new album, The news that DC Superhero Green Lantern is Gay and the Russian comic festival ComMission. Apologies for sync issues my computer was playing up.

Dennis Hopper has described film noir as “every director’s favourite genre”. Discussing the importance of intertextuality to the style, structure and themes of two Neo-Noirs Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Sin City: Presentation Notes

In this presentation I’m going to cover these aspects, first looking at Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), before moving onto Sin City (2005). I’ll occasionally be referencing other films and works as I progress.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a film that’s part live action part animated. It’s as much a tribute to the golden age of animation as it is to the 40’s film noirs. It is a testament to the versatility of the genre that these two elements can blend together well. The screenshot of Dumbo behind the Venetian blinds, is a personal favourite of mine to illustrates this point. The entire premise of this movie is based on intertextuality, the joy of seeing classic cartoon characters interacting with a ‘real’ world. But as this is a Noir based presentation and I’m prone to digressing I shall attempt to keep the focus away from the Tex Avery inspired madness and more on the Noir aspects.

In discussing the style we’ll take a look at the scene where Eddie enters the Ink & Paint Club. From the first frame it reads as pure noir, the dark alleyways, night time Los Angeles and the classic Detective get up. And that is one fine looking coat he’s got there. We instantly have an idea of what type of character/personality Eddie Valiant is going to be. Eddie is seen drinking from a bottle he keeps in his gun holster. Symbolising his focus has changed from solving crimes to alcoholism. We have shadows abound, reminiscent of the classic Era noirs which were themselves harking back to the German Expressionist films of the 20’s. We get a look at Eddies personality: His temper gets the better of him, much like Jake in Chinatown (1974) a parallel I‘ll get into further later. He is also similar to Philip Marlowe in the sense that he is wise and weary to the world of Toons, able to predict the gag when he orders Scotch on the Rocks. We are greeted with a black and white Betty Boop reduced to a barmaid since times have moved on and we get the first glimpse of Valiant’s humanity. Then Jessica Rabbit enters the scene.

One could argue she is the ultimate femme fatale, incorporating elements of others into her design: her hair is an exaggerated version of the style made famous by Veronica Lake, her outfit is much like Rita Hayworth’s in Gilda (1946) while her face and expressions are similar to Lauren Bacall‘s. The performance itself is a reference to Red Hot Riding Hood, the cartoon character she’s based on in the novel. An element in some Noirs is to have two women in the protagonists life. Firstly, the safe, reliable woman who cares for him, he could settle down with her and live happily ever after (represented by Deloris in this case). The second is normally able to manipulate the lead exploiting his lust and desire, filling his head with the fantasy of escape. With Jessica being a cartoon she is able to blend all of the elements of her predecessors to embody this idea in an almost Plato-esque pure form.

Before moving on to the structure of the film I’m going to look at clips from the scene in Eddie’s office that doubles as his apartment. We have a classic Noir shot of the private eyes shadow framed in the clear glass of his door. Valiant then places is hat upon a Maltease Falcon referencing one of the most famous Noir tales. The mise en scene in this scene is important. On his brothers desk covered in dust we see a number of items. A Bettie Boop doll, illustrating his brothers affection for the cartoons as well as Eddie’s old passion for working with them. A magnifying glass and glasses, which can symbolise Eddie’s brother looking at things with a different perspective, paying attention to the smaller details (reinforced with the pens and notebook). Lastly, a pipe similar to that made famous by popular images of Sherlock Holmes, a detective of a different era. These items combine to create an image of a much more reserved and collected detective a stark contrast to the brash, heavy drinking detective that Valiant has become. In fact, it is only when he finishes a drink and his glass is clear that he is able to see his first clue. Something he previously overlooked. He then reaches for a magnifying glass and starts the process of quitting his drink and becoming a better Detective. It is these intertextual references and symbols that we already recognise that serve to reinforce the narrative.

This film owes a lot to Chinatown. Eddies first job is what seems to be a simple snoop job, much like Jake. The Patty-Cake joke is one example of how this film subverts expectations. Similar to the scene with the notepad at Jackie Treehorn‘s house in The Big Lebowski (1998). Eddie does not want to return to Toontown yet is self aware that he’s tied to it, as evident by his line ‘I always knew I’d get it in Toontown.’ He his similar to Jake in the way the entire case is right under his nose but he just cant put it together. His anger is also a distraction and frequently hinders him from realising where the Will is. Like the California Water Wars in Roman Polanski’s film, the villains goal is also from the history books, this time the Great American Streetcar Scandal. In fact this plot was originally going to feature in the third of the Chinatown trilogy. Another parallel is the Femme Fatale. Both aren’t these manipulative fiends we are led them to be. With Jessica the stereotype is subverted so she is absolutely devoted to her husband. Though god knows why with a body like that she could have any man she wants. The use of reincorporation is also important here, Judge Doom telling the weasels off for laughing and forewarns their eventual fates. Eddie even hints towards the twist at the end remarking to Roger ‘I don’t know who’s toonier you or Doom.’ Similar to the Dude in The Big Lebowski solving the case with a passing comment.

In terms of themes this film is as rich in subtext as any of the classic era Noirs. For instance the aforementioned Ink and Paint club appears to be based upon the Cotton Club. A place where Black people were able to perform and work but not enter as customers. It is not surprising then to see the crows from Dumbo, a close to the knuckle portrayal of Afro-Americans performing as Jessica’s backing band. Eddie seems to host a racial hatred for Toons frequently using the word like a racial slur. He hates people believing he works for them. However when he encounters one in need he still upholds a sense of justice and takes action. The Toons can represent a number of minorities, or under classes. With the Cloverleaf subplot you see the authority figures as corrupt. Eddie has a level of genre savvy which helps him on a number of occasions. This self awareness of your world aiding your survival appears to be quite common in a lot of post-modern texts. A sentence certainly relevant when talking about Sin City (2005).

Based upon Frank Miller’s graphic novels Sin City is a world dominated by Noir. Things that were stylistic elements or common themes of other Noirs are gospel here. In this world it is always night, All the authority figures are corrupt and nearly everyone is dangerous one way or another. You only need to look at the opening scene to get a feel of the tone. Everything that has defined this genre in the past is there but pushed into the extremes, it’s hyper real. The film is stylised by it’s stark contrast of black and white. During the Italian renaissance era a term called ‘Chiaroscuro’ was used to describe art that utilised strong dynamics between light and dark to reinforce depth and tone. While in part influenced by the pulp comics that were mainly printed in black and white I feel it is this technique that makes the film stand out.

While at first glance characters like Marv might not seem to be the typical Noir protagonist underneath his brute exterior he displays a number of the archetypal features. He his smart, evident by his line regarding the polices arrival, his ability to solve Goldie‘s murder and by preventing Kevin from hopping around. A heavy drinker, displayed by his heavy drinking. He aims to protect and avenge the innocent, while happy to kill a man as a rule but he wont hit ‘Dames’. Even though Marv is mentally unstable he still upholds a level of honour. The choice of Mickey Rourke for the role is also crucial, as an actor with a troubled past we get a sense of that through the performance much like Downey Jr. in Iron Man (2008). This is something the 40’s noirs did, by casting old gangster actors they were able to carry the audiences perceptions of them adding depth to the new characters being performed. Marv finds a level of comfort in Lucille. She takes care of him in her own way while his interactions with Goldie start him on a path that ultimately leads to his death. I wouldn’t say she’s a femme fatale though, she seeks Marv out more out of desperation than anything else. The name of Marv’s tale ‘The Hard Goodbye’ is of course a reference to the Chandler novel The Long Goodbye (1953). His bandages have all the connotations wounding does in film language and possibly serves as a tribute to Chinatown, with a cross over his eye representing Roark and the church. The church here is shown to be twisted and wicked, Marv shooting at the statue reminds me of the scene where bandits shoot the church bell in For a Few Dollars More (1965) and brings to mind the same connotations. Salvation isn’t there, those morals and ideals don’t hold up in this world. His conversation with Lucille reveals that he knows his time is limited, that this might be the last thing he does. Illustrating that self awareness of his fate. All the citizens of Basin City are doomed, trapped in this exaggerated criminal underworld.

The film uses a number of narrative elements that are often associated with Noir. The voiceover is prevalent in all of the tales. The events aren’t in chronological order. All of the main stories in the film feature a number of similar themes. The main characters are all men who driven by a woman leading to a corrupt element of the authorities, the ones supposedly in control, keeping the peace to be revealed. The men’s drive to protect women is mocked explicitly in The Big Fat Kill section of the film when Gail refers to the Old town girls as ’Helpless’ and ’Little’ However, the girls of Sin City tend not to be bad but merely drawn that way. Clichés and plot devices we have seen in other movies and texts before run rampant here, this worlds consumed by them. They are pushed to the limits with characters surviving by the skin of their teeth. Police Badges stop bullets, guns jam and a villains poorly timed monologue aid our heroes in their plight, allowing them to wade on committed to their goals. Wearing its influences firmly on its shoulders it relishes wading through its post modern environment and like Who Framed it would be impossible to exist without the history of the medium behind it.

Film noirs very makeup is intertextual. The look of the genre was aided by Chiaroscuro a Renaissance approach to light and a heavy influence of German Expressionist cinema. Depression Era America led to a rise in crime and gangsters. The Legion of Decency were not happy with these people playing the role of hero. As a result the same styles and performances were switched to the side of good. This combined with more grittier crime novels that was emerging gave us the tone. By it’s very nature film Noir is built on what came before it, it is these foundations we understand and interpret that allow film makers to toy with our expectations. The subversion and play with these established themes and styles allow scope to continually stretch and push the genre. In summary I’m inclined to agree with Dennis Hopper it very well could be.

Bibliography

Books

Chandler, R. (Re-issue 2008) The Long Good-Bye, Penguin. Originally published in 1953 by Hamish Hamilton
Duncan, P (2007) Bogart, Italy: TASCHEN
Duncan, P. (2000) Film Noir, Films of Trust and Betrayal, Great Britain: Pocket Essentials
Powell, J. (1998) Postmodernism For Beginners. New York: Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc.
Silver, A & Ursini, J. (1996) Film Noir Reader. Limelight Editions


Films

Altman, R (1973) The Long Goodbye
Coen, J. (1998) The Big Lebowski
Hawks, H (1946) The Big Sleep
Huston, J. (1941) The Maltease Falcon
Leone, S. (1965) A Few Dollars More
Miller, F. Rodriquez, R. (2005) Sin City
Polanski, R (1974) Chinatown
Vidor, Charles (1946) Gilda
Zemeckis, R. (1988) Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Images

http://jake-weird.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/jessica-biel-is-jessica-rabbit.html
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hv_NvAY7B0Y/0.jpg
http://welcomebluevalkyrie.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/tag/sin-city

Film Soundtrack

Evenin' All. So Shorts is now over, and it was a grand ol' night. My Friend Mingus will hopefully doing a small run of festivals so it wont be available online for a little while. Until then you can listen/download the soundtrack should you wish. Enjoy! If you want to use any of this stuff in your own films just give us a shout (I'll probably be more than happy to) And mad props to JakePDiGregorio who was kind enough to let me use his Dr. McNinja music in the film.

Hip Hop Hooks & Comic Books: The Avengers & MCA

In this thrilling episode I talk mainly about that little movie you may of heard of the Avengers. I also talk about the great MCA passing away.

Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock
The Avengers Sexy Poster
The Avengers Abridged Script

Music: Return of the Boom Bit by Carl Denham
Contains elements of Da Rockwilder by Meth and Red, Tears by Giorgio Moroder & The Place I'll Return to Someday by Nobuo Uematsu

Teaser Trailer: My Friend Mingus (HD 2012)

Play it HD kids! The Teaser Trailer for My Friend Mingus, the short film I've been ratting about for an age now. If your in Wales on Sunday you can catch its premiere at the Shorts Fast Film Festival. Big thanks to Jake for giving us permission to use his stuff in the movie, you should check out his channel

Hip Hop Instrumental: The King Louis Loop

Another track from my film soundtrack. Originally I was going to remix the theme I did for the Last Call for Louis Tarentella's scene in the club but it ended up going down this kind of askew slightly east-coast Jazz style beat. Enjoy!
Last Call
The Film
Written and performed by Carl Denham All content copyright © ICHITRIGGERFINGER productions

Hip Hop Hooks & Comic Books: MF DOOM, Beastie Boys, Axe Cop and Saga

My first bosh at a little series where I prattle in your ears about two of my favourite things.
Links I mention (turns out you can't link out from annotations):
DOOM
Beastieboo
Beastie Boy mixtape

TITANIC PLOT ATTEMPT: Putting the Diamond in the Coat

I have never seen Titanic, this is what I think happens based on what I have picked up here and there. Our hallway just happened to be filled with balloons, we decided to film in them because they are nicer to look at than my face.

Last Call (Main Theme) Film Noir Music

My friend asked me to write some Film Noir style music for his 3rd year film. I messed about and came up with this. Big thanks to Will Jarmin for helping us out with the drums. If any of you want to download it you can from here from the 20th May

See the film.

Written and performed by Carl Denham
Drums by Will Jarmin

copyright © ICHITRIGGERFINGER productions

My Friend Mingus: Update!

Principal filming is done! I have still have a couple of pickups to do but for the most part it's done. Big thanks to all the actors and crew that have helped lug equipment around and look stupid in the cold.

Sadly, I'm behind on the editing stage as someone named Jesus(?) came back(?) and the events called Easter(?). This is news to me but apparently it's why people pay a bomb for a hollow egg and keep the Lab at my uni locked up. Hopefully it'll be open tomorrow and I can get back to tanning myself from the screens.



The aftermath of the final scene:

Adios I'm Ghost

Coming Soon: More Mingus music + FREE STUFF!

A shlock Bioshock

It's been awhile since I did some bargain bucket costumes, this was for Neil as he was off to a computer game themed fancy dress party. He opted for Jack from Bioshock. I'm yet to play through it myself so at present I don't know my EVE Hypo from a Pipe Mania mini game, but he assures me it weren't a bad idea. I'm pretty sure this costume cost us nothing as we already had the goods kicking around.

Lurch went as the sexy Crazy Dave from Plants vs. Zombies:

Speaking of which, if you Bloglets haven't checked out Laura Shigihara's soundtrack for it yet, I highly recommend you do. Her melodies and style are quirky and delightful. 'Watery Graves' is dope.

'Ave a ganders at this poster kids!

Here's the poster! I took photos of the cast then edited it in photoshop. Thanks to the speed of the computer I was using and trawling the web for tutorials this took me till about five in the morning, then in my increasing delirium I convinced myself my keys were misplaced and proceeded to wreck my room in a vain search. This was only halted when I exclaimed 'Sleep, before the voices arrive.' A joke I'm sure. Originally the images were to be kept fairly photo-realistic but I decided to go further with the pulp style. I'm not sure if the QR code works so If anyone wants to be a dear and test it for me I'd be very much obliged.

FILM MUSIC: In Auteur of Appearance (My Friend Mingus)

In Auteur of Appearance - Written and performed by Carl Denham

Another track in the bag (more or less) for 'My Friend Mingus'. At present this is going to be on the credits. I recorded it in my bathroom and edited and mastered it on Garageband. Most of the images are related to the project so I thought I'd shove 'em there to stop your eyes getting bored.

http://shorts2012.co.uk/

Twitter:
@ICHI1Grip
@Shorts_FilmFest

All content copyright © ICHITRIGGERFINGER productions

Poster for film festival

Courtesy of Leanne Buckler

Character Playlists

For a little but of fun (and I do consider this fun) I made a playlist for each of the main characters in the film. Every track is a nice slice of musical cake so if you haven't heard any I suggest you pursue, you could even make the playlists yourself and wander around to one of these bastards soundtracks (or sit down the choice is yours).

ELGAR

1. Ramblin' Man - Hank Williams
2. Big in Japan - Tom Waits
3. Isla de Encanta - Pixies
4. Verbal Anime - The Herbaliser/Rakaa-Iriscience
5. Haute Tropique - Man Man
6. Samurai Jack (theme song) - James L. Venable
7. We Are Not Alone - Frank Zappa
8. Flute Loop - Beastie Boys
9. No Milk Today - Hermans Hermits
10. Cello ~ Adagio - Elgar
11. Crying All By Myself - Wendy Rene
12. You've Got Maelstrom - Blockhead
13. It Ends (Ch 5 Light World) - Danny Baranowsky
14. Movement Two (Optzay Pertruder): Letter to Castro (Costumes for Tonight) - Gogol Bordello
15. Go Go Cactus Man - The Seatbelts
16. Everybody Needs A Ninja - Matthew Ebel

MINGUS

1. Nellie the Elephant - Toy Dolls
2. Troubled Friends - Gogol Bordello
3. Rhuubarbidoo - múm
4. Boogie Woogie Man in a Black D - Gabby La La
5. The Rhythm of Life - Sammy Davis Jr
6. Me Myself And I (OBLAPOS MODE) - De La Soul
7. That's What Friends Are For - The Sherman Brothers
8. Poo Putt Platter - MF Doom
9. Swing Set - Jurassic 5
10. After Laughter Comes Tears - Wendy Rene
11. Myself When I Am Real - Charles Mingus
12. Cuttin' Headz - Ol' Dirty Bastard/RZA
13. 환희의 도주 - Dalparan/Jang Yeong-gyu
14. Nature - Like The Animal You Are
15. Les Fleurs - Minnie Riperton
16. I'm Your Boogie Man - KC And The Sunshine Band

LOUIS TARANTELLA

1. Napoletana Tarantella - Traditional
2. Thief's Theme - Nas
3. Life Of Crime - The Weirdos
4. Protect Ya Neck II The Zoo - Ol' Dirty Bastard Ft. Brooklyn Zu,Prodigal Sunn, Killah Priest & 60 Second Assassin
5. Cunt Renaissance - R.A. the Rugged Man Ft. The Notorious B.I.G.
6. I Ain't New Ta This - Ice-T
7. Peepers - Polar bear
8. Smokey - Funkadelic
9. Purple Man - G-stack
10. Supervillain Theme (Inst.) - Madvillain
11. Wu Banga - Ghostface Killah Ft. Raekwon, The Genius/GZA, Cappadonna & Masta Killa
12. Little Drop of Poison - Tom Waits
13. Five to One - The Doors
14. Spitting Out The Demons - Gorillaz
15. It's All Over - Dead Residents
16. Moon River - Louis Armstrong

MINOR WALTZ

1. Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt
2. The Spook Walks - The Spooks (Joe Meek)
3. Problems - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
4. Put A Curse On You - Quasimoto
5. The Last Waltz (Mi-do's theme) - Choi Seung-hyun/Lee Ji-Soo/Shim Hyun-Jung
6. How's It Gonna End - Tom Waits
7. Meddle - Little Boots
8. Goodnight Moon - Shivaree
9. Dirty Night Clowns - Chris Garneau
10. Cuts and Lies - Acoustic Ladyland/Anne Booty
11. Repetition - The Fall
12. Tu Mens - April March
13. She Reminded Me With Science - Terry Scott Taylor
14. Bam Bam - Sister Nancy
15. Celebrate The Bullet - The Selecter
16. Freedom Of Speech - Immortal Technique

Concept Art, Again... (SPOILERish)

Here's more of those pictures I did. The last one suffers from being rushed and as a result doesn't adhere to a conventional human skeleton.

ELGAR

Concept Art

Should have probably scanned these in before I uploaded the photos but oh well what are you going to do? That's what I thought, anyway...

MINGUS

LOUIS TARANTELLA

MINOR WALTZ

Their names link to the photos we took. If you want to see more of my pen and watercolour nonsense go here I guarantee you can find a picture of Dumbledore fighting a Nazi Wizard.

Character/Costume Photos: Mingus

And here's the last of our main cast, James Lewis Thomas dressed as Mingus. I got the poifect little bear costume for him to mooch about in.

Character Bio: Mingus

Mingus was created by Elgar to deal with his loneliness but that doesn’t stop him being ‘real’. He knows he his here to cheer his friend up and accommodates accordingly he is fun, if a little mischievous.

Character/Costume Photos: Minor Waltz

Here's Siwan dressed as the character Minor Waltz for the moving picture project I wont shut up about. We still need to go shopping for a hat but that's pretty much how she's going to look in the film. Luckily I got hold of an old Nikon FM2 with a couple of lenses that are perfect for the character.

Character Bio: Minor Waltz

Minor Waltz was growing up like any other happy child. Her father was a professional photographer, her mother a lumberjack. With her Mother working long hours, she spent most of the time with her father and after awhile got a good grasp on his trade. By the time she was ten she was already developing her own pinhole cameras in their bathroom/darkroom and knew her way around all manner of lenses and films. Her world collapsed one day when her pregnant mother was raped and murdered. Her father seeking revenge and justice enlisted the help of the local mob: The Tarantella’s. Revenge was served and the people responsible were found by the Police castrated, hanging in the same alleyway they committed their crime. However, revenge does not come cheap and Mr. Waltz was unable to pay The Tarantella’s what he owed. After his wife‘s death he fell heavily on a drug habit and a few years later was found dead in the living room. It is unsure whether his overdose was accidental or suicidal. In the Will everything was left to his daughter, the mob of course figured this also meant his unpaid debts. Now her father was a good photographer but Minor was excellent. This was exploited by the mob for all kinds of things, mainly snoop jobs, set-ups and the occasional dabble in pornography.

It is a common believe amongst the Red Indians that by taking a picture of someone you take a bit of their soul. Minor as a child staring up at her father cradling his old photos of her mother was inclined to agree. When photographing people she felt she was stealing their moments, capturing them and making them hers. When your in your late teens with no friends and working for the mob you need to clutch at the tiny bits of control you have. However, the psychological idea of stealing anything you shot made the transaction from shooting with a camera to a gun fairly easy. This led to more ’interesting’ jobs from the mob. Sadly no matter how much she worked she couldn’t clear the debt. Over time she learnt how a debt to the Tarantella’s really worked, she was getting by but would never come out on top. Trapped in this world for years she has grown wise but weary, tired and somewhat numb. She has seen the worst in man and has become repulsed by it. Behind a lens she feels a level of distance (and therefore escape) that she hasn’t been able to find anywhere else.

Character/Costume Photos: Louis Tarantella

Here's Lloyd Thomas dressed as our antagonist Louis Tarantella. Its made up of clothing we already had, personally its the use of the coat and hat that really sells that mobster look. The more observant of you will notice his shoes are huge, we had to borrow Lurch's for the shoot.

Character Bio: Louis Tarantella

THIS BIO CONTAINS A HUGE SPOILER TO THE FILM, I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND READING IT UNTIL YOU'VE SEEN THE FINISHED FLICK.

The youngest of three possible heirs to the Tarantella empire Louis learnt to be ruthless from a young age. As a result of this he created the meanest, toughest imaginary friend, Sasquatch. One day when playing make believe with his siblings he made his imaginary friend murder theirs. Initially distraught they soon forgot. Louis didn’t, he saw the advantage and power keeping Sasquatch could have. Keeping him a secret he grew up like his siblings. He started learning the family business quickly, much to the approval of the older members. Still remembering the old playground tactics Louis became a master at manipulation and extortion. His brothers had different fates. One left favouring the clean life the other met a gruesome end (found at the bottom of the Thames with concrete shoes). This left nothing to stop Louis getting to the top, once there he started pushing the Tarantella’s into a new direction. Still maintaining his imaginary friend from childhood he was able to see other peoples and it was only a matter of time before this and his talent for crime led to him finding a way of exploiting them. He contacted some Nazi scientists and developed a plan. Through some arcane science he learnt they were made out of pure imagination and with the right technology they could be turned into pretty much anything that requires it. The scientists build a machine that could do just that: kill a child’s imaginary friend and turn it into, musical score, a novel etc. Settling on screenplays, Louis then commenced his ‘Harvey’ racket. A large number of the family thought of him insane and either left or tried to seize control, neither of which boded well.

Character/Costume Photos: Elgar

Here's some Photos of Neil Hobson dressed as the lead character Elgar. Below are some of the costume changes he goes through. WORD OF CAUTION some of them give away plot elements so PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Elgars character arc is him returning to his roots. He's been hiding as a chef and from his real self. The idea is as the film progresses he gradually covers up until he appears for the finale as the full blown Ninja he his.

I didn't want this Ninja outfit to look like something from the eighties. It had to look like he'd whipped it up out of the clothes he had. Neil and I got together the black garbs we had and settled on this. The trousers are slightly different from my concept art (I'll upload soon) but I prefer this, It has a better sense of realism.

The hoodie is the one he wears earlier in the film but reversed. From an analytical perspective what was inside has now come out, reflecting the characters tale.

Character Bio: Elgar

The son of a fairly wealthy couple Elgar was set up for an easy life, sadly they left him behind on their first family holiday. So there he was, a young child lost in the middle of Tokyo. His parents tried to find him but it was useless. They went on to have another child and were far more protective over him, possibly a little too much. As for Elgar he was lost in a city armed with only his name. Luckily some street kids found him and he was brought to their master, Fei-Gin. Here he learnt skills he’d never have needed in Oxford, Cambridge or anywhere else prestigious his parents would have sent him. Growing up in the Tokyo sewers Elgar was taught the way of the Ninja, starting off with sneaky stealing before rising to brutal and stealthy assassinations. He soon surpassed his peers, when not wanting to be suspected of being a trained killer in the Tokyo underworld it helps too look like a cockney orphan. In-between these outings Elgar developed another skill, cooking. From watching imported cooking shows (mainly Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall) he quickly became the in-house chef. He regularly cooked for everyone including Fei-Gin. One day his world was destroyed, someone snuck into his kitchen and poisoned his masters food. The rest of the children accused him, forcing him to run. He left Tokyo and started the long journey home. This was the first time he truly felt alone, his cohorts had been like brothers and Fei-Gin like his father.

On this trip back to England he concocted Mingus. Mingus was able to help him readdress his situation, and take a more positive stance on it: An assassin can find work anywhere people cant stand other people, in a country famous for long queues and poor customer service England shouldn’t be a problem. It took about a year of two for Elgar to sneak back. Upon arrival work was fairly easy to find (mainly business’ needing rivals eliminated). Soon though, the tabloids starting reporting of a Ninja slicing the limbs off local greengrocers and once again Elgar had to retreat. This time he fell back on his other skill, cooking. He got a job in a small restaurant in Wales. Deep down though he knows he shall kill again. Soon a time will come where he shall have to return to Japan and avenge his master. Until then he views the world slightly dreamlike, it is almost pretend as he is in a state of mental hibernation waiting for the day to draw his sword again.

FILM MUSIC: Outside Ditty (My Friend Mingus)

Outside Ditty - Written and performed by Carl Denham

So I've started composing the score to 'My Friend Mingus' this track is what Elgar and Mingus play together outside. I recorded it in my bathroom and edited and mastered it on Garageband. The photos are of the chair we made, which you can find out more about here.


All content copyright © ICHITRIGGERFINGER productions

Props I got the most...Part 2: A Trip to Trysordy

In search of props for my film we headed to the outskirts of Carmarthen to a little place called Trysordy. It's a bizarre but handy craft store full of all kinds of weird and wonderful things. It was a bit like scrapheap challenge minus the pressure. Thanks to Mike for the lift.

Follow James (Mingus).
twitter.com/mymindmybiz

Props I got the most...

Before filming starts we have a few little things to get our grubby mitts on. So for the past few days I've been hunting down the trinkets on my list. One thing you cant get over the counter is (!SPOILER!) an electric chair designed for sucking the souls out of Imaginary friends. Luckily I have a friend called Lurch.

Using scrap wood from Trinity's theatre workshop it took less than an hour to get to this:

Minus the 'Science' we're going to stick on later the chair looks exactly how I imagined it. The idea is this machine has been built quickly and uses some arcane technology so I wanted it to have this rough look. Big thanks to Lurch for building this comfortable bit of furniture. He's very good at this sort of thing and when he gets a site up I'll provide links here.