The first feature length edit of Temple of Art available to download and enjoy!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Jul 07, 2021 at 04:32:46 AM

Hey Everyone!

While I'm still chasing down b-roll footage from our varied interviewees, I've set the cut off point to the moment the music is finished. At that stage, I'll lock the narrative into its final form, move to the final aspect, which is the audio mastering. 

In the meantime, I don't want you to feel like once again your'e having to wait interminably, so.. The final rough edit of the film is yours to enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9kkzi8bh319m52u/TOA155.mp4?dl=0 

Bear in mind, the final version will have more B-roll, a finished score, a sassy color grade, and all round mastering chops, but the one you see here is close to the final iteration of the story we are trying to tell.

I know this has been an incredibly long road, and I thank you for sticking by us through thick and thin. (Apparently I now know how to edit a feature, talk about a skill I'm somewhat surprised to possess)

I cannot wait to put the finished version into your hands! 

thank you thank you,

Allan

The rest of this update involves a new KS project of mine, my first as a writer, so feel free to cut away to the film link, unless indie comics is a thing you dig..

This story literally wouldn't exist without you. I've never considered myself to be a writer. I've always thought of writers as the only true magicians, able to spin stories out of the sap of their prodigious imaginations, divine rumpled entities wired into the act of creation like the roots of the World Tree, sprung whole from the tepid brow of Zeus incarnate! 

Until I interviewed Neil Gaiman for the film. He fixed me with a steely, yet tousled glare, and said,  "Writing is bricklaying, that's all it is. You pick up a brick, and you put it down. And no one is going to do it for you." 

And it got me thinking. Well, I can lay down a few bricks. It doesn't have to be the Sistine Chapel. But I do have to do the work.

Those bricks added up. And four years later, in the teeth of the pandemic, my first graphic novel was born. Once again, thanks to Kickstarter. To you. 

And a year after that, the second installment is fully funded, and four days away from wrapping.

It features some of the incredible artists in TOA (Bill Sienkiewicz, David Mack, Stephanie Inagaki and Jason Shawn Alexander), along with a few new ones, most notably Mike Mignola. 

www.inconvenientguide.com

We are rounding the bend on the first stretch goal with four days remaining, and I'd very much like to offer anyone interested in climbing aboard some TOA-only swag, namely an exclusive 5x7 mini-print of Mike's sensational art:

Furthermore, anyone who pledges at the $70 LTD tier or higher will also receive the 4pc tarot coaster set, based on art by Jonathan Marks Barrevecchia!

Just make sure you message me on KS to remind me once you've pledged, so I don't forget.

thank you all again!

Temple of Art edit is done!
over 3 years ago – Thu, May 13, 2021 at 10:30:22 PM

Hey Everyone!

Well it's official, I've fucking finished the edit!! The film clocks in at 2 hours and 5 minutes, a bit longer than I'd hoped, but I can't bear to cut anything else. I'm still hunting down B roll to give a little context to some of the stories, but the narrative is a lock. The composer already has the final footage, and while he's scoring it, I'll be color grading and trying to wrap my mind around the whole mastering thing.

Here is a clip of Oscar winning sound designer Mark Mangini from near the end of the film, which I just love!

A fair amount ended up on the cutting room floor, but for those of you who prefer an embarrassment of riches, I'll definitely be making a VERY rough digital add on out of the stories that didn't quite work to go with the finished film.

I'll keep you updated as to progress on the last bits and pieces, and I truly look forward to sharing these stories with you.

thank you thank you,

Allan

TOA at the 90 minute mark.
over 3 years ago – Sun, May 02, 2021 at 08:21:50 AM

Hey everyone,

I've made it to the 90 minute mark! I've been loosely tracking my editing time, and what's wild is that one minute of film corresponds almost exactly to one hour of editing:) So an hour and a half of sequential video, with likely at least another hour (likely a lot more) left to cobble means I'm only 60 - 90 hours away from the finish line. Yayyyy....? My goal is a rough cut of under 3 hours, that I can then whittle into the final narrative.

Here's a little excerpt to wet those whistles:

I also built a graphic in Photoshop to help me visualize how to move around the different islands of information, which has been an uncanny help. I think of it as my own personal CSI murder wall:) 

Keeping such a long narrative in my head is quite the challenge, so when I'm lost, I open Photoshop and move the ideas around like pieces of a puzzle.

By the by, all the music you hear in this and subsequent updates is canned, but I do have a composer working on the soundtrack for the final film:) I only wish there was a way to include some animation, but alas, that would probably involve a whole other Kickstarter, or an animator willing to work for portrait shoots and cat whiskers. (That said, if this sounds like you, inquire within)

I'm super excited to see the progress unfold, and I'm not letting up.

Stay safe out there,

Allan

Fun with TOA intros
over 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 07, 2021 at 12:34:51 AM

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm officially through all 50 plus interviews, and have a whopping 13 hour timeline to condense. It feels like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle, scanning through footage, finding the right piece, getting those edges filled in first. When my eyes glaze over and fall out of my head, I switch to noodling on the intro to the film. 

17 seconds of footage, translating to roughly 4 hours in the edit bay... It's mostly me trying to ambitiously craft an art version of the Seven movie intro, trying to get timing right and all that, but it's been a funtastic way to lighten things up. Not to mention a great use of all the artists doing their thing.

I'm toying with a whole other idea as well, so there will ultimately be 2 to choose from, but the other one is a practical effect involving lots of charcoal and laser etching:) not quite ready for public consumption...

Hope you like the result!

I'll be posting updates with actual clips of the film in the coming weeks, as the whittling process continues.

Stay safe, be well

Allan

A little TOA pickme up
over 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 04, 2021 at 02:46:00 PM

Hey everyone!

I'm sitting at my computer, busily weaving the narrative between Dave Mckean and Neil Gaiman this week, then dropping them into the timeline alongside the people I've finished editing down. Thus far the film is 3.5 hours long, and I've a ways to go yet. Did we really interview more than 50 people?!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a clip of Barron that made me smile today.

March is TOA month. I'm finally starting to feel confident about the technical aspects within Premiere, and the narrative is flowing more smoothly. Hopefully, my next update will be that everyone is integrated into the overall story - which will probably be 10 hours long - after which, it'll just be a wee bit of a whittle, to arrive at something watchable!

Hope everyone is weathering the scary world well, fingers crossed that light at the end of the tunnel just keeps getting brighter.

all the best,

Allan