mr_boobytrap ([info]mr_boobytrap) wrote,
@ 2009-03-13 00:05:00
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Floating Fantasy 08

Read this while listening to the theme music from Terminator.

1. No characters should be pre-rendered in design before the actual comic is drawn.
2. No panel borders, though objects may be used to delineate areas of the page.
3. No sound effects.
4. No thought balloons, though floating words may be associated with the on-screen character talking at another time or in his/her mind.
5. No motion lines, though the effects of movement or action may be depicted physically, ie the splashing of water or the fragmentation of rock etc.
6. No title pages or author creditation in the main body of the work and no narrative information regarding place, time, or any other voice that comes from an invisible narrator. Therefore, transitions of time and space in the narrative may not be made apparent to the reader through words on the page.
7. No penciling, or no inking if pencils are used. Any medium of linemaking is acceptable however: paint; marker pens, etc. and any page size may be used. Colouring may be added.
8. No pointless cartoon violence, though violence may be used if necessary to propel the plot.
9. No overt autobiograhy.
10. Humanity or human issues should be at the core of the story.


This post is in reference to the Danish Dogme 95 film movement.  It`s about the way I make comics these days.




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[info]hayfield_pitch
2009-03-12 04:01 pm UTC (link)
11. all eyeballs should be facing mecca!

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[info]mr_boobytrap
2009-03-12 08:49 pm UTC (link)
@_@

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[info]catthorpe
2009-03-13 10:33 am UTC (link)
is this thing on your journal a 'manifesto' or special statement or is
it more just your ideas written in that dogme style?

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[info]mr_boobytrap
2009-03-13 11:04 am UTC (link)
i think a manifesto would need some prevailing method to which I am rebelling. I`m not, and I accept any and all means of making comics.
So i suppose this would have to be more like my ideas written in that dogme style.
whether that makes it a special statement or not is something I`m not sure about.
I would welcome anyone to try and make a Floating Fantasy comic using these rules though.
A superhero comic in this style would be good.
I didn`t reference the fact that non-essential hints at environment or non-used objects can be omitted discretionally - creating a foggy view of the world.

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[info]im_with_zombie
2009-03-13 02:31 pm UTC (link)
hey !
i just got out of my Nordic cinema class (focusing on the 90s) and thought i must just have been reading everything in the world from overly "" dogme "" viewpoint until i read through to your explanation at the end
i wholeheartedly applaud your idea structure.... im very tempted to make a comic in this way since you said you welcome it...
are you going to have any reference to the set of rules in the comic, like the certificate that appears in front of the films?
http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/28/28_images/dogmacertificate.jpg

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[info]mr_boobytrap
2009-03-13 04:25 pm UTC (link)
It would be cool to see what someone else comes up with using this formula and we could give them catalogue numbers.
I was thinking the strip I did for Believer was the first one but that was drawn with panels which were later taken away. when I put it in Boobytrap #4 it will look a bit like a Floating Fantasy comic though but it`s not the real deal, just a narrow pre-cursor.
The one Leon is publishing can be regarded as FF#1 proper.
This one is FF#2: http://bonehousebooks.co.uk/primitiveman&advancedman.html
FF#3 will appear in Decadence 7.
Although actually maybe I will label them in publishing order so you could get a move on and actually do FF#1.

That certificate at the end is a pretty funny idea. maybe a link to a webpage at the back would be good?

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[info]mr_boobytrap
2009-03-13 04:26 pm UTC (link)
coolio coincidencio by the way.

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[info]pygmyking
2009-03-13 05:24 pm UTC (link)
Good ideas for restraint. Numbers 3-5 are elements of the comics vocabulary that I try to use sparing (although less so with my woeful attempts at commercial kids' comics recently).

With regards to the Dogme influence, I consider Festen my very favourite film (perhaps alongside 2046). I was so happy to hear that Anthony Dod Mantle won an Oscar for his contribution to Slumdog Millionaire.

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[info]leiston
2009-03-14 04:45 am UTC (link)
yeah Festen in a good one.

I saw Slumdog Millionaire this week and I can say that I continue to loathe Danny Boyle films. I kind of despise that `not quite real` kind of way of acting and setting up scenes that dog many British movies. I didn`t forget I was watching a film at any moment. And some of the camera effects were like those from a 90`s film student playing with the buttons on the camera. I can understand why a lot of people enjoy this film and I don`t wish for it`s eradication from the Earth but it just wasn`t my cup of tea.

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Scumdog
[info]mardouville
2009-04-10 09:56 pm UTC (link)
god that film was a piece of shit.
I spent a week contemplating how out of touch with popular opinion I am. I even began to wonder "is it me/ I am wrong and everyone else right?"
But no. They're wrong.

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Re: Scumdog
[info]mr_boobytrap
2009-04-11 09:36 am UTC (link)
actually I changed my mind; I would be quite happy if that film had never been made.

nice to see how ineloquent I was with that last comment I left.
I was trying to reference the way movies abandon the rules of the real world in order to facilitate the demands of plot. The Thing continues to be the finest example of how even the extraordinary can be rooted in a world representative of the one we inhabit ourselves, and yet still follow the mechanics of compelling cinema.

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Re: Scumdog
[info]mr_boobytrap
2009-04-11 09:39 am UTC (link)
it`s quite alarming when so many people can consider Slumdog Millionaire to be a good film. The answer must be in there being a certain number of boxes which need ticking to satisfy the average moviegoer. So if this and Rocky, for example, both tick all the boxes, then a mass audience will be satisfied. Of course Rocky is actually a wonderful piece of cinema.

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Re: Scumdog
[info]mardouville
2009-04-14 09:38 pm UTC (link)
Do you mean John Carpenter's 'The Thing'? I only saw that version.
It was excellent.
But I can't watch horror films right now.
I'm trying to keep Ozu in mind as I work on my current book, avoid close ups. I think the repetetion of panels is okay, good even so long as each panel is hand drawn and not photoshopped in.
Gabrielle Bell's comics have really opened a path for me. I admire her and am trying to channel that without emulating her.

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Re: Scumdog
[info]mr_boobytrap
2009-04-15 02:21 am UTC (link)
i agree with that point about repition of panels preferably being hand drawn.

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