Stuff, Things and Such

Whats that?

2010-06-20T20:35:00.002+01:00

There's a new splash page over at Dreamleak?

Yes!

Does this mean the comic will be online soon!?

Umm...hang on a sec....

...

...

.

I've no love lost for jam.

2010-03-19T00:17:00.008Z

Hello you.

I just finished gluing together a basic website for Arcus so please whiz on over to arcusstudios.co.uk and take a look! It's got our showreel and a talking cloud and everything!*

Also, here's a very short excerpt from a script we wrote and submitted to the Channel 4 comedy lab. We created this in less than 2 days to support our submission.

*it doesn't have everything.

SHOWREEL! THINGS!

2009-12-09T22:37:00.008Z

^That's my latest showreel!

^That's completed work I did for CBBC!

^That's me in front of the Channel 4 building in Lon-don!

Myself and the other chaps from Arcus attended the E4 Estings awards ceremony last friday which was pretty cool I guess.

We didn't win anything unfortunately (the grand prize went to the lovely Cyriak Harris of whom I've been a fan of for years now.) but there was a reasonably priced bar (free) and we got in pretty tight with the head of E4 who gave us a personal tour of the building. (He only wanted to show us how the main entrance looks like a giant cock and balls when viewed from the top floor.)

Sweet!

Here's something...

2009-11-12T00:13:00.006Z

Something exciting and terrifying! Tomorrow my Esting goes live and shall be broadcast on national TV for a year or so. Hurrah!

Now, that's all rather splendid but it's not actually the exciting and terrifying thing I talking about...

I got animation work! For potential legal reasons I cannot say exactly who I'm working for so all I'll say is that their initials are B, B and C. We've been commissioned to create some animation for them and it's definitely going to be broadcast nationwide and then put on their website! So that's the exciting part but here's th- OH YEAH we get paid aswell- here's the terrifying part:

We have been given until the 20th of this month (now only 1 week from now) to deliver to them five 45 second 2D hand-drawn cartoons at a broadcast standard. I'd imagine a larger studio with many animators might just be able to handle such a request, but we are literally just a couple of bedroom animators, that is to say, the very talented colleague James and myself. Just the two of us with dodgy computers, and although James is very talented and I can just about wield a graphics tablet proficiently enough, we haven't actually yet worked on anything together before this, so this mammoth task is really our ice breaker into the whole production process. Ooer.

Still, it seems to be going pretty good. We've been working 15 hour days for best part of a week now and our target of completing a cartoon every two days seems to be holding out so far.

Here's a background wot I dun drew that has been dubbed "That Princess Mononoke Shot:"

(because the camera moves forward through the shot all pretty like.)

Dreamleak update

2009-11-03T03:24:00.006Z

After nothing for best part of a year, strangely, I get two whole emails in the same week from (as far as I can tell) two completely unrelated people. They asked about my old webcomic 'Dreamleak' and whether or not I'd ever be continuing it and if so when.

To be honest I was pretty surprised to find out anyone even remembered about it after all this time. However, I was even more surprised to discover (according to the stat counter) that I was still getting a fair amount of hits each day. I like to think that there are a whole horde of die hard fans religiously checking every single day for an update, waiting with an undying faith that one day Dreamleak shall return and with it, a second age of badly-drawn-barely-enjoyable-but-curiously-enticing comicery will come. Or it's just some bots.

Either way I don't think an update would hurt.

Basically I've gone back and actually written the thing this time. I have a massive script all written up and spangly looking and I've started roughing out the pages. There's a few of rough panels hidden in this very post! Can you spot them?

Being pretty busy with work these days I don't get much time to work on Dreamleak, but it's coming together slowly but surely. It's quite different from before but I'm certain it's for the better. It may not blow your socks completely off, per se, but maybe it'll loosen them from your toes a wee bit. As for when? How does early next year sound?

No? Well tough! :D

2009-11-02T14:38:00.000Z

Another exciting update:

2009-09-20T00:31:00.003+01:00

1. House move went OK. The only casualties were two of my favourite chunky tumblers and my bank balance.

2. The business is now on hold for a few more months until early next year, due to one of our team getting a temp job writing for CBBC the lucky bugger!

3. Because of this one of my new house mates, who is a founder of animation studio Polygon Fiction has invited me to work with them for a few months. They've been working on a stunning looking rotoscoped short for best part of a year now and I'm really looking forward to being a part of it! Check out this clip of theirs:

4. Out of over 700 entries to the E4 Estings competition ours was one of the 15 finalists! Hurrah! This means our work is now going to be shown on national TV for a whole year and we stand a chance to win the prize of £5000 and a contract deal with E4! Even more hurrahs!

5. I finally figured out a perfect ending for Dreamleak today after two years of it eluding me! SUPER HURRAH!

"But Greg," you might be thinking, "Everything seems to be going really well for you at the moment. What gives?" Well actually to balance it all out I have no money and I've just attended my first Job Seekers Allowance interview and it was just about the single most depressing, degrading and downright unpleasant experience of my life. And I have to do it every fortnight from now on.

GOOD TIMES

Update!

2009-08-25T13:45:00.006+01:00

I can't believe how often I keep forgetting to update this thing...

1. So the pitch went well. We did indeed manage to get the full £16,000 grant to help set up our very own animation studio! Hurrah!

2. I finally went back home to Scotland for a couple of weeks and it was lovely and rainy. (I still went camping though!)

3. Whilst at home I made very good and exciting progress with Dreamleak so it shan't be long now 'til I can get cracking with it again!

4. Found a new place to live next year and although it's in a terrible area of Newcastle it's great 'cos it's dirt cheap! (And it actually is a rather nice house)

5. Just completed animating our entry into the E4 Estings competition! (still haven't been to bed though)

6. Here it is:

7. ALSO BONUS: Here's the short teaser animation thing we pitched with:

Twitter?

2009-07-22T01:25:00.003+01:00

I'm not usually one to go along with these social networking things because I do infact hate everyone I've ever met. Ever.

So you may be suprised to find that I went and got a Twitter!

http://twitter.com/GregtheFraser

I've even put it on the side of the blog!

GOSH!

A long boring post

2009-07-19T00:07:00.003+01:00

I graduated yesterday. It was great. I looked like some sort of hideous wizard in my ill-fitting gown and mortar. There was a procession of a load of important old people from the university all garbed in wonderfully colourful intricate robes being led slowly up the aisle and onto the stage by a man with A HUGE SWORD. However, despite weilding the impressive sword he didn't look very pleased, he seemed to just mope and grimace and then lay it down on a table before skulking away to sit down. They all sat at the back of the stage staring out over the audience silently, looking all very important and such. I think I was supposed to have known who they were.

I'd guess there was about 500 or so students graduating during that particular ceremony, it just so happened that my course had to be the very last one to go up and shake that important looking mans' hand. Every now and then the man would have a chat with the odd graduate and hold the handshake, during these conversations he would tap the graduate on the back of their hand with the index finger of his free hand several times. I hoped when my turn came he wouldn't do it to me. He did.

Before you moved out onto the stage you had to hand the announcer a barcoded name card from which he read your name and if you'd won any academic awards to the audience. Because I'd won the best animated film award I got a round of applause as I moved towards the old robed man, arm reaching out ready to greet me. I smiled as I approached and met his greeting, the applause thundering loud behind me. I thanked him quickly in hopes I'd get away quickly but then I felt the first tap on the back of my hand. He had me. And now he was talking to me. Don't get me wrong he was really genuinely nice and courteous and I would have really liked to have talked to him more but the fact was there were well over a thousand people staring at my back and by now their clapping had died down and all was silent. He asked me a few questions and I answered them, I think I even made him laugh at one point but I wasn't aware of anything other than all those eyes on my back and those countless taps on the back of my hand. Afterwards my Dad said I was talking to him for a good half minute. I believe the only reason it happened is because I actively didn't want it to happen.

So anyway, afterwards there was a speech or two and then that grimacing old man returned to pick up his sword and lead them all out again into the driving rain. I like to think that afterwards he'd be off to go slay an orc or two down Big Market. Or some chavs at the very least.

So there we go. My life in Uni and educashun has come to an end. With an unhappy man with a sword slowly wandering off into the rain.

Brill!

All the graduates that evening were no doubt out celebrating with friends and family long into the night. I, on the otherhand, went home, then left again to buy a sandwhich (in my suit) then went home again and worked on the the current animation.

Tuesday is the big day. We're off to Digital City to pitch/presentation out little hearts out and show this completed animation to a panel of investors, Dragon's Den stylee.

This'll be good.

The grumpiness continues..

2009-07-02T21:17:00.004+01:00

I just saw an advert on TV for this:

What's the deal Hollywood? Are you TRYING to make me grumpy? Donnie Darko was a perfectly formed self-contained cult indie classic! This is quite obviously nothing more than a quick and nasty cash-in. The fact that it is a straight to DVD release says enough but the fact that I becasme aware of this films existence through an ASDA advert...

I cannot even begin to comprehend how bad this film will be.

Also, with a quick search, apparently the director Chris Fisher directed an episode of that Chuck program and so is in some way affiliated with "McG."

I am so unhappy right now.

Blog Post (Bloast)

2009-07-02T01:32:00.004+01:00

A list of notable things worth mentioning since my last post:

(in order of importance)

I bought a fantastic hat!
Gala screening went quite well. My animation was the last film to be shown on the night, which is usually indicative of good things.
One of said good things turned out to be winning the Best Animation award! Or rather, the 'Tim Webb Award for Best Animation!' I do not know who Tim Webb is but I'm sure he's rather important if he has an award named after him! And he gave me a drawing of a street with cars in!
There was an AMAZING rainfall today! The raindrops were the biggest I'd ever seen in my life! It looked and sounded as if it were a downpour of marbles!
I'm now actually involved in setting up a business with a bunch of very talented chaps. I don't want to go on about it too much just yet because nothing is completely set in stone yet, but things are looking very very promising indeed!
I discovered that I really like Fruit Sherberts!
I succeeded in watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back in one sitting for the second time in my life! (That's the extended editions I might add!)
In the wake of Terminator: 'McGisafuckwit' Salvation, Transformers: 'IcannotbelieveIpaid£6.50towatchMichealBaywankoffinmyfaceAGAIN' Revenge of the Fallen and a terribly dissapointing Glastonbury I have now completely given up on all forms of contemporary popular entertainment. It's all worthless nonsense for worthless people with no sense! BAH!
Summer is now well and truely here. There is a heat wave, fantastic thunder storms roll across the countryside and I am stuck inside. Working. And I still haven't been able to go home for a break since Uni ended. GETTIN' GRUMPY!
I also passed Uni with a 2-1.

Tune in next time where I will probably have horribly murdered someone out of sheer grumpiness!

For the first time since I was 5 I'm out of full time education.

2009-05-20T03:23:00.003+01:00

So how did I spend the first day of the rest of my life?

Get up at 11am, have a bowl of Honey Hoops and watch half an episode of The Prisoner. IN MY PYJAMAS.

It felt awesome in an destitute kind of way.

I then went and met up with a few friends, got 'mostly drunk' by mid-afternoon and went screen hopping at the cinema.

Conclusions are as follows...

Coraline: Dissapointing. Stunning animation, probably much better in 3D. Story felt rushed, pacing was off and it seemed any subtext in the dialogue must have been fired from a giant 'obvious cannon' into the Sun of exposition. Seriously, it's like the filmic equivalent of having someone follow you around all day rubbing shit in your face while constantly telling you that he actually is rubbing shit in your face. Nicely animated-probably-better-in-3D-shit that is.

Star Trek: Suprisingly enjoyable. Never really been a Trekkie myself so I went in without much expectations execpt that it was probably going to be a fully blown CGI wank fest like so much of what Hollywood noisily strains out onto our screens these days. Well it did have enough CGI to make your eyes bleed, but bleed in a good way, if that's at all possible. It all looked amazing with the only possible exception being that unusual streak of lens flare that seemed to flash across the screen every five bloody seconds. But as we all should know (I LOOKING AT YOU MICHAEL BAY) you can't have a good film on special effects alone. Luckily the story was decent enough, characters were interesting and believable and Simon Peggs 'Scottish' accent wasn't a complete embaressment.

So yeah, today was a pretty ok day.

Hurrah! I've finished all my Uni work!

2009-05-18T22:13:00.005+01:00

Now I'm unemployed.

Annoyingly, I can't actually post up my completed animation for anyone to see because I'd be disqualified for entering it into many festivals if I did, but to be honest, I don't really know if it's quite festival worthy or not. I'll wait until my end of year gala screening next month to see how it goes down with the audience. And who knows, if I'm lucky I might pick up the best animation award! Oooooh!

ONE WEEK LEFT!

2009-05-11T01:44:00.000+01:00

My underwear has officially been soiled.

Fucking airplanes.

2009-05-09T02:32:00.001+01:00

They're all bastards. The whole lot of 'em.

>:(

It's coming along (still)

2009-04-14T17:21:00.002+01:00

Not much time left now until this animation had better be in at least a partially viewable state. :(

Turning 22 back at the beginning of April I realised that I've now been seriously* working on this Woodsend animation 'thing' for a WHOLE YEAR OF MY LIFE.

THIS IS A TERRIFYING FACT.

*not as seriously as I probably should have been.

THIS IS LIVING.

2009-03-26T22:56:00.005Z

I meant to go to Morrisons and do my weekly shop after I came home from Uni today but then I found Crocodile Dundee II was on FilmFour and so I forwent a healthy nutritious evening meal in favour of a load of cheesey Wotsits I found lurking at the back of my cupboard while I watched everybodys favourite outback adventurer naively blunder his charming way through 'modern' New York City. Again.

As Paul Hogans freezeframed smile faded to credits I realised there was still plenty of time to go shopping but ultimately felt too digusted with myself to show my face in public. But, was this because I gorged myself on Wotsits or because I watched Crocodile Dundee II and enjoyed it?

Answers on a postcard.

Also: A seemingly topless man maniacly levitating an orange sponge slice with his mind...

Compulsory bloggage

2009-03-26T00:26:00.004Z

I'm sorry baby, I know I haven't treated you proper recently but...but I can change. I tell you, I CAN change. I WILL start blogging at least once a day I swear. See? I'm doin' it right now! What do you mean it's past midnight and its already tommorow? Shut up you fool or they'll be on to both of u...

Oh hello there, my blog and I didn't see you standing there in that lonely doorway, with your legs. Do come in and take a look at this short thing I did for a Dutch childrens song DVD thing to introduce the letter J over Christmas. I used ToonBoom Studio and, for the first time ever, After Effects!

See you again tomorrow, perhaps.

Are they gone? Good! What? Stop shouting at me! Why do you always have to do this?!

Woodsend WiP

2009-03-24T21:24:00.006Z

I got tired of having nothing terribly exciting or impressive to show of my uni project so I edited together a few line animations:

Still nothing terribly exciting or impressive but at least I can see this scene kinda works! Hurrah!

Look! It's a jogging owl...

2009-03-24T00:52:00.001Z

See?

EXCITING NEW BLOG

2009-03-24T00:32:00.002Z

I roasted parsnips tonight and now the house smells all earthy and sweet.

HOW'S THAT FOR AN EXCITING BLOG?!