Week Five Contest Results

Dear Reader,

Apropos for the Week Five challenge we saw selection of dark images last week, but the one that piqued our curiosity the most at Squirrel King headquarters was an image of light .. well a light switch.

So for uniqueness of interpretation, Week Five's Potted Plant prize goes to Juliana Palmcook for "Turn off the lights ...".

Kudos as always also to the runners up who will also move onto the final public voting stage which starts next week!

And for your final chance to enter the contest before the public voting gets underway, check out Week 6 of the Contest!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Contest: Week 6 (They're Coming)

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Week 6 of The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest, our last week for you to submit an image!

For details on how this works, check out the The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest Tab or review the Sample Contest Entry blog post.

And now, check out today's inspirational clip:



Enter the Week 6 Contest with an image of something decidedly out of this world!

Weekly motif points go to pinkest entries.

And don't forget there's still a couple of days to enter the Week 5 Contest!

Next week, we'll begin the public voting :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Instructions for Life

Dear Reader,

Yesterday was devoted to realizing the instructions for the potted plant kits - or a first draft at any rate.

As Vivian and I watched and photographed Alien One's hands piecing the pot together and adding soil and grass it occurred to me that there was a lot more to be learnt from kids than the instructions to this kit.





A fearlessness to croon in public (a la Alien Two's current favored whim), outrageous joy in the presentation of simple objects like a dish of kiwi fruit (this example was entirely Alien One's own doing).

But most importantly strive to embrace life as if everything is happening for the first time!

Smile encouragement next time you see an Alien dancing frenetically :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Time Out!

Dear Reader,

As always, Squirrel King headquarters takes time out to embrace life. And with Alien One's school taking over an amusement park last night, the time was now! Were the Aliens excited?


Just a little ;)

Next up, stay tuned for the unveiling of the Halloween Water Fairy costumes that The Trouble and Strife has been hard at work on, the results look amazing!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS If you like the leggings your in luck 2012 will be the year of Little Nut!

Ed's Maps

Dear Reader,

It's been a hectic few weeks and one piece that's been lost to you in the herdy gerdy of it all was my reporting on Ed's map.

Towards the end of last week Alien One helped Ed and I shoot the wonderful stop motion piece inspired by the Parkour flipbook I referenced back in May.

It still needs sound and score, but I'm delighted by the final product! As always, I can't wait to share :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS Huge thanks to Rayshell who drew all the pieces!!

Week Four Contest Results

Dear Reader,

Week Four saw a slew of fantastic entries with people really getting into the spirit of the contest.

For sheer scale, scope and circularity in a moment that recurs every year, Week Four's Potted Plant prize goes to Robynn Clawson for "Bale after bale after bale ...".
Kudos as always also to the runners up who will also move onto the final public voting stage in just a couple of weeks time!

Now, check out Week 5 of the Contest! for some Squirrel King nighttime color!
Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Contest: Week 5 (Lights Out)

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Week 5 of The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest!

For details on how this works, check out the The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest Tab or review the Sample Contest Entry blog post.

And now, check out today's inspirational clip:



Enter the Week 5 Contest with an image from a time when you were left in the dark.

Weekly motif points go to best use of twinkling lights of any sort.

And don't forget there's still a couple of days to enter the Week 4 Contest!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Robin's Pink Chair

Dear Reader,

Glancing back over the last couple of weeks it occurs to me that I never actually shared an image with you of the final product that began with the Salvation Army chair in the Good Bones post.

The final product is pink and sturdy (the later, thanks to the good bones)!

And the Aliens love it :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Fate of Robin's Canopy

Dear Reader,

Some of you have wondered about the fate of Robin's bed canopy. Rest assured it was noble :)

In the spirit of recycling, reusing and repurposing we did not simply deconstruct and toss the wood.
Instead I took to it with a circular saw after Alien One and I collapsed the canopy with scissors. Then, over the weekend, we used it during a camping trip up the coast; the aliens do love their smores :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Out of the Darkness ..

Dear Reader,

The night sky outside was clouded over so we had to make our own.

It took some fiddling, especially with the lights (in the end the old aquarium light came through), but with persistence, Justus, the Trouble and Strife, and I brought the Aliens' spaceship to life.

We now have all the footage we need to complete our sizzle reel :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Week Three Contest Results

Dear Reader,

Week Three was one of my personal favorite clips. I simply love stop motion with actors in it :)

For tilling the soil and community service, the Potted Plant winner for the week was Deb Healing with "Fun With Flowers".


Kudos also to the runners up who will also move onto the final public voting stage a few weeks from now, and a particular note to Yvonne who continues to submit a panoply of poems with her amazing photos - I do love the potato sprouts!


Now, check out Week 4 of the Contest! for a close-up of Vlad!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Contest: Week 4 (Vlad's Switcheroo)

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Week 4 of The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest!

For details on how this works, check out the The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest Tab or review the Sample Contest Entry blog post.

And now, check out today's inspirational clip:



Enter the Week 4 Contest with an image of a recurring moment in your life ... or simply something circular!

Weekly motif points go to the inclusion of twins or triplets.

And don't forget there's still a couple of days to enter the Week 3 Contest!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Robin's Apartment

Dear Reader,

Robin's apartment is now shot out!

A superb week of filming has resulted in some good belly-laughs on set and more to come when we cut the footage together :)

During the week we were lucky enough to have Jeremy Pangilinan join us to grab some wonderful production stills. Hope you like the little smattering I'm sharing here - yes that's me in our dolly ;)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Robin's Apartment is Infiltrated

Dear Reader,

Yesterday we were visited by Justus' old friend Bob (who you might recognize from this week's Contest Clip).



Helping hands were needed for his ransom note, but once he had it he was off and away! And we were in stitches on the floor.

Shi Ne, our Robin, also deserves big props for her work with puppetting the fish in her tank.

Today should conclude the big push to film Robin's entire apartment which brings with it the 50% of production DONE milestone!

Check in tomorrow for more production stills :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Dear Reader,

I know most you have probably already checked out the Week 2 Potted Plant winner on the contest page, but for those of you who haven't had a chance, here are the results.

The Potted Plant winner was Venus Lau with "Happy Cab".

And again, kudos also to the four runners up who will also move onto the final public voting stage a few weeks from now.

And now, check out Week 3 of the Contest! and see a little piece of the stop motion we shot a couple of months ago.



Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A Coffee in Bed

Dear Reader,

Before hitting the hay, I wanted to share a little of the joy from this weekend's shoot.

It's been a fun couple of days, but even leisurely starts with coffee in bed for our pampered lead did inevitably have to give way to the serious business of playing Robin ;)


There's still a couple of days to go, so stay tuned; indeed tomorrow is the Aliens' last day of shooting (as Aliens as least).

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Contest: Week 3 (Bob's Burglary)

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Week 3 of The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest!

For details on how this works, check out the The Mad-Cap Squirrel King Contest Tab or review the Sample Contest Entry blog post.

And now, check out today's inspirational clip:



Enter the Week 3 Contest with an image displaying your own gardening prowess!

Weekly motif points go to the most tilled entries.

And don't forget there's still a couple of days to enter the Week 2 Contest!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Canopy

Dear Reader,

After a day of gathering sticks, filing down protruding broken branches and hours of conceptual planning, the moment finally arrived.

... actually Justus arrived too, which was perhaps the more significant milestone as assembly by myself was a little inconceivable.

Stay tuned for a wider view of Robin's canopy.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Final Touches

Dear Reader,

Yesterday Alien Two lovingly applied the final touches to Justus' library (the contents of which will reside in his backpack).

Before moving on to our re-appropriated living room to vet the Feng Shui of Robin's apartment. Obviously it still needs the canopy and the pom pom bedspread but otherwise it's feeling like home.



Stay tuned for images of Justus and I erecting the canopy today!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Good Bones

Dear Reader,

Yesterday revolved around collecting the bones for some of Robin's furniture, and given today's downpour, I'm particularly glad I had the Aliens to help me gather wood for the canopy to Robin's bed.

An earlier outing to the Salvation Army located a chair with great structure. A quick switch of the ghastly cushions for the chicken wire and plaster and we were well on our way to something unique :)

A couple more coats of plaster, some paint, and gloss; we don't actually need the chair til Tuesday ... Better cross those fingers it all works out :)

Back to the set!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Look at those Legs!

Dear Reader,

Yesterday morning was spent reviewing the script with our delightful leads. A good chance for a chuckle, both because of the story and the fantastic company!!

But like all meetings in prep for the big shoot starting this weekend, other matters needed attending to too. In yesterday's case, Robin's wardrobe was under review.


And the verdict: Robin rocks some awesome leg-wear!!

Stay tuned for the construction of her apartment :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims