First off, props to Phil and mcnooj82 who won the first Concept Art Challenge: Design A New Universal Monster with their collaborative effort The Spook.
As with the last contest, I'd like to stress from the beginning that this is a concept design challenge, so it will be the ideas and how well they are presented that will determine the winner and not just artistry. Anyone, regardless of how well they can draw, is welcome and encouraged to participate. I'll be posting a start date and deadline at the bottom of this post within the next 24 hours and there will be a one week period for your entries to be completed. Entries will be judged by a poll that I will start in a separate thread. Polling will be open to all members
This second challenge is inspired by Universal's new version of THE WOLFMAN and meant to lead into its opening on the 12th.
I think it's safe to say that Baker and Landis' work on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is still the benchmark for werewolf transformations.
Here's something I wrote about it back in 2008:
"To me the thing that makes AAWIL's transformation stand out above all the others is the editing of the sequence. Yes, it's a showcase of Baker's incredible artistry, but Landis constructed the sequence to give painful emphasis to each stage of the transformation. He actually prolongs the middle of the transformation just enough that when the last gag with David's skull and jaw extends forward with those awful, painful sound effects it's like a crescendo to an incredibly constructed song. All of the attempts to either top it, or just lazily crib from it, have followed the same basic 1-2-3 editing structure of that sequence. A shot of hands becoming claws, an arching back and protruding spine, the face and jaw jutting forward. And that's why all other attempts have failed. Most are all just riffs on the same old song.
Look at the transformation in CURSED. The camera pans around to better highlight certain bits of the transformation in basically the same sequence of gags that was seen in "London's" scene. The hands extending into claws. The camera panning down to see the legs becoming hind feet then up to the back so we can see the spine and muscles reconfiguring, and then on to the head. Okay, you've done in one shot what Landis and Baker were able to pull off 20 years ago, but without the help of computers, or more specifically, editing. Because there's nothing in the CURSED scene that we haven't seen before.
You want to top the transformation in AAWIL? Forget it, you're not going to. At least not in my opinion. And not by trying to redo the same song with more technically advanced tools than were available in its day. No, you want to create a new benchmark for others to try and top? Then you'll have to use you're imagination and come up with something different. That tends to be a whole lot harder. I look forward to seeing what Baker has planned for THE WOLF MAN. And whether that involves a combination of CG and practical, if it's as memorable, imaginative and groundbreaking as what he accomplished in 1981, then I'll not hesitate to praise it as the new benchmark."
So with that last paragraph in mind, the scenario for this new challenge is that you are tasked to conceptualize a unique werewolf transformation sequence for a new film.
The Rules:
Pretty simple set of rules for this.
1. Be imaginative. Your goal is to simply get from point A: man to B: wolf. The sequence of events leading up to that transformation and the series of steps in-between those points can be anything. Not saying you can't incorporate some of the basics of werewolf transformations as we've come to know them through a myriad of films but the overall goal here is to strive for something unique and interesting.
2. Your sequence has to be presented in storyboard format. I want you to consider the camera angles and editing of the sequence. You can use arrows and text descriptions to help explain actions within the frames. Honestly, we've all seen enough storyboards to know what is required here. The goal is to pre-viz how it would play out on screen through the cameras lens.
You can use whatever medium you like to create your storyboards.
No sign-up needed. Once the go is given to begin anyone can join in during the one week period allotted to the challenge. But you'll be expected to post your entry on the same deadline as everyone else.
This is now an active challenge. Deadline for entries will be February 20th at 11 am EST. You can post your entries in this thread as well as discuss the thought processes that led you to your final storyboard sequence or ask questions as you are still working on your entry.
__________________
As with the last contest, I'd like to stress from the beginning that this is a concept design challenge, so it will be the ideas and how well they are presented that will determine the winner and not just artistry. Anyone, regardless of how well they can draw, is welcome and encouraged to participate. I'll be posting a start date and deadline at the bottom of this post within the next 24 hours and there will be a one week period for your entries to be completed. Entries will be judged by a poll that I will start in a separate thread. Polling will be open to all members
This second challenge is inspired by Universal's new version of THE WOLFMAN and meant to lead into its opening on the 12th.
I think it's safe to say that Baker and Landis' work on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is still the benchmark for werewolf transformations.
Here's something I wrote about it back in 2008:
"To me the thing that makes AAWIL's transformation stand out above all the others is the editing of the sequence. Yes, it's a showcase of Baker's incredible artistry, but Landis constructed the sequence to give painful emphasis to each stage of the transformation. He actually prolongs the middle of the transformation just enough that when the last gag with David's skull and jaw extends forward with those awful, painful sound effects it's like a crescendo to an incredibly constructed song. All of the attempts to either top it, or just lazily crib from it, have followed the same basic 1-2-3 editing structure of that sequence. A shot of hands becoming claws, an arching back and protruding spine, the face and jaw jutting forward. And that's why all other attempts have failed. Most are all just riffs on the same old song.
Look at the transformation in CURSED. The camera pans around to better highlight certain bits of the transformation in basically the same sequence of gags that was seen in "London's" scene. The hands extending into claws. The camera panning down to see the legs becoming hind feet then up to the back so we can see the spine and muscles reconfiguring, and then on to the head. Okay, you've done in one shot what Landis and Baker were able to pull off 20 years ago, but without the help of computers, or more specifically, editing. Because there's nothing in the CURSED scene that we haven't seen before.
You want to top the transformation in AAWIL? Forget it, you're not going to. At least not in my opinion. And not by trying to redo the same song with more technically advanced tools than were available in its day. No, you want to create a new benchmark for others to try and top? Then you'll have to use you're imagination and come up with something different. That tends to be a whole lot harder. I look forward to seeing what Baker has planned for THE WOLF MAN. And whether that involves a combination of CG and practical, if it's as memorable, imaginative and groundbreaking as what he accomplished in 1981, then I'll not hesitate to praise it as the new benchmark."
So with that last paragraph in mind, the scenario for this new challenge is that you are tasked to conceptualize a unique werewolf transformation sequence for a new film.
The Rules:
Pretty simple set of rules for this.
1. Be imaginative. Your goal is to simply get from point A: man to B: wolf. The sequence of events leading up to that transformation and the series of steps in-between those points can be anything. Not saying you can't incorporate some of the basics of werewolf transformations as we've come to know them through a myriad of films but the overall goal here is to strive for something unique and interesting.
2. Your sequence has to be presented in storyboard format. I want you to consider the camera angles and editing of the sequence. You can use arrows and text descriptions to help explain actions within the frames. Honestly, we've all seen enough storyboards to know what is required here. The goal is to pre-viz how it would play out on screen through the cameras lens.
You can use whatever medium you like to create your storyboards.
No sign-up needed. Once the go is given to begin anyone can join in during the one week period allotted to the challenge. But you'll be expected to post your entry on the same deadline as everyone else.
This is now an active challenge. Deadline for entries will be February 20th at 11 am EST. You can post your entries in this thread as well as discuss the thought processes that led you to your final storyboard sequence or ask questions as you are still working on your entry.
__________________
