ReTRIBUTEion: The Ultimate Tribute Band Tribute

Posted on by Thor

I went to Renaissance Theater to sketch a dress rehearsal for ReTRIBUTEion. The show is a sort of fictional mockumentary about a 1980s and 1990s hardcore rock tribute band.

When I entered the theater, there was an argument between actors in front of the stage. I would have to press past them to make my way up into the seating area. I soon realized they were rehearsing. It was a very Meta moment. It was hard to distinguish between the rehearsal and the performance.

Between sets there are video interviews with band members about the history of the group. I love that an Austin Powers look alike proclaimed the band the Beetles of tribute bands.

I have sketched multiple times at a celebrity impersonator convention here in Orlando and it was rewarding to see so many familiar faces.

The show felt custom written for actress Monica Leamy. It followed the bands start as a high school garage band and its endless chameleon morphing into many celebrity tribute bands. When an Ozzie Osborn tribute singer joined the band things blew up and the group became famous in tribute circles. With so many big celebrity impersonators collaborating tensions grew for who should take center stage.

I loved the show. I was often laughing out loud and swaying to the rock and roll beat. The producer warned that the music might be rather loud, but I was fine with the levels. Then again I am adjusting to living in a home that is on the Orlando Airport landing flight path. The house rumbles as the planes fly maybe 100 feet overhead. I highly advise that you check this show out, I had a blast.

Fringe performances are on…

  • 9:00PM Saturday May 18,
  • 10:30PM Sunday May 19,
  • 8:30pm Tuesday May 21,
  • 6:30PM Wednesday May 22,
  • 9:30PM Thursday May 23,
  • 9:30PM Friday May 24,
  • 6:00 Monday May 26

The venue is the Renaissance Theater Company. The show is rated 13 and up. Runtime is 60 minutes. Tickets are $15 plus a Fringe button.

 

COVID Dystopia: I Can’t Breath

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The shot, I Can’t Breath, from COVID Dystopia has the camera panning downward. I added flames shooting off of the building but they are only visible for a fraction of a second.

A depth map helps make the scene appear somewhat dimensional. I could animate protestors waving their iPhone around, but I don’t think that is needed.

The sign is based on an actual protest sign at the time. Today, protestors at college campuses around the country are still wearing masks.

When arresting students police are ripping the masks off, they claim it is so that the students arrested can be seen by the media. Police have suffered more that most professions from COVID. When you have been infected so often, and brain cells have fused,  you want to share the suffering.

In North Carolina a law is being passed to ban masks in public settings. A university banned people from wearing masks to a commencement ceremony. Being able to breath clean air should be a basic human right, but those in power seem intent on making sure we all die either from the initial infection or the resulting complications. It will be cheaper to make sure people die before they start to collect Social Security.

People think they are immune, but they are not. Each repeat infection increased the chances of Long COVID which can completely disable a person for the rest of their life. How many millions of disabled people are needed before we decide to clean the air.

COVID Dystopia: Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse

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The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse shot from COVID Dystopia has the flames animated. There is a fast pan from right to left slowing down towards blind justice.

The fifth horseman also tilts back a bit but that is hardly noticeable with everything else going on. I could pump the fists up in the air, but that might distract from looking at the horsemen. I created some nice distortion in the smoke rising as well. I consider the shot complete.

Tonight I will begin sketching Fringe shows. The next week should be filled with reviews as I sketch each show in turn.

If there are any show producers who would like me to sketch a tech rehearsal, let me know. I plan to be sketching multiple shows every day and I will not have time on my end to reach out. Shows that reach out to me always get top priority for a sketch and write up.

I haven’t sketched at Fringe for the last several years due to COVID. With COVID levels low compared to the insane peaks, it is time for me to get back in the theaters and sketch my heart out.

I plan to sketch digital this year, so the drawings will be like the film stills but rougher, since a sketch has to be finished in an hour rather than a day.

COVID Dystopia: MFers Explode

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In this scene from COVID Dystopia, the Zeros fly by rather fast and one drops a COVID shaped bomb. At the cut to the next scene the bomb explodes. The audio of the bomb being released and whistling downward is rather rough at this point. here is an audible click in the audio as well that I hope can be fixed.

When viewing the film at the Cleveland International Film Festival, l got to hear the surround sound audio for the first time. I was hoping to notice the sound coming at me at times from the back of the theater, but I didn’t hear that.

The song audio is in stereo which means the lyrics and the instruments are locked on the track together. My sound guy in Georgia tried splitting the stereo track between the speakers at the front of the theater and the back of the theater. The people making the Digital Content Package (DCP) felt that was a bad idea since people seated in between speakers in the large theater would hear the same lyrics from in front and behind. Since sound travels relatively slow, they might hear the same lyrics twice and the words would become gabled.

Lyrics should come out from a speaker right behind the movie screen and the instruments could come from any of the other 4 speakers. I am in touch with the song composer, Andy Matchett and trying to see if the original tracks for the song exist. Justin Beckler who did the production, mixing and engineering for the song hopefully has that audio on a hard drive somewhere. If so we could create a much better surround sound mix. A solid sound design for the film in surround sound is the final step to seeing the film complete. Most Film Festivals will still not want to project the film since they are proud to have returned to packing theaters in a rush to “Normal”.

COVID Dystopia: Wanna Watch the MFers

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This shot from COVID Dystopia, was fist created when bars and restaurants first reopened after the “lock-down”. America was never really locked down. People found every excuse to get out and about.

Numbers are low right now though in America the baseline is always higher than any where else in the world. I always mask indoors with a n–95 or KN-95 and I sill refuse to pack into a tight indoor crowd.

In England, a new variant, called KP-2 is taking over from JN-1. The spike in cases is astonishing. It is the single largest rise in COVID positivity in over two years. This last week saw 2 54% rise in cases. If that continues the following week then this will be the largest wave in over two years.

The variant is being found to be very immune and vaccine evasive. It will be hopping the pond soon and no one is watching. this one effects the lungs and heart. So by late May or early June expect that wave to be hitting America. I will refrain from indoor dining for some time.

In this shot the animation consists of the masked hazmat wearing bartender leaning forward and placing a drink on the bar. With that action and all the flames, I think there is plenty of action in the shot.

In the following weeks I am putting lots of time into painting the Orlando Shakes posters for next season, so animation is on hold. I had an evening off this week, and thought about going out to do a sketch on location, but I couldn’t stop myself from working on the posters.

SELF

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SELF presented by ARTiko Espacio Creativo was performed in the black box theater at the Orlando Family Stage, 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL. Actor, producer, Stephen Lewis told me about the amazing work this dance company is doing. He put me in touch with producer Alexander Rivero and we arranged for me to get in and do a sketch.

I arrived a touch early and a line had already formed to get into the lobby of the theater. I remained unmasked but kept 22 feet of distance from the crush of the crowd. It was heart warming to watch hugs as friends and family met.

Since I was keeping a distance, I was the last to enter the lobby. My mask went on just before entering.  when the doors opened. The crowd completely filled the lobby. I was luck because a portable air conditioner had been set up to try and cool the air. It blew right on my at 62 degrees. The doors behind me opened several times as late comers pressed in. Finally a woman with huge sun glasses in a white dress and clear raincoat slapped her hands against the glass entry door. This was dancer Scarlet Sans. People turned to look and hushed one another. On man in the crowd worked his way to the door to open it for her. This was unrehearsed since the stage hand next to me started to laugh. He was just being a gentleman. I suspect she would have spent much more time struggling to get in if it weren’t for him. Ah, the joy of live theater.

Raincoat woman entered and started exploring the floor with her umbrella. She now had everyone attention. She then pushed through the crowd which parted to make way for her. I lost sight of her from that moment on. There was a large monitor in the back of the lobby and an opportunity was lost by not projecting her performance in the monitor. I tried to see what she was doing by looking at iPhones which were raised high above peoples heads to take video. I couldn’t see much on the postage stamp sized screens but she was at a canvas. The entrance to the theater was covered with thin clear plastic and I started to fear that the whole show might happen in this tight confined lobby. The CO2 levels had to be skyrocketing.

Eventually the plastic was ripped away from the entrance to the theater and people started pressing forward. Since I was press, I was told to stand behind the bleachers. I was considering the sketch opportunities of sketching the show at butt level through a gap between two people when the director Carlos Dimas found me and ushered me to a much better view on the side lines of the theater.

The show was in Spanish. I picked up just a few phrases from my study on Duolingo. So rather than trying to understand the show through words, I had to trust the movement and raw emotions expressed to flavor the lines I put on the screen.  There was much angst with dancers curled up as in pain or huddled together as if comforting each other. Mauricio Vega opened the show lying on top of a box and then rolling onto the floor and coming to life. Dancer Katherine Dalis had a long moment where she stood motionless with the tassels hanging from her costume waving is the breeze.   Alexia Palacios caught my eye because she resembled Pocahontas and moved with the same stealth pride. There was an unbridled sensuality about the show with an underlying dark foreboding tone.

In the final scene the dancers knelled before water bowls and splashed water on their faces. I took this to mean they were washing away some of the angst and looking toward the future with hope.

COVID and the Brain

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I know I have written about this before but there are new studies that confirm the damage that even a mild COVID infection can cause to the brain.

A new study published in Nature Microbiology found that a COVID infection is associated with short and long term neurological complications.

Cultures were collected and compared, from people without COVID and postmortem samples from people with COVID. COVID is known to cause multi organ damage.

In another study brain autopsies were done on 44 unvaccinated individuals who died from COVID-19. The goal was to map the cell structure damage. The virus was found to replicate in respiratory and multiple non-respiratory organs including the brain. The virus was found to be replicating in the brain as much as 230 days after infection. In some patients the virus can cause systemic infection and persist in the body for months.

COVID can cause multi organ failure and shock. Some who survive, suffer from Long COVID for months or years.

COVID can cause severe neurological symptoms. COVID causes neurons in the brain to fuse. Every neuron that fused with any of the cells that hold nerve cells in place, presented a complete loss in neuronal activity. This fusion is a progressive event. Symptoms can consist of headache, fever, confusion, epileptic seizures, and a loss of taste or smell. Long-term and chronic neurological manifestations derived from viral neuroinfections are finally gaining attention five years into the pandemic. However this is an election year so there will be little talk about COVID. Hospitalizations are down to about 6000 COVID patients per week, which is the lowest it has been for years. However I am waiting for the shoe to drop on another wave.

The illustration consists of MRI scans of my brain. I am fascinated at how it interconnects with the eyes and nose. If you ever wonder why I mask indoors, it is because I value this squishy little organ that throws so many random thoughts around each day. When neurons fire, I can see things vividly. Feeling the need to fit in with the crowd is not my strong suit. Crowded restaurants and social events no longer hold any appeal. Traveling to film festivals, promoting COVID Dystopia are my one exception, but I remain masked from start to finish. Perhaps in my health’s favor, many festivals are not willing to screen the film.

COVID Dystopia: Yea, I should Go

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This was probably the most complex scene to animate in COVID Dystopia. I learned so much about rubber hose animation and overlapping action by doing this shot.

I am sure most people have blocked the fact that on New Year’s Eve in 2021, Times Square had no live spectators. They filled the square with Wacky Wavy Balloon Arm Men so the shots on TV would appear less deserted and more active. This was American ingenuity at work.

Right now the COVID hospitalization have dropped down to a rather high base line. England is seeing a rise in cases and as always I am sure America will follow. Now is a good time to get those medical appointments set up since this is as low as it will go before another spike in cases. We are coming off of the JN1 spike and new variants are jockeying for dominance for the next spike. The Omicron spike was huge,  so each new wave seems small in comparison. People cave been conditioned to accept mass infection.

I have stopped drinking milk because bird flu (h5N1) has infected so many dairy cow herds in America. 33 herds have tested positive so far. The cows were likely infected from chickens. Cow feed is actually laced with chicken droppings.

One in five samples of commercially available milk in stores has been found to test positive for h5N1. The hope is that pasteurization will kill the active virus, but pasteurization temperatures are not standardized. Until there is more testing, and no active virus is found in any samples, I remain cautious.

This morning I tried Almond milk on my cereal and it was actually really good. I am also thinking about making breakfast smoothies in the morning, again with almond milk and fruit like blueberries and bananas. I have made some eggs over the last week but I am making sure I cook them extra well so that they are not runny. I have one small packet of vegan cheese left over and I am thinking of switching over to vegan cheese to see how that tastes.

The primary concern should probably not be the consumption of the virus. I am sure it is airborne and that will be the primary way it spreads. Early reports are that human to human transmission has not yet happened. Then again that is what was being reported in China at the start of the COVID outbreak. Only two proteins are keeping human to human transmission from happening. I have learned to respect viruses. They are tenacious and will find a way to spread. Humans are the best mammalian host to spread the virus world wide. Since h5N1 has a 52% mortality rate, this would be a horrible outbreak if it happens.

Three Point Launch Demo

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This was a demo for one of my Elite Animation Academy online students.We had already covered one pint and two point perspective and this was a lesson in three point perspective.

I always try and convince my students to think a step beyond the basic lesson plan to create something unexpected. In this case the student had chosen to draw a tall skyscraper and I offered the possibility that it could be something other than a building.

Some students are bored by the mechanical nature of graphing out perspective, but I love teaching it and I use the premise in every sketch I do. Some students think it involves too much science and not enough fancy, so I throw some fancy into the mix as I teach it.

Right now I am waiting on about 20 different film festivals to accept or reject COVID Dystopia. I tend to post scenes from the film on this site when the film is about to be shown at a festival and when I suspect judges might check out the site for more information about the film. Since

I am in a holding pattern, I figured I would post more variety. I have started sketching rehearsals and shows again but I tech until 8pm many nights and have to schedule around my teaching schedule. I might get out to about 3 theater sketch opportunists a week. I have been sketching theaters where my film has been shown but that number is rather small.

This week I am pressing hard to refine next season’s Shakespeare posters but after that I am a tumbleweed looking for my next series of sketches to become obsessed about.

A trip to NYC several months ago got me excited about continuing my series of sketches of the 50 oldest churches in the city. I am looking at rents in Brooklyn and there are a few where the rent is less than I am paying here in Orlando. At this point, it doesn’t matter where I live and set up my studio. I really need to think about buying a place however since rent is just wasted money.

Tea Time

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Is there such a thing as an animated horror movie? Tea Time was done as a demo with one of my online art students. She had a definite story she wanted to tell about one sister poisoning her sibling. I did a series of thumbnail sketches to explore how the scene might be staged.

If this was to be pushed towards a finished illustration I would need to research the furniture the dresses, and the type of room that would best set the mood.

I didn’t push this further since my goal was to get my student’s work to shine. I offered multiple suggestions and helped push the student work along.

Students who have definite ideas they would like to pursue are the most fun to work with. Today is Saturday and I will be working six hours with 4 students. Tow of them are working on story ideas they are developing. I will be doing thumbnails like this to help inspire them to consider all the possibilities in staging a shot. The goal isn’t for them to copy what I do, but for them to come up with an idea that works best for them.

Tonight after the classes, I might go to Winter Park’s Knowles Memorial Chapel where Dvořák’s Stabat Mater is being performed. I would sketch the chapel and see if the music is audible as I sketch. I also need to re-paint the background in a Shakespeare Theater poster. I suspect I will be painting the poster until I collapse and go to bed.