After we pitched our project idea to Simon and Helen, we have received the Green Light to go ahead with our project. This is good as I can finally start the full writing process of the script. So far I have the characters laid out and the basic story. I will need to develop the story in a broader context now, and come up with the main story idea behind the main character, rather than just the base story that we have.
One thing that Simon mentioned to us is the overall size of Cthulhu. As mentioned before, his original size is around 10,000 ft however we wanted to scale him down to around 8-900 ft. This we thought, was going to be beneficial to us as it would allow Cthulhu maneuverability around New York, yet still be scary naturally. Simon mentioned that if we are trying to appeal to a fan base that know a lot about Cthulhu, would scaling him down significantly in size still have the appeal to them. It would also mean Cthulhu would be hidden at times by sky scrapers and the like. This now gives us the decision as to whether or not we want to keep Cthulhu at his original size or not. I feel that if we do decide to have him 10,000ft tall it could still work well, with his top half sticking out of the rivers and oceans of New York, not fully emerged but win his top half still being able to be very destructive to the city.
This is something we definitely need to consider, and upon discussing it with the group further, we will make a full decision in the next couple of days.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Production Concept - Man eater series
As mentioned in my last post, after watching some more SyFy movies, we do not feel our piece, would fit with the over the top tone of these movies, as our monster isn't as fitting. Most of the more over the top films on the network feature hybrid monsters combined with a couple of different creatures.
Doing some more research into the network and their movies, we discovered what was called the SyFy Network "Man Eater Series". This series generally includes larger monsters, which fits in with Cthulhu, as well as taking a serious feel to the films, rather than them being over the top. They also tend to feature known mythical creatures or creatures of legend, reflecting the titles of the films from this series, such as "Wyvern", "Gargoyle" and "Behemoth" .
We therefore have decided that our original movie would fit in with this man eater series, as it features a creature of legend and it would make more sense to keep a serious tone to the film, rather than poorly written over the top gore.
I think this will benefit the piece a lot more as it won't need to be written in such a style that reflects upon the rest of over the top SyFy films, which tend to feature none too fantastic speech and dialogue, which could have come across as poor writing of the script on my part, thus I am happy we discovered this series of films and am excited that we have placed ours within it.
Doing some more research into the network and their movies, we discovered what was called the SyFy Network "Man Eater Series". This series generally includes larger monsters, which fits in with Cthulhu, as well as taking a serious feel to the films, rather than them being over the top. They also tend to feature known mythical creatures or creatures of legend, reflecting the titles of the films from this series, such as "Wyvern", "Gargoyle" and "Behemoth" .
We therefore have decided that our original movie would fit in with this man eater series, as it features a creature of legend and it would make more sense to keep a serious tone to the film, rather than poorly written over the top gore.
I think this will benefit the piece a lot more as it won't need to be written in such a style that reflects upon the rest of over the top SyFy films, which tend to feature none too fantastic speech and dialogue, which could have come across as poor writing of the script on my part, thus I am happy we discovered this series of films and am excited that we have placed ours within it.
Production Concept - Research
So earlier in the week, my two collaborators and I met to watch some original SyFy monster movies. The ones we watched were "Sharknado", "Piranhaconda" and "Sharktopus".
The majority of these original movies received a budget of between $1-2million and usually contained Okay cgi and 1 or 2 larger actors, with the rest remaining as unknowns. A lot of these unknowns have been in other projects, but usually for other programmes or movies made by the SyFy network.
We noticed a correlation between the films as well, with scantily clad women, clearly to appeal to their target audience of late teen+ males and sci-fi enthusiasts. The two Shark based films ended with them beating the monster, but had very over the top and ridiculous deaths, as well as containing a lot of blood.
Piranhaconda differed slightly. The whole film took a more serious tone to it, but still featured half naked women in bikinis and a lot of blood. Whilst the film took a more serious tone, it ended with them thinking hey have own, but the last two survivors being killed right before the credits.
So while we have noticed these films contain a lot of death and blood, we do now feel that the overall tone of our piece wouldn't be fitting to be too over the top like these films.
The majority of these original movies received a budget of between $1-2million and usually contained Okay cgi and 1 or 2 larger actors, with the rest remaining as unknowns. A lot of these unknowns have been in other projects, but usually for other programmes or movies made by the SyFy network.
We noticed a correlation between the films as well, with scantily clad women, clearly to appeal to their target audience of late teen+ males and sci-fi enthusiasts. The two Shark based films ended with them beating the monster, but had very over the top and ridiculous deaths, as well as containing a lot of blood.
Piranhaconda differed slightly. The whole film took a more serious tone to it, but still featured half naked women in bikinis and a lot of blood. Whilst the film took a more serious tone, it ended with them thinking hey have own, but the last two survivors being killed right before the credits.
So while we have noticed these films contain a lot of death and blood, we do now feel that the overall tone of our piece wouldn't be fitting to be too over the top like these films.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Production Package - Elevator Pitch
We were asked to come up with an elevator pitch for our project. This is how you would pitch it to a producer or executive in the time it takes for an elevator ride. This is what we came up with:
An adaptation of H.P Lovecraft's short story; an over the top, New York based monster/disaster movie featuring the creature Cthulhu.
An adaptation of H.P Lovecraft's short story; an over the top, New York based monster/disaster movie featuring the creature Cthulhu.
Production Package - Cthulhu Artwork
Cthulhu is a favourite in a lot of pop culture and fan art in this day and age, with a generally accepted look in this day and age. We will be commissioning an illustrator or graphic designer to help us with our own conception of Cthulhu, although I imagine he will look quite similar to most designs people have come up with. Here are a few examples of Cthulhu's look:
The top 2 and bottom 1 are just fan art people have drawn up, however the third image is from a recent cartoons interpretation, Rick and Morty, while the fourth image is from the popular three part Cthulhu episode of South Park.
This gives a general idea of what Cthulhu looks like. Once our artist is commissioned I shall post what our Cthulhu will look like up here.
The top 2 and bottom 1 are just fan art people have drawn up, however the third image is from a recent cartoons interpretation, Rick and Morty, while the fourth image is from the popular three part Cthulhu episode of South Park.
This gives a general idea of what Cthulhu looks like. Once our artist is commissioned I shall post what our Cthulhu will look like up here.
Production Package - Language of Cthulhu - R'lyehian
The phrase I found and posted in my other most recent blog was written in Cthulhu's language. ancient R'lyehian. We thought it would be interesting to include this within our piece. Here is the basis for the language we found (so it doesn't look made up by us in the script!)
Vocabulary List
R'lyehian Word / Root English
- - agl-(suffix) place
- ah-generic action, e.g. greet, eat, do
- 'ai-speak / call
- athg-sign (contract) / agree to
- 'bthnk-body / essence
- bug-go
- c--(prefix) we / our
- ch' -cross over / travel
- chtenff-brotherhood / society
- ebumna-pit
- ee-answers
- ehye-cohesion / integrity
- ep-after; with hai, later / then
- f'- -(prefix) they / their
- 'fhalma-mother
- fhtagn-wait / sleep
- fm'latgh-burn
- ftaghu-skin/ boundary
- geb-here
- gnaiih-father
- gof'nn-children
- goka-grant
- gotha-wish
- grah'n-lost one / larva
- h'--(prefix) it / its
- hafh'drn-priest / summoner
- hai-now
- hlirgh-heretic
- hrii-followers
- hupadgh-born of
- ilyaa-expect / await
- k'yarnak-share / exchange
- kadishtu-understand / know
- kn'a-question
- li'hee-on pain of
- llll-at / beside
- lloig-mind / psyche
- lw'nafh-dream / transmit
- mg-(conjunction) yet
- mnahn' -worthless
- n'gha-death
- n'ghft-darkness
- na- -(prefix) (contraction of nafl-)
- nafl--(prefix) not / (not-present tense)
- ng- -(prefix) (conjunction) and / then
- nglui-threshold
- nilgh'ri-anything / everything
- nnn--(prefix) watch / protect
- nog-come
- nw-head / place
- -nyth-(suffix) servant of
- -og-(suffix) (emphatic)
- ooboshu-visit
- -or-(suffix) force from / aspect of
- orr'e-soul / spirit
- -oth-(suffix) native of
- ph' - (prefix) over / beyond
- phlegeth-realm of information
- r'luh-secret / hidden
- ron-religion / cult
- s'uhn-pact
- sgn'wahl-share space
- shagg-realm of dreams
- shogg-realm of darkness
- shtunggli-notify / contact
- shugg-realm of Earth
- sll'ha-invite
- stell'bsna-ask / pray for
- syha'h-eternity
- tharanak-promise / bring
- throd-tremble
- uaaah-(finish spell)
- uh'e-people / crowd
- uln-call /summon
- vulgtlagln-pray to
- vulgtm-prayer
- wgah'n-reside in / control
- y'hah-amen
- y--(prefix) I / my
- ya-I
- -yar-(suffix) time of / moment
- zhro-(lift spell)
Monday, 10 February 2014
Production package - The Shoggoth and Cthulhus Awakening
So looking into more research, there are some other elements that we hope to include in our story that we have found and adapted from Lovecraft's story and Cthulhu Mythos.
There are creatures in the Mythos known as Shoggoth. Shoggoth are amorphous blobs essentially, that originally can take the form of anything or anyone. We have decided to use these within our story but adapt them. Instead of the Shoggoth being able to shape shift, we are going to use them to essentially 'infect' people, causing them to become followers of Cthulhu, and taking control of their bodies. We will have them polluting the water supply, so they are hidden when people drink water out of taps, have baths and showers etc. it is when people come into contact with this polluted water that the Shoggoth will infect them and have them become followers of Cthulhu.
As for awakening Cthulhu, I have before mentioned the earthquake and how it rises the city Cthulhu rests in. In the original story after this happens, Cthulhu is awoken, but still trapped, waiting for the stars to align in a particular way. It is when the stars align correctly, he can come out of his slumber again. We wanted to include this element within our story, but again adapted. After the city rises Cthulhu is awoken but still lies dormant and trapped. It is using the Shoggoth to form a new cult that will cause him to rise again. The newly formed Cult of Cthulhu will wait for the stars to align properly, and then perform a ritual to bring him out of his 'cage'. The ritual will include the chant used in the original being "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn".
We were also thinking of possibly incorporating Lovecraft himself within the story. After the main characters find out what the monster is, probably from the infected Humans, they do research into Cthulhu. I figured an interesting way to go about this would be for the characters to actually look into Lovecraft's literature themselves. The idea behind this being that Everything Lovecraft wrote was actually true, so the key to beating the monster lies in his own literature, such as the Necromomion. We thought this could be an interesting twist in the story, and if we can find a clever way to incorporate it, we will.
There are creatures in the Mythos known as Shoggoth. Shoggoth are amorphous blobs essentially, that originally can take the form of anything or anyone. We have decided to use these within our story but adapt them. Instead of the Shoggoth being able to shape shift, we are going to use them to essentially 'infect' people, causing them to become followers of Cthulhu, and taking control of their bodies. We will have them polluting the water supply, so they are hidden when people drink water out of taps, have baths and showers etc. it is when people come into contact with this polluted water that the Shoggoth will infect them and have them become followers of Cthulhu.
As for awakening Cthulhu, I have before mentioned the earthquake and how it rises the city Cthulhu rests in. In the original story after this happens, Cthulhu is awoken, but still trapped, waiting for the stars to align in a particular way. It is when the stars align correctly, he can come out of his slumber again. We wanted to include this element within our story, but again adapted. After the city rises Cthulhu is awoken but still lies dormant and trapped. It is using the Shoggoth to form a new cult that will cause him to rise again. The newly formed Cult of Cthulhu will wait for the stars to align properly, and then perform a ritual to bring him out of his 'cage'. The ritual will include the chant used in the original being "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn".
We were also thinking of possibly incorporating Lovecraft himself within the story. After the main characters find out what the monster is, probably from the infected Humans, they do research into Cthulhu. I figured an interesting way to go about this would be for the characters to actually look into Lovecraft's literature themselves. The idea behind this being that Everything Lovecraft wrote was actually true, so the key to beating the monster lies in his own literature, such as the Necromomion. We thought this could be an interesting twist in the story, and if we can find a clever way to incorporate it, we will.
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Production Package - basic story idea
In terms of the story of our piece, which has the Working Title "Call of Cthulhu" (the same name as Lovecraft's original) we wanted to loosely base it on the original story, however set in modern times.
According to research, Cthluhu was originally a god that ruled the Earth after coming from another realm, however, he was eventually put to sleep in an ancient city called R'lyeh, which sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. In the original story, an Earthquake brings R'lyeh up from the bottom of the ocean, where Cthulhu then telepathically communicates with unstable and mentally I'll people, in order to attempt to perform a ritual to wake him up.
We wanted to go with the same sort of premise, but with our own, modern twist. Cthulhu is said to be as tall as a mountain, thus we thought if he arose from the Pacific and attacked a city along the west coast of the USA, the obvious one would be LA, however we felt it should be situated in New York, especially considering the monsters size. LA would be too easy for him to destroy. Being set in New York, it has a direct correlation with other monster movies, and sets a better atmosphere due to the amount of skyscrapers. This lead us to decide Cthulhus size. Being as large as a mountain we thought may be too big.
Looking at the Empire State Building, it sits at 381m high, or 1250foot tall. We didn't want him larger than the tallest building in NY, so we have decided to have our Cthulhu standing at around 8-900 foot tall. Being in New York as well, would require him rising from the Atlantic Ocean, not the Pacific, thus we have had to change that as well.
As for the city of R'lyeh, we wanted to include another myth which more people have heard about, and that is the Lost City of Atlantis. Many believe Atlantis to sit at the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle, which is just off the East Coast of America. We figured we could have the characters realise a correlation from where Cthulhu rose from, and the amount of mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. Thus, we are going for this as a basic storyline on Cthluhu's side of things (main characters and protagonists storyline have not been determined yet)
Cthluhu once ruled the Earth, as in the original story. When put to sleep however, he was lured to and lulled to sleep in the great city of Atlantis, forcing it to sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, along with Cthulhu. It was Cthulhus presence and dark energy which caused the Bermuda Triangle rumours, with a sleeping Cthulhu using his god like powers to destroy any plane or ship that disturbed him, perhaps in an attempt to be noticed so he could be woke on up again. An earthquake at the start of our film, will cause part of the lost city to rise, along with Cthulhu. This will then help him to communicate with the unstable and mentally Ill, as he is closer to the surface, and he gets them to form a cult, that wake him up.
The finer details still need to be worked out, and more research will go into the process of waking Cthulhu up and how he was put to sleep in the first place etc, but this is the basic story that we have come up with so far.
According to research, Cthluhu was originally a god that ruled the Earth after coming from another realm, however, he was eventually put to sleep in an ancient city called R'lyeh, which sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. In the original story, an Earthquake brings R'lyeh up from the bottom of the ocean, where Cthulhu then telepathically communicates with unstable and mentally I'll people, in order to attempt to perform a ritual to wake him up.
We wanted to go with the same sort of premise, but with our own, modern twist. Cthulhu is said to be as tall as a mountain, thus we thought if he arose from the Pacific and attacked a city along the west coast of the USA, the obvious one would be LA, however we felt it should be situated in New York, especially considering the monsters size. LA would be too easy for him to destroy. Being set in New York, it has a direct correlation with other monster movies, and sets a better atmosphere due to the amount of skyscrapers. This lead us to decide Cthulhus size. Being as large as a mountain we thought may be too big.
Looking at the Empire State Building, it sits at 381m high, or 1250foot tall. We didn't want him larger than the tallest building in NY, so we have decided to have our Cthulhu standing at around 8-900 foot tall. Being in New York as well, would require him rising from the Atlantic Ocean, not the Pacific, thus we have had to change that as well.
As for the city of R'lyeh, we wanted to include another myth which more people have heard about, and that is the Lost City of Atlantis. Many believe Atlantis to sit at the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle, which is just off the East Coast of America. We figured we could have the characters realise a correlation from where Cthulhu rose from, and the amount of mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. Thus, we are going for this as a basic storyline on Cthluhu's side of things (main characters and protagonists storyline have not been determined yet)
Cthluhu once ruled the Earth, as in the original story. When put to sleep however, he was lured to and lulled to sleep in the great city of Atlantis, forcing it to sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, along with Cthulhu. It was Cthulhus presence and dark energy which caused the Bermuda Triangle rumours, with a sleeping Cthulhu using his god like powers to destroy any plane or ship that disturbed him, perhaps in an attempt to be noticed so he could be woke on up again. An earthquake at the start of our film, will cause part of the lost city to rise, along with Cthulhu. This will then help him to communicate with the unstable and mentally Ill, as he is closer to the surface, and he gets them to form a cult, that wake him up.
The finer details still need to be worked out, and more research will go into the process of waking Cthulhu up and how he was put to sleep in the first place etc, but this is the basic story that we have come up with so far.
Production Package - collaboration plans
Despite 3 of us working together, there will still be some collaboration from outside our course needed. We were thinking of contacting an illustrator, to create an overall design for our monster , Cthulhu. This could then help us when contacting a CG arts student, who we wanted to ask to create a 3d model for us, which we could hopefully then process through a 3d printer in order to have a small model to give a better look at how we envision Cthulhu to be.
Next, perhaps with the same illustrator, we are aiming to get a storyboard commissioned. OT for the entire film, but for the first couple of scenes. This could then be taken and placed into a short video featuring still images and sound effects to give a visual representation of the opening of our film.
I have also contacted, and am waiting to here back from a friend who has recently graduated a film music course, who is looking to expand his portfolio. I have asked if he would be willing to create a sound track for the film, featuring a couple of musical scores that could be placed on cd with the package, and perhaps even used for our title sequence and in the storyboard.
As a team we will be sending emails out for the collaborators we do need this week, in the hope we can commission people early on, so we can crack on ourselves and hopefully have somethig to show at the green light presentation.
Next, perhaps with the same illustrator, we are aiming to get a storyboard commissioned. OT for the entire film, but for the first couple of scenes. This could then be taken and placed into a short video featuring still images and sound effects to give a visual representation of the opening of our film.
I have also contacted, and am waiting to here back from a friend who has recently graduated a film music course, who is looking to expand his portfolio. I have asked if he would be willing to create a sound track for the film, featuring a couple of musical scores that could be placed on cd with the package, and perhaps even used for our title sequence and in the storyboard.
As a team we will be sending emails out for the collaborators we do need this week, in the hope we can commission people early on, so we can crack on ourselves and hopefully have somethig to show at the green light presentation.
Production Package Concept
So for the production package, I will be working in a team of 3 with James Ogden and Jamie Shaw.
The idea we came up with was to create a production package for a new monster movie, based on HP. Lovecraft's monster, Cthulhu.
We have taken inspiration from other monster movies, such as Godzilla and Cloverfield, but wanted it stylistically to be very over the top, such as the 2013 monster movie, Sharknado.
Using the monster Cthulhu has many benefits for us. The design of the monster is practically determined for us already, as he is a popular monster that many games and cartoons tend to feature. we just feel we will benefit from having our own interpretation of Cthulhu drawn up for us, possibly a 3D model made to show what he is really like.
The movie will be based around New York, set in the modern day, unlike the original Lovecraft story, which was set in the 1920's, around the time the story was written.
My main role in this project will be focusing on the writing aspect, coming up with the characters, plot line and writing the overall synopsis and 90 odd page script. James will aid me in the writin however the main bulk will be done by me, whilst James focuses more on the marketing and casting side of things, and Jamie will take the visual side.
The idea we came up with was to create a production package for a new monster movie, based on HP. Lovecraft's monster, Cthulhu.
We have taken inspiration from other monster movies, such as Godzilla and Cloverfield, but wanted it stylistically to be very over the top, such as the 2013 monster movie, Sharknado.
Using the monster Cthulhu has many benefits for us. The design of the monster is practically determined for us already, as he is a popular monster that many games and cartoons tend to feature. we just feel we will benefit from having our own interpretation of Cthulhu drawn up for us, possibly a 3D model made to show what he is really like.
The movie will be based around New York, set in the modern day, unlike the original Lovecraft story, which was set in the 1920's, around the time the story was written.
My main role in this project will be focusing on the writing aspect, coming up with the characters, plot line and writing the overall synopsis and 90 odd page script. James will aid me in the writin however the main bulk will be done by me, whilst James focuses more on the marketing and casting side of things, and Jamie will take the visual side.
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