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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "astrobeej" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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08:28 pm
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This makes up for the previous item...
Hot damn, they might actually pull this off...
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02:18 pm
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Oh god, no.
Someone is making a live action remake of Akira.
Starring Leonardo DeCaprio.
Seriously.
What the hell is wrong with you people???!!!!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1134795/
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03:01 pm
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Another small victory!
Congratulations. Your film "Backlash" has been selected for the August 11th program of the 2008 Zeitgeist International Film Festival.
For those of you unfamiliar with Zeitgeist, you'd better put away any images of Sundance or Cannes that may have popped into your head. Zeitgeist is one of my favorite bars in San Francisco, and you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and bicyclery. Loud and rowdy, filthy and rude, with a zero tolerance policy for yuppies and poseurs. The real action is in the back yard, a huge fenced lot lined with trees, bike racks and porta-potties, kind of like a mini Burning Man for bike messengers and other alcoholic louts. Oddly enough, Bev and I took a couple of friends there over the weekend. They usually have a grill fired up for burgers and sausages, and most evenings, the famous Tamale Lady comes through towing her magical wheeled cooler of yumminess.
So dress down, get your freak on and join us on Monday, August 11th, at 199 Valencia St. (At Duboce) Be sure to whoop and holler when you see a familiar face projected on the wall!
Current Mood:  ecstatic
Current Music: Yo La Tengo
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08:35 pm
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A weird call for materials...
I may be needing some set dressing for my next stage design, and I'd like y'all to start turning an eye towards your various and sundry overstock and let me know if you have any of the following that you might be willing to sacrifice in the name of art:
*Vaccuum cleaner hoses
*Garden hoses
*Any other long (like 3'+) lengths of hose or tubing at least 1" thick
*Dryer vent hoses
*Heavy gauge electrical wiring
*Rope or other cable that might pass as heavy gauge electrical wiring
*Not easily recognizable appliances (dead or alive) that might pass as lab equipment
No big rush, mostly wanting to plant the idea so folks might start keeping their eyes open for me. Drop me a line if you think you have something I might be able to use.
I think we all know what's on the slab...
; )
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10:42 am
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WANTED
I'm generally not a huge fan of S.F. Chronicle movie critic Mick LaSalle, but his recent review of the new Angelina Jolie flick "Wanted" is positively thought provoking.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/27/DDK711EC35.DTL&type=movies
It's not often a review rises to the level of social commentary without becoming precious and pretentious.
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01:49 pm
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It's Showtime!
Carousel is finally finished.
Several factors led to disappointing changes from the original design, not the least of which is that the carousel top in front of the proscenium went from being a half-round that matched the stage extension, to a flat run. That was due to a total rookie mistake -- not looking up. I got too absorbed in the design process and working in the digital model, and utterly failed to take into account how far the lights hang down over the house. :::smacks forehead:::
Also, the theatre company was unable to scrounge up the video projector I wanted to use, or even a slide projector that could fill the back wall, as I'd hoped. Even worse, the tiny image that is being projected back there is being washed out by light spill from the rest of the stage. I'm sure the lights that are pointed directly into the audience's eyes (WTF?) don't help much either.
I blame myself. I got over-ambitious with this one, trying to give the portfolio a bump and motivate myself to slog through a show I have no great love for in the first place. I designed beyond the resources of the theatre company, and the fallback position leaves a bit to be desired for everyone. More life lessons learned, another notch in the belt, and now I can start funneling my energy towards some projects that I am much more invested in.
Current Mood:  disappointed
Tags: carousel, theatre
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10:21 am
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Another Baycon pic!
Lifted from Helix90. Thanks!
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10:42 am
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Halle-frickin'-lujah!
I've just received something I've never gotten before.
An acceptance letter.
Dear B.J. West,
Thank you for sending us "Homecoming". It's a poignant take on the ghost story which I've not yet seen, and I'd be happy to purchase it for production on Pseudopod.
Note the word "production". Pseudopod isn't your typical online 'zine, it's a podcast. That means that one of their fine voice actors will be reading it aloud, and it will be available for download as an MP3! It should be going online some time in August. Watch this space for a link.
OK, so it's not a huge money sale, and maybe it's not the most prestigious publication, but it's the first time that someone from a publication that I'm not directly involved in producing has paid for my work, and that feels pretty damned good right about now.
Current Mood: so very stoked
Tags: writing
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06:32 pm
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Ridley Scott, you are dead to me...
Against my better judgment, I watched A&E's remake of "The Andromeda Strain." I consider the 1971 movie directed by Robert Wise to be one of the finest "big science" movies of the "golden age" of serious sci-fi, and is one of my favorite movies of all time.
But even though I was already quite skeptical going in to this two-night mini-series. I was willing to give A&E the benefit of the doubt. They have made some very fine television over the years, including the exquisite "Nero Wolfe" series, the sublime Horatio Hornblower movies, and the tragic -- and tragically unseen -- biopic about Dashiell Hammett and Lilian Hellman, "Dash and Lilly."
That generosity would be repaid with a sharp stick being poked clean through my eye and lodging in my cerebellum. This bastardization of "Andromeda" was one of the most stupid, overly convoluted, hand-wringing melodramas I've ever seen on the small screen. Despite Ridley and Tony Scott being the executive producers, this terrible movie was a staunch believer of the oh-so-popular "take something exceptional and crap on it" school of storytelling. The script took one of the finest, tightest science based thrillers ever made, and gave it to about 329 billion less chimps than they needed to. Everything in the original was lean, necessary, and totally believable. In this new travesty, everything is four times more convoluted than it needs to be, two thirds of the story could be cut without changing the outcome of the story one bit, and practically none of it makes any sense. When they do venture into "scientific" territory, they spew the worst techno-babble seen since Geordi last fixed something by venting plasma from the warp core.
This is a classic case of Hollywood not comprehending the old axiom "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Not only was "The Andromeda Strain" not broken, but sledge hammers wouldn't be the tools needed to fix it if it were.
Current Mood: Weeping for humanity
Tags: movies, review, sci-fi
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05:35 pm
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Suspicious Minds
Turns out my old buddy Carlos Delapina starred in a hysterical short film last year. Check it out!
Suspicious Minds (Runtime: 5:07)
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04:29 pm
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That's a wrap!
Hooray! ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) miss_mimsy caught this pic of Bev and I in our Trekker finest!
Thanks Rachel!
Tags: baycon, kelp, trek
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04:23 pm
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Home again, home again, jiggidy jig...
The Kelp Entertainment expedition to Baycon 2008 has come to an end. Bev and I got home last night, and have spent the bulk of today resting and recuperating. Our voices are shot, our smile muscles are sore, and I don't even want to talk about our feet.
Here we see the lovely "Lt. Hussy" showing off the operation on Saturday:
A shady character doing demos on Sunday:
We didn't get any pics of me in my Trek outfit, or Bev in her 40's getup. If anyone reading this got some, please forward them on!
Overall, the mission was a smashing success! The final sales total was 17 Writer's Tarot decks, 5 Smiling Man DVDs and 2 Fog City Nocturne books. I'd been hoping for more, naturally, but that was enough that the trip paid for itself plus a little bit more to bring home. Those sales would no doubt have been even higher had we stayed open today as well. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who stopped by!
We also brought home an overflowing treasure trove of education! The response to the cards was overwhelmingly positive, even when people didn't buy a deck. The gamers were the most enthusiastic, being floored by the character creation spreads. I no longer have any doubt at all that there's plenty of demand for something like this out there, despite the comments of the sole nay-sayer, a very precious dillweed who apparently couldn't even conceive of any writer -- anywhere, ever -- having any difficulty at all struggling with a story. Must be nice, I guess.
We also confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have to get the word "tarot" off the box. I talked to several people who had walked by our booth completely uninterested because they thought we were doing traditional tarot readings for people, and only came back when they talked to someone else who had purchased a deck and was singing our praises. I also talked to two people who confessed that they were a bit reluctant to check us out because of their reservations about anything "occult". If that attitude can be found even in the geek-saturated crowed at a sci-fi/fantasy convention, it's definitely going to be a major stumbling block in the mainstream market place.
I think the main lesson I brought away from this experience is that the direct sales model -- me hawking the cards to the public personally -- just isn't going to generate enough sales to be worth it. The plan of self-publishing a second (and much larger) run of the deck and selling it like a traveling salesman is kaput. Instead, I'm now going to focus on trying to get an agent, so I can find a publisher interested in putting my cards in every bookstore and game shop in the country.
As an added Baycon bonus, I got to see many long-absent friends. My old LARPing buddies Mike and Laurie D. came by, whom I hadn't laid eyes on since the last time I'd been to Baycon back in '91 or '92! Bev and I had a lovely dinner with former Kinko's pals Steve, Donna and Carlos, and his wife Kelly. Rebecca P., a fabulous writer (whether she's aware of it or not) was another awesome surprise encounter, and I got to meet Joseph Kerezman, the driving force behind "Star Trek: Excalibur" face to face for the first time. I also got to squeeze a couple of the "usual suspects", namely britgeekgrrl and miss_mimsy, both of whom were in fine, fetching form indeed!
Sorry that some of you couldn't make it, you were definitely missed!
Current Mood: optimistic
Tags: baycon, fog city nocturne, the smiling man, writer's tarot
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09:43 pm
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Houston, Kelp has landed...
We totally pwn the dealer room!
OK, so maybe we just pwn booth 21. Except that access door, which we aren't allowed to block.
If there was an award for best signage -- or most signage, we'd be a shoe-in...
I did a lot of demos today. I started out a bit cold, but got smooth very quickly. The response has been very entusiastic, the sales less so. We moved two Tarot decks and one DVD. Not to worry though, Friday is always slow at a con, folks want to see what's out there, but don't buy much until the next day.
Looking forward to all y'all showing up tomorrow. And hurry, Bev is starting to talk in Klingon...
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01:43 pm
[Link] | At long last, I can let the cat that has been clawing at my guts out of the proverbial bag. I have just been hired as the scenic designer for Ray of Light Theatre Company's production of...
Opening October 16th, at the fabulous Victoria Theatre, 16th St. near Mission.
I can't begin to tell y'all how excited I am to land this show! It doesn't pay well, but it could turn into an amazing portfolio piece, plus I finally get to work on a show I genuinely love! Of course, I'll provide updates as things develop, but for now, you might want to start thinking about how you want to spend Halloween...
In the meantime, take a gander at the first design render for the upcoming Pinole Community Players' production of "Carousel", opening June 20th.
Set construction begins this weekend, while I'll be away at Baycon. The curved white wall in back is (at least in theory) going to be filled with a video projector. If any of you have any juju with the gods of theatre, please whisper nice things to them about me...
Current Mood: excited
Tags: baycon, carousel, rocky, theatre
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10:08 pm
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Catching up...
It feels like forever since I've had a moment to just sit down and blather on the ol' LJ, but now that Urinetown is done, I can do exactly that. I think the set turned out pretty good, and tonight is opening night. I'm not going, just too tired for a big ta-doo, but I may go check it out sometime in the next week or two.
(Naturally, the fan and ladder aren't part of the set...)
Next, I begin designing "Carousel" for the Pinole Playhouse. We've had our first production meeting, and the director liked my base concept. I'll be using a video projector for the primary backdrop, which should basically allow me to do different moving background plates for each of the nine scenes. I'm supposed to have the construction drawings for Scene 1 delivered before Memorial Day weekend (and the associated Baycon fun!) so I'll be shackled to the computer for the remainder.
I took today for myself, and added a bit to the empire. I have written up the "creation myth" for Kelp Entertainment, since I really do get asked about the name quite a bit. It's mostly true, and -- I hope -- a fun read. You can check it out here if you are so inclined.
And to celebrate the new addition, I've added shirts and such with the new "carbon and steel" KE logo. (Available in black only, natch.)
Speaking of CafePress, it seems that someone took umbrage to my use of Robert DeNiro in the "Travis Bickle for President" shirt, so sadly, I've taken it down. So it goes.
I have a possible new theater design gig coming up that I am deliriously excited about, but I don't want to talk about it until I've actually landed it. Hopefully, I'll be making a grand announcement soon...
Tags: baycon, carousel, merchandise, theatre, urinetown
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09:06 am
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More Urinetown
Here's what I spent the last two days painting:
He stands about 10 feet tall, counting the letters on top, is rigged with recessed rope lights around the rim, and will actually be able to pee on command.
Hey, I didn't write the show...
Tags: theatre, urinetown
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02:48 pm
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Phase III
I realized something a couple of days ago: I had removed all my games industry work from my portfolio because I was wanting to focus more on my film and stage work. Very little from my old portfolio remained. But I was still using my experience on "TheSims" and other games as professional "cred" on cover letters and such. So if someone was interested in hiring me for, say, some CG work, they might go "Hmmm. This guy worked on The Sims, he must kick some serious ass" and then go to my website to check it out, they'd find...
...nothing.
So I could be lying outright about working on the best selling computer game of all time. Or maybe I did a couple of sucky objects that were never used in game, but got me a technical inclusion in the credits. Or whatever. It looked bad.
So, I've opened a third wing to my portfolio, entitled "Digital Modeling". It brings back a lot of the old content, plus some work from older projects that I've never shared. Even better, I went back to the old Sims objects -- oh yes, I still have it all, I learned that lesson from Atari -- and re-rendered them with much more advanced lighting and camera placement. It's a huge improvement over the "isometric object on blue field" renderings from the olden times.
I've also put back some of my self-indulgent geek work there from my NASA and Star Trek modeling. It doesn't rankle me so much now that it's not the lion's share of what's up there!
As usual, you are all invited to check it out, and I'd greatly appreciate a holler if anyone finds typos or broken links or whatever.
http://www.BJWest.net/3D/
Kanpai!
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03:55 pm
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The Writer's Tarot
In preparation for Baycon, I've finally created an official page for The Writer's Tarot on the Kelp Entertainment website. There isn't much there yet, just the text from the front and back of the box, a link to all entries in this blog tagged for the deck, and a link to sign the mailing list. I plan on expanding it greatly in the future, but first I need to "re-brand" the deck.
See, the problem is that the word "Tarot" is actively working against me. On one hand, it seems to offend hard-core practitioners of the Tarot, who take their cartomancy very seriously. My deck, while based on the Tarot, isn't a true tarot deck. You definitely wouldn't want to do readings for someone using these cards, as unlike the traditional tarot, my "Death" card actually means death... I respect a true definition of Tarot, and have to admit that my deck doesn't really qualify.
On the other hand, the word Tarot frightens hard core Christians, for whom any kind of divination invokes images of witches and Satanic rituals. These people boycotted Harry Potter for cryin' out loud, an actual deck of cards with the word "Tarot" on it would bunch their skivvies. While I refuse to bowdlerize the deck for uptight puritans, I also don't want to scare off potential sales from those who would be open to using the deck as a writing tool but don't want to be branded a heretic by less open-minded family or friends.
So, if not "The Writer's Tarot", what do I call this bad boy? At the moment, the leading candidate is:
STORY POWERHOUSE
Plot and Character Generator
I really like the WPA style deco graphics that "powerhouse" and "generator" invoke for me. It's also a more accurate descriptor of how the cards are used. Lots of products claim to help writers come up with stories, mine can actually make them happen, even if you have nothing particular in mind.
I'm also wanting very much to include RPG gamers as my core target audience, as I think they are going to piss their pants when they've seen the two character creation spreads, and how quickly and effortlessly they hork up deep, complex character backstories. I felt that the "Writer's" nomenclature might have not made that obvious enough.
So what do y'all think? Does the new title work for you? Or can you think of something better?
QUICK OBLIGATORY LEGALESE NASTINESS:
Any titles offered as suggestions here become the intellectual property of B.J. West and Kelp Entertainment, with no expectation of compensation in any form should they be used in any way in the future.
(I hate doing that, but I have rather ambitious plans for the deck, and I want to make absolutely certain there's no unfortunate misunderstandings down the road...)
So, that said? Comments? Improvements? Snarky comments?
Tags: writer's tarot
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09:01 pm
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Hey Beej! How did you spend your last two weeks?
How nice of you to ask! I've been painting the set of Urinetown for the Douglas Morrisson Theatre. Here, I'll show you...
(Hint: I'm the one wearing the orange jumpsuit for most of it.)
Tags: theatre urinetown
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12:31 am
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Phase II
The second wing of my portfolio website is now open, along with a spiffy new foyer. The new stuff concentrates on previsualization and CGI sequences.
http://www.BJWest.net
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
And it goes live just in the nick of time. I begin painting "Urinetown" at the Douglas Morrison Theatre in Hayward tomorrow. If I go quiet for a couple of weeks, it's probably because my arms are too sore to type...
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