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ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-18-2013 8:47 PM[Center][IMG]http://i44.tinypic.com/10mrhx0.jpg[/IMG][/Center]
I am so excited about this project. These are the guys who worked on Aliens, Alien 3 and all the other Alien franchise movies that came after. They also worked on The Thing reboot, Tremors, and Starship Troopers.
"What is Harbinger Down?
In the spirit of sci-fi/horror classics, Alien and The Thing, Harbinger Down is a tense, claustrophobic full-length creature film that will feature only practical Animatronic and Makeup Effects.
If you're a fan of the art of Animatronics and Makeup FX, you know that this technique is overlooked by the big studios. I'm hoping that you will help us change that by supporting this labor of love. I will write and direct and ADI co-founder Tom Woodruff, Jr. will produce.
Our company, Amalgamated Dynamics, will create the kind of Oscar caliber Creature Effects for which we are known.
The Story
A group of grad students have booked passage on the fishing trawler Harbinger to study the effects of global warming on a pod of Orcas in the Bering Sea. When the ship's crew dredges up a recently thawed piece of old Soviet space wreckage, things get downright deadly. It seems that the Russians experimented with tardigrades, tiny resilient animals able to withstand the extremes of space radiation. The creatures survived, but not without mutation.
Now the crew is exposed to aggressively mutating organisms. And after being locked in ice for 3 decades, the creatures aren't about to give up the warmth of human companionship."
[url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1117671683/harbinger-down-a-practical-creature-fx-film]More About The Project, Here.[/url]
*Image link fixed by Svanya
25 Replies
ZetaReticuli
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 2:52 AMSounds like good stuff! The effects in 2011 The Thing were superb.
Bar some exceptions - the later Alien designs (not Alien 3 - that was beautiful)
in AVP, I love ADI's work very much.
Custodian
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 3:25 AMthat famous Norwegian actor-filled The Thing prequel was great, in general.
Visceral, and informative. Subtitles would have been the BEST option, but 'people don't read'.
:)
2013 sci-fi horror novels 'Custodian' and 'Tandem' available from Amazon, B&N, iTunes etc...
mandroid
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 9:11 AMSounds a bit like the film Leviathan with Peter Weller and Richard Crenna, Russian experiments locked in a sunken trawler, exploratory team, cue nasties killing everyone.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 9:15 AMThe thing about THE THING is that must of ADI's work was replaced by CGI. Here's a video that shows what the movie could have looked like, had they stayed with practical effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBzpT7VmSaU&feature=share&list=UUbhiVDWG8wgg3v9cuH6DqEA @mandroid I believe ADI worked on Leviathan as well.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 9:34 AMYes, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42DmjaZpqiA&feature=share&list=UUbhiVDWG8wgg3v9cuH6DqEA They mention Leviathan in this video.
mandroid
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 9:48 AM@ChrisMoonlight......Thanks. The project is being funded through Kickstarter..............how does that work in relation to the full budget of the movie ?
ZetaReticuli
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 9:50 AMYou are so right custodian - a film about the Norwegian side of the fence with subtitles would've been very fitting, but along the lines of what you say, filmgoers these day need a LOT of help to watch a film.
This subtitles thing could've been a brilliant move for Prometheus if it had gone down the alternate route of the SJs/Engineers POV only - e.g. - a truly Alien film. Maybe subtitles could be used in Paradise.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 10:30 AM@mandroid That will be the full budget of the movie. Here's another quote from the Kickstarter:
"Where Does the Money Go?
Even though 350k is a lot of money, when you're talking big studio VFX features, it's a pittance. The money will pay for equipment rental, cast and crew, the creatures, costumes, sets, sound editing and post production, etc. Keep in mind that we give up some funds in order to use this website. That's reasonable. And of course, it'll also cost us to fulfill our promises to our supporters, which will take resources too. This is a labor of love, but the more money we're able to raise, the more we'll be able to put up on the screen."
It can be done. I'm working on an all green screen sci-fi short that has a pretty grand scale. So far the budget has come in under $2000. Now, that's due to a lot of people pitching in to help in various ways that would have otherwise cost me money. Keep in mind, ADI already has studio space and an entire FX shop at their disposal.
mandroid
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 4:57 PMThanks again Bud, this has me interested and I'll be following to keep updated.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 5:01 PMYou're welcome. Here's another video that Stan Winston School put out, showing the ADI archives. [url=http://youtu.be/dTHJvQ2Dyzc]Click Here To Watch[/url]
Lone
MemberPraetorianMay-19-2013 5:20 PMWelcome Christopher! Best of luck with your project.
I'm sure you'll find lots of support & interest from the good folks here at Sci-fied!! :-)
"Let The Cosmic Incubation Begin" ~ H.R. Giger
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-19-2013 5:23 PMIt's not my project, but I'm helping to get the word out. Thank you.
djrees56
MemberOvomorphMay-20-2013 7:04 AMI'm a backer with this movie.It looks good :)
It looks like they're trying to do what The Thing prequel tried to do by using practical effects. The special features of the prequel prove they had the creature scenes cased with practical effects until somebody got cold feet and CG'd the daylights out of it.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-21-2013 1:17 AMJust a heads up. If you're a fan at all of Amalgamated Dynamics' Tom Woodruff Jr, Alec Gillis, and Lance Henriksen you can chat with all three of them from 10AM to 11:30AM via reddit's AMA. Here's the link... http://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/search?q=Harbinger+Down+AMA
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-21-2013 11:37 AMHere's the link to the Amalgamated Dynamics AMA happening now! [url=http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1erqqb/hello_reddit_were_actor_lance_henriksen_and_vfx/]Here's The Link[/url]
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-21-2013 11:37 AMHere's the link to the Amalgamated Dynamics AMA happening now! [url=http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1erqqb/hello_reddit_were_actor_lance_henriksen_and_vfx/]Here's The Link[/url]
Gavin
MemberTrilobiteMay-22-2013 11:26 AMEr...
ADI did not create the Alien effects for James Cameron's 1986 Aliens, Stan Winston Studios did, under the guidance of the late, great Stan Winston and Cameron himself.
Yes, at that time Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis worked for Stan Winston Studios, but left shortly afterward and founded ADI.
And IMO ADI and Brandywine Productions ruined the look and feel of the creature making it more fleshy and generic, as opposed to the bio-mech look in Alien or the skeletal look in Aliens. Never mind how rubbery and bulky the predators looked in 2004's AVP. This is compounded with Woodruff's need to wear every suit. IMO the Alien would better being portrayed by a woman in the suit - a woman's curves would help accentuate the features of the Alien IMO - the thin waist, the jutted out ribcage, the wider top of the legs...
Look at Alien 3 - the suit alien doesn't match the rod puppet, it almost looks like theirs two aliens running around - a skinny one and a stocky one.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-22-2013 2:39 PM[url=http://youtu.be/Hg-L8uY37PA]A message to you from Lance Henriksen.[/url]
djrees56
MemberOvomorphMay-22-2013 4:36 PMI'm a proud member of the tribe :) I help collect the campfire wood ;)
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-23-2013 4:54 PM[url=http://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/42780/alien-and-the-thing-fx-master-kickstarts-cgi-free-film/]Click here,[/url] for another interview with Alec Gillis about Harbinger Down.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-23-2013 5:01 PMGavin, I hear where you're coming from, but a lot of the time, they are working under the direction of other directors and have to give what they're asked for. HD is a product of them wanting to do things the way they were never allowed to. Also, yes they were working for Stan Winston at the time of Aliens, but they have many other effects artist from Aliens returning to help them with Harbinger Down. They include Pat McClung, Dennis, and Robert Skotak. Stan Winston's son is also helping them promote.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-23-2013 5:06 PMHere's Alec talking about the team: [url=http://youtu.be/LU5vBh_kvYs]Click Here[/url] and also a video that was put out on the Stan Winston You Tube: [url=http://youtu.be/dTHJvQ2Dyzc]Click Here[/url] These are the guys that worked on Aliens.
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-24-2013 11:27 AMAnd now you can join the ADI [url=https://www.facebook.com/StudioAdiFan]Facebook Page![/url]
ChristopherMoonlight
MemberOvomorphMay-27-2013 12:17 PMThis is awesome! There's a new behind the scenes video of the making of Harbinger Down. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8LOr-LLqGc&feature=share&list=UUbhiVDWG8wgg3v9cuH6DqEA]Click Here![/url]
djrees56
MemberOvomorphJun-07-2013 10:40 PMLooks like they did it :) They were shooting for $350,000 through Kickstarter and ended up with $384,000.
Looking forward to seeing my name on the silver screen....and a really cool T-Shirt ;)
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