Tito Sacchi, a good friend and director I’ve worked with, has submitted a short film to Virgin Media Shorts. From the cellar is a beautifully shot dark comedy, written and directed by Tito.
Tito and I have worked on a couple of short films together. We co-wrote Not Yet and I moonlighted as a stills photographer on Il Silenzio del Mare, both of which are doing the film festival circuit. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the shooting dates for From the cellar, but I contributed in a very minor way as a script editor.
If you can spare a couple of minutes, please watch From the cellar and, if you enjoy it, please vote.
I was part of SideLines‘ writing team, headed by James Worrall, developing characters and scripts for the game. Hopefully some of the 40 plus passengers I worked on will be taking a ride with you/Tanner later this year.
This was the first Comic Expo that Vicky and I had attended, and we were delighted by how friendly and welcoming everyone was. On the Friday night and over the following two days we met many talented and passionate people.
It was striking how intimate the comic industry is. Everybody knew everybody. This seemed especially true of the Small Press Expo at the Mercure hotel. If small press comics is a cottage industry it is not made up of isolated dwellings on bleak, wind swept moors but a thriving rural village.
Vicky and I would like to say a big thank you to Nic Wilko, Cy Dethan, Lauren Sharp, Alex Willmore and Martin Conaghan for not only looking after us at our first expo but introducing us to many of the people we met over the weekend.
We walked away with a small horde of reading material: Burke & Hare, Cancertown, Fetishman, Jack Staff, Phonogram… At the rate we’re enjoying it, I’m not sure it will last very long.
Over the weekend I caught a few panels, including Comic Writing for Dummies and Image‘s Creating Creator Owned Projects. Both sessions were informative and funny, the panelists discussing the trials, tribulations and benefits of producing creator owned material.
No matter what stage you’re at in your career, I can’t stress how useful attending such panels are. I firmly believe any creative endeavor is a continuous learning process, that if you think you’ve mastered everything you’re probably not trying hard enough. Right, stepping off my soapbox.
The Comic Book Alliance panel was another highlight for me. Being a newcomer to the industry I expected it to be similar to the WGGB and in many respects it is. Their aim is to promote the comics industry and support the development of it. Of the panels I attended this was probably the most positive and definitely the most forward looking.
Finally, it has probably not escaped your attention, being announced on Insomnia Publications’ The Red Eye blog, that I’ve chosen to resign from my position as a volunteer script editor. It’s been a pleasure working with my fellow creators at Insomnia over the last four months. Thank you all for making me feel very welcome.
Recovering from a grand day at Salute 2010 helping Messrs Graeme and Karl from Crooked Dice, and fellow plucky assistants, run participation tables for the Doctor Who Miniatures Game. Both scenarios went down a storm, and we were delighted when the DWMG won the Best Participation Game award at the show.
Photo by Karl Perrotton, painting by Lee Birch.
For younger gamers we were running Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Daleks, featuring Cybermen, Daleks, Preachers and Torchwood, inspired by the 10th Doctor episodes Army of Ghosts and Doomsday, and using Jelly Babies for luck points. For the matured gamer there was Classic Who with A Rig Too Far, pitting the 3rd Doctor, Jo Grant, UNIT and their Boffins against the Master and his Sea Devil allies, inspired of course by The Sea Devils, and most of them had some Jelly Babies too.
It was my first experience of Salute and it was a good one. Although the setting itself was very spit and sawdust compared to other events I’ve attended at ExCel, it was by far the most friendly and fun. Hours of preparation had been put in by the exhibitors to bring their games to life. The hall was filled with stunning demonstration and participation tables, covering thousands of years of history, alternate worlds, realms of fantasy and far flung sci-fi.
Just want to thank the Crooked Dice team, Graeme, Karl, Ross, Morgan, Tom, Paul, Hayden, Vicky and Matt H, our 10th Doctor impersonator; everyone who stopped by to play or watch; and the South London Warlords for a great day.
