Building the “Normally This Weird” Death Ray Weapon part 2

As I began working on the Death Ray weapon for the web series, “Normally This Weird” I quickly had a number of realizations. The most sobering was that this was not going to be as easy as I thought!

I had forgotten how important a well tooled and supplied workshop can be to efficient model and prop building! I had taken for granted the quality of the shop when I was at Cascade Pictures, or the one in my own studio. Unfortunately when I went to work on Star Trek and got immersed in the digital world, I let my tools go to others.  Now, what should have been straight forward tool cuts became laborious chew-it-out-with-my-teeth kind of endeavors.  Read the rest of this entry »

Building the “Normally This Weird” Death Ray

Sometime you just have to do a project because it is too cool to pass up and you just know it will be fun.  

While I am semi retired (I am not retired yet!) from the visual effects biz, I still get the bug once in a while to do “just one more project.”  My son, Nathan Stipes, has been the Art Director and de facto prop master on a web series called, “Normally This Weird.”   http://www.normallythisweird.com/      It is a creative, web-based series of episodes written and directed by Phoenix film maker, Nathan Blackwell.  

The series covers the strange adventures of a normal young couple who move into a neighborhood filled with some kinda’ unusual people. You have an eccentric inventor who is married to what may be an alien disguised as a 1950  ‘June Cleaver’ housewife.  There is the ‘Men in Black’ style FBI agent and his men constantly trying to expose the strange goings-on. And more! 

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