GOW2 and After

Okay, This is the second time I'm writing this entry.  The first one seemed to only post up a title!  Trying to lure my memory of this post out from the fuzzy RAM in my head...not getting much.  Let's see...the last time I talked about my projects was the very first post on God of War.  So, I guess this'll be a little bit of an up date on my work life.

After God of War 1, I had been at Sony for almost four years, and it seemed like a good time to do something else.  However, I decided to take on another role for one more installment as "Visual Development Director".  It was enticing, since Cory Barlog was going to direct the sequel, and I already had a great experience with him when he was animating.  He seemed like a great fit for that role---seemed like another round of God of War could be a refreshing experience.  Plus, besides Scott Seeto and Cecil Kim, who were key concept artists on God of War 1, I would get to form the rest of the concept team, adding on Andy Park, Dwayne Turner, Ryan Meinerding, and Erik Sanjuan (whom I got to borrow from the modeling team during our busiest phase).  The team had lots of talent, but most importantly, were great to work with, and they were also patient with me as their art director.   It was a group that you looked forward to working with on a Monday morning.

I learned a lot taking on this role.  It was my first time art directing the look of a game, and Cory's first time directing the game, so there were definitely growing pains.  I think one of the most challenging parts was managing a team of friends, trying to see how much to direct, versus how much to trust their own experience, and all the while trying to shield them from as much politics as possible.  The other end was the politics of being on the managing staff.  I worked very closely with Cory, trying to understand his creative process as much as possible.  It was an adventure adjusting to Cory and trying to get the rest of the concept art team to adjust with me...of course, Cory had to adjust to the whole team, along with the rest of Sony and the corporate execs.  As frustrating as times were, it was a great experience to work with him---he has vision to direct and guts to deal with the dirt.   (Lol, did I get that from a fortune cookie??)

Near the end of God of War 2, it was definitely time to do something different.  I learned from a good friend Charles Lee that Imagi was making "Gatchaman".  This was a dream project for me ever since I was a little kid running in the back streets of Taiwan as G1 (the leader of the Gatchaman team), protecting our neighborhood from alien invasion.  This old 70's cartoon was called "Battle of the Planets" in the US, or G-Force.  I loved it... I got to help envision  Gatchaman for our times.  I joined Imagi for about a year and a half---worked on some "look of picture" images, but mostly spent time designing the characters.  The original vision for the film was fun and a bit edgy---appealed to me.  The project's been through lots of changes, rewrites (like any film), ended up with a different director recently.  The vision's changed since I first joined, and seems to be going towards a younger Power Rangers audience---I wanted to see a Gatchaman that I would love to see, and didn't want to see it go this direction, so I departed from Imagi and took an Art Directing/Character Designing gig on Thundercats.

Thundercat's is another old cartoon that's making it's way to film...hoooooooo!  hehe---sorry, couldn't help myself.  The show also made an impression on me as a kid, maybe not quite the way Gatchaman did, but none the less, it took a good chunk of my after school hours.  Currently, this is keeping me busy, along with some other projects on the side, which I can't mention yet.  I still owe Gnomon some DVD's for their collection, so that's another project that's on my current to-do list.  All this to say that I've been slacking on my blogging.  Sorry guys, gotta keep the work going...

Comments

[Ann]

I'm horrified that they're going with a Power Rangers look-alike for Gatchaman. Gatchaman is NOT Power Rangers. It's one thing to redo the classics, but to redo a classic and then add elements of another show just to get an audience shows what a sorry state the movie industry is in. - to the movie execs - don't try to copycat and follow the money, make a good movie and the money will follow. sheesh.

[Cwen]

hi Mark,
Yes, I did get your email--- it's great to see your site dedicated to Thundercats. We're definitely trying to capture the flavor of the show, but updated for the contemporary audience. Thanks so much for offering up reference material. Not sure if we'll need more at this point, but if we do, I'll contact you.

[cwen]

hi Wendy, Hope you're not too aprehensive about the outcome of Gatchaman. Most of the projects I know of or have been on go through some pretty rough obstacles before making their way to distribution. I think, and hope, with the talent they have there (and for the sake of all us fans) that the film will come out as a success.

[Wendy]

Thanks for the update on the Gatchaman movie. Seems there has been little to no information about it for a while, and the change in staff is concerning. I have to say your news leaves me apprehensive about the way the movie will eventually turn out.

[lorraine]

Love reading your posts. You have an awsome imagination! Good luck with everything!

[akiraghost]

heard that you might be working on AKIRA --- man, IS THAT TRUE?

[2pack88]

hey, I saw your pics & about the Thundercat gig on Ain't it Cool News -- guess they don't know your blog here yet, huh? Cool that we get the scoop here first!

[Daniel Andrews]

Right on man! Thunder Cats, that awesome. Hopefully you can post something in the near future to give us a taste of how it may look.
Great to learn a little more about you.
Take Care and Best of luck friend.
Your work is Gold man.

[Andrew Cramer]

Wow man that's a great gig to land! Good luck and I hope you'll make us TCat fans proud!

PS: LOVE your GOW stuff!

[Andy Park]

Cool to hear your thoughts Charlie. It's been fun watching you go through all these career events. I hope we'll work together again one day in the future. I can hear you cough all day long again => So, is it ok that you reveal all this info? You won't get in trouble now will you? Just watching out for ya.

[Mark]

Hey Charlie, great to see the T-Cat announcement is public. Did you see my e-mail re: original cartoon concept art?

[Jackson]

Thanks for the update Charlie.. interesting to hear your experiences..

[Cwen]

thanks, Pen-tied--it's always fun to share about your days in field! I'll try to update more often.

[Pen-tied]

Geez, what a true artist's life! Can't wait to see your work/films out! Thanks for sharing, too. You make us your fans drool for more of your work tales! Just don't take so long to update!