Distracted by Hummingbirds

Dear Reader,

My mind has been a little preoccupied with Alien Two's desire to celebrate hummingbirds with the kids at her school.

A couple of days ago, that distraction combined with the bag of corks earmarked for Paul's car ...

and we now have miniature hummingbirds!

Where exactly they fit into The Squirrel King, I'm not yet sure, but hummingbirds make everyone happy; Alien Two spent this morning working on their wings while singing us a tune :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Potted Plants for You - Another Step Closer

Dear Reader,

Look at the smile on Justus' face!! And he's not even in a boulder field!

Yesterday saw a big step forward, with prototype Potted Plant kits assembled for the winners of last year's contest. With some luck, you too will soon be able to enjoy the thrill of your own pom pom flower, Squirrel King-style.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Light Inspiration

Dear Reader,

Here's a little inspiration from a pair of Brazilian filmmakers that mixes projected light onto a city backdrop. Cool stuff.



To read a little more about these guys, and see another piece in which they use a jungle backdrop, check out this article.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Bob steals the show

Dear Reader,

Please join me in congratulating Bob Kellough (our sound designer, as opposed to the Catburglar's sidekick who we were filming last week) for his win of the Motion Picture Sound Editors' Golden Reel award for best sound editing (direct to video).

Bob (center of the pic) took LOVE, which was shot entirely without sound and made it a tour de force. A well deserved and prestigious accolade!

Congratulations Bob!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Doll House

Dear Reader,

With the lure of finally getting her doll's house for good, Alien One was an enthusiastic co-conspirator on getting the final piece of the exterior of Ed's house into the can - she operated Bob's light inside the house.

Then, in true squirrel king style, she moved over to something completely different - hummingbirds!

Of course Alien Two was suitably inspired to join in :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whim

Ineffable Joy

Dear Reader,

For those of you in LA here's a show to support this month!

"Ineffable Joy" is Claude Smith's (father-in-law of our very own Vivian) first one-man show in Los Angeles.

It's downtown at Gallery Mujo.

And for a tiny bit of ineffable joy from The Squirrel King witness Alien Two's joy on the recorder :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Serging Ahead

Dear Reader,

The smile on her face says it all! Don't be fooled by the knife though, its her new attire that's made her happy :)







Last week the Trouble and Strife bought herself a new serger - a kind of sewing machine with two needles, four bobbins and knives of it's own (literally, it chops material!).


And now, well now she's serging ahead :)

Notice Alien Two and her doll have matching tights! Squirrel King wardrobe, here we come!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Lorax

Dear Reader,

Yesterday the Trouble and Strife took the Aliens and me to The Lorax premiere.

A wonderfully colorful event filled with Truffula trees and bountiful brightness.


The film itself, like Dr. Seuss' original book has a wonderful message we all should heed; plant more trees and take care of the planet.

Keep caring!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Bob's Miniature

Dear Reader,

Some of you may recall Bob, the Catburglar's sidekick, and the sneak peek footage of his rather ignoble fall from grace.

Today, Bob returns ... in miniature :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Colorful Map

Dear Reader,

Alien One got a set of watercolors over the holiday season and we've spent a number of days experimenting with what can be done.

Among the wonderful elements we've discovered together was Yupo paper! It's kind of waxy and the paint slips off, but it's very cool when it does dry. ... And I think it would be perfect for a map. Time for a trip to the art store to find the biggest sheet we can :)



Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS rest assured the map is going to be unusual.

Happy Valentine's Day

Dear Reader,

Happy Valentine's day from Alien One and all of us here at The Squirrel King.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Ed's Miniature Shoot

Dear Reader,

Check out a couple of stills from last Friday's big day! Ed's house's background plates for a number of the bluescreen shots we shot with the Mango Goddess (Robin's car) a couple of weeks ago look awesome :)

And equally awesome, was to see the recurrence of some fanciful sets we've already used elsewhere ...

the world is starting to feel like a beautifully integrated place!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Last Minute Additions

Dear Reader,

With Ed's miniature shooting today, the Aliens both jumped in yesterday with two hands and a slew of great ideas.





First and foremost was the construction of Ed's curtains.

But beyond that, vines and wind chimes were suggested (both of which naturally look fantastic)!

Finally we rounded out the day with a little Alien One snack :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Inspiration from Jay Nelson

Dear Reader,

Whimsy comes in many forms, but a patchwork construction always has it!




Artist Jay Nelson certainly has fun with that. And in case you're wondering if there's something in the air that we're all tapping into, notice the shape of his tree-house ... is that not the biggest acorn you've ever seen!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Sound Design

Dear Reader,

I'm excited to report that later today I'll be heading over to sit down with Bob, our sound design guru. We're going to spot our teaser for sound, which is to say to go through it with an eye on where to place the sound and what sounds to add.

As I've reported before, Bob is a super talented. If you're interested in hearing his work for yourself, check out a little movie called The Grey on which he was the sound designer. It's a little different to The Squirrel King but the sound design is being singled out in many reviews as superb :)

Three cheers for Bob!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

More Miniatures

Dear Reader,

The time has come to finally make good on my promise of a dolls house for the Aliens.

And so, we yesterday built a door, a doorframe, and gutters for Ed's house.
By the time the Aliens have finished enjoying the LA rain construction ought to be done :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Fishy Update

Dear Reader,

Sometimes a whim goes a long way, and the continuing evolution of our fish tanks is one such whim.

We actually lost a fish, Blue Moon, for the first time recently, due to old age. Of course we had our traditional flush (which Alien Two administered with great gusto), but the silver lining was the realization of how far our tanks have come!

The remaining fish are decidedly happy-campers, even with Dark Lightning (left) presiding over the underwater jungle.


And the new tank is home to some pretty happy little critters too :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Stop Motion Sheep

Dear Reader,

The backgrounds continue :)

Yesterday I realized we also need some sheep in our landscape, so before combining the bird and the background tests (check out the test clips on The Squirrel King YouTube channel) into one, I took time out to make some sheep.



You can see them on that hill over yonder.

And now, back to one frame at a time :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Beauty of Engineering

Dear Reader,

Sometimes it's the simple things that make you smile, like the purchase of a flower.

Of course it helps when that flower is an orchid of whimsical blue! Oh the wonders of modern science :)








Go buy a flower for someone you love!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

No Shortage of Corkage!

Dear Reader,

Yesterday I had a visitor, and she came bearing gifts :)

In the midst of the back-breaking stop-motion I've been shooting (the passenger's side backgrounds are now completed), Shi Ne stopped by to deliver a big bag of corks!!

I'm now doubly enthused to finish off the paper-cut stop motion backgrounds as I'm sure the Aliens and I are going to have an absolute ball making Paul's cork car ...


Don't worry if you're not quite seeing it yet ... it's in the concept stage, but stay tuned, we'll start construction shortly!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims