Tales from the Edge - Part 1

First in a quartet of stories about the life of a Lighthouse Keeper on a little rock on the edge of a distant sea. It’s a story about loneliness, boredom and an empty stomach. Book is a 12 page A5 comic in pen and ink.

[Availible for sale from Etsy or Folksy]

GFF 2010 Trailer

I'm very pleased to say that I was shortlisted as one of the four finalists to possibly create the GFF2010 trailer. Here's a link to the project site and to my Central Station Profile.

Fast

Hmmm funny how fast made me think of a tortoise. That story about them versus the hare has really done wonders for their PR. The second thing I thought of, which could also do with a bit of PR, was the postal service, currently on strike. I think if I had a choice I'd use tortoise mail. Not quite as fast but far more reliable.

[For IF]

Glasgow Film Festival

Central Station just recently ran a ideas call for the Glasgow Film Festival 2010 trailer. Here are a few images from my proposal.

Glasgow has always had a strong connection to the cinema, from their very dawn back in the 1890's through to their hey day in the 1930's when we had more cinemas per person than any other city outside of America. A cinema within five mins walk from your house and people on average going once a week. Even today in the UGC we've still got Britain's busiest cinema - I guess Glaswegians really like popcorn.

My proposal played with this history and relationship. I found it interesting that despite our love for the cinema and despite lots of films being made here, few are actually ever set here. I started to wonder, what would the classics of cinema's past have been like if their setting had actually been Glasgow and not London, New York or Tokyo.

In many ways cities are in part defined by the films and literature that are set within them. These stories sit overlaid onto the streets and buildings shaping our perceptions and imaginations of what can happen there - be it the smog filled streets of Sherlock Holmes' London or the zippy fast talking of Woody Allen's Manhattan.

My idea is therefore an animated sequence of 3D paper cut outs with blend different famous movie shots and scenes into Glasgow settings. These will take you on a fast paced and quick cutting tour of the city and its relationship to film history.

[Movies and settings above - King Kong - Science Centre, Singing in the Rain - Art School, Manhattan - Squinty Bridge, Brief Encounter - Central Station, Godzilla - Glasgow Skyline from The Lighthouse.]

Central Station

I have signed up to Central Station a new creative hub set up as "a space where artists, film-makers and designers can talk about their process, showcase their work, share tools and tip, access resources."

Looks pretty interesting and there is some very nice stuff on there already. If you want to take a gander here's a link to my profile.

I spent a fun hour or two in the park on Saturday in the beautiful sunshine taking some promo photos of some of my work. This is for a planned redesign of the blog/ website in the near future. I think they look quite pretty - though this is mostly due to mother natures nice colours and light than anything to do with me.

Common of Houses

Currently working up some ideas for a touring exhibition of the Common of Houses competition entries. www.commonofhouses.co.uk