TheTell-TaleHeart.com Blog

This is an update to the post below.  The production is extending into November.  I am aware of the anticipation for some around this release…and I apologize for the extended deadline.  The extra details in the animation and models are taking longer than expected. As you can see in the stills posted the production quality is leaps and bounds above the trailer… I anticipate all will be satisfied with better end product.

While I wish to have this rolled out by Halloween, the rollout is now targeted for  end of late November.

Best Regards,

Michael

——-

Production has been running great, with some fabulously dreary scenes (some below) coming out of the pipeline. However, to get the right motif we have refined and re-worked some key scenes. This extra work has impacted the schedule and thus the release date.  While these delays may push the release out as far as October, I believe getting the best quality production out to the Poe fans/students in lieu of an earlier /lesser movie is the right choice.

Below are some images of the production to further tease you of the movie to come in the Fall…
enjoy.
-Michael

“Over the river and through the woods to Edgar’s house we go… ”

Edgar’s estate “Moldavia”, in The Tell-Tale Heart…It was also his actual house in real life for a little while, minus the heavy dark motif.  Moldavia was John Allan’s (Edgar’s adopted father) estate from 1825 to 1834, at which Edgar stayed in the back bedroom. Of course, in this interpretation of The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar is not such a good boy.

An early 1900’s photograph of the real Moldavia…not sure if it is still around.

Meet Dupin. He is the lead police officer in East Richmond, 1842. He likes reading, parties, and investigating reported screams at 4am in the morning…from Edgar’s house.

Work in progress.

The interesting thing about computer graphics (CG) is that the fantastic often pose less technical and artistic challenge than many of the more common and less notible items we see each day. For instance, if you saw a CG alien bug would you recognize if it moved wrong or if it had too many wrinkles just above its pinchers…probably not. But if you saw, a CG human whose eye lids blinked too slow or at the exact same time…everyone would notice it or at least sense that something felt too mechanical or fake. It is because we have seen people blink hundreds of thousands or millions of times. We have seen it so many times that if we don’t consciously recognize a problem, our subconscious will….for that reason, it often takes a significantly more time and effort to create something that might be less significant.

What a dramatic introduction to my posting on creating skin…don’t you think. Below are the first round of steps for creating skin.

(continue reading…)

In 2005/06 the trailer had over a dozen public screenings (foreign and domestic). As the full version is completed, I will be bring the movie back to film festival and TV showings, as well as, the larger Halloween and additional Poe specialized film festivals. However, it will not be available in its entirety on the internet (e.g. iFilms and others)

Below is a partial list of the previous showings of The Tell-Tale Heart trailer:

• Halloween Horror Picture Show (Tampa, FL) - film festival
• H.P. Love Craft Film Festival ( Portland OR) - film festival
• Rhode Island International Horror Film Fest (Riverside, RI) - film festival
• “A Night With Poe” (Superior, WI) - film festival
• Cackalacky Film Festival ( Charlotte, NC ) - film festival
• Santa Cruz Film Festival (Santa Cruz, CA) - film festival
• Enigma Films - (Tampa, FL) - film festival
• Halloween Film Fest - (London, UK) - film festival
  
• Silicon Valley Siggraph Club (San Jose, CA) - CG trade club
• San Francisco Siggraph Club (Berkeley, CA) - CG trade club
• Thrillville at Parkway Theater (Berkeley, CA) - dinner and a movie Theater
• Weekly Reader (home page) - web
• The DailyReel (Top 10 page) - web
  
• iFIlm (animation home page) - web
• Cinema Insomnia - TV
  

A fan mentioned that they use the fireplace image from the website as a backdrop/screen saver. I’ll be sure to post a few medium and high resolution images as the production is being built for the fans.

Any special requests?

A casting call for voice actors went out today. While Ron Hammond will join us again as Edgar, the parts of the policemen have been expanded and are open to all. The script/storyboard is in final review, allowing us to record in a few weeks.

Ron and I are working on how to bring the most out of Edgar’s voice. I am very excited about a couple of approaches. With Ron’s vocal range and voice talent, we are definitely going to come out with something very dynamic and powerful.  When completed, Ill share a couple of clips on the blog…

Working on the old man…one of my favorite charactors from a design standpoint (all kicked off from a great concept design by Shane Nitzsche).

Using Mudbox, Photoshop, and Maya to create him.  From this WIP, I will be adding eyes, mouth, gums, teeth, and hair. He is also going to get some replacement ears.

Finished the 1st version of the electronic Storyboard. As an electronic stroyboard, after drawing out all the frames, they were imported into Photoshop, choped into individual layers, painted, exported to Premiere, edited on the timeline, added recorded audio and sound FXs…and we have the eStoryboard V1.0. It has been distributed to a specialists for review and feedback.

• 3 English/Literature middle school teachers
• 2 film directors
• 4 horror film fanatics / Poe fans
• 1 Horror music composer
• Our voice actor for Edgar
• Our concept designer

From thier feedback, I will decide what needs updating and make changes to the eStoryboard. This process while time consuming will really help solidify the story, the heart of the production.

Teacher’s Bundle:
The education community found the trailer very helpful for usage in their classrooms, apparently also with acclaim from the students. With this in mind, I am dedicating a package specifically for the education system, targeting the needs of middle school literature/English teachers. This package will not only provide the students with film to enjoy but also resource for teachers further their absorption and interest of The Tell-Tale Heart and Edgar Allan Poe.:

• DVD with the unabridged and abridged versions of the story, to adjust the violence if desired by the teacher.
• Multiple online teacher lesson plans around the story/production to select.
• Forums for teacher and student discussions.
• Entertaining online quizzes about the story/production.
• Interesting insight about and history of The Tell-Tale Heart and Poe.
• Visual stills for class discussion.
• The making of the production.
• Teach feedback forms and input for the next production.

The 2009 CG Production of The Tell-Tale Heart is the full-length computer generated (a.k.a. computer animated) version of Edgar Allan Poe’s short, “The Tell-Tale Heart”. The production is staffed and at full force with a target release of early October 09.

The Movie:
This production will be in the same style and dark motif as created in my trailer a few years past. However in this full version you will experience the full story with all the characters and excitement. While I enjoy a new screenplay like many others, Poe’s story, as he wrote it, is brilliant and should be altered minimally. So, this interpretation is very true to the incredible unabridged version of the story. Naturally, where visual creations are needed I am multiplying the stylization and effects to saturate your senses with the darkness and psychosis you would desire out of such a story.

for the Teachers:
The education community found the trailer very helpful for usage in their classrooms, apparently also with acclaim from the students. As a result, we are keeping the classroom in mind while we are creating the story. With teacher reviews of the production through its process and teacher surveys, I aim to bring a heavily entertaining and true depiction of the short story which can be used in the classroom.

To further assist our teachers in providing an excellent education for our children, we will be offering a Special Teachers Bundle of the DVD and online resources.

Film Festivals:
The production will be shown in most of the same film festivals as the trailer did, plus more. Nothing like seeing Edgar committing his horrible deeds 20 feet tall.

I am truly looking forward to providing you with a dark and an impactful production of one of the world’s best Gothic horror story written.

Best Regards,
Michael Swertfager

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