This is the first of my occasional posts on progress with the project.
It has been nearly 4 years since I first thought about making the film, and much of the time has been spent learning the craft, building a studio/workshop and constructing a moco rig (see posts on the Studio page). During this time I have refined the screenplay, done scene breakdowns and have engaged illustrator Marius Legge to do a complete storyboard. The labour of puppet, prop and set construction goes on apace.

Now we are almost ready to shoot in earnest. I managed to start the year with a simple shot of the silhouettes of the Hounds of Hell rising up from behind some reeds, accompanied by a slow camera push-in, and it feels good to have got one shot in the can. Not edited yet. There are several other shots already done, but that was some time ago!

Current plan is to get the moco rig working fully, then do a shot of the graveslab being mysteriously moved aside. These shots will all form part of our teaser trailer, to be released this year all being well. (UPDATE September 2018: Vain hope! The teaser trailer is still not done, although we are much closer. This year!)

In the meantime I have been sculpting and casting silicone heads and bodies as needed, including 3 different stages of Tregeagle’s decline.
Came across a great tip for creating moulds around fingers. This is to set the hand so that all fingers are horizontal, then use gelatine to fill the lower part of the mould (instead of soft clay, which risks damaging the sculpt). When the gelly has set plaster can be poured/brushed in to form the top half of the mould. The gelly inevitably melts during the plaster set, but can be washed gently away, leaving a nice edge around the fingers. Only issue is a slight meniscus effect, making the plaster edge a little vulnerable. This might be overcome by adding a little washing-up liquid to break the surface tension.

sculpey arms half immersed in gelatine with clay keys