What was the working relationship like with Mike Chance? What made it successful?

The greatest parts of working with Mike are his trust and enthusiasm. From the very beginning his attitude was always “this is going to be amazing!” and that energy really rubbed off (which is no accident, I’m sure). But even more important is how much trust he has, not only in listening to suggestions but also that even if an idea isn’t working yet, it’ll be OK.

Sometimes there were cues that just weren’t quite working, or weren’t conveying …

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Music plays an integral role in creating the audible world of every film. Directors look to the composer to take the audience through every possible emotion while they watch the action unfold on screen. Mike Chance knew that in order to build the tension of Project Arbiter, he would need a composer that shared his passion to take audiences on a wild ride. Ryan Leach is just that composer. He’s been working very hard to create the audible world of Project Arbiter and he graciously took a few moments to …

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Ed Martinez has an amazing imagination. His make-up and effects work on Project Arbiter gave the film a gritty and authentic feel. Ed is an experienced veteran in the field of make-up artistry. Ed was gracious to sit down with us and discuss the make-up and the mayhem that helped propel Project Arbiter to glorious heights!

Putting the final touches on Terra Flowers.

Where did you start your career in make-up and visual effects?

I started in Hayward, California. I have lived in the …

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The second edition of Combat Cameraman talks about the most important weapon in Jason Beckwith’s arsenal, the Red One Digital Cinema Camera.

You shot Project Arbiter on a very impressive Red One Digital Camera. Could you tell us about your setup?

Project Arbiter was shot with my Red One camera with a Mysterium sensor. Her name is ‘Celeste’, after a character in a script that I may, or may not ever finish writing. Mike and I work for Design Reactor and I originally bought the camera for it’s high resolution capture technology. Our company has …

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One of the most important aspects of any film is how the movie will look and be shot. Jason Beckwith is a key member within the Project Arbiter team whose sole duty was to make sure that the film had a unique look and feel. Jason was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule juggling production and personal obligations to answer some key questions about the production, his approach and his thoughts.

No matter what, get that shot!!!

How did …

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Project Arbiter has been blessed with the talents of many skilled crew members and today we are happy to bring you a Q&A with Devin White, one of the founders of Blue Realm Studios which is responsible for the fabrication of the XO-7 Arbiter invisibility suit, his “Inferno” knife, and the skull-faced Arbiter “Reaper” helmet.  Here is what Devin had to say…

Q: How did Blue Realm Studios come about?

A: Blue Realm Studios was founded in 2007 one year …

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Mark Christiansen, author of Adobe After Effects CS5 Visual Effects and Compositing Studio Techniques, is teaching a new project-based course at fxphd featuring composting and effects for PROJECT ARBITER. fxphd members will be able to work through several shots on the film, potentially even having their shot in the final release and their name featured in the credits. In addition, for April term members, there will be a small invite-only “Special Ops” group which will work through other shots on …

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We just got some great news from our entertainment attorney, Lee Rudnicki. He recently published a brilliant vampire novel titled, My Immortal: The Vampires of Berlin. The book has garnered an impressive review from the well-respected fantasy blog, Azurescape.net stating that the book “…revives some of the vampire’s mystique while taking the vampire genre into previously unexplored realms.”

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The universe of Project Arbiter may have started in the mind of Michael Chance; however, it is scientific fact that concept artist Robert Simons IS the “Big Bang” that visually crafted PA into the stellar WWII Sci-Fi epic that it is becoming. Robert is a man of detail, dedication, and humility and you can see that in his work and how he contributes above and beyond with his ideas and craft.  Here is what Robert has to share about his personal journey designing the world of Project Arbiter:

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Since principle filming has been completed, our editor Nelson Nunez has been extremely hard at work making sure Mike Chance’s vision of Project Arbiter comes to fruition. Nelson did a fantastic job with this week’s blog post and we could not be more proud. Here’s what Nelson had to say about the entire editing process:

Project Arbiter was the most ambitious editing project I’ve had the pleasure to tackle. I wrote about my experience being an on-set editor (including the joy of dealing with RED RAW!) in a previous post you …

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