December 13th 2014
And a pretty full on and wonderfully bizarre two weeks. Work is gently winding down for me on the series, but I am working like crazy pushing new projects. Many fingers in many pies. I've gone through the big film script with a first pass of dialogue and some of it works very well. But I need some decisions being made that I can't make, just so I can plan things. Very frustrating.
But some great culture.....a joyous Merry Widow at the Royal Northern College of Music, given a wonderful snowy twist for the second half. My chum Wyn conducted it and in some moments the music insinuated itself out of the silence, and in others it exploded, plastering my hair against the wall. I love this operetta and this was a superb, inventive production, and one that was hard to believe was performed by students. Then the night after I saw the Birmingham royal ballet's monumental and lavish The nutcracker, full of wonderful extravagant moments, but they still haven't solved the problem of the Sugar plum fairy. Just who is she and why does she hijack the ballet.
And then this week I joined my chums at Aardman to celebrate 25 years of the Lip synch series. I think I was guilt of rather selfishly wanting my film not to fade away, and in the scheme of all the subsequent features and amazing technical developments, I wondered if the films wouldn't amount to much. but actually seeing them on the screen they are still all very interesting films, from a time where individual creativity was encouraged, and before so many rules and such got in the way. It was good to spend the time with the Aards and with all the crews....sadly some are missing. My family assembled for this event too. The boys were only about 6 when we made Next. The following day I was part of a panel discussing the profile of puppets and puppeteers - I am not sure I could contribute anything when every other word was 'sector' or 'core audience'. it was a very dry and precise meeting for a craft that is neither dry nor precise. And animation did not seem to fit in with the discussions at all.