The last couple of weeks I’ve spent some time re-building the A1 Pictures Website. A1 is the film distribution label of Workshop Productions and its through this company that the Capture Anthologies DVD series I work on is published.

The previous website developed for A1 was built around just Capture Anthologies and themed to match the colour scheme of the first volume. Since then A1 has developed a much wider scope of projects, with Capture volume 2 out this month and a number of feature films coming up – we felt it was time for a facelift.

The new site is built on the Wordpress platform and uses the awesome Lust theme from WPDesigner. I’m going to continue to develop and add more content to the site in the coming weeks. Its been a nice break from editing and DVD work. Head on over and have a look – let me know what you think.

Visit A1 Pictures.co.uk for a closer look.

Filed under: Film, News, Work, A1 Picture Ltd, A1 Pictures, www.a1pictures.co.uk | Post a comment

So after so much time being devoted to projects at work its been nice to head back into Maya and continue to develop some ideas for my ongoing WIP: Starship1.

Sinse my last update on this project I’ve added a whole bunch of new details and sections.

Firstly I’ve added a layer of greebles, which I have either developed myself or used from the fine selection in Greeble Pack 1-4 by Jedilaw – which helped to speed up the process and give me some ideas for future updates.

Secondly another set of engines has been added to the ‘wing’ section at the rear of model. These are the FTL drives. I’ve seen lots of different ways of implementing some kind of FTL engine in many models in sci-fi, and I always preferred the more discrete or mysterious designs which embedded such mythical technology within the body of the ship – like in Battlestar Galactica, however this is a modeling project so big super-sized wing-mounted mega-engines it is.

Thirdly I’ve added some teeth to the ship as well. On the tilted tips of each wing section now rests an assortment of large guns, making this a warship of sorts (I’m not really interested in developing much of a back-story for this model, its just an exercise).

I’m already seeing things I want to change and I’m going to need a new sketchpad soon with all the doodles for ideas and changes I’ve had.

Let me know what you think!

Filed under: Projects, 3D, 3D Model, 3D Spaceship, 3D Starship, 3D WIP, David Forrest, Starship1 | Post a comment

I think this accurately sums up my current feelings towards 3D in film and tv.

I’m not saying we should abandon 3D altogether – there is a place for most things in this world – in 3D’s case its called a theme park.

Filed under: Film, 3D Film, 3D TV | 1 Comment

A1’s latest release is nearing completion and is now due for release at the end of May: Capture Anthologies: Volume 2 – Love, Lust and Tragedy. This volume’s films take our viewers on an emotional voyage, we have comedy, romance, true love, lust and plenty of tragedy. Rather than Capture volumes sticking to a single genre such as ‘romance’ the themes that are being chosen give viewers a much wider cinematic experience.

The films are carefully selected from the best shorts from across the UK and arranged in a specific order on each volume, so that when watched one after another, the viewer gets a truly enjoyable short films experience. Each of the films are also great to watch again and again on their own but effort have been taken to select films which work well together, complimenting each other or creating interesting juxtapositions.

As part of our early campaign to get Volume 2 on everyone’s must watch lists we’ve produced a series of trailers. The first is a general ‘teaser’ trailer that showcases all the films and demonstrates the tone and feel of the volume in around 1 minute. As well as this we’ve also produced ‘preview’ trailers for each of the featured short films themselves. These previews, don’t give give away the films conclusions or twists but they do provide a more individual taste of the shorts than the teaser.

You can pre-order Volume 2 and get a copy of Volume 1 today – hit the links in the sidebar <—.

Filed under: Film, Projects, Work, A1 Picture, capture, Capture Anthologies, Capture Anthologies: Volume 2, David Forrest, Love Lust and Tragedy, Short Film, UK Short Film, Workshop Productions | 1 Comment

Months ago I finished work on a great short film by Bryan Dickinson. Faith was his first film in the writer / director role with a full team behind him and his first professional shoot after working with Workshop Productions on a Script 2 Screen workshop course. Since finishing post production on the film it was decided to enter the film into festival across the UK. It was also decided that the film needed some tweaks. The original finished piece was a very personal film for Bryan, who wanted to achieve a very specific vision.

Since then Faith re-entered post production for some tweaks that the Workshop team felt would make it more accessible to a wider audience. This has included extensive work on the film’s soundscape as well as tightening some of the scenes and specific cuts.

The finished piece is still very much Bryan’s film but a tighter better paced version. As part of the film festival strategy I produced a poster to accompany the screeners that are going out.

Have faith, Faith will be hitting festivals in the months to come.

(Also: I installed a new image gallery plug in – click the poster for a larger version)

Filed under: Film, News, Big Tree Films, Bryan Dickinson, David Forrest, Faith, Faith Short Film, Film Festival, UK Short Films, Workshop Productions | Post a comment

So after playing with the shape of the engines I decided that part of the problem I was having with the design was the shape of the back of the main model. Time for another redesign. After playing with some shapes in my sketch book I think I’ve found a form I’m happy with. The engines fit great and I’m seeing some new design ideas coming up that I can’t wait to play with.

So here is the latest design of Starship1 (still working on the name).

I’m also playing with some After Effects techniques when putting together these YouTube WIPs. Quite pleased with the scan line wipe thingy on this latest one.
The joy of having time off to play!

Filed under: Projects, Work, 3D, 3D Model, 3D Spaceship, 3D Starship, David Forrest, Starship1 | Post a comment

Myself, and ‘Workshopers’ James Loginov, Amanda Jesson as well as our esteemed MD D.T. Guest recently braved the wilds of Lancaster on a Saturday night and Lancaster University campus to film the latest of our LU: Live undergraduate recruitment films.

Lancaster University is using this series of shorts to showcase various aspects of student life at the uni.

By all accounts the programme is going well and we’re have some very positive feedback regarding the films.

The latest and for the time being final is all about Student Nightlife and Culture. As with the previous episodes the film follows a ‘hero’ student, in this case Becky and her friends on a day out at LUSU’s Campus Festival as well as a night on the town.

Enjoy (best viewed in HD):

Filed under: Film, Work, David Forrest, Lancaster Student Life, Lancaster Univeristy, LU Live, LU Live Episode 3, Workshop Productions | Post a comment

Hey Hey, just enjoyed a week off. And low and behold I managed to spend a little time working on my 3D WIP project, Starship1.

After playing with the engine unit I built a while back and the hull even longer ago I decided that some redesigning was in order.



I felt that the first design was too bulky and wide so I’ve slimmed this design down somewhat, next I’m going to integrate it into the updated model of the hull.

Filed under: Projects, Work, 3D animation, 3D modeling, 3D Starship, 3D WIP, David Forrest | Post a comment

Well I’ve been let out of the Workshop Productions office again recently – I might get used to daylight at this rate. On this occasion it was for another trip to Lancaster Uni to film another LU Live episode. This one was all about the Sports Clubs and Societies on offer to the students.

Like the last episode which can be viewed here, the short film involves a ‘star’ student taking the viewer around the campus and showing prospective students what they can expect at Lancaster Uni.

Like the first, this episode was shot and edited in the style of a short vlog and has been sent out as part of the undergraduate recruitment campaign.

Filed under: News, Work, David Forrest, Lancaster University, LU Live, LU Live Episode 3, Workshop Productions | Post a comment

So it’s been a very busy time at Workshop Productions at The Storey lately. What with Reel Vision kicking off and a whole bunch of other projects including myself heading out into the field and working on a location shoot – I’ve not had that much free time to get back to my highly imaginatively titled 3D WIP: Starship1.

It is rather tempting just to dive in and work on lots of different aspects of the model all at once as this is just for fun but I don’t think I’d get very much done. So I’ve had a quick go at putting together one of the engine types that will be fitted to the model. Have a look:

Not a bad start, think there are already some things I want to change and I’m still wondering about the level of greebling I want to go for on this one.

Anyway that’s all for now.

Filed under: Projects, Work, 3D animation, 3D modeling, 3D Starship, 3D WIP, David Forrest | 2 Comments