I really doubt anyone is reading this journal anymore. I know I don't post often but well, I like to post when I actually really feel the need to say something.

Not a lot has been going on lately here. Same old same old, but I am trying to save up some cash to go on a trip to Vienna Austria in December. That'll be fun :) I really like it there. Oh, I guess I do have a bit more to say. I'm using livemocha.com to learn how to speak german. I've just started using it a week or so ago and it's a lot of fun, easy to use and really most importantly, it's FREE.

Awesome stuff :) 

I've been working on a Dalek costume, or replica, or prop. I guess it's more of a costume replica because I'll be inside the thing at conventions. It's moving along well enough but I wish it were moving along a bit quicker. The shoulders are a pain in the ass to build up. They're the only reason it's taking so long. First I had to measure out all the lines where the bands would go around them. Then I had to measure out where to cut the holes for the arms. The things with the holes in the fronts that you see below. Then I had to cut out the openings for the arms to slide into, and then glue on all the wooden spacers that you can see some of in this photo. Next I need to make a template (which is what the tape is on there) and then place the template onto the hardboard I'm going to use for it. I'm making a new template by the way. But anyway as I was saying, I have to, using the pattern I drew onto the hardboard, cut out the shape from the hardboard, soak it in water for about a hour, and then pin it and glue it to the shoulders. That'll be fun I'm sure. Then I have to do it all over again because theres a second layer of wooden spacers and hardboard that goes over the first. Fun!

After I get all that finished I just need to start building the neck ring section that the dome sits on. Then I need to build the dome itself, which I'm not really looking forward to. I don't like the idea of working with Fiberglass but I'll end up doing it to make the dome.

Theres a lot to be done on this thing. WOW! That little bit I mentioned up there is only a fraction of what I need to do to complete the Dalek.
I hope to take it to Concarolinas, Heroescon, and Animazement.

Keeping it  short and sweet, I made this :) 

Also posted on Cosplay.com here: http://www.cosplay.com/photo/1829705/

Got this from Star_Angel's journal. Kinda fun :)


visited 19 states (38%)
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Create your own visited map of The World or determine the next president

I honestly usually hate writing these things. I never know what to talk about but here I am giving it a shot again.

What's going on with me?

Well, I'm trying to get into shape. I've been saying that for a while now but I'm really going to start doing something about it. I found this website called "One Hundred Push Ups" that gives you a plan to build yourself up using push ups. I want to work my legs and abs too. I don't want to be all unevenly built. I'm not looking to be vein popping, I just want some nice tone.

COSPLAY:
I'm almost finished with my Ghosbuster costume. It doesn't have all the parts yet and I doubt it will for Halloween but the average person doesn't know every little detail thats on the costumes anyway. That's how shitty costumes like the one below sell at all.



Some photos of my pack can be found on cosplay.com, here http://www.cosplay.com/gallery/124215/

I've wanted to do a Ghostbuster costume for years. Even did one when I was a kid. I still remember going out on Halloween dressed up in a khaki colored shirt and pants sporting a plastic toy proton pack on my back.

On a side note I still need to finish the DALEK I'm building. It got put on hold when I changed jobs a while back. I always seem to have some project on hold and I end up starting on another one when I should be working on the first thing I set to make.

Video Games:

Silent Hill 5. I'm honestly not too thrilled with what I've seen of this game so far. It looks as if they just ripped a bunch of stuff from the film and snatched up a bit of the ideas from Silent Hill 2, mixed them up with a batch of crappy graphics (Seriously, the textures from the PS2 games look better and more detailed) and pasted "Silent Hill " onto it.

I still want to get a PS3 for some other games that will be coming out. Ghostbusters and SOCOM are the games I'm really looking forward to playing on the PS3.

Current Mood: anxious

It has been a long time since my last entry but here I am again.

Tomorrow I am off to Animazement with my wife. We'll be attending as Pyramid Head (SH2) and a Puppet Nurse from Silent Hill 1.

I'm really excited about it as it'll be our first convention together. I'm also excited about finally wearing my Pyramid Head costume to a convention. I started building the thing in 2005. Here we are in 2008 and it's finally finished. I might work on it a bit more down the road but for now it's complete. I've made a lot of improvements since the first time I wore it on Halloween 2005. All the time, money and effort I've put into it has been completely worth it.

I've made several updates on the costume. They can be seen below.

New helmet paint job.
New boots.
New gloves.
New great knife.

I also added additional details to the helmet that have gone unnoticed by cosplayers before.
I actually expect a lot of people to wonder why I put certain items on the costume that they never noticed before.

Here are some photos of my old costume back from 2005.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/cobrabat/cap_014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/cobrabat/762130.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/cobrabat/cos6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/cobrabat/520018.jpg

I'm posting this here sort of as filler, but also because I just feel the need to post it again.

I originally posted this on a Silent Hill forum on 04-25-2006. If you haven't seen the film yet, there are SPOILERS.

Do NOT READ.
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Since hearing of the Silent Hill film I kept myself from being pulled deeply into all the hype. I didn't want my opinion of the film to be ruined by overblown hype and expectations. If the movie was good it would be good on its own and I'd come out loving it. If the movie was bad then it was bad and I'd know that being overly hyped and not getting what I expected would not be the cause of my disapproval.

Before I really get started I want it made absolutely clear I never expected the film to be like the game. I went in knowing that this was a film, this was a game adapted for the screen and that changes would be made. I would not be controlling the outcome. It's common sense. It's a movie. It's not a game. I don't need anyone to tell me that. It's common sense to know that the film will differ from the game/s and that both give a different feel.

Okay. Now for the review.

I enjoy a good scary movie. One with tension building, one where monsters don't just slaughter everything in sight instantly and one where the unknown is more scary than what you can see. Silent Hill had a lot of great elements to it with the 'what you can't see being what you should fear’ angle, using the shadows of the dark world to cover and never completely reveal the horrible creatures that were a threat to the stars of the film.

The monsters were great looking, scary and real. From the small bugs that hungered for flesh to the amazingly freaky huge monstrosity at the end of the film, all of them were anything but easy on the eye or nerves really. Well the grey children were kind of freaky in that 'dancing baby' kind of way more than scary looking really.

All of the films monsters and creature effects were very well done in my opinion.


The environments...

I loved the look of each of the realms. The normal abandoned town looked great, the foggy world was as strange as it was beautiful. I loved the use of the ash falling from the sky to be the source of the 'snow'. It was great how the ash looked beautiful while falling, but was revealed to be dark and dirty and anything but pure on Rose's fingertip. The siren wailing as the darkness fell over the town was perfect as well. It was as if the town was wailing in pain from the transformation. Speaking of the transformation, I loved how the walls literally melted away, revealing the metal skeleton beneath. It was as if the town itself was burning flesh revealing its bones as the darkness took hold.

Characters/Actors:

Radha Mitchell .... Rose Da Silva
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She did a good job portraying a woman wanting just to find answers for her daughter, to find help for her and then being thrown into a nightmare world.

Sean Bean .... Christopher Da Silva
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I enjoyed Sean Beans acting in the Lord of the Rings film and in this film as well. He honestly didn't have much to work with though as the character didn't have much of a role at all in the film. Still not boring to watch though. I liked his interaction with Officer Gucci. Wasn't too bad of a part they both played in the film.

Laurie Holden .... Cybil Bennett
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Very believable in the part of Cybil Bennett although there were a few times I chuckled at her "What the ****?" lines. It wasn't because it was I thought it was funny like a 3rd grade kid in class would. To me it was funny because as the viewer I knew I'd be saying the same thing if in her place. Lets leave all the "I'd think it was cool if I was in Silent Hill stuff' behind and be honest. If we honestly came across a world like this in real life, Pyramid Head and all or not, we wouldn't be saying 'Cooool It's like Silent Hill!!! Weeee' a lot of us would be shouting Cybil's words. She had more depth to her than most of the characters in the film. Strong, tough, and kind. I loved the scene of her at the gas station.


Deborah Kara Unger .... Dahlia Gillespie
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Great in her role, great playing the character as written but I was disappointed in the new 'Mother that loves her daughter' angle they decided to go with. I know, I know, I know. "Its not the game!! It's the movie!! Movies are never EXACT!!"
I know and in case you didn't notice.. I know. I feel that while the whole 'Good loving mother, mother is god in he eyes of a child angle' was interesting, it would have been better had they stuck with the 'Dahlia wants to burn her up' angle from the games.

"YOU JUST WANT IT TO BE EXACTLY LIKE THE GAMES!!!"

That again? No. Not true at all. As I said I went in never expecting it to be exactly like the games but certain aspects of it could have easily been more true to the source material. That’s what Ganz and Avary said they wanted to accomplish I believe. I believe they remained true to the games with the environments and monsters but the changes with the cult and Dahlia weren’t necessary.

She would have been better placed as the leader of the cult,, and honestly the whole 'Christian witch-hunt' thing has been done so many times over that the original game story would have been much more original and interesting. Use of the actual cult/ the order would have been a lot more interesting for fans of the game and people that never heard of them.


Kim Coates .... Officer Thomas Gucci
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Like Sean Bean he wasn't in the film very much at all but was convincing as a cop with a connection to Silent Hill and its dark past. I would have loved to have seen more scenes of him and Bean searching Silent Hill and further exploration of tension between his character and Christopher.It would have given the characters a bit more depth.

Tanya Allen .... Anna
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Anna was like Angela with red hair. It was as if the film makers wanted to have a little of Angela in her. I honestly feel this was one of the worst characters in the film. She didn't come off completely as a Angela wannabe, but also came off as a mousy little nutcase that loved throwing rocks. I guess she was intended to come off like that but it just kind of threw me out of the film when she would speak.

Alice Krige .... Christabella
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She was convincing in her role as Christabella, the completely psycho woman with a twisted sense of morals. I just don't understand the need for the change from "The Order" to "Crazy witch-hunting radical Christians". I understand that there are a lot of wack jobs out there doing evil things in the name of religion. So called 'Christians' that pull some heavy duty evil crap do exist but was this in the film to make a statement about religion or was it in the film because the cult wasn't good enough for the plot? I think it was to make a statement on religion and this movie really didn't need to have a statement. Her character would have fit in great with the order from the games though if tweaked a bit.

"Its not the games!!!!" I can hear everyone saying in a collective shout of fan anger. I know it's not the games, but not being the game is no excuse for a unnecessary change when 'the order' itself could have been used in the same manner as the crazy witch hunters were in the film with just a few slight changes.

There’s such a thing as reasonable adaptation and then there’s just unnecessary change. I 100% realize that this is a different form of media. That while watching films I'm not playing a game. There’s no need to comment and state "You wanted it to be just like the games!" because as I said from the start I never expected that.

Jodelle Ferland .... Alessa/Sharon/Reaper girl
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Pretty convincing in all her parts but but one scene with her was more cheesy than scary. The "Silent Hill! Silent Hill!" screaming part a lot of people complained about wasn't bad. She was a little girl sleepwalking having a very strange and disturbing nightmare. Shouting that wasn't out of place.


The music in the film was great. I loved how some of the songs from the soundtracks were featured playing on the radio. Sometimes though the soundtrack felt like they put the various OST's into a 7 disk cd changer and placed it on random though. It was nice to hear the music in a theater


One thing I will say about this film is that it wasn't long enough. That’s right, you heard me right. The film was too short. Even with a OVER 2 hour running time it went by rather quickly for me and it felt very rushed. Although its 'realistic' to just run and get away from monsters when you can it doesn't really make for a interesting movie, especially when they're very easy to get past. I'm not saying the film should have been a 3 hour long action film but I think they wasted a lot of work on the monsters shown in the film for having so few of them being confronted. I loved how limited Pyramid Head's time was on the screen. They didn't over use him and that was perfect but the streets of Silent Hill should have had more Lying Figures and other creatures wandering the foggy town. It was as if they wanted to fit in as many monsters into the film as possible but went with 'Okay, got that one on screen, now we need another scene with a different monster, okay bring in the other monster for another short scene and we'll never see that exact same monster again. It will be great!'

The monsters were amazing! I loved the look of them, I loved how they stayed true to the monsters we know love and fear but they really dropped the ball when it came to using them more effectively. The nurses looked great but I was disappointed that they were the only creatures she had to face when supposedly going into the domain of the source of all the evil. You would have thought this would be the most exciting part of the film but for me it wasn't. It was just another 'One group of monsters we will never see again that we get away from quickly, ta da! Look we made it past them easily! "


Over all the movie was entertaining but lacked a lot and left me feeling empty at the end. It felt rushed, it felt forced and it felt like the characters got where they needed to be a bit too easy. A longer film would have helped. I have heard the original cut was 3 hours long? I would love to see that. I bet there’s more character development, more moments of tension and more confrontations with various monsters. All something this movie needed a bit more of.

Don't flame me. I enjoyed the movie. I stayed to watch the credits until the picture went all backwards and the end of the reel showed up just to see if there would be some surprise at the end.

The film tried hard to be a horror film and to be taken seriously and honestly is probably one of the best video game to film adaptations out there but it doesn't mean it's a masterpiece.


I've seen people say 'It's not supposed to be exactly like the game!' That I know. I've also seen people say "You have to be a fan of the games to enjoy this film!"

Well, I am a very big fan of the games and I do understand that film's are never EXACTLY like the games they are based on. I don't expect them to be but this film had a lot of unnecessary changes and no, Rose instead of Harry wasn't one of them.

It was a great effort, it had a lot of wonderful things about it and some really good creepy and frightening moments but it left me feeling empty and not because of the ending.

Anyway, there you have it My review. I tried to get across the things I enjoyed as well as the things I didn't.

The movie didn't suck. I won't say that. It was entertaining but just felt like it needed something more.

Current Mood: tired

The film, "A New Wave" came out on DVD today.

Why is this important to me? Well, I'll tell you.

Back in 2004, or possibly early 2005, the movie was being shot in Connecticut. I can't quite remember how I came across the casting call for extras, but soon there I was waiting for filming to start.

I was seated on a bus that drove around in circles. -laughs- The scene is toward the end of the film. That's pretty much it. I was seated relatively close to Dean Edwards, who played Rupert, "The Brit".



I haven't watched the entire movie yet but what I have watched of it is entertaining.

Here are two screencaps I took using my computers blurry ass DVD program.

I had the chance and I think I blew it. I might have been able to get a part on a exciting online serial but not having the time to reply to a email sooner might have left my chance in the dust.

I won't name the project but I wish I had tried harder to get in touch with the people sooner. Theres just been so much going on in my life lately that I never got around to replying to a e-mail.

Maybe I'm concerned for nothing. Maybe the chance is still there but I wrote them a reply FINALLY 7 days ago. No answer yet but well, I did wait about 2 months before writing them back :-/ My -bleep- up on my part.

But even so I hope that they do write me back. I'm still very interested. I was interested the first time we discussed things. The thing is though and this is one of the main things that kept me from replying.. I thought about "What if my wife would be here about the time they wanted to start filming?"

Then theres the flight and the weather. I had to think long and hard over if I would be willing to spend cash on a plane trip and risk having to do it all over again if filming was rescheduled.

I feel like I screwed up bad on my first opportunity to get a speaking role in something that actually looks like someone put their heart and soul into it and didn't just throw it together overnight.

Here's to hoping it will all work out.

I don't know if anyone is even reading this but I'll keep posting. No one comments though. Just some random thoughts and things in this entry.

I've decided to get back into the swing of things and start working toward getting updated in the latest Graphic design programs and build up a new portfolio again. I'm tired of working at Wal-Mart. It's not the most horrid job in the world but I know I can do better.

I have a Associates Degree in Graphic design and its about time I started using it again.

So far I've designed a bumper sticker for a radio station. Surprisingly though I might soon be working my own show on that radio network. I'm really excited about that. It's funny how life kind of throws you around a bit sometimes. It can make you feel lost and then just like that life seems like its back on track again. Life is never 100% what you expect but it does come with some nice surprises.

Speaking of that, back in 2005 I met my wife and we hit it off. One thing lead to another and now we're married since March 9th 2006. Wow.. One year has already gone by since we married. One year and about 4 months we've been married. She still isn't here. We are still over 4000+ miles away from one another. It's been a long wait on a long and sometimes bumpy road of sadness and loneliness, but it's all worth it just to hold her again. It's all worth it to wake up next to her everyday for the rest of our lives.

We are at the edge of the end of the immigration process. Only a few more things need to be taken care of and she'll get word of when she can come. She doesn't have to wait for a visa, thank god, it'll be given to her asap.

:)

On the cosplay end of things I am still updating and improving my Pyramid Head helmet. I don't really remember when I began working on it again. That must have been months ago. It must have been sometime after I last saw my my wife 9 months ago..

9 months. Damn. Well, it'll all be worth it when we met again.

Back on subject I've repainted the entire helmet. I've rebuilt the surrounding brim of the helmet and made the entire thing much more solid. It looks more like one piece than it did the first build.

I plan on remaking the robe and getting new boots for it as well. The great knife will have to be made remade also.

I won't post photos yet, although it is hard not to give into that temptation. I'd rather wait until the costume is complete than to show it in progress and ruin the reveal of it.

I've finally managed to find a near perfect James Sunderland jacket. Where? Vienna, Austria during my trip there to see my wife.

I had planned on making a quickly thrown together James jacket that wouldn't be accurate at all really but it didn't work out in the end. Long story short I was walking with my wife in Vienna and noticed a sign for a military surplus store. Army surplus actually, though surplus was in German. I recognized it and decided to go there. I ended up getting a great jacket (although a little short in the sleeves) for 15 Euro :)

I need to find some similar fabric to lengthen the sleeves. Other than that it's great for a James jacket and far more accurate than the M-65 everyone uses, including the Konami jacket. I made the patches myself :)

Here is a photo.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/cobrabat/jm.jpg

I was recently contacted by another member of Cosplay.com that informed me that he had seen the video
"Lonliness of Pyramid Head" in Electronic Gaming Monthly. November 2006 Number 209, Page 50 to be exact.



They have also posted the video on their websites video page.

http://www.gamevideos.com/video/channel/egm

It's really nice that this video made it into a magazine. I had no idea until I was contacted through pm's and being congradulated.

Seems the game version of Pyramid Head is still being given love after all :D

For the second post I'll write something a bit more interesting.

Last year at this time I was putting the finishing touches on a replica set from the game Silent Hill 2.

I wanted to do something different. I was in the middle of putting together my Pyramid Head costume and had gotten tired of working on it. I wanted to do something special that no one had done before with anything from Silent Hill.

I decided to build a set for Halloween and for photo shoots in my Pyramid Head costume. It started out relatively simple, I'd get some plywood and just paint the doors and details onto it. Basically one big mural you know?

Well when I had painted the door that leads to the first Boss fight in the game, it just looked silly. Okay, lets be honest, it looked like shit. I couldn't have that. I cut out the door so it would at least be able to open. That wasn't good enough either. Then I went ahead and added more details to the door, cutting out the areas that were sunken in, you know, normal door decoration stuff. You can see what I mean in the game as well.

I built a exit sign from scratch to hang above the door. A real exit sign is too damn expensive to by new only to rough up to make it look run down.

I won't go through a step by step description here. Basically the more detail I put into the project, them more I felt it needed.

I had originally planned on just painting one wall. I ended up with a good sized corner set, fenced in window and all.

Well I'm not even going to pretend to write something 'interesting' here. I've been up since 8:30 in the morning and I'm tired even though it's 12:25pm as I write this.

Look for 'interesting' posts later.