Hey all,

I finished my Persona movie trailer/short movie for all to enjoy!

check it out! click High Quality for optimum viewing

Hey all,

Here is a still to get things rolling.


This is from the part of the short where a shadow's mask seeps out of a locker as the shadow chases the protagonist.


So as you can see, over the last few weeks I’ve been working on the effects shots for my short film, and it’s actually going quite well. I am quite pleased with the outcome of most of the effects despite this being the first time I have made a project of this magnitude.

I am currently working on the final shot of the short, where the persona rises from the main character as he is being summoned. My persona design has a bunch of scarf like pieces, so I have been doing a few cloth simulations to make it look realistic and well….awesome.

You can see one of these simulations below.



After the effects shots are complete I will be in the final editing stage followed by the marketing stage,
where I will be researching different networks and avenues on which to debut my project.

I am on schedule to complete this project for the 20th for my course work, but I will probably release it to the public at the end of the month. This gives me the opportunity to retouch some shots after I get some feedback from my peers and Instructors.

The next post will be in a few weeks prior to the release.

Hey Everyone,

It's been quite a long time since the last post, however that doesn't mean I haven't been busy! My brothers and I finished all the filming last weekend in 4 hours. We had a few hiccups along the way involving security and blocking access to the fire escape, but other than that it went pretty smoothly.

I decided that I would star in the film as the main character, as it seemed it would be the best choice in terms of convenience. However through this process I have learned that I am a terrible actor, but thanks to the magic wonders of editing the performance ended up pretty decent in the raw footage.

I just finished the rough edit of the raw footage and have just begun the initial composting work for the card shattering into glass effect when the character summons his persona.

I created a still for you guys to enjoy.



As for the coming weeks, I will be fleshing out the rest of the effects shots. I have decided to add a few more effects than I originally intended for this project, but I don't think it will affect my time line too much. I am shooting to have this project done by the 24th but It will probably be a few weeks longer than that, depending if my other classes take too much of my time.

Until next time!

Welcome to part 2!

Over the last week I have been reworking some of my concepts a little as I have been working on the storyboards for my short film. They are pretty rough at the moment once I redo them to something that is actually recognizable to everyone else I will post them. I have been doing some location scouting and have decided to shoot the film in my school (Alberta College of Art and Design) for both ease in proximity to the green screen and also the look fits my image.

Some of the scouting location shots are below.\











Apart from working on location and story boarding, I have been doing some preliminary model and texturing work on the shadow's mask that will make it's appearance in my short film.



The model is almost done I think, I might clean it up a bit more. The texture on the other hand is very early in development is something I just slapped on pretty quickly.

Well until next time!

1. I've been using the same screen name for 12 years, Quake 2 rocket arena all the way!


2. I have been to every continent sans Antarctica, and over the course of my life i have "lived" in five different countries around the world. Those countries being Scotland, Norway, Indonesia, Mexico, and finally Canada. My Dad works in oil and was an expatriate for the first third of my life until we finally settled in Calgary where I have been living for the last 15 years. (I used to have a bitchin Scottish accent for the first few years of my life, which has now faded away only to be witnessed from home movies)

3. I'm planning on moving to Japan in 2010 through the JET exchange program for a year or more depending if I like it or not. I think it will be a good change in lifestyle and I hope to level up in my surfing skills while I'm over there. Thinking of trying for a town near Kyushu and Chiba.


4. Family is very important to me. My brothers are "ballin' as fuck" and are no doubt one of the most important parts of my life. When we are all together most of the conversation is constantly interjected with random movie quotes such as "Let's see if these bastards can do 90" or "It's so early... can we get some coffee or somesing." I don't know where I would be without my brothers.


5. I go to Art School but I can't stand most of the art students. Most of them are 1 dimensional, ignorant, "I hate all things capitalist" douche bags. I do however connect with the instructors though because they seem to have gotten over this sentiment. Yay for graduation in 3 months.


6. I watch an unhealthy amount of Japanese tv show clips on youtube. My personal favourites right now is a series called Ayaka's Surprise English Lesson. View below! share my obsession get addicted! before you know it you will have watched 20 different segments!


7. I shower in the dark..... What were you expecting an explanation?


8. I love the residual smell of chlorine on the skin after one goes swimming in the swimming pool, I will honestly just put my hand to my nose for a good 10 minutes afterward whenever I go swimming or go in a hot tub.


9. My favourite food is a good old fashioned cheeseburger, straight up. Since I can't really think of anything else to extrapolate, did you know that Beethoven's favourite food was Macaroni and cheese?


10. I'm planning on driving down to PAX this year with Funktastic, so yoj1mbo since I don't really know you lets get some tequila shots!

Hey Guys,

So after slaving my way through 4 years of art school I decided for my graduating project I wanted to do something really awesome, challenging, and fun. I have recently finished playing through Persona 4 and have become inspired to create a high production value movie trailer based on the series. I don't expect this project to be easy by any means, but I hope to learn a lot and to share my experiences with everyone.

So with that in mind I have decided to post the development of my project into a series of blog posts that show what I'm currently working on right now and what I will be doing next. I am pretty open to any suggestions you guys may have so if you think you have a great idea that would enhance my project feel free to spill it out.

With that said for my first post I am going to post the plot synopsis of the trailer

Persona Teaser Project Synopsis:
My project is to create a high production value movie trailer set in the world of the “Shin Megami Tensei: Persona” video game series by incorporating the different identifiable elements that make up the awakening scenes found in the video games. This project is only a teaser “what if” scenario, It isn’t my intention to make a full length film based on the persona series at this time.

An example of an "awakening" scene


Plot Synopsis:
A High School student wearing a school uniform is seen being chased down a dark hallway, as the student traverses down the hallway, his surroundings become warped and consumed by dark shadows. Lights begin to flicker and later are ‘consumed’ by the darkness. The audience isn’t able to directly see what is chasing the protagonist but there are visible effects of the hidden villain in the form of footsteps that break the floor and objects that are pushed over as he chases the protagonist. The chase progresses to the point where the character gets to a dead end and can’t escape further.

The character turns around to see the darkness (in the form of shadowy tendrils) trapping him as it seeps down the hall way. It’s at this point where we briefly see the form of the antagonist as an iconic blue mask of the series seeps its way to the surface of the shadow. We see the protagonists face succumbed by distress and horror. As the camera focuses on his face a tarot card (a reoccurring thematic object to the series) materializes and floats in a spinning downward motion in front of the protagonist’s face.

The card lands in the character's hand and his disposition suddenly changes to that of a smile and confidence. The camera then focuses on the close up of the characters lips saying the word “persona”. Suddenly a bright blue light surrounds the character; the card and an area behind the characters head erupt into shards of glowing blue glass, with the ambiguous figure of the character’s persona showing up behind him. The scene cuts to black as the title “Persona” fades on the screen.

Element breakdown:
This project incorporates live action film with 3D animation and After Effects elements to create the narrative and supernatural elements present in the various scenes.

3D elements:
- Glass shattering effect
- Shadow antagonist’s mask
- The persona as it rises from the protagonist
- Broken floor footsteps
- Floating tarot card

After Effects elements:
- Encroaching shadow in hallway
- Shadow tendrils
- Glass shattering effect (compositing)
- Persona rising (compositing)
- Broken floor footsteps (compositing)
- Floating tarot card (compositing)

What I'm working on next:

This week I'll be working on the storyboards for the film and starting some of the special effects.
Expect a new post next week. Also, does anyone know how to upload video files? I can't seem to get it to work.

Here is a little something I've been working on.