Damian Madden

New Update

Damian Madden — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:44:00 +0000

The new website looks AWESOME! Can't for you all to see it.

Other than that not much to report, ZOO is going well as is Jackson Fields and the movie projects. We're currently trying to juggle a few things around to sort out schedules and such, will let you all know.

The Website

Damian Madden — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:35:00 +0000

Just a brief update to prove I'm still here!

Things here are going at a mile a minute and I am just trying to stay afloat. Still, there's light at the end of the tunnel so all's well. ZOO is going fabulously by the way, so make sure you stop by sometime.

Tim is hard at work with the new design which I must say looks awesome. I originally just wanted an update but he's gone above and beyond. We're actually going to shoot some more pics this weekend so he can design around them. I'll keep you all posted, more updates soon....

New Art

Damian Madden — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:04:00 +0000

I have been hard at work painting today. It has made for a really nice change to get back into it and I must say I am quite happy with the results. I have pics and will post them with my big update, which I am working on as I type this.

Also, although I thought Miscommunication would be next it seems that an opportunity has arisen that could see us filming Good and Evil. I will keep you all posted.

I start work at ZOO tomorrow so updates may not be super regular (but when are they) still I will try to keep you all up to date with what is going on.

The Gift

Damian Madden — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:12:00 +0000

Well it's finally done. The Gift has been finished and entered into the Ignite Film Festival. Now we just have to wait and see how it goes, fingers crossed! Some people have asked what's next and at the moment it looks like Miscommunication.

Have been doing a bit of writing, focusing mainly on Written In Blood. I think once I get this one done I will start on my major rewrites so I can get them out soon.

New website update is coming soon which will include new art and, of course, The Gift.

Gif Scoring Sessions

Damian Madden — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:19:00 +0000

The sound is done for The Gift and Tim is just finishing up the score. The whole thing is good, not as great as we would have hoped but solid and I think it has a real chance in the comp.

I also posted my latest drawing, Unhappy Man in a Jelly Bean Costume.

Big update is coming very soon.

The Gift Update

Damian Madden — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:31:00 +0000

Today was an interesting day.

Spent the early part writing the next chapter of Written in Blood then I began to get some thoughts down for a brand new kids book series. Will talk more about that sometime soon.

I also wrote up some reviews for StageNoise, which will be up soon...promise! To prove that there is a coming soon page up at www.stagenoise.com

I also spoke to some people from Zoo Weekly and I will start there next week for a two week stint. Then we checked out an episode of Miami Vice, cool as always!

Then the afternoon saw us doing sound editing on The Gift. As well as some ADR (additional dialogue recording) work we recorded sounds like silver foil being crinkled and paper being unwrapped. As well as this we worked on mixing a series of explosions, machine gun sounds and screams into the mix at the right distances and levels. It all sounds okay and it should be right on track for the deadline.

After I finished that I started filling out the entry form as well as sorting out Modern Art's acceptance in the flEXiff film festival.

Tim and I then sat down and got some ideas onto paper for a two person musical we have been talking about.

Finally I did a bit of art with a drawing titled "Unhappy Man Wearing a Jelly Bean Costume"

New Art!

Damian Madden — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 23:55:00 +0000

Finally got to create some new art yesterday which made for a welcome change. Actually it's not so much art as they are craft projects, still they look very cool and I will post pictures soon.

The Gift is coming along slowly and we are struggling to get it done on time. Still, it'll all happen as it usually does.

Songs

Damian Madden — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 06:51:00 +0000

Spent the day writing songs with Tim and Matt, worked out quite well and we got a fair bit done. I think there might be some hits there. We recorded some demos which sound pretty decent for a very rough first go. So all signs are positive there.

Also just learnt that Modern Art has been selected to screen in the flEXiff Film Festival, which is good news.

The First Day

Damian Madden — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:49:00 +0000

I'm going to try and make this a more regular thing now that I have a bit more free time on my hands, promise!

Just a small update today I got chapter 3 of my crime novel done and toyed a little with a few scripts. However, the muse wasn't on song when it came to them so I moved on, I think I'll get Tim's feedback on where they are up to. I also decided to put the fantasy novel I had been toying with aside to pour more of my attention into the crime one, which is proving to be much more enjoyable to write!

I looked over some designs for a R3ACH logo (expect something within the week) and also read through some stuff for Stage Noise, which should also be up soon.

I also got some painting done today and am about to embark on a whole new series of large scale pieces for a commission. Watch this space!

Oh and I laid out some plans for a big update of this website, stay tuned!!!

Updates

Damian Madden — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 22:37:00 +0000

Last night we finished a rough cut of The Gift, it was running at around 5min 45sec which is too long for what we needed and so we went back and tightened it up, bringing it in at 4min 40sec. It's a much better film now as well. The creation of the sound for it is probably going to take ages but I will keep you updated.

Other than that, the demo tracks for Good & Evil have been recorded and are being mixed and the various writing projects are going well.

I'm planning a bit of a large scale update for the website soon (once the film is finished) so stay tuned.

The Gift Shoot

Damian Madden — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:43:00 +0000

Yesterday was the day and we went out and filmed The Gift.

The skies stayed clear which was a welcome change but the temperature dropped very quickly, which wasn't so welcome.

Still, the end result looks fabulous and from the little footage I've seen should make an excellent short film. More updates about the progress as they come to hand (and as Tim gets through the footage) but in the meantime here are some on-set pictures (a big thanks to our on-set photographer Jade for these!)

Matt in action as the German soldier Hans.
Andrew acting through the smoke.
Me looking over the set.
The crater with Matt, Simon and myself.
Tim and Andrew in the crater.
Simon in action as the fallen soldier.
Matt and Tim survey the crater.
Trying to get the shadows right.
A scene in progress.
Digger Andrew shooting his early scenes.
Most of the cast and crew for The Gift.

I've also uploaded the first picture from a new series of paintings based on fairy tales and nursery rhymes. This one features Little Bo Peep. I have finished the next one, Humpty Dumpty, but haven't got any photos yet.

The Gift

Damian Madden — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 06:50:00 +0000

Things are really rolling on the The Gift and I just finished building the set with Matt. I've included some pics below to show you all what it looks like:

A view of the crater and surrounding debris.

Another view of the crater showing the barbed wire trap.

A shot from inside the crater looking up towards the debris.

Another shot inside the crater looking at the barbed wire trap. ( I love this shot)

Detail of the barbed wire trap with some set dressing. (Like this shot too)

Matt in the crater to give some perspective as to depth.

Not much else to report. I have a sculpture ready for the WIlloughby Art Prize, the writing is going nicely and I have started two new books after diswcovering I'm getting burnt out writing scripts all the time.

Stage Noise, our new theatre website will be launching soon so I shall let you all know when that goes live.

Creation

Damian Madden — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 06:31:00 +0000

Hello one and all! I know I've been gone for a while but that's because I've been so busy. Sorry.

So where are things at the moment? I finished Below and that is currently in the process of being rewritten. I am halfway through Other People's Mistakes, a drama script set on a farm and I am about 80% through Knowing.

I got some thoughts down the other day and penned the first chapter of a new crime book, which will hopefully be the first in a series. It was a different style of writing to what I am used to but I was happy with the result.

Things are going nicely with The Gift and Good and Evil. We will be shooting The Gift very soon and I will post some pictures here, everything looks exciting there.

I have begun a few new art projects and have some images ready to upload, keep your eyes open for an update very soon!

Writing!

Damian Madden — Sun, 28 May 2006 14:59:00 +0000

Have been getting a lot of writing done which has been fabulous.

Below is finished and Tim is now giving that the once over. I am also half way through the Witch Hunter script and we are starting to move on the music. I have also returned to Knowing, after having a sudden breakthrough on a story point I had been stuck on for about 6 months (okay so I wasn't trying very hard to solve it)

I have also put some paintings up for sale on eBay as they are just lying about here and I would rather someone enjoyed them.

Movieswise I have seen a few recently: XMen 3 isn't very good and was actually a total disappointment (and this is coming from someone with very low expectations for it) DaVinci Code is flawed and seems to stick to closely to a book format as it almost seems broken into chapters, making it very jerky and removing any flow. Separate Lies is a very fine film and worth checking out, it's a drama/thriller with brilliant writing and awesome acting. Finally I saw Three Burials which I found to be quite interesting and a decent film.

Putting Things in Perspective

Damian Madden — Tue, 16 May 2006 23:26:00 +0000

Now that I've finally had time to sort out my very busy writing life I thought I'd give you all an update on where various projects stand:

Below - Am currently 1/3 of the way through the current draft of this script set in Australia during the gold rush. I'm aiming to have it done to submit to the FTOs Young Writers Scheme.

Witch Hunter: The Gothic Power-Metal Musical - I've got the script mostly done for this and am just polishing a few things while Tim is working on the songs. From what he's shown me so far it is going to be very different! We still haven't decided if we'll lay any vocal demos down before we submit it for the Pratt Prize.

Circle of Strangers - This dramatic play about a rockstar is languishing somewhat down the priority scale as I try to drum up some interest in it and work out venues, directors, cast and so on. However, I'm sure that once some of the more urgent projects are done it will come along. It is completely plotted out, which is a relief.

Good & Evil: A Mini Musical - We're putting the finishing touches on the songs today actually then it should be all ready to find a cast and go into production.

The Gift - The script is done and the location is ready to be dressed. We have a tentative shoot date on this of June 24 in order to get it ready for the Ignite festival.

Those are the main focus at the moment, there is also Joshua's Rainbow and a radio play experiment I have been messing about with about a murder on a research boat. I also have two other scripts which have treatments in varying stages of completion and they will see out my writing plan to the end of the year (hopefully)

Also we will be launching a new website (not R3ACH another one) soon so stay tuned!

Plus, don't forget that the episodes of SBS' PIZZA that Tim scored will air on the 22nd and 29th of May and on the 5th of June.