P M W CREATIVE
LATEST NEWS
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13th August 2008
A dedicated
ANCIENT SKIES page is now
posted
here
A 6 minute 4k FullDome demo
reel was completed in Amsterdam by Tonsmann and Wakefield in
time for the International Planetarium Conference, and a version
was screened at SKY-SKAN's trade booth. The reel is available as
a download from the dedicated page, or can be viewed on-line at
http://www.vimeo.com/1496364
A 14 minute companion reel,
'EMPIRE OF STONE' is available to download from
showreels
or can be seen at
http://www.vimeo.com/1521048
Masked to a
'cinemascope' aspect ratio, and utilising the best material from
the ANCIENT SKIES pre-production shoots, the reel demonstrates
the current technical quality of the timelapse capture and
motion control systems. Music by
Steve Roach, Bola and Michael Stearns.
www.steveroach.com
www.michaelstearns.com
REMNANTS as a stand-alone
project continues to be developed. Now aimed at the HDTV and
Digital Projection market, a new reel has been cut, and the
search for completion funds is underway.
Wakefield has joined forces
with Bristol based timelapse specialists Robbie Allen and Ollie
Larkin at LOBSTER PICTURES, and their combined showreel is
available at
www.lobsterpictures.tv
A just-for-fun reel featuring
images from Wakefield's first job for LOBSTER - behind the
scenes at the Royal Opera House in London - can be viewed at
http://www.vimeo.com/1496187
Wakefield has additionally
signed with ARTBEATS stock footage library, following a deal
struck with Glenn Smith regarding the sale of images.
www.artbeats.com
Lasse Hoile will weave his
customary magic around these same images, incorporating them
into the live show projections for Swedish band OPETH on their
forthcoming European tour.
www.lassehoile.com
www.opeth.com
A 10 minute taster reel for
the proposed Open University is complete, and the pitch is
awaiting feedback from the OU and director Mike Greenwood.
Lee Parker has designed a new
lightweight, low cost, timelapse dolly system (a pre-cursor to
the planned miniaturisation of his 'Pirouette' system).
Construction of the prototype should start in September. He is
currently on location in Guatemala.
Glenn Marshall may be tempted
out of retirement (!) to produce FullDome background animations
for ANCIENT SKIES.
15th June 2008
Stage 03 of the ANCIENT SKIES
project has now been shot in an epic trip that took in Cumbria,
Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, and which generated
almost 30 mins. of material. Additionally six hours of video was
shot with Margaret Curtis.
Jan Tonsmann has completed
technical preparations for the edit, and work begins Monday 17th
in a session that will obviously run all the way to the wire!
The principal reason for the
delayed start was a short shoot in Paris that Wakefield recently
undertook, acting as 2nd Unit cameraman under DoP Yorgos
Arvanatis, for independent director Ken McMullen.
Director Mike Greenwood and
the OPEN UNIVERSITY have expressed interest in an off-shoot
project on the subject of Archaeo-Astronomy. A treatment and
editing of a taster reel is planned for mid to late July.
Discussions with Michael
Hedges' son Mischa are continuing on the DREAMING OUT LOUD
project. Major news is that the project has now gained the
confirmed attachment of producer Isabelle Collier. Her husband
Clive, a film maker whose credits include SANCTUARY - a portrait
of composer / vocalist Lisa Gerrard - is slated to co-direct.
The DVD is available from:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lisa-Gerrard-Sanctuary-Patrick-Cassidy/dp/B000OCY7NU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1213493317&sr=1-1
Discussions are also underway
with Zurich based producer / director Ray McCormack regarding a
feature length documentary, potentially being shot later this
year. McCormack's previous film, A CRUDE AWAKENING, won several
festival awards, has been screened worldwide, and was i-tunes
most downloaded film on the week of its release. It is also
available on DVD:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crude-Awakening-Oil-Crash/dp/B0011W2IL0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1213492844&sr=1-1
Subject matter remains
confidential for the time being, but Wakefield has been asked to
helm 2nd unit and undertake all motion control timelapse
cinematography on portions of the shoot in Europe, Asia and
China. Lee Parker may helm both principal and 2nd unit on the
portion planned for the US. The development of a lightweight
timelapse dolly system, and dedicated focus controllers for
shooting with digital SLRs, will form part of the pre-production
process.
NO-MAN's album SCHOOLYARD
GHOSTS has now been released to an extremely warm reception by
both press and fans alike. The dual CD + DVD-A is available from
Amazon at....
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schoolyard-Ghosts-No-Man/dp/B00163JGZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1213491780&sr=1-1
....or from band member Tim
Bowness' label BURNING SHED
http://www.burningshed.com/store/noman/collection/271/1087/
8th May 2008
Wakefield has returned from
Stage 02 of the ANCIENT SKIES project, generating 15 mins. of
material on location in Wales and Anglesey. He will shortly
embark on Stage 03, to Cumbria and Scotland. A couple of shots
from the work in progress have been sold to the BBC for a 'Timewatch'
programme about Stonehenge, due for broadcast later this year.
The edit for ANCIENT SKIES is
scheduled to take place between June 5th and 25th in Amsterdam
under the supervision of Jan Tonsmann, and a 7 min. reel will be
premiered at the end of the month as part of the International
Planetarium Society annual conference and 'DomeFest', being held
in Adler Planetarium, Chicago.
An extraordinary opportunity
has arisen in that Margaret Curtis, the world authority on the
megalithic site of Callanish in the Hebridean Islands, has
expressed her wish to recount over 30 years of study and
conclusions to camera, so that the tapes can be deposited in the
National Monuments Record. Filming will take place in and around Callanish between May 16th and 24th, and incorporated into the
Stage 03 production schedule.
The NO-MAN videos for
'Wherever There is Light' are now available for download
on the
showreels page.
Shot over the course of four days, original 13:9 aspect
images were captured at high resolution and animated and cropped
to 16:9 in After Effects. The timelapse only version is featured
on the DVD-A 5.1 release of the album 'Schoolyard Ghosts.' The
'sentimental' version is only available on this site.
www.no-man.co.uk
8th April 2008
After a highly successful IMAX
conference, the REMNANTS project proceeds apace and has morphed
into a more wide ranging FullDome production with the working
title ANCIENT SKIES. Wakefield has just returned from a week's
shoot in Cornwall, where he generated 12 mins. of motion
controlled time lapse material.
Two more shoots are planned
(Wales and the Midlands; Scotland and Cumbria) to coincide with
full moon sequences in April and May. And with major
investment in equipment, two fully feathered, long duration and
night capable motion control systems are now available.
We are delighted to welcome
post-production supervisor Jan Tonsmann to the project, with
whose help a high spec demo will be cut.
Wakefield has also completed
the video for NO-MAN's song 'Wherever There is Light' from their
forthcoming album 'Schoolyard Ghosts.' The film will included
alongside two others in the DVD-A 5.1 release, and information
about the album can be found at
http://burningshed.co.uk/aconfession/
The video will also be posted here once permission is received.
Wakefield has also edited
three sample reels for his long cherished documentary DREAMING
OUT LOUD which will chart the life and legacy of the late, great
acoustic guitar maestro Michael Hedges. An interview with,
and performances by, another extraordinarily talented player,
Rodney Branigan, can be seen
here.
Sadly GODS OF BRITAIN was
turned down by ITVS, but Wakefield's recent submission to
Channel 4's 'First Cut' slot has been forwarded on to the
overseeing production company for their consideration. Entitled
REALITV, it will reveal the blackly comic phenomenon of people
for whom the lines between television and reality have become
increasingly blurred.
13th February 2008
The new PMW 2008 demo is now
cut and posted on the
showreels page.
Wakefield has now completed
the shooting of daytime exteriors at Wayland's Smithy chambered
long barrow, and production is also underway for the NO-MAN
video, with approx. 3 minutes of timelapse material captured so
far. He will be attending the forthcoming Imax / Large Format
film conference in London, March 4th and 5th (with many thanks
to Glenn Smith of SKY-SKAN)
A modified proposal of GODS OF
BRITAIN - written by Toby Marks (BANCO DE GAIA) and Grant
Wakefield - has been submitted and is currently under
consideration in the 'ITVS International Call'. Mike Greenwood
is slated to direct if the application is successful.
Lee Parker has finally
completed work on STAR TREK !
31st January 2008
Further night shooting for
REMNANTS has been hampered by poor winter weather conditions,
though one partially successful session was undertaken at The
Devil's Den in Wiltshire in late November. An upgrade to the 'Mini Moco' motion control system has been
undertaken and is now operational. The system is now able to
perform 'feathered' accelerations and decelerations whilst in
timelapse mode.
Lee Parker continues to work
on the new STAR TREK feature film shooting in Los Angeles.
Wakefield has been invited by
Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson of the band NO-MAN to create a
video for a song from the forthcoming album, working title '
Schoolyard Ghosts.' Not for broadcast as a promo, the video will
however, if selected for inclusion, appear on the DVD-A release
and likely on the NO-MAN website.
www.no-man.co.uk
Wakefield's timelapse library
is now represented by
www.timelapsedigital.com
For direct access to his page
please visit
www.timelapsedigital.com/products.php?cat=103
We at PMW wish Ron Fricke and
Mark Magidson the very best of luck with the production of
SAMSARA, which is now underway. The follow up to the critically
acclaimed BARAKA, it is being shot in 5 perf. 70mm over the next
12 months or so, and is likely to be the last ever feature film
to be originated in this format.
7th November 2007
Two night shoots for the
REMNANTS project demo film are now in the can - one at
Stonehenge, the other at West Kennet Long Barrow, both shot by
Grant Wakefield. Collaborative efforts with Phil Ball for this
month's full moon sequence are planned for several sites in
Wiltshire and Oxfordshire.
Thorsten Quaeschning recently
used some of Wakefield's other visuals as projections during a
concert in Berlin with his band PICTURE PALACE MUSIC. The
concert may have a DVD release.
Wakefield's edit of his
timelapse material shot for the FullRange / AGCO / MASSEY
FERGUSON video update, featuring a TANGERINE DREAM soundtrack
written by Quaeschning, can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BYmUYqQSXQ
Awaiting feedback from the
academic teams, final tweaks and picture lock for the Open
University SACRED SPACES films are now expected to be completed
by November 15th.
6th October 2007
The REMNANTS project is
underway
PMW are delighted to announce that
a major development deal for Grant Wakefield's REMNANTS project has
been struck. A 4 min. test film will be shot over the coming months
for the new 'FullDome' format, with sponsorship provided by Glenn
Smith, Managing Director of the European division of SKY-SKAN, one
of the world's principal manufacturers of dome theatres. Logistical
and screening support is being provided by Mario Di Maggio, Manager
of Thinktank Planetarium, situated in the Birmingham Science
Museum, UK.
We are also delighted to
announce that the soundtrack will comprise of former
Tangerine Dream member Johannes Schmoelling's classic 1988 track
'The Rise of the Smooth Automaton' - re-mixed and interpreted by
new Tangerine Dream member Thorsten Quaeschning. It is hoped
that Thorsten will also re-mix and produce the score for the
finished feature, based on Johannes' past works.
www.johannesschmoelling.de
www.thorstenquaeschning.com
The finished reel will be
ready for premiere at the forthcoming Giant Screen Cinema
Association conference in London, March 2008, where we will seek
partners for full production finance.
Due to prior commitments on
the latest STAR TREK feature film, Lee Parker is sadly
unavailable to photograph the test, and temporarily stepping
into his shoes is UK based time-lapse cameraman Phil Ball.
www.philms.org.uk
Shooting multi-axis motion
controlled time-lapse with full frame sensor cameras, Wakefield
will operate 2nd camera with Phil on the primary efforts at
Stonehenge, Avebury and West Kennet Long Barrow, as well as
undertaking further day-time shooting in the South West of
England throughout November and December.
Very regrettably it appears
that this project will be the final contribution to PMW projects
by Glenn Marshall, who is withdrawing from the film industry,
perhaps permanently. Many thanks to Glenn for this last effort,
and we wish him all the best in his new career. His BARDO
proposal was also rejected by the UK Arts Council, and he has
since requested that the project now be abandoned.
In deference to the fact that
PMW came into being as a direct result of Glenn's project, we
are leaving his showreels available on-line, for all those who
wish to see the former works of this original, pioneering and
unique animator. Please click on
showreels
Fine cuts on the SACRED SPACES
project are now complete and awaiting approval, prior to final
tweaks, sound mix, animation and picture lock. The
soundtrack for these 3 x 15 min. programs has been selected from
the back catalogue of BANCO DE GAIA.
www.banco.co.uk
6th September 2007
Grant Wakefield has completed both
principal photography and 1st assembly edits for the Open
University SACRED SPACES project, under the supervision of former BBC
director and producer Mike Greenwood. The 1st assemblies have met with
approval from all parties and final cutting will commence shortly with
picture lock and delivery scheduled for late September / early
October.
He will be returning to Beauvais,
France in early October with FULL RANGE MEDIA to update the AGCO /
MASSEY FERGUSON corporate videos shot last year, where once again he
will assume motion control time-lapse duties. Major investment in
new equipment has recently been undertaken in preparation for this
shoot. The total system will shortly (by Sept 15th 2007) comprise 3
x Nikon D-70s cameras, 3 x intervalometers, and 1 x rotary
table plus new grip equipment and a SIGMA fish-eye lens.
Lee Parker is currently working in
the special effects dept. for the forthcoming STAR TREK motion
picture, shooting in Los Angeles, USA.
Glenn Marshall has recently
completed image tests for Commercials Unlimited for a series of car
adverts currently in development.
Additionally, Wakefield is currently in discussions with Marshall for
the rights to assume a producer role for BARDO, after former producer
Tamara Anghie stepped down from the project. Her year long attempt to
raise test finance from the Irish Film Board and Northern Irish Screen
was sadly unsuccessful. Wakefield is seeking permission to adapt
Marshall's proposal to a 40 min. presentation for a new video based
'experiential' format. His own REMNANTS project has also been adapted
and he is currently liasing with a UK based science museum in a fund
raising effort to shoot a dedicated REMNANTS test reel during full
moon sequence in either October or November.
The exact nature of the new format
remains undisclosed until a test film is shot by Wakefield during the
period 17th to 23th Sept. for which BANCO DE GAIA is supplying the
soundtrack. On the 24th Wakefield has a meeting with the UK Arts
Council to discuss REMNANTS, and the production of it in this new
format. It is his hope that the BARDO project will be added to the
meeting.
Lasse Hoile utilised and manipulated
several minutes of Wakefield's time-lapse material shot for MIRAGEMEN
in a tour film / video for the band DREAM THEATRE, which will be used
during the promotion of their new album SYSTEMATIC CHAOS. The
PORCUPINE TREE material is still showing as part of the final 2007
shows of the band in the US and Europe.
2nd June 2007
Glenn Marshall has recently
signed with a new
agency - Commercials Unlimited. His profile can be viewed at:
http://www.commercialsunlimited.net/frames/glenn.htm
He has spent much of 2007 developing new software and animation
techniques for complex 'chaos' style images, for both a commercial and
for a new video commissioned by Peter Gabriel. A previously unreleased
re-mix of the song 'Quiet Steam' Marshall has called the work STEAM
REDUX and it can be viewed here:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1164124688493845324
He has two new short film
proposals in consideration for Arts Council and Irish Film Board
funding. More details will be announced shortly. To see some examples
of his new 'Redux' imaging technique please visit:
www.myspace.com/glennmarshall
Grant Wakefield will be spending
much of the summer shooting video and motion controlled time-lapse for
an Open University DVD for Pier Productions, entitled SACRED SPACES,
as well as editing the final 45 min. programme.
He has edited both a new short film of the time-lapse from MIRAGEMEN,
and a new time-lapse showreel. Both are posted at his MySpace site
under the titles THE GRAND DESIGN and VELOCITY MON AMOUR respectively,
the latter also being posted here on the
SHOWREELS page.
www.myspace.com/grantwakefield
Lasse Hoile's videos for
Porcupine Tree, featuring Wakefield's images, are currently showing on
their US tour, and hopefully will be posted here in the near future.
21st May 2007
Grant Wakefield has just returned
from a three week trip to the USA where he shot both video and
time-lapse for the second half of John Lundberg and Mark Pilkington's
forthcoming HD documentary MIRAGEMEN. Locations included New Jersey,
Arkansas, Los Angeles, California, Arizona and New Mexico. The project
is currently in the edit and is due to be completed by the end of
2007.
The pictures below were part of
the time-lapse material and were photographed at Trona Pinnacles in
the Mojave Desert and outside of Alamagordo, New Mexico.
To read Lundberg and Pilkington's
highly regarded journal of all things odd and paranormal, please
visit:
www.strangeattractor.co.uk
24th April 2007
The PORCUPINE TREE - FEAR OF A
BLANK PLANET image gallery and downloadable video are now available.
Please click
here or
see the video on-line at
www.myspace.com/grantwakefield
The dedicated page for Grant
Wakefield's IMAX project REMNANTS is also now available. All five
films that feature on the promotional DVD can be downloaded, along
with the written treatment. Please click
here
23rd March 2007
Grant Wakefield's great mystery
project is sadly no more, at least for the present. A feature length
non-verbal film, with an original soundtrack by BANCO DE GAIA, was
pitched to a UK based cinema chain and distribution company, as part
of a development slate for 10 feature films. The entire slate has
since been abandoned in favour of a different business idea, part of
which may yet have some relevance to the project, but the full length
treatment will continue to be pursued and other avenues explored.
It has also been decided by
producer Tamara Anghie and by Wakefield that he step down from the
development phase of Marshall's BARDO. Availability problems and
commitments to other projects have sadly necessitated this move.
Wakefield is working on an
additional treatment for a more expansive NO-MAN video, but the first
prospective test video 'GONEFLAKES' is now complete, and posted on the
SHOWREELS page and at his
new profile:
www.myspace.com/grantwakefield
An alternate edit of a taster
reel for Porcupine Tree has been cut, and awaits feedback, but in
keeping with the band's general approach and visual continuity , this
taster, a 5-6 min. reel and the image gallery will all be posted on
April 18th to coincide with the opening night of the tour.
On a side note Wakefield is also
trying to help Glenn Marshall land a record deal with Tim Bowness'
label BURNING SHED. Bowness is now in possession of a 25 track
sampler, and we await his response with great interest!
25th February 2007
Lee Parker is currently in
discussions with DoP Amir Mokri concerning the use of his 'JiffyLight'
system during the production of NATIONAL TREASURE 2.
Grant Wakefield been working some
additional days on the Lurpak commercial, and also winding down the
Porcupine Tree shoot which should be completed in the next 7-10 days,
unless extra footage is requested. A one and half minute taster reel
has been cut, and awaits approval and permission before it can be
posted here and at the PMW YouTube page. A gallery of images is also
planned.
An audio preview of Porcupine
Tree's forthcoming album FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET can be found at
www.myspace.com/porcupinetree
Wakefield has also committed to
shooting the second half of the documentary 'MIRAGEMEN.' Subject
to a non-disclosure agreement, the subject matter is strictly
confidential. It can only be revealed that it will likely join the
ranks of some of the strangest and most interesting documentaries
around.
Prior to the shoot Wakefield will
be creating the video sketch 'GONEFLAKES' for Tim Bowness and Steven
Wilson, who comprise the band NO-MAN. Intended to simply demonstrate
an idea, it hopefully will lead to a commission to direct a video
proper later in 2007.
Glenn Marshall's superlative
morphing demo for 'REMNANTS' is now posted on the SHOWREELS page.
After initial feedback it was decided that the pitching DVD for
'REMNANTS' needs some re-structuring and additional material, and work
on this is ongoing. The entire package will also be posted on this
site in compressed form in the near future.
1st February 2007
Grant Wakefield has spent most
of January assisting Oxford based DoP Phil Ball with one of a series
of commercials for Lurpak butter. With working title 'The Mighty
Shroom' - it has involved set construction, lighting and general
digital camera assistance in the production of 8 plate shots and 3
long duration motion controlled time-lapse shots of mushrooms growing
in custom built 'macro' sets. Over the Christmas period, and in
between the commercial, he has continued to generate material for
Lasse Hoile and Porcupine Tree, whose deadline has been extended to
the end of February. Over 20 minutes of footage has now been created,
and a target of 30 mins. is desired. The production of 'STUPIFIED' has
had to be put back, but should hopefully commence in the next few
weeks.
He has also finalised all the
elements of a promo DVD for the planned IMAX production 'REMNANTS'.
The DVD will be sent to all European and selected US IMAX theatres in
order to attract funding.
Working with Wakefield's digital
footage for 'REMNANTS' Glenn Marshall has created a 3 min. reel of
post-production image manipulation and morphing. The reel will be
included on the DVD and posted at the SHOWREELS page shortly. It gives
a very striking indication of the planned visual approach for the
film, and also features Glenn's music.
21st December 2006
Glenn Marshall has recently
created two pages at My Space, featuring both his computer animation
films and his music.
www.myspace.com/glennmarshall
www.myspace.com/glennmarshallmusic
He is currently in preparation
to compose the score for a Channel 4 UK documentary about religious
cult - the 'Moonies'
Five of Marshall's films are
now posted on the SHOWREELS page - LOTUS, BUTTERFLY, THE DROP, and his
promos for PANASONIC and GUINNESS.
Additional films can be accessed via his
My Space site or at:
www.butterfly.ie
Three of Parker's reels are now
posted as well: IMAX motion control time-lapse cinematography from
Disney's SACRED PLANET, a motion control promo for director Markus
Blunder, and a sampler featuring his work in specialist rig and aerial
cinematography.
Also posted are two new films by
Grant Wakefield - STONED, and a short version of his DIGITAL
TIME-LAPSE SHOWREEL. Additionally two older works from the archive -
the ORBITAL "STYLE" and WAY OUT WEST "AJARE" promos are
now available.
Based on viewing CHANT ONE, Tim
Bowness has invited Wakefield to possibly direct a video to accompany
the forthcoming album by NO-MAN. As a test for this, a new Wakefield
short with working title GONEFLAKES, is in development.
www.no-man.co.uk
Several of Parker and
Wakefield's films, some of which are not featured on this site, have
now been uploaded to the PMW YouTube site. Search for our names or PMW
CREATIVE at:
www.youtube.com
or access the PMW demo directly at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQNE9LVYsC0
12th December 2006
Grant Wakefield was hired by
Lasse Hoile and PORCUPINE TREE, and over the past 12 days has been
busy producing abstract and motion control images. Feedback from Lasse
and band leader Steven Wilson is highly positive, and shooting will
continue up until February 1st 2007. Due to legal problems it was
mutually and amicably decided to separate the STUPIFIED project from
the commission.
Wakefield also has two short
films under consideration for broadcast by Channel 4 UK - YOU HAVE GOD
with a soundtrack by BANCO DE GAIA, and CHANT ONE with a soundtrack by
TIM BOWNESS.
www.timbowness.com
Lee Parker has now created a
YouTube page for PMW which can accessed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQNE9LVYsC0
