Charles W Arnett
1919 - 2008
Pilot, Arnett Crew 717
492nd Bomb Group
Donation made by
Paul Arnett
Blogs  (Updates, insights and ramblings from Alejandro Mena and his Team) . . .
Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2011 by Alejandro Mena    

Animation Update

It's been a while since I last posted a blog here. Been quite busy with the Dallas International Film Festival. I'm happy to report that it was a successful event and that I had a great time running it, or better put, supervising it. Now the festival is behind me and I am free once more to concentrate on the production for CREW 713.

One of the wonders of working freelance is, you never know who you're going to meet, and how those meetings and relationships can forge new partnerships and friendships into the future. Case in point: One of the super volunteers for the 2011 festival was a lady by the name of Fiona Hall. Fiona and her family had just moved here from Scotland. She applied to work as a volunteer and I was lucky enough to interview her and hire her on the spot. It turns out, she had just completed a 3 year gig working as production manager for the Academy Award nominated feature film, "The Illusionist" Her husband Justin, worked as one of the animators as well. Well we got to talking and comparing notes, etc. Long story short, they, together with another colleague friend of mine, Roman, have agreed to build some short animation pieces for the film.

Initially, my plan was to include these pieces in the trailer. Which then would entail another edit session on the trailer. After giving it some thought, I decided to incorporate the footage into some vignettes that will actually be in the final cut for the film. I figured I could cut and re-cut the damn trailer till the cows come home and never be closer to finishing the film!

So, last week, I went on-line and purchased a 3D model of a B-24J Liberator. It's pretty amazing. The propellers all turn, the turrets all work properly, the plane "functions" like a real aircraft. Justin and Roman have already begun some preliminary tests of the model. The beauty of this purchase. There are no royalty fees. I own it forever. Through the magic of computer animation, my team can build an entire squadron of 492nd BG liberators, the possiblities are almost endless, limited only by my imagination........and my budget!

I'm really looking forward to seeing some of these roughs in the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted as we move forward.

Talk soon,

Alejandro Mena
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