So we finally wrapped the Combichrist Music Video shoot. All in all, the shoot went really well. As you can tell from my previous blogs, that we had a lot of inexperienced people on set. Particularly with a production scale bigger than what they are used to. But that’s all part of being in the film industry, everyday you push yourself to bigger things and grow in the process.

Everybody did pretty good, they definitely learned a lot of things and were keen to learn. Had the chance to work with some new faces, and old faces from The Gene Generation as well. speaking of which, here is a picture taken of me and Andy (Combichrist) by my business partner / twin brother Chad Michael Ward (Only our moms can tell us apart).

You can click here to see more pictures of the actual shoot

All in all, we had some very interesting move up. Dana and Shawn have moved up to Assistant Directors in the music video shoot and they did amazingly well. They ran the whole floor with efficiency and precision. Although Shawn is just a dork most of the times, when it comes down to the job, he’s got the chops for it.

Chad Michael Ward stepped up to deliver his usual dementia to design the whole set. With baby incubators and oxygen masks attached to alcohol bottles, fences and broken mannequins, Chad had his touch screaming all over the music video. I cannot wait till he has his feature film debut as a director. Watch for him

The Music Video will be released in due time, together with all new clips from The Gene Generation. The music will be used in an actual fight scene of the movie. And yes, we will be including the music video in the actual DVD of The Gene Generation as well.

Also, we managed to squeeze in one actual day for Chad to shoot his infamous Painbox stills. Watch out for his website at http://www.digitalapocalypse.com for those new pics which he will upload once he finishes the touch ups.

Special Thanks to Combichrist for everything. They have been amazing, troopers in the music video which was an inspiration to everybody on set. Despite the demented front, these guys work hard with no ego and with total focus and concentration.

Ugh, I can’t believe I have not posted the blog in ages. Me and Keith have been busting our asses to get the Music Video up and running. Things are happening, but with the dateline so close, the stress begins.

Well, just to catch up on things. The pre-visualisation for the Visual FX has been done. So it will take another 4 months of rendering out the textures, adding in elements and correcting gamma .etc. for the final product. This, and we are doing the main scans for the VFX team to work on now. Each frame is approx 16mb. So since we have 24 frames a second, the file size for the movie really adds up really quick. But after months of working on low res compressed footage, it was really nice to see The Gene Generation in all its high res glory (and a million mistakes I made as well).

Here is a previs for one of the shots in the movie. Previs is the process of using simple blocks to time the camera movement and framing for the actual Visual FX. Soon after the process, when I ok everything, the VFX Team will begin to replace the previs with the actual elements of the movie. Here, you can see a low res version of the Aereann Flyer

While we are doing the previs, another team will be building the actual Aereann Flyer and working with me on animating it’s elements. Here is an old copy I have of the Aereann Flyer, still unfinished at this point. But it will give you a good idea of what it will look like in finished details.

Building this thing can be a real time eater. As you can see, the ship is made out of hundreds and thousands of little squares. Each square has to be put together till a coherent shape like the Aereann Flyer comes out. I have troubles making a sphere using squares and these guys are building complex ships like this. *shakes head*

So while the team finishes up on the VFX while I move on the Sound Department, Here’s a little picture from everybody saying thanks for being with us. Next up, me and Lisa Fowle, my talented god-sister who has worked with me on sound for all my films this will be fun

Apologies for not blogging in a while. It’s one thing to try and finish VFX work over here. But at the same time, I’m trying to co-ordinate and produce the Combichrist Music Video for their new single ‘Get Your Body Beat’. Combichrist will be coming down to LA on March 22nd so we’re hoping to shoot the music video then.

Of course this means, that work is on during the day but when I get back to the hotel (Los Angeles time 7am), it’s time to work, schedule and put together the music video. So my sleeping hours (if I’m lucky) would be from 8am-11am before I get up and head over to the VFX studio.

At this point now, I haven’t start crewing, so if anybody wants to Volunteer and help, I’ll be more than glad to include you guys in . The Combichrist video will be in The Gene Generation DVD release as well. e-mail me if you are interested pearry (@) genegeneration.com

I DON’T KNOW WHICH DOCTOR WROTE THIS, BUT I LIKE HIM!

HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it… don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q:Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can’t think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain…Good!

Q: Aren’t fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU’RE NOT LISTENING!!!… Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A : Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO. Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It’s the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! ‘Round’ is a shape!