Drop #7: Stewards of Sky Island

Enjoy, Don’t Destroy

Welcome back to the “Artificial Ink Drops” newsletter, your one stop shop that sells nothing but updates on the creative life of Ted Kendrick. Emmy, one of the Watchtower Database’s Patreon supporters, informed me that it’s been a few months since one of these emails, so on her behalf, here we are.

Thank you, Emmy.

She surely says you’re welcome. There is much to share today.

So what’s new?

Well recently, NO MEAN FEET was accepted into several more film festivals. The short film played on April 29th in St. Petersburg, FL at the Sunscreen Film Festival. I couldn’t attend in person since I already had tickets to the Kurt Vile concert in Asheville, but I am still honored that the film was programmed.

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Quick reminder: NO MEAN FEET is available on YouTube, so go watch it now if you haven’t! What are you waiting for? In fact, if you don’t watch it within the next three minutes, Bigfoot will visit you at midnight and eat your toes.

That doesn’t sound right.

Trust me, it is. You know it to be true in your heart.

The film was also accepted to the Cobb International Film Festival in Marietta, Georgia, right outside Atlanta. The event occurs over the first weekend of August, same as my ten year high school reunion, which was delayed two years, though that’s neither here nor there. I’m so excited to screen with the ATL film community at the beautiful, historic Strand Theatre.

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In other festival news, NO MEAN FEET also just played at the Longleaf Film Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 14th. My brother Joe and mom joined me for the trip. We screened early in the afternoon to a packed room, and attended the awards ceremony that evening where the film won an award for Best Comedy Short. We received a beautiful handcrafted tile for the effort.

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Those were several mean feats!

Okay. You said it, not me.

My April was pretty busy! I spent the first week prepping for the production of a nature docu-series for 30 to 300 Productions titled STEWARDS OF SKY ISLAND. From the week of the 18th to the 24th, we were on location at Roan Mountain, not far from Boone and Banner Elk, which included parts of the Appalachian Trail at Grassy Ridge Bald and Yellow Mountain Gap. We shot what we hope will ultimately become two separate half hour episodes.

We were led across the Roan Highlands by several guides from the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC), and captured footage of the biodiversity and regional efforts to combat climate change in order to preserve this sacred sky island. Check out the 30 second sizzle reel below.

I worked on the shoot as the Assistant Director, in charge of scheduling and keeping everyone safe and on track. Caleb Owolabi was the producer and host of the show. Our camera crew consisted of Drew Glickman as Director of Photography and Legare Hay as Assistant Camera. We also had three Production Assistants: Joy Stamp, Amberlee Barbee, and Kortni Yarborough.

STEWARDS OF SKY ISLAND crew with SAHC guide Park Greer

The SAHC put our crew up in a roomy mountain cabin, and it was overall, a very creative and peaceful experience. This project threw me out of my comfort zone after two years of a pandemic, and honestly kinda rejuvenated my spirit. It was a pleasure to have an excuse to hike for a full week, and get paid to boot, especially after all that back pain last winter. I proved to myself that my body was well on its way to a full recovery. I am currently writing poetic voiceover narration for the episodes, assisting Caleb in contacting potential networks for distribution, and also designing the series poster.

What is a sky island? That doesn’t make sense.

I guess you’ll just have to wait for the show, and see for yourself.

Recently, I completed the first 15 pages for a screenplay written for-hire. I can’t say much about it yet, just that it’s a sci-fi concept with a built-in marketing component, but it paid me fairly, maybe the first time ever for a scriptwriting gig. I have a meeting with the client soon to discuss finishing the project, adding about 85 more pages to complete the feature film script.

So far, this year has been a handful of false starts with a few committed successes, which I suppose is how every year tends to go. For a moment, I was going to be a producer on a werewolf short film that ceased pre-production when a fire destroyed the shooting location— an Asheville music venue that has since undergone repairs; luckily, no one was hurt— though it gave the writer/director more time to tweak the script, and fill in plot holes.

COPPERHEAD was a southern gothic short film that I was very excited to create with Erik Kitchens of Hello Atomic and Absolute Grip Co. He and his crew were approved for the TN10 competition that is part of the Knoxville Film Festival, but unforeseen circumstances halted the project. I helped co-write the script with Kitchens, and was going to work on set as the script supervisor. Another one that I hope can regain its momentum at a later date.

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I had actually pitched two variations of a stoner comedy for the project before Erik wanted to develop the southern gothic idea. The first was a political commentary on the nature of stoner culture in a world that has nearly normalized recreational marijuana, and the second was more of a goofy monster comedy with some SCOOBY-DOO style mystery scouts. The latter pitch was a little more fun, but neither will come to pass at the moment.

Subsequently, I almost signed on to produce a horror feature film this summer, which had a pretty interesting hook against the cliche cabin-in-the-woods backdrop, but promptly left the project after I discovered their goals and vision did not match the proposed budget. It quickly became clear that this was not the best project for dedicated film workers. Too much of the budget put “the cart before the horse,” so to speak. If you want to sell a movie, you need to make the movie first, and appropriately pay crew without resorting to deferred payments contingent on how much money the film makes back. Otherwise, that’s a lesson in how to take advantage of people.

Spill the tea.

I’ve said enough. I wish everyone the best. I know when to pick my battles.

My 4SIGHT short film is still in the editing process. Rome Widenhouse had his time swallowed up by an opportunity to edit a feature film project, and I am very excited for him. I know he will jump into 4SIGHT, as well as the promo for my HIKE IT UP comedy show, in the very near future. These things take time when you want to do them right with collaborators that you trust the most.

Trust is the building block of the universe.

I’ll have to trust you on that. I’m a little more locally minded these days.

Speaking of which, the indie film scene in Greenville, South Carolina is just as hopping, if not more, than in Asheville. Dominique Mancini is in the process of building a film studio space. As a package for actors, she will offer “speed scene” shoots that can be used as quick examples for reel building. I pitched ten concepts. She asked me to write two of them, so I did, and I liked them a lot. I suspect she’s not quite ready to launch the speed scene program, but when she does, I hope she keeps me in mind for custom scriptwriting.

The Watchtower Database output has decreased slightly with one of our editors on a break, and the primary editor James Strecker hard at work on the finale of our channel lore story videos in which I have some minor roles, and play a major part in the finale as the bad guy aka Dr. ManHatTed. The “DCAU Multiverse Revisited” just released, then it is “Poison Ivy: Plant or Person?” and finally, the thing that I shot in Astoria, Oregon last fall that remains a secret, plus some additional, even secreter stuff coming afterwards.

Not for me. I’m reading this from the future.

Well, don’t spoil it for everyone. Geez. I’ve been so busy lately, but I want to bring back my video game streams for the Watchtower Database. I still plan to binge play “Gotham City Racer” and “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” on the original PlayStation. Be on the lookout for a return to that stuff soon!

Lettering is underway for TALES FROM THE LOST DOMINION #2 as well as the short 6-pager “Cold Blooded” which leads directly into the events of LOST DOMINION chapters 7 and 8. I’m redoing the lettering for the main 3 issues, splitting the 40 pagers into 20 page chapters each. While working on TALES #1, I learned a new work flow that is essentially the comic book industry standard, so I want to implement that with previous chapters for consistency. TALES #1 was released as a Kickstarter exclusive for backers, and will be available to the general public later in the year. TALES #2 will follow suit.

LOST DOMINION: “Cold Blooded”, Page 1, Panel 1

In other news, the poetry chapbook that I mentioned in the last newsletter is going through additional design changes with original artwork from my friend and collaborator Erich Reinhard, who also helped edit the poems. Here’s a rough preview of the art inspired by my poem “To the Goblin Dimension”.

“To the Goblin Dimension” artwork by Erich Reinhard

Cool, but I don’t understand the context.

Well then, find the actual poem listed below:

“To the Goblin Dimension”

Pull back the small door into the red room
Where all the ghoulies, ghosts and grinches live
Forked fountains lead to pour over portals
As gateways from the Goblin Dimension

Push past the big blinds, fold into the truth
Where aliens, cryptids and Christians lie
Forked tongues preach misdirected blasphemy
Two minds made up about Heaven and Hell 

Leave your world, come to ours, and enjoy your stay
You couldn’t go home now even if you tried
But if the grass was greener over yonder
Then why does grime glimmer throughout mankind?

Spooky with some spiritual undertones.

What is this, a wine tasting?

Let me take a quick sec to sing the praises of MAGIC MIND! The 2 oz daily shots use matcha, ashwagandha, turmeric, and more to help energize and focus without the stress and anxiety that too much caffeine can create. You can really feel it working on day two, and it’s 100% effective by day three. Seriously, my writing productivity has skyrocketed since I started. Try it yourself, and get $15 off with my referral code: https://t.co/Xu1MT0bOVE

Seen any multiverse movies lately?

You’re probably thinking of DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, which I did see, and it’s fine, but everyone should be talking about EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, the sci-fi action film from A24, directed by the Daniels duo. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ke Huy Quan who you may recall as a child actor from THE GOONIES and as Short Round from INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. It’s truly a blast to see his return to acting now as an adult.

Without spoiling any of the movie, because you should go into it as blindly as possible, I’ll say it is a visual treat that conveys the cultural zeitgeist concept of the multiverse in the most astonishing ways, completely blowing DOC STRANGE out of the water in that regard. The film grapples with themes of destiny and perception of choice versus the existential dread that nothing matters. It’s about the loss of faith, and renewal of love. One of the directors, Daniel Scheinert, grew up in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, just like me, and I think that’s kinda cool. The film is finishing a theatrical run at the moment, and will surely soon be available on VOD and streaming.

Ahh, the ol’ 205. Do you ever miss Birmingham?

Sometimes. I enjoy a visit. Actually, a local band that I listened to back in high school came out of nowhere with a new single. Listen to “Plans” by Wild Sweet Orange, and reminisce with me back to the days of my youth, when all I had were plans. No roadblocks, no regrets, just the possibilities of the future.

You know me. Always making stuff. If you’ve read this far, I really appreciate you, and you should tell me that you read this next time you see me.

Be good. Or not. Just be. That’s all. The rest are details.

Drop #6: Chronicles

It Can Only Be Chronicled Now

Welcome back to the “Artificial Ink Drops” newsletter! This is post #6, so you know by now that you’re in for updates on all things creative by Ted Kendrick.

Hurry up and take my money.

I may play with some subscription options for special releases here in the future, like a weekly webcomic, but this newsletter is totally free to read.

That seems like your problem.

It may not mesh very well with capitalism, but you can always donate on Venmo. I suggest $6 to cover the six newsletters that you‘ve received so far.

You are shameless.

Hey, c’mon now. That’s just how the hustle works. This is the creative grind in visual action. Blame the game, not the player, or whatever the saying.

Let’s just talk creative stuff.

Creative work is no mean feat, and yes, I will keep using that double entendre as long as it’s applicable. The NO MEAN FEET short film, produced with my brother Joe Kendrick, enjoyed its film festival premiere at Festival Angaelica in December, and pending acceptance at a handful of other potential festival screenings, with plans underway to also play at Bigfoot focused conferences.

The short will premiere online on YouTube on February 4th, 2022 at 4pm ET, along with the official soundtrack the same day, available to listen on Spotify and Apple Music. Be sure to follow the embedded link below, and hit the reminder bell to catch the premiere if you want to watch it drop live with me.

Elsewhere on the 4SIGHT front, we are very close to having a first cut of the short film. My frequent collaborator Rome Widenhouse is overseeing the edit, who also served on set as the 1st Assistant Director, and provided voiceover narration for the 4SIGHT Augmented Augur. Sam Zeilender, the Director of Photography, included some footage from 4SIGHT in his reel, and is already involved in the color correction process. The edit has come together slowly and deliberately, but I’m still very excited to finish and share the piece.

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At the start of January, I attempted to harness that New Years energy that inspires new projects, while navigating the landmines of potential offers that may be insincere or ill-conceived. December was spent with some debilitating shoulder pain (solved by a new chiropractor), and early January in quarantine after a bout with the Omicron variant, so you could say I am overdue for good luck and positivity, all the while attempting to honor my resolution which is, per every year, to drink more water. It’s realistic and achievable. I’ve got this.

If you can keep up a newsletter, you can do anything.

I really appreciate the optimism. Sincerely. Thank you.

A few years ago, I participated in a screenwriting class taught by Andrew Shearer where each student wrote a feature film. I only got as far as 30 pages into my concept at the time, since I was balancing work at Social Construct Films by day and food delivery at night. However, I recently resurrected the concept to write the 16-page proof of concept script RAPID RETREAT, a potential whitewater horror film where a group travels by canoe, kayak and raft along a river in a futile attempt to escape the reach of an alien invasion.

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I shared the script with several friends and colleagues who all claimed to be impressed by the originality and considered it a real page turner. Feel free to email me directly to request the script if you are interested in reading as well.

But I want something with printed pages.

Well, you’re in luck. Adam Mullen and I curated several short stories for a sci-fi comic book anthology we’re collaborating on together entitled JOLT! One of my shorts “Dance on the Razor’s Edge” is currently being illustrated by Joe Rivera, who previously provided the artwork for the NO MEAN FEET film poster. The six page story is about an expedition to the border that surrounds the universe, and mankind’s hubris when they decide to breach it. Check out the initial designs below for the lead character of Commander Vanga.

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The LOST DOMINION space western comic series written by Adam Mullen recently ran a successful crowdfunding campaign that financed the first three issues of TALES OF THE LOST DOMINION, a separate spinoff anthology series which explores different characters and eras that were only hinted at so far in the main series. I recently completed the lettering for TALES #1.

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I also wrote a little six page story on DeMarco, an outlaw woman who wears a skull bandana, and bears multiple tragedies and heartbreak. Not sure what if anything will happen with the short yet, but I pitched it to Adam, so we’ll see!

We always do, don’t we?

True. I believe that I’ve finalized my poetry chapbook design. I created some actual ink splatter with an ink jar and an old credit card, and used Photoshop to interpose the splatter on top of scanned printed pages to give the design a xeroxed zine effect. Waiting on feedback from a few more folks before I send it off to the printer and try to sell it for $7, as either a digital download and in print in some local stores with shipping options available. Check out the cover design, the table of contents and a few poems in the post below.

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If you were wondering where the “Chronicles” title of the newsletter comes from, look no further. “Anno Domini: Chronicles” was the full title for issue #11 of the LEGACIES OF THE DCAU webcomic that I write for the Watchtower Database. I wrote the script at least three years ago as part of our “Anno Domini” story arc set in the DC Animated Universe’s timeline smack dab in the middle of the present day and BATMAN BEYOND future. The story was crafted by a directive from James Strecker. He really wanted to show a funeral for Gotham City police commissioner Jim Gordon, and I believe we sent him off in style, with an excerpt of his book “The Batman Chronicles.”

Oh cool. I thought the webcomic was dead.

Heroes get remembered, but Legends never die…and neither do Legacies. We actually almost titled the webcomic as LEGENDS OF THE DCAU, but shifted after The CW launched their show LEGENDS OF TOMORROW. Funny enough, they later greenlit a show called LEGACIES, but honestly, the title of the webcomic had nothing to do with The CW or its content. It was meant only as an allusion to the 90s DC Comics series LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE.

LEGACIES #11 cover by Anthony Hunter

What else is all along the Watchtower?

We completed our collective coverage on BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE and JUSTICE LEAGUE INFINITY comic series based off their respective animated series. The monthly play-by-play reviews for both series proved to be a bit much, so we’ll continue these reviews in our upcoming podcast relaunch instead. James recently dropped an update video to share the changes coming to the YouTube channel, but the more things change, the more things stay the same. While we’re sorta on the subject of JLI, check out my chat over a beer with colorist Nick Filardi about his work on the series!

Although I’m not yet sure what the following release order will actually be, I am currently working on several scripts for upcoming video essays: “Casting Call” reflections on voice actors Clancy Brown and Tara Strong, BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES’ influence on Christoper Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT film trilogy, how the Christoper Reeves movies influenced SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, Christmas coverage on Paul Dini’s JINGLE BELLE, and something about a batch of WORLD’S FINEST comic books from 1983. Expect to see the fruits of all these topics throughout the 2022 calendar year.

Those are interesting topics, I guess.

And of course, I’ve continued my mostly weekly video game livestreams. I just completed SUPERMAN: SHADOW OF APOKOLIPS for the PlayStation 2 a few days ago, as of the release of this newsletter. Although I stream directly to the Watchtower Database on usually Tuesdays, you can rewatch the archives on The Podtower YouTube channel, along with comic reviews, book clubs, and several other related podcasts such as DCAU Review and Timm Talk.

Whatcha got in the realm of recommendations?

Honestly, I’ve been pretty hyped for Matt Reeves’ upcoming reinvention of THE BATMAN. It’s obviously no secret that I usually have Batman on the brain, but in anticipation of the new film, I read that Reeves was heavily inspired by Warner Bros.’ 1971 crime drama KLUTE with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, so I gave that a watch. Their chemistry was undeniable with Fonda as an escort and Sutherland a private detective, and easy to see how their relationship might be reflected by the Bat and Cat. I loved the stark noir cinematography from Gordon Willis, who also shot THE GODFATHER trilogy with Francis Ford Coppola. I can already see from the trailers how THE BATMAN borrows techniques from KLUTE, so if you’re into that kinda aesthetic, shell out the cash and rent KLUTE wherever you rent movies.

In the book realm, I read BATMAN: THE IMPOSTER by Mattson Tomlin with art by Andrea Sorrentino. Tomlin also wrote the screenplay for Reeves’ THE BATMAN feature film, so I went into the three issue limited series curious if it shared a continuity with the film. Right now, that remains to be seen, but what I enjoyed most about the book was its focus on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his therapist Leslie Thompkins, who blackmails Batman into visiting her clinic every morning at dawn to talk about his nightly exploits, or else she threatens to reveal his identity to the police, all while Bruce is convinced that an imposter Batman is running around the streets, killing people, and ruining the vigilante’s reputation. Being a part of DC’s Black Label brand basically means the book is non-rated with leverage to do whatever it wants in terms of content, so it stands on its own in a darker space.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a little more darkness in the song “Devil n Me” by Taylor Hollingsworth, a staple songwriter of the Birmingham, Alabama indie music scene, who was someone I saw play many times when I grew up there in the late aughts, and try to catch whenever I visit. This particular song has a pounding punk folk beat that makes you drive a little faster than the speed limit, and celebrate the feeling that you might be getting up to no good.

On that note, so long.

Until next time, likely in a month and half’s time if I remain as consistent and true to form. At this point, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be anything else, right?

Drop #5: B00

I Caught A Ghost

Hey, Ted. Boo!

Ahh! You scared me!

AVLFilm.com hosted a 10 Second Film Contest throughout October, and Artificial Ink Creative created a winning short titled B:00! In the Halloween spirit of the season, I wrote a quick piece about a guy (played by Ethan Saut) who catches a ghost and throws it in the microwave. I operated the camera and edited the film with music and animation by my brother Joe Kendrick.

B:00 was a fun and casual endeavor, but really just an excuse to blow up a marshmallow Peep in my kitchen. Better than eating one, am I right? Despite that, the film was one of several award winners, personally selected by the Cat Fly Film Festival for a merch bag. The Grail Moviehouse is currently playing B:00 in the opening pre-show clips before their film screenings.

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Almost a year ago now at the top of 2021, I helped AVLFilm launch a Discord server for the Asheville film community, and started a social media series of posts relaying #AVLFilmHistory where I highlight a film from Asheville’s past with new posts every Wednesday and Saturday. Actually almost caught up to the modern day now! I’m told that the ten second contest sprouted from a germ of an idea of mine, but I don’t remember either way to claim any credit.

A ten second film? So you mean a TikTok.

Shut up. It’s different.

Any updates on your longer short films?

NO MEAN FEET secured its film festival premiere at Festival Angaelica, streaming online over the holidays from December 21st to 31st. Joe and I participated in a Q & A with festival programmer Breven Warren where we talked the making of the film, and brainstormed ways to support indie filmmakers in a space where creativity and commerce don’t always intersect.

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THE REPLICA RAID II was also invited to play at Flickfair, another virtual film festival occurring at Flickfair.com over the month of December. Watch THE REPLICA RAID II among about 100 other films with an online pass for the entire month. RR2 was completed in 2018, but played in the Geek Short Film Festival screening tour during 2020 where Flickfair programmers first saw the short, and reached out with a guaranteed invite for selection in their event.

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Nice to see THE REPLICA RAID get some love.

Not only is the short still screening, but I also have a completed script for THE REPLICA RAID III trilogy finale which I co-wrote with Rome Widenhouse, and plan to put into production sooner than later. I’ve also written a six-page short comic titled THE REPLICA RAID: “Stealing in Sequence” that I intend to include in a comic book anthology collaboration with the Lumo Station LLC.

I know you’ve got another movie in the works.

Right! Principal photography for 4SIGHT was completed on Tuesday, November 8th where I directed the last two in-story commercials for Dr.ONE and H9DSIGHT, which both featured Brooks Wallace. I was joined once again by Rome Widenhouse on camera, Sirus Widenhouse on sound, and Cat Wityk as a line producer, who were the through-line crew on the rest of production, as well as Garin Wilson who piloted the drone, repeating his role from RR2.

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I saw Brooks Wallace previously act in Asheville 48 Hour Film Projects from past competitions, so I was grateful to bring him on board for the 4SIGHT short, and collaborate with him for the first time. He brought an innate brand of goofiness to the character of Fred that elevated these scenes to the height of their humor. Brief breaks for jokes was important to me for a short so focused on the existential dangers of surveillance technology.

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4SIGHT officially moves into post-production now that the commercials are completed. I recently supplied a shot deck of color examples and still grabs to Sam Zeilender, who is jumping into colorist duties now after working as the Director of Photography on the core scenes with Chloe (Alisha Hawthorne).

I recently secured extra voiceover work from Tracy Fuller who portrayed Chloe’s mom. She and I met at the Tryon Equestrian Center to record her lines in a gift shop. Cat Wityk provided temp voiceover as the commercial narrator, but we ultimately landed a voiceover legend in Susan Eisenberg, the voice of Wonder Woman in numerous DC Comics animation and video games.

As one of my collaborators remarked, “We made Wonder Woman say ‘look up your own ass’” and yeah, we kinda did, but that was never the point.

Of course not. That would be crass.

Well, 4SIGHT is a sci-fi comedy, with an emphasis on comedy, so don’t blame me. I’m just the writer, director, and producer. Practically blameless.

Anything else going on?

I completed a major email marketing campaign for the Other Southern record label where I assisted in the promotion of the “GET RIGHT RIGHT NOW” music video by Manifest Sons before their full album debut of “Rich Idiot Condos.” I contacted roughly 500 music blogs based all over the world, and shared a press release seeking coverage for the pop-punk outfit.

I’ve been playing my guitar often lately, usually jamming over electronic drum loops. I feel the ache to record again, and hope to make my own EP. It’s been a personal dream of mine, and I know I’ve got the songs, but I keep thinking I’ve written newer better ones, so we’ll see how the tracks shape up over the next few months. I promise to share a demo here as soon as it’s ready.

No doubt there is more Watchtower stuff.

We always stay busy over on that YouTube channel where we talk about Batman in a new video just about every Sunday. Most recently, I delivered a spontaneous review on HBO Max’s BATMAN: THE AUDIO ADVENTURES podcast which featured a voice cast full of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alum. I also wrote and hosted a video essay that researched the true origins of BATMAN BEYOND villains from various contemporary Bruce Wayne stories, which has acquired nearly 40,000 views at the time of this newsletter drop.

I’ve also continued to participate in coverage on BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE and JUSTICE LEAGUE INFINITY comic series, and recently sat down with JLI colorist Nick Filardi for an interview about his comics work over beers, since we happen to live in the same city. Be on the lookout for that conversation to hit the channel sometime before the year is over.

My potential poetry chapbook just underwent major edits, so I’m nearly at the design stage for that project. My goal is to release a run of self-published chapbooks next year with about 25 poems that I wrote during the pandemic.

I’m also working on two feature film proof-of-concept scripts, both only the first 10 pages for what could be two expansive stories. One is an original concept geared for a local production house, and the other is work-for-hire based on a flow arts toy-line. Both scripts nearly have first drafts finished.

You’re a busy man, but can you recommend any media that holds your attention lately?

I’m as much a consumer as I am a creator. I recently purchased a Nintendo Switch, so aside from beating all my friends at “Mario Kart 8”, I’ve been playing a lot of “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” which came out about four years ago, so I’m a little late to the game, but seriously, it’s great, and sending me back into a nostalgic headspace when I played earlier entries like “The Wind Waker” and “Link’s Awakening” throughout my childhood.

Here’s my friend code, so add me on the Switch if you feel like it.

SW-5459-3176-6208

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO recently hit theaters, which I caught at the aforementioned Grail Moviehouse. I’m a big fan of Edgar Wright as the director behind SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, so I was excited to see how his style would translate into a thriller. I knew to expect a psychedelic drama set in the seedy pop-art fashion world of 1960s London, but it was much more of a ghost story. The film also included “face of the year” Anya Taylor-Joy, so it was a beautifully suspenseful experience all around.

NOCTERRA is a comic book series published by Image Comics, and written by Scott Snyder with art by Tony Daniel, who are two creators familiar to me from their work on BATMAN over the years. NOCTERRA showcases an apocalyptic future where a dark void encased the Earth. Some humans survive in sanctuaries of artificial light, but if caught in the darkness for more than a day, they start a transformation into shadow monsters. Val drives a truck with the Sundog Convoy, delivering supplies between outposts in hopes to save her dying brother. The comic dropped six issues and a special so far, and was already optioned for an upcoming live-action series on Netflix. I’m here for the rest of the book, but greatly look forward to the show.

NOCTERRA #1 by Snyder and Daniels

We may be looking at each other’s Spotify Wrapped right now, but one song that played often in my car when traveling was “Gimme Some” by Weval. Something about the pulsing bass line kept the track in rotation, but then I heard it in an HBO Max commercial, and it became a little less special to me. “Gimme Some” didn’t make my top songs of 2021. That honor somehow went to LCD Soundsystem’s “oh baby” even though I really didn’t play it that often.

And that’s all, folks. Follow me on Instagram at @ted.kendrick and @artificial.ink.creative for more frequent updates in the meantime.

There may not be another newsletter before the end of the year, so let me take the chance to say a happy holidays to everyone. Here’s to bigger and better things in 2022! The creative seeds of today will be sowed tomorrow.

As always, my resolution is to drink more water. You probably should too.

Maybe I will!

Well, good! Maybe you should!

Okay!

Fine! Boo!

Ahh! You scared me!

Now you know how it feels. Bye.

Drop #4: No Mean Feet

This newsletter is no mean feat.

I turned 30 years old just the other day! That’s a pretty big round number.

Happy birthday! How did you do it?!

Only had one birthday per year. Got there eventually, slow and steady.

I held a party with friends at a riverside brewery where I was given two of those wonderful, awful golden numbered balloons which floated away.

Balloons are bad for the environment.

I didn’t lose them on purpose. Anyway, let’s jump into the creative stuff!

NO MEAN FEET, the Bigfoot short film that I wrote and directed last spring, recently completed its final edit and 4K resolution export, thanks to the efforts of my brother Joe Kendrick who also starred as the hunter. Check out the short’s official poster below, illustrated by Atlanta based artist Joe Rivera, who innately adapted the short film’s events into his own pop art-style.

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The poster will look even better with a few festival laurels. NO MEAN FEET is currently in consideration at over 20 film festivals, with plans to also screen at some Bigfoot-centric conferences. Hope to settle on a decent premiere soon!

That poster is no mean feat.

Stop it. I already made that joke in the newsletter subtitle. Didn’t you see?

In other news, Cat Fly Film Festival returned for its fifth year. The Asheville-based festival has come a long way since I was a production coordinator during its first two years. I’m very proud of the work that Brittany Jackson, Madeleine Richardson, and their team put into sustaining the event.

The GIVE AND TAKE feature film, directed by Andrew Shearer, played this year on Sunday, August 29th at the Grail Moviehouse. I was an Associate Producer on the project, assisting in finances, script supervising, craft services, and other production roles. It was a joy to finally watch the completed film along with the rest of the cast and crew, recall the moments where I was on set, and watch my old Subaru Outback (aka the Blubaru for its color) arrive at the end of the movie, driven by the school guidance counselor’s elderly mother.

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Your cars have always had grandma vibes.

That’s not true. Remember the Jeep?

Yeah.

My largest endeavor in September was a weekend production on my 4SIGHT short film, over the 18th and 19th. I directed, produced, and co-wrote with Rome Widenhouse, who was also the 1st AD and provided voiceover work as the 4SIGHT Augmented Augur. I had a small crew of eight people, including Sam Zeilender as Director of Photography, Cat Wityk as Line Producer, Sirus Widenhouse on Sound, Jacob Hart as Gaffer, and Matt Wooten as a Grip.

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The cast was also minimal, but included a dog named Steve, technically an extra, but who’s counting? He stole the show with his muppet-looking face. David Gwaltney made a brief appearance as Guy or “Man-Bun” as the character was named in previous drafts, and Alisha Hawthorne portrayed the lead character of Chloe, a young woman who downloads 4SIGHT, a nefarious fortune telling app that gauges her personal data to manipulate her life.

That would never happen IRL.

It already does, my friend. It already does.

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We had a wonderful filming experience over two full days of 10am to 6pm filmmaking, but we got through it all effectively and efficiently. Rome Widenhouse is currently underway on the first draft edit, but look for more information surrounding the 4SIGHT short film in the next few weeks.

I won’t look very hard.

You don’t have to since you’re already in the right place! Check out a still (with temp coloring) with Chloe speaking to the 4SIGHT Augur on her phone.

Alisha Hawthorne in 4SIGHT

Weren’t you just in Portland, Oregon?

I sure was. I spent two nights there where I visited Adam Mullen, the writer of LOST DOMINION (more on that below) and composer for the Watchtower Database YouTube channel, and then made my way to Astoria to film one of the channel’s ambitious storyline videos with James Strecker and Mattie Washburn, who you can see from the following pic are much taller than me.

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In a rare turn of events for me, I only participated in the filming as an actor where I portrayed a judge-like character for a courtroom scene in a spooky, dilapidated Masonic lodge. We were even given permission to enter their secret sanctum, but it wasn’t nearly as exciting as Nicholas Cage might make it out to be in a NATIONAL TREASURE movie. I found it kind of refreshing to only worry about my lines rather than handling all of the minutia of organizing the production. Much appreciation to James and the camera operator Brian Maneely for making it such an enjoyable and seamless experience.

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Speaking of the Watchtower Database, my latest video essay was a deep dive comparison of THE SHADOW radio drama character from the 1930s to his influence on the creation of BATMAN, most specifically elements introduced into the 1990s animated series. This is the sort of useless information that I like to share with YouTube, though the 78k subscribers on the channel may disagree to the degree of its uselessness. People still tuned in to watch!

I’ve also continued my comic book references coverage with the Watchtower Database team on both BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON II and JUSTICE LEAGUE INFINITY comic series that have recently continued the DC Animated Universe. My next major video essay will look at the original villains from BATMAN BEYOND and how similar some of these futuristic foes were with villains that Bruce Wayne fought in his heyday as Batman, as well as a review on the new BATMAN: THE AUDIO ADVENTURES on HBO Max.

That all sounds somewhat interesting.

It was! It is! So was the At Home Comic Con, hosted by ComicDrake and OwenLikesComics with a charity donation element aimed for COVID relief. We participated in a panel on Sunday, September 26th, which was all about the LEGACIES OF THE DCAU fanfic webcomic that I write and produce.

I was joined by story editors Mattie Washburn and James Strecker, who is also a main artist alongside Mark Daniel Martinez (aka DigitalJediMaster) and Marcelo Millicay. We talked making a webcomic, and the process behind actually doing it, like what the creative process entails to move from script to art. We also dropped hints and spoilers at things to come in the series.

Teased in the last newsletter, the LOST DOMINION comic series written by Adam Mullen (also with art by Mark Daniel Martinez and Marcello Millicay) spun off into a Kickstarter campaign for TALES FROM THE LOST DOMINION, an anthology comic series that focuses on other characters in the LOST DOMINION universe, either from ages past, or who encountered the main characters at some point. The Kickstarter campaign has already crossed its goal by 150% but any additional donations are welcome in helping meet the stretch goals which will unlock exclusive variant covers and poster prints.

STAR WARS made the space western epic into a modern mashup, but LOST DOMINION spins the genre in its own way, ripe with geopolitical tension, and characters each lost in their own sense of the word. Every subsequent issue gets better than the last as the team grows more comfortable working together and telling this epic story. I serve as the Editor on both the main series and anthology, assist in script construction, and provide feedback on every stage of the art process. However, if you catch potential problems in the thumbnails, it is much easier to stay consistent through the final image.

You mentioned poetry in the last newsletter...

Edits on my potential chapbook are still underway, but I’ve received some excellent feedback that I’ve already started to integrate. Below is a piece titled “Insomnia” which is an acrostic style poem, which means that the first letter of each line spells out the entire word “Insomnia” if you read it vertically.

“Insomnia”
Into Darkness, I crave the still delights
Not attainable while my thoughts relay
Situations and sentimental sights
Obscured by the passing of yesterday
Morning never comes to restless dreamers
Nor does the Black Knight ever end his quest,
Invested in the vanquished redeemers
After nothing more than a good night’s rest

Let me know if you enjoyed that, and want to read more! Honestly, positive response would probably speed up the release of such a poetry collection.

Enough about you now. Recommend things!

I’ve been super into this album “2X1=4” by F.S. Blumm and Nils Frahm, basically playing on repeat ever since it dropped on September 3rd. Blumm and Frahm are both electronic musicians based in Germany. This album has been especially good listening for writing, driving, and any other brain-heavy activities since it’s all instrumental with “Desert Mule” and “Sarah & Eve” as standout tracks for me, the latter of which reminds me of a pair of friends who were inseparable for awhile when I knew them best. Glad to retain their friendships today, and reconnect with both of them earlier this year.

Rich Tommaso is one of my favorite comics creators, best known for series like SPY SEAL, DARK CORRIDOR, and SHE-WOLF. I recently read one of his early books, 8½ GHOSTS, which was perfect for the Halloween season. A filmmaker finds a haunted house with a family of ghosts who live in its walls. He schemes to hire the ghosts to act in a horror movie without telling the cast and crew that the hauntings are real, figuring the acting would be more authentic and save on special effects expenses. Naturally, hijinks ensue.

8½ GHOSTS by Rich Tommaso

That’s all I got! Recommend this newsletter to someone if you enjoyed it. Venmo me @Ted-Kendrick if you want to make a donation to these creative pursuits. I’ll be back in this semi-monthly fashion sooner than later.

Drop #3: Gallery of Terrors

I'd Really Like to Know What Goes on in That Head of Yours

I know, I know. I ran super late on the latest Artificial Ink Drops newsletter.

Yeah, what happened with the monthly release?

July was busy! Bimonthly is still somewhat monthly. Between a few new part time jobs (at a bar, vineyard, and event venue) plus #HotVaxSummer and the various creative stuff you’re about to read about today, I’ve been swamped!

Drain the swamp.

Keep your politics out of my newsletter.

Move it along. We don’t have all day.

No, we do not. In fact, over the weekend of Friday July 16th through Sunday the 18th, I only had 48 hours. Artificial Ink participated in the Asheville 48 Hour Film Project among 30 other teams. Per usual, each team must incorporate the same elements: character (Joe or Jolene Detweiler, painter), prop (a pill), and line of dialogue (“I'd really like to know what goes on in that head of yours”). At the kickoff, genres were pulled from a hat— Artificial Ink got suspense/thriller— and we went off to make a movie in two days. Check out our attempt GALLERY OF TERRORS embedded below in 4K definition.

My team was kept intentionally small this year, myself as its producer, writer and cinematographer. While I created the script document, the story was also brainstormed by my brother Joe Kendrick who also edited, Aaron Fields who was also assistant camera, and Rome Widenhouse who was also the director. James Martin played the lead with Daniel Henry supporting. Erich Reinhard appeared for a small cameo, also the Man beneath the Goat. Ethan Saut was our Best Key Grip Boy, Sirus Widenhouse operated sound, and Alisha Hawthorne co-produced. We ultimately won an award for “best use of genre” so you can safely and unbiasedly say the short was thrilling and suspenseful.

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NO MEAN FEET, aka the Bigfoot dark comedy short film written and directed by myself and starring Joe Kendrick, is now nearly completed with only two more shots undergoing CGI edits before it’s ready to play the festival circuit, not just film festivals, but more Bigfoot and Cryptid focused events too. We want to screen the film to the right people and/or sasquatches in disguise.

I’m nearing the start of production on my next short film, a sci-fi comedy titled 4SIGHT, co-written by myself and Rome Widenhouse, which will involve some of the most talented Asheville local cast and crew. Alisha Hawthorne is cast as the lead character with supporting roles from Lauren Rivas and Franklin Rodriguez. I will direct, Sam Zeilender will DP, Rome Widenhouse will be 1st AD, and Catherine Wityk as Line Producer. There are two scattered early production dates leading up to the full weekend of September 18-19th.

During the pandemic, at least from April 2020 to now in August 2021, I wrote 33 poems in accordance with various classic structures including sonnets, odes, elegies, villanelles, limericks, and acrostics. I’ve entrusted a few of the dedicated poets in my life to read these pieces, and provide feedback before some are published in a zine-style chapbook. Keep your eyes on this newsletter for more info. I’ll probably include one of them next time.

None of that was nerdy enough for me.

Really? Because it was all still pretty up there.

I’ve remained content with my content for the Watchtower Database YouTube channel with videos like an essay on how Joel Schumacher’s live action BATMAN feature films affected the animated series and vice versa, an interview with Justin Erickson of Phantom City Creative who created over 40 unique posters inspired by BTAS episodes published in an art book from Mondo, plus coverage on the recent BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON II and JUSTICE LEAGUE INFINITY comics. I also recently recorded an upcoming video on the 1930s radio show sensation The Shadow!

LOST DOMINION #3 hits ComiXoloy for digital download on August 18th with print copies coming sooner than later. Adam Mullen wrote the issue with art by Marcelo Millicay, and script edits/lettering by yours truly. LOST DOMINION as a series grows in artistic quality with every issue as team members improve upon their comics chops. The first two issues are already available to read online, if you feel inclined, and look out for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign to fund TALES OF THE LOST DOMINION spin-off anthology series.

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I’m in development with that same Adam Mullen on an additional anthology tentatively titled JOLT! which will include multiple unconnected 6-page short stories with twist endings, including the pitch mentioned last newsletter, which was rejected by SATELLITES but now fully written, reformatted from 3 to 6 pages, and titled “Dance on the Razor’s Edge.” I’ve got two other stories in the works for JOLT! including a short first submitted to 2000 AD’s FUTURE SHOCK segment titled “Bar Game of the Gods”, and a sequential art take on THE REPLICA RAID franchise if you can really call those films a franchise.

You just did, so I guess you can.

So I did, and so it is now. I’m also sifting through other varied freelance work that I can’t freely mention at the moment because I’m right in the middle of it, but some of which involves feature film prewriting and development for a product based movie, and independent music promotion and songwriting. Not only am I writing on behalf of other musicians, but I’m working on songs of my own. I’ve always wanted to release some original recordings.

Where can we listen?

Nowhere right now. If I ever had old music up on Soundcloud or MySpace, it has long since been taken down. Again, this newsletter is the place to find out more when there is more to share, but I’ll tell you what stuff you should be watching on your TV and listening to on your iPod or whatever now.

Netflix released an adaptation of the SWEET TOOTH graphic novels from Vertigo Comics that were originally written and illustrated by Jeff Lemire, who is personally one of my favorite living writers. The live-action series takes what that works best from the books, published across 40 issues, but reshuffles things for the episodic format, now set in Colorado rather than Canada with supporting characters introduced much earlier. Basically, a virus dismantles society as we know it, resulting in the arrival of human-animal hybrids. Maybe part of that sounds familiar? Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey’s production company Team Downey developed the series, and I am just personally overjoyed that it exists in such high quality as it does.

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Currently playing in theaters, THE GREEN KNIGHT was directed by David Lowery, and starred Dev Patel as Sir Gawain in the retelling of a classic Arthurian legend. When the Green Knight comes to Camelot for a Christmas game, he allows Sir Gawain to strike him, but will repay the stroke one year later. Gawain severs the Green Knight’s head, but a year later, Gawain embarks to find the surviving Green Knight and assumably offer his own head in accordance with the rules. Definitely a dark fantasy story in the vein of John Boorman’s EXCALIBUR from 1981, but with that moody modern aesthetic we’ve come to expect from A24 Films. I caught the film while it was in theaters in a concentrated effort to support the box office for an original concept over some remake or sequel. Hopefully Hollywood paid attention.

Why would Hollywood care? We barely do.

Hey, now! You listen here…actually, yeah. Listen up for this thing.

Red Harp is an alternative folk band fronted by Garrett Kelly, and local to the Birmingham, Alabama music scene. I grew up listening to their early demos and private recordings, and caught shows whenever they happened at the Bottletree venue that since evolved into what is now the Saturn. Red Harp recently dropped a 5-track EP titled “The Heartfelt” which is their first available on Spotify alongside the single track “Restless.” Check out my favorite song from the new release, “Cursed Chaos” embedded below.

That’s all, folks. Let’s see if I put the bi in monthly for the next release!

Good-bi.

What are you doing? Leave!