Monday 31 October 2011

Some ARNIE Progress

After my well documented problems with OSX Lion and Stunts and Effects I am pleased to say that I have now managed to write a story for the final episode of ARNIE. I have enough footage to use and on a first rough cut it cobbles together quite well into a story. It actually works as more of a series 3 prequel story instead of a continuation of ARNIE series 1 but it really is the best I could do with what I had available.

As far as a release date goes I am hoping that will be quite soon. I am still unable to access the VAA forums so I think I might just knock the idea of voice acting on the head for ARNIE and concentrate on getting CDW Series 3 finished and Centerpoint written.

On the note of Christel Doctor Who, I am hoping to be able to release the first "character trailer", which will be Tabitha's, very soon, so be sure to watch out for that one.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Christel Doctor Who of the Week - Protection

Although episode 3 of series 3 is called War of the Worlds is more of a protection story. You'll find out more when the episode airs but the Doctor panics about needing to protect somebody and has to call in a lot of favours to do so.

Tuesday 25 October 2011

The future Begins here...

Today I sat down and put pen to paper on the first script of my new animated series (and Christel Doctor Who spinoff) Centerpoint. It's been a long time coming, and will probably take even longer to get to your computer screens but the process has begun.

I am aiming to reveal a few more of the characters for the series through special appearances in Christel Doctor Who, so be sure to keep an eye open for that and I am planning a viral advertisement campaign on this blog, but more info on that will come about soon.

Saturday 22 October 2011

Lion has killed ARNIE

I am very sorry to have to inform you that I have been unable to solve my issues concerning access to the Movies Stunts and Effects using OSX Lion. It will not open anymore and I have run out of things to try. Sadly this does mean that ARNIE series 2 has now been cancelled.  I apologise whole-heartedly but there is very little I can do if I cannot gain access to the software that I use to animate an animated series with.

But. It is not all doom and gloom. I had managed to complete 80% of episode one before this major technical gremlin took hold and so I have formed a plan. Using footage from what I already have and some old unused footage I will put together ARNIE's final adventure. I have already begun rewriting the story I had planned for episode 1 and instead of a second series I want you to think of this episode as a special tagged onto the end of series 1. I should be able to release the episode quite soon and as there is now only one episode to work on I may give the voice actors alliance another shot to see if I can gain access to my account again.

The episode will be called "Hunt for the Doctor" and will not only form ARNIE's last adventure but bridge the gap nicely between the end of Christel Doctor Who series 2 and certain events in series 3.

On the note of Christel Doctor Who, don't panic. I have everything animated and exported except the five minute scene in episode 6 which was sadly corrupted. I am still working on a plan for this but I have a bit more time than I had with ARNIE.

I am dissapointed to have to make this announcement as I had got big things planned, as well as a great story from a guest writer but I really have no other choice. I can't access the software which means I can't animate it.

There may be trouble ahead...

I may have a serious problem. I have recently updated my iMac to OSX Lion. Sine doing so The Movies Stunts & Effects refuses to run. I have try reinstalling it and upgraded flip4mac but to no avail, it simply "quits unexpectedly". I have been working on this problem all day and found nothing to solve it. The only hope is that I can convince my windows partition to accept the game, but that seems to be playing up as well (but tbh, when doesn't windows play up?).

This unfortunately means that the promised ARNIE trailer will not be ready for this weekend and that the series is once again on hold. I am truly sorry for this delay. If anyone knows of any fixes for this I would be most appreciative of their help. I have also discovered that the final export I did for the last piece of CDW series 3 was corrupted so I am also missing a part of the last episode, which has really caused me to panic. But don't worry. I have the rest of the episodes safely tucked away in iMovie ready for their subtitles and sound.

More on this as it happens.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Series 3 Progress Update...ARNIE trailer Coming...

With filming on Series 3 of Christel Doctor Who having wrapped early last month I am now in the lengthy "post-production" phase and that means adding subtitles and music. I am pleased to say though that as of today (October 19th) I now have episodes 1 and 2 of the third series completely finished, which is a third of the series already done.

In other news. I can also confirm that after a very quiet period concerning ARNIE series 2 that there will be a trailer for the second series at some point during next week and that the series will start very soon after that. Unfortunately I have had to abandon voice acting. I am unable to access my account on the Voice Acting Alliance and even if I could now it would be too short notice for potential actors to submit auditions for parts. I did record a lines for the episode myself (As a cameo you understand:)) and so I have played about with putting voices into the episodes. It will have to wait now until Centerpoint next year.

Christel Doctor Who of the Week...C3PO

In a very comical moment in episode two of CDW series 3 Jack Harkness will refer to ARNIE as C3P0. He will of course find that fact that ARNIE can assume any identity very interesting. Expect lots of "not now" moments for Mr Harkness.

Saturday 15 October 2011

Series 3 Full Scheduling

So if you missed yesterdays Series 3 release date trailer it is posted below outlining when series 3 of Christel Doctor Who will commence. But here is the information regarding the now confirmed broadcast dates for the other 5 episodes of the series.

S301. An Imperfect World - Saturday December 3rd

S302. Evil of a Timelord - Saturday December 10th

S303. War of the Worlds - Saturday December 17th

S304. False Dawn - Wednesday December 21st

S305. The Halls of Creation - Saturday December 24th
 
S306. End of Days - Saturday December 31st

So there you have it. Official confirmation of the broadcast schedule. I must admit I had this in mind pretty much from the word go. The only real change was moving episode 4 back to the 21st, this meant I could put episode 5 on Christmas Eve and then have the series end on New Years Eve...oh and what an ending it will be, episode 6 is now running at an estimated length of 35-40 minutes.

Friday 14 October 2011

Series 3 is on its way...

So here it is. A little earlier than promised, but here is the series 3 release trailer. There is some new series 3 footage in here to watch out and a new character to add at the list, but you'll have to do very well to spot him. Anyways, enjoy the trailer. Full series 3 schedule will be released tomorrow.



I know its the soundtrack from the Clash of Titans trailer but I really like the soundtrack to it and the dialogue kind of works as well. As of tomorrow, there will also be a series 3 counter added to the sidebar.

Monday 10 October 2011

Christel Doctor of the Week - Hearts will be Broken

The Doctor was told during series 2 of Christel Doctor Who that he would have his hearts broken and many assumed that this had happened when Tabitha was revealed to be the Rani. However, spoiler time now. This has not yet happened, although you have already seen it happen. Confused? Well you should be!  Don't worry, all will be revealed (um...again *scratches head considerably) and when you see it you won't quite believe it.

Saturday 8 October 2011

Christel Doctor Who Series 3 Scheduling...

Next weekend I shall be releasing the now customary "Series release date" trailer for series 3 of Christel Doctor Who. Straight after the trailer is posted I shall post detailing the release dates and scheduling of all of the 6 episodes in series 3.

Thursday 6 October 2011

Series 3...Some questions Answered...

I have had a few people ask me how many questions and plot arcs series 3 will finalise and I can tell you that the answer to that question is simply...a lot of them. In slightly more detail, but without giving too many spoilers away, I shall attempt to quantify "a lot of them".

- I recommend watching the 2009 specials again, you will find out why the first one was called Grand Designs.

- There will be a long standing question answered about a certain companion.

- You will see the beginning and end of a number stories.

- You saw the Doctor regenerating in the "September Trailer" so that obviously happens...right?

- Last, but probably the most obvious, you will find out what the guardians of time are up to...but they aren't necessarily the "big-baddie" for the series.

- There is a wedding...

Some of these you knew already, some may be a tad confusing, but I want to keep people interested and talking.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

S306 Nearly a series in itself...

Filming for series 3 of Christel Doctor Who has nearly wrapped and with one more scene left to film for episode 6, End of Days, the episode checks in at nearly 32 minutes long. Obviously this is uncut at the moment but it should still weigh in at nearly 30 minutes...meaning a very long and detailed series finale.

Mind you, in the essence of River Song herself (spoilers!), I should admit that I filmed approximately 4-5 minutes of the epsiode 3 years ago, which helps...and shows amazing forward planning (Or at least that's my excuse...and I'm sticking to it).

Monday 3 October 2011

Don't Worry if...

Things may be a tad quiet on Christel Films for a few days. This is down to a massive workload at the moment and the fact that I just need to crack on and get ARNIE and series 3 of CDW finished meaning that there is very little to actually post about. I will try and write a few more Chistel Doctor Who of the Week posts to keep things ticking over but don't worry if you don't see regular activity for the next week or so. I am still here, Christel Films will be back with vengeance very soon.

Saturday 1 October 2011

Coming up in...October

This is the first in a new series of posts that will give a quick brief on what is to come during the upcoming month. The idea is that it helps you to see what is coming next from Christel Films. So, without further ado. Here is October...








- Series 3 of Christel Doctor Who will finish filming.

- ARNIE Series 2 Trailer and promo images

- ARNIE casting news

- ARNIE Series 2 will start ( I know you haven't heard much about this recently but I have been working on it)

- CDW Series 3 Character Trailer - Tabitha.

- CDW Series 3 Release date and episode scheduling will be announced.

All in all then a very 'ARNIE-heavy' month but it needs to be. I need to get ARNIE series 2 up and running before series 3 of CDW. Lots to look forward to. I hope you can be here to enjoy it.