Journals60
Newest
Mindoir's Child
2 min read
Some of you have been kind enough to show your interest in the comic I'm writing based on Mass Effect. If you're clueless about this, you can check out the first few drafts here.
If you're a fan, then it might interest you to know that I was writing some more for it in the wee hours today as I couldn't sleep. Time is still at a premium so it won't be hurled at you quickly, but I have been working on it and though I don't have the cells rendered yet, I thought I'd share some excerpts with you. The general tone is dark, but I like my banter so worked on some of that for insertion. If you've got any thoughts, let me know, and if you really want to see more, keep bugging me. Very little spurs me on like ego-stroking.
Or money, but that's usually harder to come by. In all seriousness, I don't have a great many people I can bounce the script off whose opinion I both value and are familiar with the source material, so I'm always grateful for any feedback from you guys, even if I don't have time to respond quickly.
Thanks in advance,
Chris
---
VEGA: We're all going down there?
SHEPARD: Yeah.
VEGA: All of us. At once. In one squad.
SHEPARD: Is there a problem?
VEGA: No, it's just usually you forget there's more than three seats in the shuttle.
SHEPARD: (beat) Shut up, Vega.
---
SALTER: Garrus, me ol' chum! I can't remember the last time I saw your sexy mug. You still hanging around with that fairy, Arkel? How is the cock-rider?
It still baffled Turians that Humans placed such importance on sexual preference. A sociologist might have had something insightful to say.
GARRUS: I killed him.
Garrus wasn't a sociologist.
---
SHEPARD: Tell me where Vask is and I'll shoot you in the head.
BATARIAN: 'Or.' You mean 'or', right?
SHEPARD: Good call. Tell me where Vask is OR I'll shoot your limbs off joint by joint.
BATARIAN: Wh-what?
SHEPARD: Tell me.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
From the moment Howard Shore begins to expand upon the greatest score of his lifetime and Ian Holm's kindly old Bilbo begins to tell us the story of the Dwarves of Erebor, it's as if we never left Middle Earth and one is forced to wonder how on Earth we survived the past ten or so Christmases without a return journey. An Unexpected Journey is easily the weakest of Jackson's Tolkien films so far, but given the caliber of cinema that came before and the relatively lightweight nature of the source material, that was always on the cards, just as Fellowship of the Ring couldn't match up to its sequels in terms of grandiose spectacle or rip-roaring action.
To get the negatives out of the way first, the film is far from perfect. Its 300-hour running time is near indefensible, with the opening scenes in the Shire taking an Age of Middle-Earth before Martin Freeman's younger hobbit sets out on his adventure, and whilst the sweeping helicopter shots of the party hiking through Middle-Earth are as beautiful as ever (It's really no wonder the New Zealand Government was so eager to host this trilogy), there is the sense that there's a few too many than are needed. The party itself, consisting of Bilbo, Ian McKellan's twinkly-eyed Gandalf and 13 mostly interchangeable Dwarves is hardly as iconic or memorable as the Fellowship of Nine. With the exception of Ken Stott's kindly Balin and James Nesbitt's joke-ridden… whichever one he played, the majority are there simply for necessity's sake and contribute less to the story than Jackson's indulgent additions to the original text.
It is here that the filmmaker will invite criticism the most. Making a trilogy of three-hour films out of a book less than three times the length of Lord of the Rings necessitates the inclusion of things we might not have expected. In some cases they work perfectly. Right from the start the flashback to the ancient Dwarf kingdom under the Lonely Mountain is as impressive as the first time we beheld Minas Tirith, with the underground city looking exactly as it should. Balin's tale of when he beheld Thorin battling Azog (Manu Bennett of Spartacus fame) immediately reminds us of the unmatched battle scenes Jackson became famous for after the turn of the century, and the inclusion of Radagast the Brown, a 'lesser' Gandalf investigating the appearance of the 'Necromancer'; a villain we know will be revealed as Sauron also lends excitement and expands upon stories Tolkien himself only glanced at. There are obvious filmmaking additions as well. Venturing into the Mountains in the book, one line describes how Bilbo saw stone giants; here that is transformed into a ten-minute action scene, and, perhaps recognizing the fairly slack pace the story moves at, the inclusion of Azog as a hunting nemesis, forever on the heels of the Dwarves adds some needed tension.
By and large, it must be said that the film works for the most part, brought down primarily by its needless length and the fact that it must be compared to Jackson's original trilogy. In this, it meets the same judgment as the material it is based upon. The Hobbit is a very good children's book, but it doesn't come close to the epic nature or majesty of The Lord of the Rings and so the same can be said of the film. It is a very good piece of cinema, less disappointing than Christopher Nolan's Batman finale, not as over-praised as Skyfall but unfortunately just plain not as good as Fellowship of the Ring.
One thing it can hold over that film however is a piece of masterpiece theatre taken directly from the book. The Riddles in the Dark section pits Bilbo (who, it should be said, is considerably more fun and easier to root for than his nephew, Frodo) against Andy Serkis' magnificent Gollum whose twin personalities give us as good a show as any we've seen before; indeed the scene is really one of three characters and not two. Gollum is charming, sweet and innocent, yet at the same time deathly threatening and psychopathic. The scene alone warrants Oscar consideration for special effects. Though as impressive as ever throughout (with the odd exception of Azog whose feline face looks oddly unreal at times), such is the quality of CGI on display in Gollum's cave, and so good have Weta become at mimicking the facial expressions of Serkis and integrating the character into the scene, that it's nigh on impossible to forget that what we're seeing isn't actually real. Such is the impact of this scene that at its finale when Bilbo is poised for the killing blow and pity stays his hand, we can't help but agree as he looks into the eyes of Smeagol for an instant and sees a lost, terrified child, one who gained a number of audible and heartfelt sobs from the theatre I sat in. This image is lost all too quickly and Gollum's more evil half asserts itself once more, immediately heightening the threat to Baggins, but if any were forced to wonder why it was Bilbo didn't kill the creature, An Unexpected Journey not only answers that question but dares you to suggest you would have done any different. The fact that such emotion stems from a computer generated image is exceptional, and all but gives the film an extra star all by itself. In fact, fuck it. This is my review and I make the rules. This scene takes the 65% scoring film you've seen on Rotten Tomatoes, and drags it high into the movie events of the year. It is reason enough for the entry fee.
There are, as said, a number of faults. Many of them are serious but none are critical (save perhaps the unjustified running time). Watching this film is however like being wrapped up in a story from your childhood and the simple truth is that despite the early plodding pace, I didn't want it to end and come the final scene, I was desperate for more. If this is to be the weakest of Jackson's Hobbit trilogy (and given the events not covered, one suspects that's the case), then roll on the rest. I can't wait.
To get the negatives out of the way first, the film is far from perfect. Its 300-hour running time is near indefensible, with the opening scenes in the Shire taking an Age of Middle-Earth before Martin Freeman's younger hobbit sets out on his adventure, and whilst the sweeping helicopter shots of the party hiking through Middle-Earth are as beautiful as ever (It's really no wonder the New Zealand Government was so eager to host this trilogy), there is the sense that there's a few too many than are needed. The party itself, consisting of Bilbo, Ian McKellan's twinkly-eyed Gandalf and 13 mostly interchangeable Dwarves is hardly as iconic or memorable as the Fellowship of Nine. With the exception of Ken Stott's kindly Balin and James Nesbitt's joke-ridden… whichever one he played, the majority are there simply for necessity's sake and contribute less to the story than Jackson's indulgent additions to the original text.
It is here that the filmmaker will invite criticism the most. Making a trilogy of three-hour films out of a book less than three times the length of Lord of the Rings necessitates the inclusion of things we might not have expected. In some cases they work perfectly. Right from the start the flashback to the ancient Dwarf kingdom under the Lonely Mountain is as impressive as the first time we beheld Minas Tirith, with the underground city looking exactly as it should. Balin's tale of when he beheld Thorin battling Azog (Manu Bennett of Spartacus fame) immediately reminds us of the unmatched battle scenes Jackson became famous for after the turn of the century, and the inclusion of Radagast the Brown, a 'lesser' Gandalf investigating the appearance of the 'Necromancer'; a villain we know will be revealed as Sauron also lends excitement and expands upon stories Tolkien himself only glanced at. There are obvious filmmaking additions as well. Venturing into the Mountains in the book, one line describes how Bilbo saw stone giants; here that is transformed into a ten-minute action scene, and, perhaps recognizing the fairly slack pace the story moves at, the inclusion of Azog as a hunting nemesis, forever on the heels of the Dwarves adds some needed tension.
By and large, it must be said that the film works for the most part, brought down primarily by its needless length and the fact that it must be compared to Jackson's original trilogy. In this, it meets the same judgment as the material it is based upon. The Hobbit is a very good children's book, but it doesn't come close to the epic nature or majesty of The Lord of the Rings and so the same can be said of the film. It is a very good piece of cinema, less disappointing than Christopher Nolan's Batman finale, not as over-praised as Skyfall but unfortunately just plain not as good as Fellowship of the Ring.
One thing it can hold over that film however is a piece of masterpiece theatre taken directly from the book. The Riddles in the Dark section pits Bilbo (who, it should be said, is considerably more fun and easier to root for than his nephew, Frodo) against Andy Serkis' magnificent Gollum whose twin personalities give us as good a show as any we've seen before; indeed the scene is really one of three characters and not two. Gollum is charming, sweet and innocent, yet at the same time deathly threatening and psychopathic. The scene alone warrants Oscar consideration for special effects. Though as impressive as ever throughout (with the odd exception of Azog whose feline face looks oddly unreal at times), such is the quality of CGI on display in Gollum's cave, and so good have Weta become at mimicking the facial expressions of Serkis and integrating the character into the scene, that it's nigh on impossible to forget that what we're seeing isn't actually real. Such is the impact of this scene that at its finale when Bilbo is poised for the killing blow and pity stays his hand, we can't help but agree as he looks into the eyes of Smeagol for an instant and sees a lost, terrified child, one who gained a number of audible and heartfelt sobs from the theatre I sat in. This image is lost all too quickly and Gollum's more evil half asserts itself once more, immediately heightening the threat to Baggins, but if any were forced to wonder why it was Bilbo didn't kill the creature, An Unexpected Journey not only answers that question but dares you to suggest you would have done any different. The fact that such emotion stems from a computer generated image is exceptional, and all but gives the film an extra star all by itself. In fact, fuck it. This is my review and I make the rules. This scene takes the 65% scoring film you've seen on Rotten Tomatoes, and drags it high into the movie events of the year. It is reason enough for the entry fee.
There are, as said, a number of faults. Many of them are serious but none are critical (save perhaps the unjustified running time). Watching this film is however like being wrapped up in a story from your childhood and the simple truth is that despite the early plodding pace, I didn't want it to end and come the final scene, I was desperate for more. If this is to be the weakest of Jackson's Hobbit trilogy (and given the events not covered, one suspects that's the case), then roll on the rest. I can't wait.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Oi oi. Yeah okay, so other people have thousands of followers. But I'9ve been looking at that milestone for a while now and it's nice to pass it. Anyway, just a wee update for... anyone who actually follows my journal entries. I'm not sure if that's actually a quantifiable number or not. Whatever.
In any case, it's not escaped my knowledge that I've gotten a bit more attention recently than I usually do. A lot of this is due to the love I've received for 'Vakarian' hayter.deviantart.com/art/Vaka… which within two days became the most popular thing I've ever uploaded in dA in 7 years. Big love to everyone who liked it and especially those who took the time to comment. If I didn't (or don't) respond to yours, apologies but I'm relatively busy procrastinating elsewhere. Aside from anything else, my laptop has had an unfortunate encounter with a friend's foot and a mug of coffee so things are a little more caffeinated than they should be.
As a follow up of sorts to that and 'Mass Effect Looper', I've been planning a Mordin image now for weeks. Although it didn't turn out quite according to plan one of the things I liked in 'Vakarian' was the snowstorm effect I achieved through brushing, and I pictured a similar (albeit considerably more serene) type of layout which utilised blossom leaves in some form. They might form and break away from the body outline, may just serve as a background; I dunno. These plans always change halfway through an image so I never spend too long on them.
I've had a basic sketch of Mrdin's planned pose for a couple of weeks now, and this morning I had a bit of an urge to open up Photoshop. Taking advantage, because that feeling is rarer of late, I done an image. And, as those of you who've seen it will know, it's not Mordin,but in fact my other favourite squaddie from ME2, Grunt, and the piece is called simply Krogan. The fiery particle effect was one I've been meaning to do for a few days now and I didn't think it'd particularly suit the scientist. Personally I prefer it to 'Vakarian' but I know Grunt doesn't have the same love that Garrus does so I doubt it'll prove as popular.
If any of you are curious as to the state of my ME comic, Mindoir's Child, well, that pleases me. It's a fun project but it's also very time consuming and can get monotonous so all the support counts doubly for it. I'm still working on it, but I'm also trying to decide exactly what style I want before I do any more. I've veered from black and white Sin City to technicolour through washed out pastels and I still haven't made up my mind. You might see some more tests before I continue proper.
I've also been vaguely distracted by writing.com. I'm cdmurray over there if any of you are members. Don't expect to spend days with it though. These books without pictures will never catch on...
So cheers for following, thanks for reading and ta very much for engaging. I'm as egomaniacal as anyone so it does me a world of good when I feel the love.
Keep on frakking,
Chris
In any case, it's not escaped my knowledge that I've gotten a bit more attention recently than I usually do. A lot of this is due to the love I've received for 'Vakarian' hayter.deviantart.com/art/Vaka… which within two days became the most popular thing I've ever uploaded in dA in 7 years. Big love to everyone who liked it and especially those who took the time to comment. If I didn't (or don't) respond to yours, apologies but I'm relatively busy procrastinating elsewhere. Aside from anything else, my laptop has had an unfortunate encounter with a friend's foot and a mug of coffee so things are a little more caffeinated than they should be.
As a follow up of sorts to that and 'Mass Effect Looper', I've been planning a Mordin image now for weeks. Although it didn't turn out quite according to plan one of the things I liked in 'Vakarian' was the snowstorm effect I achieved through brushing, and I pictured a similar (albeit considerably more serene) type of layout which utilised blossom leaves in some form. They might form and break away from the body outline, may just serve as a background; I dunno. These plans always change halfway through an image so I never spend too long on them.
I've had a basic sketch of Mrdin's planned pose for a couple of weeks now, and this morning I had a bit of an urge to open up Photoshop. Taking advantage, because that feeling is rarer of late, I done an image. And, as those of you who've seen it will know, it's not Mordin,but in fact my other favourite squaddie from ME2, Grunt, and the piece is called simply Krogan. The fiery particle effect was one I've been meaning to do for a few days now and I didn't think it'd particularly suit the scientist. Personally I prefer it to 'Vakarian' but I know Grunt doesn't have the same love that Garrus does so I doubt it'll prove as popular.
If any of you are curious as to the state of my ME comic, Mindoir's Child, well, that pleases me. It's a fun project but it's also very time consuming and can get monotonous so all the support counts doubly for it. I'm still working on it, but I'm also trying to decide exactly what style I want before I do any more. I've veered from black and white Sin City to technicolour through washed out pastels and I still haven't made up my mind. You might see some more tests before I continue proper.
I've also been vaguely distracted by writing.com. I'm cdmurray over there if any of you are members. Don't expect to spend days with it though. These books without pictures will never catch on...
So cheers for following, thanks for reading and ta very much for engaging. I'm as egomaniacal as anyone so it does me a world of good when I feel the love.
Keep on frakking,
Chris
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Facebook... and tings
2 min read
There's a bandwagon, and I'm jumping on it. I've set myself up a wee facebook page for my artwork. You can check it out at www.facebook.com/chrismurraypr…
In other news the latest chapter of my life has come to an end recently as I finished university and I now hold a 2:1 degree in law. This is good - the fact that I'm still two years and thousands of pounds away from a job as a lawyer less so.
The good news is that with that out of the way I should have more time to get some grafiking done. What to expect? Well since I've finally gotten around to playing Mass Effect 3 it's a safe bet there'll be more of that. Whether I plan on it or not I always seem to put out some new Star Trek images every year.
I do want to try some other things though. I'm a big Assassin's Creed fan, loved Saints Row 3 and since the irritatingly named SyFy seems as uniterested in Blood and Chrome as they do every other interesting science fiction idea that crosses their desk, I might try and tide myself over with some more BSG work.
I've a few ideas kicking around, so hopefully in the near future I'll be able to bump my standards up again and get some stuff out there that stands out.
As always comments and feedback are gratefully received. Thanks to everyone who's still following me and takes the time to interact. Life only gets busier so it's always appreciated.
Chris
In other news the latest chapter of my life has come to an end recently as I finished university and I now hold a 2:1 degree in law. This is good - the fact that I'm still two years and thousands of pounds away from a job as a lawyer less so.
The good news is that with that out of the way I should have more time to get some grafiking done. What to expect? Well since I've finally gotten around to playing Mass Effect 3 it's a safe bet there'll be more of that. Whether I plan on it or not I always seem to put out some new Star Trek images every year.
I do want to try some other things though. I'm a big Assassin's Creed fan, loved Saints Row 3 and since the irritatingly named SyFy seems as uniterested in Blood and Chrome as they do every other interesting science fiction idea that crosses their desk, I might try and tide myself over with some more BSG work.
I've a few ideas kicking around, so hopefully in the near future I'll be able to bump my standards up again and get some stuff out there that stands out.
As always comments and feedback are gratefully received. Thanks to everyone who's still following me and takes the time to interact. Life only gets busier so it's always appreciated.
Chris
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Mass Effect 3
2 min read
Before I go on, if you post any form of spoiler for this game as a response to this entry, I will find out where you live, come round to your house and gut you with a rusty spoon called Eric.
I haven't played it yet.
I really want to play it.
I'm too busy to play it right now.
I DON'T WANT TO HEAR WHAT FUCKING HAPPENS IN IT BEFORE I PLAY IT.
So I've disabled commenting on most of my ME deviations because I'd forgotten how fucking inconsiderate some idiot gamers are when it comes to spoilers. You've played it, you love it, fantastic. Hate it, unfortunate. But keep it the fuck to yourself.
I've waited years for this game and I'd rather not have it ruined before I start by some arsehole who'd rather talk about what happened to their character than comment on a piece of artwork, on an art website.
If you're not one of these arseholes, then obviously ignore this. If you are, you're going to the same part of Hell reserved for paedophiles and people who talk in the theatre. Fuck you.
I haven't played it yet.
I really want to play it.
I'm too busy to play it right now.
I DON'T WANT TO HEAR WHAT FUCKING HAPPENS IN IT BEFORE I PLAY IT.
So I've disabled commenting on most of my ME deviations because I'd forgotten how fucking inconsiderate some idiot gamers are when it comes to spoilers. You've played it, you love it, fantastic. Hate it, unfortunate. But keep it the fuck to yourself.
I've waited years for this game and I'd rather not have it ruined before I start by some arsehole who'd rather talk about what happened to their character than comment on a piece of artwork, on an art website.
If you're not one of these arseholes, then obviously ignore this. If you are, you're going to the same part of Hell reserved for paedophiles and people who talk in the theatre. Fuck you.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In