It's Coming Soon: Monsterpalooza 2010 Report

Hey Kids,

I've seen it! I've seen what The Captain has put together to give those of you who missed MONSTERPALOOZA 2010: a taste of what you can see if you attend one of these gatherings.

Mind you, it is a taste. There is so much to see and do at Monsterpalooza and if you are a fan of monster makers, you won't find a larger collection of artists in attendance than this event.

Eliot Brodsky is the organizer and he works tirelessly to insure that attendees have TONS of eye candy to see, cool stuff to buy, and lots of guests to meet during their visit. And, I can say that The Captain had a lot of fun meeting his fans live in person:

So with a little luck and a strong tail-wind, The Captain should have his report posted in the Messages section of The Captain's Quarters at phantomharbor.com very soon!

Until Next Time, I'll see YOU at the Harbor.

Shannon Shea

BLOG PIRATES!

Hey Kids!

Sorry for the delay, and be prepared because there will be a MONSTERPALOOZA 2010 report soon, but first let us talk about BLOG PIRATES!

After I post this, I'm sure I'll regret it, but I have to express my complete dissatisfaction with the opportunity that was offered me from godaddy.com to switch this blog from Google's blogger to wordpress.org.

Now, I'm sure that wordpress.org is a great place to create and keep a blog. I've also been told it is the more "professional" place to host a blog, but if that is the case, you won't see me posting professional blogs any time soon.

I went into my godaddy account, loaded the software and tried to create this fantastic blog I was promised. What I got was a bland looking foundation that it was my understanding that I would be able to customize to my tastes.

Upon trying the Username and Password provided to me via e-mail I was unable to access the account. Upon entering the username and password I had chosen while setting up the account, that too, got me nothing.

I wrote Wordpress and received very complicated instructions (most of which did not work btw) to try to force a password change to gain access. Not so good.

What this means is that I am not going to attempt to set up my wordpress account and I'm staying HERE at BLOGGER! You know, I'm not a rabid blogger and I'm not followed by that many folks. The fantastic, rare individuals that actually READ this blog are getting the information as I'm writing it so why change now?

This blog is linked in my web site so if someone REALLY wants to read what's up at Phantom Harbor behind the scenes, this is the place. AND if The Captain decides he wants to write a blog account of his old adventures, he, too will begin a BLOGGER account and we'll figure out a way for you generous folks to read it.

So we have repelled the blog pirates for now! Blogger we are here to stay!

Until next time, I'll see you at the Harbor.

Shannon Shea

Work is Underway for the Next Episode!

Hey Kids!

WOW! So I've tipped my hand about the fate of Geckoniki Island, but honestly what did you think? That's like saying that you're going to make a Western without any horses! Tropical Island locales DEMAND volcanoes! It's just that simple.

So for those of you who love "Making Of" type stuff, let me explain: I shot a sort of a cloud tank shot for the plume of smoke. Now I've NEVER attempted something like this before in my life, so it was pretty exciting. I made a base for clear Tygon tubing that could be weighted at the bottom of an aquarium and hooked two syringes to the tubing with connectors.

I used white paint that Alex Diaz and Carey Jones, of KNB, pumped for me while I filmed on my trusty Zi-6! All of this against a lit green screen. Next time, I would use milk instead of paint which was heavy. My guess is that milk, which contains fat, would float rather than sink making a more impressive cloud.

What we got was really cool. Not perfect by any means, but really cool. The video here is a test. Once I have more elements to combine, it should be cooler.

So, back to work. More puppets to make, miniatures to construct and art to generate.

Until next time, I'll see you at the Harbor!

Shannon Shea

Conversation With Phantom Harbor Composer, Andy Schoneberg

Hey Kids!

So as some of you may have noticed, Phantom Harbor received a new musical theme. This was thanks to Andy Schoneberg, who is not just a very talented sculptor and make up artist, but turns out to be a talented composer as well.

Andy has worked in Special Effects Make Up for over 20 years and has contributed his incredible talents to films like EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, TERMINATOR 2, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS just to name a few.

I spoke with him recently to ask about his involvement with Phantom Harbor*

Shannon Shea: How did your first get involved with Phantom Harbor?

Andy Schoneberg: I've been wanting to be involved with Phantom Harbor for a long time; it's a cool project. So when I overheard Garrett (Immell) and Kevin (Wasner) talking about your difficulties with YouTube*, I thought to myself, I wonder if I could come up with something.

SS: How did you put it together:

AS: I do a lot of work with GARAGE BAND (music composing program) and I listened to the opening music from your pilot episode to get a feel for what you were looking for.

SS: Did you have any idea that it was the theme from the film THE HAUNTED PALACE?

AS: No, I just listened to it for the different musical cues it contained and then started figuring it out. I began with the violin staccato beat and then composed the violin melody that is picked up by the bass. Once that foundation was done, I added the other instruments then finally the timpani which is kind of like the spice of the piece.

SS: So is the theme composed of "loops" or was it written using individual notes?

AS: I have a little keyboard (USB) that hooks directly into the computer and "jam packs" which are "instruments" that I compose with. I play the guitar, but when I work with GARAGE BAND, I'm more interested in Orchestral Compositions and this was a great opportunity.

SS: You know I love it. Did you have any idea that I would time the gong crash with the blowing out of the match?

AS: No, but it matched perfectly!

Music is such an integral part of any show and to have Andy on board now is an honor and a RELIEF! He hopes to widen his influence by composing more incidental music for the show as well as a theme for our resident Goblin! So what's he sitting around talking to me for?! He's got music to compose!

Until next time, see you at the Harbor!

Shannon Shea

*BTW - YouTube doesn't take kindly to any filmmaker (profit or nonprofit) using unlicensed music to accompany their films. I made the mistake of attempting to promote the pilot episode on YouTube and nearly had my channel shut down so BEWARE!

Part 2 gets a Title!

Hey Kids!

"Rescue from Geckoniki Island" is the working title of the next episode of Phantom Harbor! The action will pick up right where "A Cry From Captain Keller" left off as Captain McAllister lands on the shore of Geckoniki Island.

As for the Geckoniki's and Captain Keller, I'll post some photos as things are made. I don't want to tip the hat too far.

Most of the live action shooting was completed in December 2009 but there are still some key scenes that need to be shot (and written for that matter) but we hope to be up by June.

Those of you who are avid fans will "feel the wait" but I'm desperately trying to increase our viewing base so that by June, we have a nice community all joining the Captain on his journey to this tropical hell!

As usual, I encourage letters to the Captain. Stories, drawings, poems, etc. Send them along with questions to: TheCaptain@phantomharbor.com

Until next time, see you around the Harbor.

Shannon Shea

A CRY FROM CAPTAIN KELLER

Hello Kids!

So, as many of you already have seen, A CRY FROM CAPTAIN KELLER was posted on the Phantom Harbor Site, YouTube, and Vimeo simultaneously this Saturday, March 27th.

This episode finally takes the beloved Captain off of the Sofia Maria and transports him to locations exotic. The next episode will more full exploit the island and I'm sure that you won't be disappointed.

Yes, I know there are sound issues but thanks to Tracy Shea, my wife and live action director, we hope to sort those out before the next episode airs in June.

Now, for me, this was the biggest news: The reading of our first "fan written" poem on the show. Lucia Fasano, on her own accord, wrote the short poem at the Fasano Family table at Monsterpalooza last year. Upon receiving it, Tracy and I knew we HAD to do SOMETHING with it other than post her drawing in the gallery.

So, after getting her permission, I set out animating short segments to reflect her tentacled beastie to include it on the show and her father, John, wrote and told me that she LOVED it.
Mission accomplished!

This should be the START of this kind of audience participation. We ENCOURAGE you to send in your photos, drawings, writings, letters, questions, whatever....We want YOU to be as excited as we are to put the show on.

Send your submissions to : TheCaptain@phantomharbor.com - yes, he answers e-mails. Or, if you have a technical question about the show or want to buy a T-Shirt via snail mail, write: info@phantomharbor.com and I'll be sure to get to you ASAP.

Don't despair! Most of the live action for the next show is already shot! Gotta hit the studio to create some new puppets and miniatures and then shoot, shoot, shoot! We're hoping to post in early to Mid-June! You have time! Send your submission in TODAY!

Until next time, see you at the Harbor!

Shannon Shea

Goblin HD Shoot!

Ahoy Boys and Girls!

So big news...well, big for us here. Today was the first time we've shot the Goblin puppet on High Definition. We are now shooting on the Kodak Zi-6 (hopefully, the Zi-8 soon!) and getting much cleaner composites because of the higher pixel count!

Let this be a lesson to all of you garage filmmakers. Hi-def is now just $150.00 away! And by the way, check out this incredibly practical home set up! Ridiculous! But anyway, this gets all of us closer to the new episode, so stay tuned!

Until next time, see you at the harbor!

Shannon