Reflections and Resolutions
My year in review and goals for 2023!
Another year has come to pass and although I often enjoy the holidays, this time around I’m ready to get back into full focus mode for 2023. I have to confess, 2022 was a bittersweet time, finally seeing the release of The Quantum Terror to great reviews and decent viewing numbers for a film its size, while also having to endure a catastrophic car accident, family health issues, and the collapse of my day job during the worst economic downturn I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.
Still, I’m an optimist, which means I believe in the power of human determination, the ability for us to problem solve, and not only overcome seemingly impossible adversity but triumph over them in ways never imagined.
I made some great friends this year, as well and started some things that are going to be amazing. So, with that, let’s talk about what I have in mind moving forward and how I intend to get it done.
Sci-Exploitation: Escape From Planet Omega-12
If you’ve been following this Substack blog, my SubscribeStar, or any of my other social media then you’ll know that Escape From Planet Omega-12 is my second feature film, which producer Doug Mayfield and I have in production, right now.
It’s the story of Tera, the beautiful lone survivor of a doomed space expedition, marooned on a savage alien planet, along with her little robot assistant and a strange alien blob that has absorbed the consciousness of her murdered husband. Hunted by an unseen enemy who means to kill her, she must learn to survive in her new environment while evading ravenous monsters and deadly robots, all while uncovering the deeper mysteries of the planet she seeks to escape.
We actually haven’t decided yet if we’re going to present this as the first in several feature films revolving around this character or if we’re going to break it up into four episodes and present it as the first season. I’m leaning toward the latter, but we’ll see.
From here, you can skip to the next header if you want but if you stick around and indulge me, I’d like to talk about how I intend to make this animated story special.
It all leans into my personal filmmaking philosophy. I believe that all storytelling relies on a certain degree of shorthand, which in turn becomes an individual artistic style. In this instance, I’m going to be blending multiple mediums, or maybe more appropriately for this project at this time, I should say toolsets.
The breakdown will go something like this:
Practical effects miniatures and compositing for the environments and spaceship (with maybe a little AI imagery)
Practical effects puppets, composites, and Duik rigged photos of sculptures for the alien lifeforms
3D models made in Blender with frame-by-frame hand-drawn elements (like hair and clothing) for Tera and her robot, including VTube real-time 2D for closeups, Rokoko or Plask AI motion capture, and Cascadeur for other animation tasks
After Effects compositing to tie it all together
...but I have no intention of being ridged in any of this. I'm sure each scene will offer choices that will make for some cool results. The key is to keep the visual storytelling style simple while allowing each tool to shine in what it does best while letting the other tools pick up the slack.
Just a few years ago, attempting something like this on our budget would have been considered impossible and insane. However, now, with the help of a very minimal crew of talented artists and the fact that most of these programs are open source, many of the tasks required to make this movie will be given over to automation so we can focus on putting forth a truly creative vision.
I haven’t even said anything about what we’re planning for voice talent and audio mix but I’ll leave that for another time.
We still need support though, so if you want to join us on this creative journey, please sign up for my SubscribeStar by clicking here: https://www.subscribestar.com/christophermoonlight
Live Streaming
This is one I didn’t see coming but with the help of my friend Gerry Kissell over at Pop-Culture Minefield, I have officially become a live streamer on not only my own YouTube channel but for his Morning Coffee show, every Tuesday at 10 AM central.
We have fun interviewing guests and talking about cool projects, which for me is an engaging and entertaining way to stay in touch with my audience about what I’m doing and get feedback from all of you. I enjoy it quite a bit but it’s as time-consuming as it is important so my next step will be to get sponsors for the show, which beginning in January will also broadcast internationally on KGRA Digital Radio.
If you or anyone you know are interested in supporting the show by advertising with us, please reach out to me through my social media to learn more. Our rates are beyond reasonable.
What’s Next for The Quantum Terror?
One thing I’ve come to learn as a filmmaker is that what happens after you release a movie can be just as challenging as all the things leading up to it. To explain what I mean, I’ll have to be a little frank about a few things but still, in keeping with my character, I remain optimistic.
The good news is that as of right now, thousands of people across the globe have seen it and as I mentioned before, it’s gotten fair to good reviews. According to Filmhub, which is the sales platform I use to self-distribute the film it’s garnered a little income which starting to trickle in slowly but not enough to justify withdrawing until it’s all (or mostly) there, which I believe will happen in the next quarter. If I pulled it out right now, it would probably come with some pocket lint and a loose button.
Still, that’s pretty cool. It’s more than I ever expected it could do and we’re not done, yet.
Even though it still doesn’t count as being profitable it tells me that there is still a market for the movie and therefore it could actually become so in the future.
The drawback is that as I mentioned before, my day job has all but collapsed due to inflation and its impact on the housing market. That means that until I complete some online schooling, the daily struggle of just trying to keep my family and home afloat, along with taking any work I can get, remains a constant. That doesn’t leave much capital for the two things I would really like to do for this movie.
The first is to hire a PR person to do another media push. We’ve talked to one and he feels that there’s still a lot that can be done for The Quantum Terror and I believe him. This would involve another new trailer, writeups, and interviews surrounding the movie and how we made it.
The second is to get the damn DVDs I promised out to my Indiegogo supporters. I have actually made a master for discs to be printed from but the company I originally had made arrangements with while I was still shooting the film went out of business during the shutdowns. Since then it’s been a balance of finding someone to press them that is both reliable and affordable.
I intend to get closure on both of these items in the new year and continue to make sure that The Quantum Terror remains a staple of my growing filmography.
Short Films
Believe it or not, somehow in 2022 I had the time to get together with friends and make two short films. They both have working titles and it’s going to be some time until they get through post-production but I thought I’d mention them since they’ll both come out next year.
The first is written, directed, and stars Val Mayerik, who was also in The Quantum Terror. It’s a ghostly tone poem of a film that we shot in color for no money but will be presented in black and white.
The other is a sci-fi proof of concept short that we shot on the same property, also starring Val, as well as returning Quantum Terror actor Matt Blackwell, along with Sara Frazetta, Moises Chiullan, with returning TQT director of photography Anthoney Gutierrez. Written by me and Doug Mayfield.
More to Come
You may be asking yourself, “How does he do so much?” Well, the truth is I couldn’t do it without all the resources and people, listed above and I have a great producing partner in Doug Mayfield, who works behind the scenes keeping all the structures intact on both the creative and business front.
None of this is easy and at times comes with great personal sacrifice but we’re driven by our love of filmmaking, a can-do attitude, relentless will, and the knowledge that time waits for no one so you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
For that, and for you, I am eternally grateful.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
-Christopher
PS Once, again, if you enjoy my content and want to support me on my journey to create independent entertainment, please consider joining me on SubscribStar at this link: https://www.subscribestar.com/christophermoonlight