A Runners Recap: Making Black Fields

So, I have been assisting on the production of an independent short movie recently. Over the past week I’ve been doing a lot of travelling, been working in all sorts of areas, networking, meeting some interesting people and learning an incredible amount. It’s an experience I’d like to share with you guys while it is still fresh in my mind. If you’re a regular reader of mine you’ll know I’ve been involved with a few Hollywood movies before, such as Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood released in 2010, Wrath of the Titans and Captain America: The First Avenger. I made my own Live-Action Trailer this time last year, a feat I am still very proud of all in order to promote my second book, the sequel to Ep1-The Utopian Dream, which is making steady progress might I add. I did catch myself making comparisons to this production and my own, and came to some very satisfying realisations, realisations that I will be talking more of later in this post. Mr H’s project however, was far more enjoyable to work on than the other Hollywood films, it was a lot more intense and the sense of hard work was definitely felt at the end of the day, work days that often bled into the early hours, but this is part of the business. Perhaps it was the fact that I was working close to the director, opposed to just being an extra, or it could be something more. This is a form of art I want to get involved with further and being part of this project has indeed opened my eyes, I learnt so much, was on record throughout its entirety just absorbing everything around me taking in as much as I could. I’ll be talking about the story to an extent, I’ll look at some of the characters, the director Mr H himself the main man who put all of this together over the course of a few years, the process, my job, and some of the other crew members. However, be aware I’ am under strict instructions NOT to reveal anything crucial, I will NOT be getting into ANY spoilers nor will I name anyone say for their respective titles. So, grab yourselves a drink, and let’s read.

The film is called Black Fields, it is a fantasy horror written and directed by Mr H. The costumes and style of the film is based and inspired around Viking culture. Mr H is a very successful YouTuber with over quarter of a million subscribers. He has been on the platform for a few years now, starting out doing simplistic Alien commentaries. Gradually, he branched out into reviewing more of his favourite films such as Hellraiser, he has talked about the odd game here and there, has shared thoughts on modern day culture and loves his super cars. Because I am a big fan of the Alien franchise and genuinely the horror genre, I was attracted to his channel and have been following and listening to this chap on a regular basis. I cannot remember which video it was, he has made over three thousand, an impressive number, but I remember him mentioning that he was undertaking his own independent short film months ago. This idea of his grew and grew until he revealed some of the props and details regarding the story, and it is a compelling one. I do not want to speak for the man, I do not want to speak for anyone other than myself, but over time, I found myself agreeing with how he views movies, agreeing with his politics which he rarely gets into though there have been moments where he has expressed his views, and I must admit I do tend to agree more than I disagree. Not that this is a deal breaker, you can still disagree with someone and remain a fan/friends, I don’t have anyone in fact in my circle of friends that I agree with 100% and I can still get along with them just fine. Our main disagreements, between Mr H and I, come from Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, I enjoy these movies as you know while acknowledging the criticisms, he doesn’t like them, they certainly aren’t flawless but I can still watch them and lose myself in them for reasons I’ve already dived into many times prior to this article, but I digress, agreeing more than disagreeing certainly does make viewing and enjoying someone’s content that much easier. Mr H understands the horror genre, he is sick of the overused jump scares, he is tired of predictable plot lines and rejects identity politics and political correctness hands down. This (partly) is why I wished to tell my own set of stories, I too have grown bored of recent story telling and am hungry for something more, something fresh, riddled with a myriad of different ideas, charismatic characters and abstract concepts.

Identity politics has indeed invaded everything, this sadly includes art, it gets in the way of the creative process, it often compromises content so much so where modern day film makers and writers are forced to meet quotas, forced to meet the demands of a very small yet very violent vocal minority. South Park refer to these screeching fuck wits as PC Babies and they could not do a better job of portraying this insane mob who’ve adopted a very dangerous cult like mentality, a mob who cannot see anything beyond gender and race. These people destroy people’s lives for simply holding other beliefs or political leanings, they are at the forefront of cancel culture and are not interested in holding public debate or reasonable dialogues. The PC Babies have abandoned their sense of scepticism and their objectivity, they cannot do anything other than criticise, complain and needlessly attack, even when knowing they are in the wrong. I’ve spoken of these creatures before, even met some, they are all over social media, the best way to see yourself clear of them is to either ignore them or use humour, they don’t like comedy, they don’t understand how to funny, it is your best weapon. Do not block them because they are rather entertaining when they find a new outrage and never ever ever EVER apologise to them, the moment you apologise is the moment they sent blood in the water and they will tear you to shreds further. Anyway, that’s enough talk on The PC Babies, they really do not deserve the time I’ve given them, but an outright rejection of this, people who are brave enough to make a stand against this ridiculous woke movement are people I can respect. I’ve took a stand on this, Mr H has made a stand on this and hundreds of others have too grown sick of this childish behaviour. We need to win this, this cannot be allowed to take over and become the norm because if it does, you can say goodbye to freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of creativity whether it be positive or negative. We must be free to think for ourselves and to express ourselves for the alternative is nightmarish…Apologies, didn’t mean to go on a tangent there, believe me that was less than half of what I’ve got on the subject, but it is a battle I am invested in and is important to mention it. Moving on…I will leave links below to Mr H’s Twitter handle and YouTube channel if you’d like to learn more about him and his content, I recommend it. If you like movies, horror, fantasy, and kick ass fast cars I highly recommend it.

Mr H put out a call on Twitter, he also made a note of this on one of his YouTube videos, asking for assistance. I quickly got in touch, having followed him for such a long time, I knew this was something I would like to be a part of. I left an e-mail and H quickly got back with me. We had a brief chat and he passed me over to his producer, who gave me a call in the same week. I knew what this was, I was asked a series of questions, questions like did I have access to transport? Did I have any experience in film? And did I have somewhere to stay, but ultimately they just wanted to know what kind of person I was, if I was as enthused as H was, if I would be helpful and not simply a waste of their time, which I certainly did not want to do, and we made plans from there. The producer was an absolute legend might I add, he was approachable, had a great sense of humour, loved his job, such great enthusiasm came from him and was able to handle the pressure of filming oh so well, seriously, if he had turned out to be a c**t it would have tainted the whole experience. As I am here on this topic, I want to take this opportunity to say that everyone involved in this project was amazing, we all got on, there was never a bad atmosphere, never once was there any complaining or moaning, genuinely I don’t think H could have asked for a better set of people under one roof, a great experience all round and it was the people with a passion for projects like this that created it. We all did our part, we all did our best to bring H’s vision to life but at the same time, understood that most of the making of film happens off set. The amount of work that went into this project was huge and no one person can do it. H understands this all too well and never made anyone feel unimportant, never was he rude, never did he get snappy, he was a gentleman throughout, a gentleman who is serious about his work and wants to make it as a film maker, and I wish him all the luck and success in his journey.

I started work early on the 19th of July, travelling from Oxfordshire on the 18th all the way to Southampton, to stay with some friends in a spare room. Time here was very brief, for I had late finishes on set and early starts. HQ was a house in Lyndhurst, about half an hour drive away from Southampton, and most of the shoot took place in The New Forest. I will touch more on the locations soon because it was something else worthy of a wider mention. I worked solidly every day, till the early hours up until the 23rd of July. I would have stayed longer, I would have loved to stay longer and see the shoot through to its end, scheduled on the 29th, but I could only make so much time free, plus the project wrapped today, several hours ago in fact, four days earlier than initially thought, just as the weather went sour. Side note, we did luck out with glorious weather. The boys are probably clearing everything away right about now, saying their goodbyes anticipating the premier happening in London, in December, and I cannot wait. I am looking forward to owning a copy of the Blu-ray, I will certainly set a night aside before Christmas, make a massive drink and watch it with the family. Mr H was very careful with the filming of certain scenes, some were made with a very limited crew size to protect his content from leaks, and also to shock some of us for when we finally get to see it on the big screen. I am curious, while I was there, I assisted with about 50 to 60% of the film, so there is plenty I have not yet seen.

My job as a runner was to make sure the crew, the actors, the producer and the director had everything they needed on and off set. Before we went out on location, it was mainly my job to make sure we were prepped, stocked with things like water and food. I packed and organised the cars, one of which was mine. I would be sure to provide lights, carry boxes of props, real life like weapons and supply anyone with whatever they needed. We ALL pitched in, I was rarely left alone, film making is a collaborative process, right from the start you have to work together, we have to help organise together and keep everything running as smoothly as possible. Jobs in which I was left alone to manage, was feeding these guys, I would be sent to the shops regularly to pick up supplies and cook in bulk. This was a challenge, I am used to cooking for one, two, maybe three people, but never a dozen or so and some of these guys are big meaty lads, I’m talking big body builders made of mountains of muscle, they ate a lot, so with this in mind, I did my best to provide them with substantial meals. One was a big chicken tikka curry with rice, I also cooked spaghetti in sauce, the guys were happy one night with just pizza’s and I also cooked good old fish and chips. In between time we would munch on cornbread (‘it’s good for you boy eat it’) bacon sarnies, gallons of tea and coffee and fruits. On set, again I saw to it that I transported handfuls of gear, helped the actors on with armour and was tasked to pick up the sounds with the boom stick. It’s harder than you might think, the microphone has to be faced toward those who were speaking or hovering out of shot just above the conversation, and when voices were raised you’d have to gently move it away so you do not clutter the sound. We did rig up the actors with microphones hidden on their person, it was my job to flick them on and off between takes. As simple as this sounds, we eventually scrapped it, it took too much time and was not as reliable as thought. I could be wrong, they could have used the mics later, but it was at times a fuss. Lighting is also incredibly important, we would make campfires, create larger smoke clouds using smoke grenades. We would rig up a large light that resembled the moon, honestly, when on camera it looks real. We would use reflectors and emit ambient handheld torch light to create flame effects, wow was this a task at times especially when things got tense in the story, when the blood (corn syrup) started to flow.

We filmed in Lyndhurst, situated inside The New Forest, a national park and a popular tourist attraction. The house we were in was very nice, big enough for the cast and crew, though sometimes the couch was used for a bed. The village was five minutes away, everything to be expected from a traditional English town. We filmed in the thick of the forest, on the green plains, in woodland clearings, hillsides and open fields, sharing space with deer and wild horses. H did shoot on the coast for half a day, but I was tasked to organise HQ and stock up on food in that time, which I was cool with, I finished early and had a lay down outside in the sun with a coffee, I love coffee. I can understand why H wanted to film in this location, it was beautiful, wild, some areas looked like no one had been there for centuries. We filmed with great fallen trees in the foreground, we took the drone up above the forests canopy and tracked our protagonists movements from the sky, long gone are the uses for cameras on zip wires, numbered are the days for helicopters to catch those grand, wide, landscape shots, the drone gave Black Fields another layer of depth. The actors were caught walking with horses, scouting among the trees and fleeing down hillsides, at times away from a foul presence. My favourite location was when our warriors are trekking amidst skeletal trees, looking as if the branches are reaching out of the earth. With the right lighting and sound effect added in post, this scene will be the one to look out for, it certainly captured that lonesome, haunting look of the Black Fields.

Mr H wrote and directed the film, he is very knowledgeable with the camera, so he was the lead operator of the tech and of the drone, which again supplied us with some pretty sick aerial shots. We had a producer, four actors who played the characters of Bjorn, Baldier, Eric and Bo. A makeup artist was present, she was utterly fantastic. The special effects artists was a bit of a handy man, speaking of which he kind of just showed up and never left, but regardless, he was a great guy to have around, making the gore and the blood that much better. He also shared with us some pretty wild, very real stories, this chap has done it all and seen it all, not even kidding, and the great thing is, is that he lives close by Oxford, so I will be getting in touch again to learn more about him, plus he still has my flask. I was the lone runner, when I left on the 23rd I was replaced with two others, I never met H’s editor, I’m sure he is a top lad and I am unsure of who is in control of the music, presuming there will be music? That is a question I failed to ask, guess we will just have to wait and see. The videographer was also a great help, the Blu-ray will contain some behind the scenes footage, a making of documentary so to speak that he filmed over the course of the shoot. That is about it in terms of cast and crew, I want to name names, but I have not got consent, so I’ll keep it quiet until the credits roll in December. Everyone was professional, everyone was easy to get along with, everyone wanted to be there, and at the end of the day, that is all H and people like him want.

I do not know much about the story itself, I need to be very careful with how I conduct myself from here because I do not want to spoil anything, though I feel it necessary to share with you the premise at least. Apologies if I get some of the details wrong, remember it was not my job to know the story, I was told what I needed to know so take what I say with an open mind – A war has happened, and four brave warriors are returning home, having lost the will to fight, tired of the strife, missing their loved ones, seeking the shortest route home from the distant battlefield, crossing over the Black Fields. All four warriors are battle hardened veterans, no one in their right mind would challenge these men in combat. Eric is their scout and tracker, a man comfortable in using a spear, able to see things the others cannot, he will see them home. Bjorn is a brute, a strong man wielding a war hammer, a great warrior of size who has taken young Bo under his wing, a member of another tribe they were once at war with. Bo is a ranger who uses a throwing axe and a bow and arrow, his face markings are somewhat different to the others. He is lean and fierce, seeing Bjorn as a father figure, and Bjorn his apprentice. Baldier is the leader of the deserters, brandishing a great sword and a large axe, he is the eldest of the group, he’s experienced many things in his time, he’s been tested beyond, but nothing can prepare him for what is waiting for him in these ancient lands. Their mission is to return home, but their priorities swiftly shift, they must learn to stay alive, to overcome their fears and do battle against a creature not of this world. – I would love to detail more, but that is the premise of the story, simple yet effective, and that holds a lot power. If you look at some of the best movies ever made, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws for example, the premise is very simple, and I think that was one of the problems floating around the Alien prequels. The trilogy was very straight forward, while the new ones are heavy and convoluted and perhaps unnecessary. Not saying audiences will not appreciate clever films, Inception was certainly a hit as was Interstella, but sometimes the simpler the premise, the more likely it is that you will make a great movie or book. In some ways Black Fields is a seed of Alien, the gift that keeps on giving, and I will do my best to explain why. Mr H knows what good horror is, it is not tacky jump scares the overuse of gore or otherworldy creatures, I’ve talked about this before many times throughout my Blog and it was refreshing to meet someone else who just ‘got it,’ no, the best horror is tantalising someone’s own imagination. The idea of something nearby is far scarier than seeing it, the less you see of your monster/creature the better your art will be. This is why Silent Hill (the first two games) works so well, this is why Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Alien works so incredibly well. It is about giving your mind time to play tricks on you that serves horror fans, top this off with skilful utilisation of the blacks in frame, relatable characters, great costumes/props and you’re winning.

 I could write forever on this, I could talk more on how great the actors were at delivering their lines, I could talk more about how passionate H is behind the camera and how awesome the producer was and the rest of the crew, especially the makeup girl who gave me THE most brutal massage I’ve ever experience…My spine did crack a few times…But I’ve my own story to make, my own book to continue with, Ep2-Rise of The Black Doves. I did give Mr H a copy of Ep1-The Ancestral Odyssey: The Utopian Dream-Volume One, along with a bottle of Kraken rum, sort of like a cultural exchange, a chance to show H some appreciation and what I’ve been up to, it is after all of the same ilk as his. I hope he gives it a read and is encouraged to pick up Volumes Two and Three, we’ll see, either way, it was a pleasure.

Before signing off on this article, I did promise you that I’d share some of my realisations, what I took away from the experience (besides it being awesome) and where it leaves me with my own plan for the future. Well, when comparing it to my own production a year ago, I learned that I was doing everything right from the get go, when I thought initially I was doing it wrong, actually I was right on track, this is how it goes. Making movies is a fucking nightmare, a love hate relationship, there are times when it is the best thing in the world, times when you just want to do more and everything is gravy, yet there are days where it is the total opposite and you cannot wait to just run away, when nothing works and everything falls into a mess. The way H spoke and interacted with his actors and crew members, the way he set up and prepared for this movie, was the exact same as mine, the process I must stress was the EXACT same. The only differences were the number of people involved and the budget. Mine cost around six grand, H’s was obviously far more expensive than mine and I respect that, he has earned this, he has worked for this, he has amassed a great supportive following, a loyal fan base and uses that as a resource to do what he wants to do among other things, like a day job and crowd funding. I took away many lessons, but the best thing I learned while involved with this is that I am doing this with the right mind set, I am looking at this through the right lens and I am excited, not only for Mr H’s Black Fields but excited that one day I’ll be doing the same thing, not turning The Ancestral Odyssey into film, that would need a miracle, but I could make seven short films on my Mythorigins, I’ll utilise my old crew and get to work when I’ve accumilated the funds.

Check out his channel, follow his Twitter, look forward to the movie, support independent film makers and writers who take risks. PEACE!

E-mail – taotome@outlook.com

Twitter – @MegasTeque

Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Author Page US – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

My Promotional Material YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nc_VEmC27AIz6pP51UVkQ?fbclid=IwAR26b3631qny1hSdZJx0iASzDUhTptqKI-NszWisWfRkB_uNFVBAGyZATLM

My Promotional Material Bitchute – https://www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu/?fbclid=IwAR2JpxeNGCSbYxTEuuI5D1EiUtbq5CaBiDF2LtUlXAs9K97_w8m0YRmjEBg

Mr H Reviews Channel YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxfZa-sV27MUDqy-iJIsfA

Mr H Twitter – @MrHreviews

D.W.Gill

A Jamming Mish Mash

So, I’ve hit a pretty big snag in my work recently which has stilted my progress on Episode Two indefinitely. My house is empty, my Xbox One is updating and I’ve had my fill on a delicious potato and leek soup I made this morning. When in the shower I decided to add to the Blog, because it has been a while since an update, but what to add is the question? As I stood there, bored as fuck, with an awesome shampoo in my hair I might add, thinking about what to write about, I decided to embark on an exersise, an exersise which more than likely has a name, but I cannot put my finger on, so I just called it a jamming mish mash, where I think of a handful of random topics to talk about, and just go for it, no editing, no train of thought, no deleting what comes to the front of my mind and just see what I come out with. So, grab yourself a drink and indulge me on my latest article of babbling nonsense. Hope you enjoy.

First thing that came to mind was Alien: Covenant, because fuck it, why not!? I have an unhealthy relationship with the Alien franchise, if you’re a follower of mine you’ll be well aware of my ‘problem.’ The pesky penis headed creature creeps its way in to almost every article I’ve ever written. In some form or another it pops up to say high or bursts onto the page as violently as it does through Kane’s chest in the 70s. I reviewed Alien: Covenant quite some time ago, shortly after it was released (I think). I haven’t re-read that review in preparation for this splurge of words because that is not the point of the exercise, I’m on free flow right now, but I seem to remember praising it here and there and slagging it off in other parts because it deserved a good slapping round the ass, especially toward the end, when the Protomorph is swinging around the landing craft under broad daylight, getting shot at by a discount Ripley (no disrespect Katherine Waterston, you are a fine actor and I like Daniels but few can do a Sigourney Weaver) near giant blue thrusters. Don’t get me wrong, the way it is filmed throughout, the way the film genuinely looks, sounds and plays is of masterclass, honestly it is simply gorgeous to look at and I did find myself liking it a whole lot more, but before I start sucking its dick, the scene with the landing craft and the third act that follows, is not handled in a way I’d of handled it. You always know where the creature is, David uh I mean ‘Walter’ is tracking it through the ship from the control room, there is no point when you lose track of the creature, rendering it less scary. The Protomorph is scary enough, but if you see too much of it as with anything, people get used to it and it slowly devolves into your typical horror movie monster flick. The Alien is supposed to transcend that. I suppose this is my biggest gripe with the film, perhaps superseding the reason’s as to WHY these prequel movies exist in the first place. The lander action scene just doesn’t do it for me, and the part where Daniels and Tennessee are hunting it aboard the ship falls flat. Oh yeah! That reminds me, another bit that rubbed me the wrong way, the bit when the face hugger leaps onto Lope in David’s lab, it leaps onto his face and is quickly removed by Cole, who then gets utterly destroyed by the alien afterward which IS pretty fucking wicked. Cole is a big tough lad, but compared to the creature, he is just a mild distraction and it shows. Later it is revealed that the face hugger was successful in planting an embryo inside of Lope, causing it to grow and birth when on the mothership Covenant, triggering the final action scene. I don’t think the timing was right, it felt to fast. In Alien 1979, it took at least two hours to impregnate Kane, another half hour perhaps longer to burst out of him. In Alien: Covenant it latches onto Lobe for less than a minute, and this is enough time to infect him, it jarred with me, caused an eyebrow to raise, even though I cannot raise one eye brow, so I guess I kind of just looked at the screen with a shocked face. Apart from those moments, I freaking love this movie, I love the opening especially when David, the A.I is talking to Peter Weyland in that phenomenal white room. It works so well because David figures out he is superior to Weyland, and decides to play the role of servant, because he has the time to do so and makes it easier on himself if he just obeys for the time being. As an A.I, you can tell he figures things out right at the start, he asks the most meaningful questions and concludes his mission, to create. Michael Fassbender steals this movie, he out acts everyone and I want to see more, criticise the movie all you want, I know I have, but there is enough with the David story to keep it afloat and keeps me hooked, I want to see more. Apart from Fassbender’s performance as David and Walter, I remember being drawn to the pilot called Faris, played by Amy Seimetz, but this time around I was drawn to another character, a character I always liked but just found myself a little more intrigued with. Her name is Rosenthal and is played by Tess Haubrich, she doesn’t have much screen time in the film but I noticed her early on and just kept noticing her, and when she gets her head bitten off by the Neomorph, I was kinda upset, spoiler by the way if you’ve not seen it. I don’t know why, but I kind of wish she had more screen time, I kinda wanted to know more about her. I’ve heard the argument by some that one of the films issues is that you do not spend enough time with the characters, well after some thought about this, I can counter this complaint with a question. Let me ask you, how many lines does Vasquez have in the movie Aliens? How much screen time does Ferro have or Drake? Now, compare it to the time you spend with Farris, and Rosenthal, Upworth, Riggs and Oram? I think you’ll find that you spend adequate if not more time with the new cast members than the characters in Aliens, so I figure the problem we have here is a cultural one, rather than a story telling one, I think Ridley Scott did a fine job with Prometheus and Covenant and does not deserve the hate he is getting. These movies are not perfect, but they are not sinful or trash unlike most remakes, retreads and prequel trilogies we get today. If you want a fuller review on Alien: Covenant, you can check mine out on this Blog, I’ll leave a link for your convenience but it’s probably easier to just scroll backwards until you find the title. I gave that movie a 6/10 last time round (I think) but I feel like I should mark it up since my last viewing, because I just enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I thought and even though there are still a few flaws and some inconsistencies, it’s not as bad as most people make it out to be, so with that being said, I re-review Alien: Covenant at a 7/10.

Second thing that comes to mind, is Annihilation, written and directed by Alex Garland in 2018, starring Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaacs, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson and a few others, people I cannot remember the names of, I apologise, but they all do a fine job of portraying their characters. Spoilers ahead. This movie is fucking awesome! It is SO good in fact that no-one saw it, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why? It’s a science fiction horror, horror being my favourite genre, guess that’s why it resonates, and it stars mainly women. There is a guy played by Oscar, but he isn’t in it for very long, but all others are incredibly smart females. You’ve got a mix of doctors, biologists, marines and psychologists and it frustrates me that in this day and age, where the light is focused on women, everything is focused on women these days, I keep hearing not enough women here, not enough women there, more representation is required, more women, be sure to put in a woman more more more, women women women, and Hollywood delivers this movie, which is fucking beautiful, scary as hell, thought provoking, unique, an all-star cast of brilliant female actors one of which is Natalie Portman who is incredibly talented, she is not as good as she is in Black Swan, I feel like her performance in Black Swan is yet to be topped, and yet Annihilation, gives mainstream audiences everything they want and no one talks about it, and no one saw it, it was a straight to Netflix film, it flopped hard…Why? This is what frustrates me, this is what people want, it’s delivered and then ignored, instead we see more about fucking Ghostbusters and Captain Meh uhh I mean Marvel. Now that I’ve given it some thought, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that this is not a superhero movie, perhaps because the culture only wants big dumb comic book movies and trash. Unique, interesting and brilliant films such as Annihilation are a dying breed. Because Annihilation took risks, because it wasn’t the norm and required some effort from movie goers, maybe this was the reason the film failed, and that is a great shame. With that aside, I love it, shit where do I even begin? First thing that stood out was the music, it’s so bizarre, it’s not normal and it works to fit the situation these characters find themselves in, total confusion as to what is going on. An alien entity collided with Earth, and upon impact, hitting a lighthouse, it formed something called a Shimmer, an iridescent, oily, rainbow like bubble. It is rather disturbing but wonderful to look at the same time, it’s weird. The Shimmer however is growing, it’s enveloping the land and seems to be fracturing and duplicating everything it touches. There are themes of cancer in this film which needs to be noted, it is mentioned three times, Natalie Portman’s character Lena, studies it, Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character Ventress is suffering from it and another character, I think her name is Cassie, has lost family to it (keep this in mind), but there IS a cancerous element to it, the way cells divide and corrupt, you can make a connection as to what is going on through this method of thinking. For example, there is a moment when you see two deer’s in the woodland almost mimicking each other, but a few scenes back you learned that one of the characters lost a daughter, so when SHE herself dies inside the Shimmer, it is in my view, symbolic of mother having found daughter through otherworldly means. It’s open to interpretation and that is what’s great. The Shimmer seems to fracture everything, the word prism is mentioned, it’s not fully explained but several loose explanations are given, but it appears to be an entity that splices natural forms together, everything from plants, animals and us. The group that enters The Shimmer, stumble upon a crocodile, that has sharks’ teeth, they encounter cross breeds of plants and the scene that really fucking scared the shit out of me was when the bear shows up. Holy fucking shit what is wrong with that fucking bear!? It’s the stuff of nightmares. Absolutely terrifying, but brilliant all the same. The bear has spliced with one of the victims and inherits her screams of anguish and uses it to lure out another character (the marine) to her own demise. In terms of creativity it scores highly with me, and is indeed worth your time. I’ll leave it there, but if you love horror and are searching for something non-traditional and unsettling, if you enjoy science fiction and like to be challenged, then this is the movie for you. It has a Giger’esque vibe to it at the end, when Lena enters this tunnel under the lighthouse, the movie doesn’t explain everything, it leaves room for interpretation and speculation. The acting is top notch, the music is wild and weird, simply a great movie.

I love cats! Cats are freaking incredible creatures, mysterious, independent, adaptable, intelligent and psychotic. Cats are great. When I was travelling Europe, back in 2015 or it could have been when I was living in Australia a year later, I remember seeing a very short snap shot of an animated cat patrolling the streets of a dystopian world, where retro stylised robots are walking about in our cities yet WE are nowhere to be seen. The animation wasn’t long, about thirty seconds or so but was so cool. I did post it on social media because…I love cats…And I looked forward to where this little project was going because…I love cats…The concept of playing as a feline with next generation graphics, in a science fiction world, tickled all the right spots for me, but information on this project was slim, so I lost touch with it, until now. Recently I watched the Sony PlayStation 5 game line up reveal, and I was of course impressed with what I saw, I am more of an Xbox fan, but I like the PS. The new Horizon: Forbidden West looks cool, I’ve always been an Oddworld fan so it was a pleasure to see that Oddworld Inhabitants are releasing something soon, I will literally take anything at this point because the last game in the series was Strangers Wrath released back in 2004, but the thing that really stood out, was not the gloriously grand, huge epic titles, or those with a long history, but for me it was the quiet little polished version of what I saw years ago, a game called Stray. I will link the trailer below. From what I’ve gathered, is that humans are no longer around, it’s not specified as to what happened but low key A.I has taken over, and cats are still wandering around in this futuristic world, and they are up to something, like they are little detectives or something. I don’t know exactly, I’m sure I’ll learn more about it as I play but this is a title I recommend you check out. A few people have said to me and I’ve read a few comments about a dogs game, and I’m like, a dog game is fine but cats hold a certain mysticism about them, no one really wonders about what dogs get up to, they are kind of simplistic. Cats on the other hand don’t need us around, they just use us because it is convenient for them, there is more intrigue surrounding felines I suppose and that adds to the flavour of a game like this, which I will be playing and talking about further in later posts.

I guess it’s time to fill you in on the studio, a studio I called Scarlett that I’ve been talking about in my most recent posts, time for an update at least although there is not much to tell that you don’t already know if you’ve been reading this Blog. Well, you can see the creation of the studio for yourself if you like. You can check out the video I posted to Bitchute and YouTube a week ago with zero tech assistance, created all from an old mobile phone which is quite literally falling to bits, I need blue tack to hold the charger in its port, not even kidding. I balanced the phone on surfaces using books and an Xbox controller stand, to assist with the angles, some of which are slanted and awkward, but one must work with what he has. I feel the need to say that the studio has been touched up since the shooting of that video, which you can access below, and I’ve yet to really start testing this equipment. I am in the process of learning how to voice act, I still do not feel 100% confident in my ability, so the moment I feel like I can tackle the project, I’ll be on it, it just takes time. I am also doing my best to learn how to use certain voice editing software. I’ve two in my possession, one is called Audacity, the other is called Ableton Live 10 Lite. Learning to use Ableton Live is like learning how to speak another language, I gave it a shot but I’m a bit overwhelmed with the program, so I’ll probably hunker down with Audacity for now, it was recommended to me in the beginning and looks relatively easy to use in comparison with Ableton, no one can say I didn’t try, but it is all coming along. The reading comes first, I’ll edit as I go chapter by chapter, I will fit certain sound effects and ambient noises in the background as I go, but not too much to ruin the experience. The hardest part to get right is becoming the characters and voicing them effectively. Of course, I know these characters backwards, I’ve been with them for what feels like forever, but really getting into their headspaces will be a challenge, one that I hope to nail with practise. As for Episode Two-Rise, as I said I’ve hit a snag, the snag being the word/page count. I’ll do my best to explain as simply as I can because it is a little grey, but if Episode One-Dream, was the standard size, and I want to hit that similar size, I need to reduce my word count. Just like before Episode Two will be structured in the same way as Episode One, three volumes, the first two consisting of twenty-five chapters while the final volume is made up of ten. This gives you an idea of the problem I am facing, is that volume four (the first volume in Episode Two) is around 360,000 words, and needs to be less, far less, around 250,000 give or take a few thousand. If I keep going as I am, there simply won’t be enough room to publish a Hardback Edition. To combat this, I’ve made contact with my editor, and hopefully will have volume four sent off for an early editorial. If he can reduce the word count significantly, and then I make a go of it afterwards, I believe I can deliver Episode Two in a similar way as I did with Episode One. That’s the snag I am facing, my own imagination, my own creativity is overcompensating the narrative and it needs to be put in check. I’ll keep my eye on it, I’ve made a note of it, I will be reducing my word count hence fourth, this will be a challenge because I’ve big plans for this book, it will blow your mind if executed correctly that I promise you, it’s going to be a great book, it’s going to be bigger than Dream, but work still needs to be done, and I thank you as always for your patience.

Last but not least, I’ve decided to get into an MMORPG between working on this TAO project. It’s called Monster Hunter: World, and it’s about a selection of young adventurers embarking on a journey that takes them to very wild and very dangerous places. You build your avatar, I’ve built mine, if you’d like to see him I’ve used his face for my Twitter profile. The player grabs and manages one’s gear and then you set off to hunt down the most dangerous of creatures in the world of Atira or maybe it is spelt Atera. Of course, you have to craft your own armour and weapons from the enemies you defeat, I’m only a few hours in but from what I can tell, the player has an enormous amount of choice. Depending on what paths you take, depending on how you fashion your characters skill sets will affect your appearance and abilities. It’s run of the mill RPG stuff  so far but has so much more to offer. I’ve played games like this before, games like World of Warcraft, AION and Warhammer Online, all have their charms, AION being my favourite of the three simply because of the music, graphics and flow of combat, but what I like about Monster Hunter is that it is all about your gear, let me explain. If you play WoW (World of Warcraft) and reach level 80, your character can flick aside anyone with ease who is ten levels below him or her, this is logical but with Monster Hunter everyone is somewhat equal, if a high level was to remove his armour and weaponry in opposition to a lower level, they would be reduced to roughly the same levels of strength and speed. It depends more on your skills as a player rather than what numbers you’ve built up over the course of the game. So if I at level 3 was to challenge a guy at level 15, the odds would be stacked against me severely but I’d still be in for a chance at defeating him, if I was more skillful and knowledgeable, whereas in WoW and Warhammer there is quite literally NO chance of victory and that is what drew me to Monster Hunter, it’s based in skill rather than level focused. I am still a new player, I’ll learn as I go, I look forward to teaming up with other players and hunting down big ass monsters, but that is the general jist I’ve uncovered so far, plus it has been a while since I got involved in a BIG game. Looks cool.

E-mail – taotome@outlook.com

Twitter – @MegasTeque

Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Author Page US – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Promotional Material YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nc_VEmC27AIz6pP51UVkQ?view_as=subscriber

Promotional Material Bitchute –  https://www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu/?fbclid=IwAR2JpxeNGCSbYxTEuuI5D1EiUtbq5CaBiDF2LtUlXAs9K97_w8m0YRmjEBg

Annihilation Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89OP78l9oF0

Stray Trailer –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbJY9nMB97U

Monster Hunter: World Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OotQrKEqe94

Alien: Covenant Review – https://taoscribe.wordpress.com/2017/07/02/alien-covenant-reviewed/

Building the Studio – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT0fX7tsmvo

D.W.Gill