sketching an android

Light Bearer #2 in colour

Mantis - Work in Progress

Bug Driving Train...or is it a Melbourne Tram?

Wolf,Butterflies and Snails in colour

'Wolf, Butterflies and Snails' - Sketchbook Works in Progress

 

'Light Bearer' #2 - Sketchbook study

'Light Bearer' #2 - Sketchbook work in progress

Artist in his Studio

I picked up a wonderful book yesterday. 'Inside the Painter's Studio'. It's a series of interviews of contemporary artists from Joe Fig. It's a wonderful read for any artist or designer.  It made me realise how little people discuss how they work. I think there is a fear that it will take some of the mystery out of what we do or even worse reveal ourselves as frauds! Not to worry though. As a result of transparency and questioning what I do I only find myself deeper in the mystery.

This book invites me to reflect on how I work and how ideally i'd like to work.  So below I've recorded my own current work routine as a concept artist for film.  This is the beginning of a wider discussion on how I work, why I work that way, how I want to work and what I'm working toward.

Melbourne - The work Routine

I wake around 6am. I do 20min meditation. Some mornings it’s breakfast at home. Others it’s straight out the door to the café downstairs for a fresh juice, poached eggs or a bagel.

I catch a tram to the studios. I like to settle down to my desk by 8am.  First up I check emails, facebook and the news, my diary, pay bills and basic house keeping until about 9am.  At which stage I start to scribble on the computer.  The morning consists of generating a bunch of ideas maybe 4 or 5 variations on ideas. While I work I listen to music.

I break for lunch at 1pm. I like to eat out, take a walk. I rarely sit at my desk to eat. If I do sit at my desk I’m usually watching a documentary on youtube or a movie. If it’s good it’ll keep playing in the background while I work through the afternoon.

From 2 – 5pm I focus in on one drawing. This is usually when I’m doing my best work. From 5 – 6pm I tend to experiment with major adjustments to the work looking to have it complete by 6pm. The last hour of my work is the least focused but more playful and often bares strong discoveries.

I clean my desk once I’ve completed a body of work, that is to say any series of drawings relating to each other. I keep all my reference around but as soon as I move into a new series I do a tidy.  This is at least weekly. So though I’m messy in the middle of my work I often am seen at a bare white desk and drawing board.

I keep a drawing board and sketch book at my desk. I use these periodically. They’re tools to loosen up, explore ideas that are, at least at the time of making them, outside the spectrum of the work I’m making for the film. I tend to give time to this in the mornings. Afternoons are always film focused and digital artwork.

I work a 10hour day which is standard for film pre production but I only ever draw or paint for 5 – 6 hours a day. I enjoy the intensity and focus of my work. If I work any longer than those hours the work becomes flat and lifeless. The rest of the time is reading, writing, housekeeping, making coffees and checking out how set construction and the other artists are going.

I do lots of research at the start of a job but after that rarely seek out inspiration. I believe that by ‘just starting’ the work will come.  So most days I sit to my desk with no idea of what I will create.  I sit to work at a computer but like to stand to draw.  I make a drawing or 2 a day but let the final touches happen over the next day or two. I return to drawings often throughout the process. Many of my early morning sketches get discarded though if I had the resource of time I’d love to see them all develop.

After 6pm it’s home to dinner with my family. If Finn is still wide a wake after dinner…which he usually is… we like to take a walk, play diggers or over summer we’ve gone for a swim sometimes too. If he goes down early I like to take a walk or swim for myself.

Somehow there’s time to fit everything in. I don’t work on weekends or evenings and I don’t work at home.

Charging Bulls, Study

I'm slowly working away at this prep sketch for a larger drawing.  An extension from the last post...

'Light Bearer'

I have walked away from my short film Minos for the time being.  But the imagery from it is lingering. So it seems the minotaur continues to feature in my sketch book.  I am planning a large scale sketch to follow along from this one.  I am delving deeper into this Mythology with Picasso's work 'Mintauromachy' and his epic painting 'Guernica' as a guide.

Beginning the 'psychological thriller'.

I'm easing out of the concept design of Moon and Sun as it gets very close to shooting.

Today I begin the new project. A psychological thriller.

So it's a fresh start with new reference, books and paintings. Off to buy an easel and some paper today. Not sure where the art will go, I never am. Today I'm just making the space for it to happen....

Melbourne a new sketch, favourite places and update...

Finn and I have visited Dr Follicles Barber Shop on Gurtrude street a few times now...A haircut each. It was Finn's first.  On the second visit I was inspired to start sketching again... A billy goat getting his hair cut...Why not? :)

Other places in Melbourne that I'm loving. Fitzroy gardens, Misschu Vietnamese, The popup Vege patch near Federation Square. Jade, Finn and I have just secured our patch:). And finally the Kiwi Fish and Chip shop down from our apartment...:)

Excited for Wednesday Night. We're going to 'The Wheeler Centre' at the Victoria state Library for a talk by Jung Chang Author of 'Wild Swans' and 'Mao the unknown story'.

I've been pretty absorbed by the art I'm creating for Moon and Sun so am pleased to have this sketch to share and that we're slowly but surely settling into Melbourne.  Moon and Sun is going great.  I fell deep into the zone last week and produced the most exciting art for the film yet.  It surprised me a little...a new door opening or perhaps just a moment of special stuff?  In any case the reaction was great and I'm hungry for more.

Melbourne Diary 1

3 weeks down in Melbourne and things are going great. I have 6 or more weeks to the current film before moving into early design on another.    I'm looking forward to stepping into yet another world. The new project couldn't be more different and will be my first experience with design for a psychological thriller.

The Melbourne team is great and I'm pleased to bring my difference to the mix. I couldn't feel more welcome and am pleased I'm bringing value to these projects.

I can't share any more art or details at this stage.  In fact it may be quite some time before I have any original art or writing to share on this blog.  Instead I'll focus my creativity on these projects which require a high level of confidentiality.

Still it is important to me to keep up my own voice so I will find ways through which to express the ideas that are bubbling. :)

Contact details while in Australia

My contact details while in Australia.

+61 (0)402735177
heffernan.brendan@gmail.com

The Last Night - short film gets website

The Last Night is nearing completion. Here's a little bit more of a look at the film. Check out the link below. Enjoy:)

http://www.thelastnightfilm.com

Minos Update

Final submission for Minos is this friday the 7th.  The Blue Harvest team have taken a look at the revised script this week. They've asked for a few more screws to be tightened but described the draft as a 'Good solid genre script'.

Marc has been busy putting together budget, crew and production details. I'm excited to hear he's approaching many of the team that helped make 'Night Storm' as well as a whole new mix of talent. From Friday we can only keep fingers crossed that we stack up strongly against the other 4 teams submitting.

Thanks also to Jamie Irvine for taking a look at the script and helping iron it out.  Given the chance we will work the script with full cast in a tight rehearsal period.

Melbourne Bound

Well I'm off to face the heat wave at the studios at Docklands, Melbourne. I leave on the 28th of Jan and taking the family with me on this little adventure.

For the past few months I've been concept artist for a the production Called 'The Moon and the Sun' from Producer Bill Mechanic and Director Sean McNamara(Soul surfer).

Up until now I've been based at home in Wellington, NZ but for the next few months I will join the Design team led by Michelle McGahey in Melbourne for Pre production.

We're making some very cool art and design. It's a privilege to be part of it. :) Below is a link to some info about the project.

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/mechanics-moon-finally-set-to-rise-in-oz-1200672608/

Minos - Update

Last year my script 'Minos' was shortlisted for NZFC funding by Blue Harvest.  The Blue Harvest team supplied Marc and I with extensive script and production notes. Marc quite wisely kept them from me until after a bit of a holiday:).   I've had a chance now to absorb and make revisions.  I've just today sent a second draft of the script to Marc as well as a first draft on a treatment. We have until the 7th of Feb to continue our revisions and make our final submission after which time we wait a week or two for the final decision on funding.

The work is great fun and is feeding our feature film project immensely... as well as all my other work :).

I cannot share with you the script at this time but I thought I might post my treatment for your interest.

Please note that this may change for our final submission. Also I have left out the final paragraph which speaks directly to a feature film project which must remain confidential at this time. Hope this sparks a bit of interest and discussion.

Minos – Director’s Treatment 17 Jan 2014

One question has stayed with me since the pitch of ‘Minos’. This treatment is a chance to address that question again and discuss the central element of this story, ‘The hero’.

Steve asked me, ‘how does this story relate to the story of Theseus?’ At the time I half answered the question. I related to the metaphor of the maze and beast through the setting, conflict and trauma of war. What was under developed in my answer was the ‘Theseus’ element that, I think, Steve was hunting. The central figure of any story is the Hero and the final draft of ‘Minos’ aims to bring that concept home.

I believe most of the script notes relate to this question and therefore so do my revisions. McIntyre is the central character of the film but each of the other 4 men are heroes in their own right. Each faces the enemy with equal bravery and self-sacrifice. What makes this story human is that each character carries with him both a light and shadow side. In each of them is the potential for equal amounts of fear, despair and rage alongside, selflessness, bravery and compassion.

In the story of ‘Theseus’ the king’s daughter Ariadne gives Theseus a ball of thread that helps him find a way out of the maze. In classical story telling terms woman often represent the archetypal ‘light’ qualities the hero must embrace for success. In ‘Minos’ those qualities are within our characters. They are most obviously present in the scripted moments of stillness.

All of the characters in Minos have an unwavering self-belief. They are fighters that believe in their own physical ability, skill and intellect. They never call on help from anyone. One by one though the men fail. They all fall victim to their own bravery. It is only once all avenues of personal strength are exhausted, when our hero finally gives up on his self-belief and resigns to his failure that a way out finally presents itself. 

There is no Ariadne character in this story but her qualities are within our central character just awaiting the chance to be recognized. Audiences are ready to embrace characters in contemporary storytelling that contain not only the light and dark but also qualities that can best be described as masculine and feminine. Instead of separating out the archetypes to tell stories I here have the opportunity to bring those archetypes into the one character.  As a director it is my ambition to avoid archetypal stereotyping and create human characters that reveal truth. This script will allow me to do this.

Angels in colour

Angels Completed :)

Angels - Work in Progress 7

Angels - Work in Progress 6

I couldn't keep myself away much longer. So I came back to this drawing last night. The lower third of the drawing will come pretty quickly now

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Minos - Minotaur Painting from Anthony Allen

Minos - Shortlisted For NZFC Funding

Great news and in the company of some great teams. Here's the full announcement and short list below.

Blue Harvest Shorts is delighted to announce our shortlist. 

Shortlisters - please feel free to give your logline in this post! I could make some up, but I think you'd prefer giving your own versions.

In no particular order…

INK 
Casey Whelan (writer/producer), Alex Clark (producer), Luke Schuetzle (producer), Paul Campion (director)

FEEDER
Mhairead Connor (producer), Christian Rivers (director), Guy McDouall (writer)

JUDGMENT TAVERN
Ruth Korver (producer), Dean Hewison (writer/director)

FUCK 
Morgan Leigh Stewart (producer), Rupert McKenzie (director), Tom Dreaver (writer)

MINOS 
Mark Tyron (producer), Brendan Heffernan (writer/director)

Many congratulations to everyone involved. We're looking forward to developing your projects with you.

Nolar Millar Library Exhibition finished

I picked up the 'Airport' Drawing this week from the Nolar Millar Library. This ends the series of drawings in the space.  I'm stoked by the reaction. There is nothing as rewarding as people enjoying the work.  There have been inquiries into further exhibitions as well as a few commissions. My schedule is all locked up for the next few months but will have new work soon.

I will exhibit at Visual Culture Gallery, 108 Oriental Parade Wellington. The mid Feb dates TBC.

facebook.com/visualculturegallery

The Nolar Millar was a first step in sharing work. I wanted to share work with my local community. I was teaching design in the building at the National Drama school at the time so I selected the library as a way of reaching my colleagues and students. My immediate community.  My next community bubble is Wellington city itself. I'm looking forward to the chance to reach friends, family and my broader community with art.

Special Thanks goes to Kris Wehipeihana for welcoming my journey to begin within the walls of Nolar Millar :). And my gratitude also to Caryl McKirdy who now welcomes my next piece of work into her Gallery.