Well, hello there, and welcome to another installment of Artificial Ink Drops.
It’s been way too long!
I never promised to post more than every few months. That’s the deal.
My fall kept me busy with a handful of freelance work. Paradigm Studios salaried director Tim Moran contacted me (and Artificial Ink Creative) to lead a single day of production for a short film on their YouTube channel.
Two mechanics attempt to scam a woman out of $2,500. Taking advantage of her ignorance, they set up a scheme to make sure she cannot leave without paying. As it turns out, their intimidation tactics fell on the wrong person…
Once we completed the day, we handed off the footage to Paradigm Studios for completion in post-production. The working title was “Dashboard Fireworks” but the upload had a slightly more clickbait title— “Car Mechanic Bullies the Wrong Woman”— but such is the way of these things sometimes.
It sounds like you blew up a car.
I promise, nothing caught on fire. Check out the completed short below.
As the 1st Assistant Director, I had full control over a $5,000 budget where I was able to employ a stellar cast and crew full of actors and filmmakers. It felt like a full circle moment for me regarding my time as a filmmaker in Asheville, and I’m so grateful to Paradigm Studios for the trust and opportunity.
Elsewhere, all along the Watchtower Database, Dr. ManHatTed is no more. He was 50% Man, 50% Hat, and 50% Ted. I felt a sort of kinship with at least a fraction of the fellow, being 100% Ted myself. I think that’s how math works.
Who was this guy?
Oh, well, Dr. ManHatTed was a cosmic being who was obsessed with continuity errors in the DC Animated Universe. He featured prominently in the Watchtower Database’s epic hour-long storyline finale video BATMAN & HARLEY QUINN: WILL IT CANON? ManHatTed set into motion the inciting incident that places the 2017 animated movie on trial to determine whether it truly connects with the original BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES.
Well, does it?
Watch to see for yourself. We put a lot of work into it. I flew to Oregon for the production where we shot the sequence in an old Masonic temple. I wrote more about that in Drop #4 if you feel like scrounging around the archives.
Maybe later.
That’s your call.
The death of Dr. ManHatTed leads directly into the next thing: ZETA MONTH! The Watchtower Database is releasing a month’s worth of videos covering THE ZETA PROJECT cartoon, and yours truly hosts three of them.
But didn’t they kill you off?
That was the dark top hat version of me, not regular me. You gotta keep up. I’ll be sure to share my Zeta videos in the next post of Artificial Ink Drops.
While tangentially near the DC Universe, I was also recently a guest on the DCAU Review podcast, hosted by Cal and Liam. The fellas decided to revisit the early episodes of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES for its 30th anniversary, and the fact that the podcast had come a long way since they initially reviewed those episodes. I joined DCAU Review particularly for episode #230 where we discussed “The Last Laugh,” one the Joker’s first appearances, which included the notoriously infamous Captain Clown.
I should also take the moment to reflect on the passing of Kevin Conroy, the voice actor behind Batman in the aforementioned animated series. His recent death on November 10th hit me pretty hard, as it did the rest of my collaborators at the Watchtower Database. James Strecker curated a playlist for “Remembering Kevin.” Conroy’s career was incredibly meaningful as we created video essays that frequently covered his expansive work. He was our Batman, the most compassionate version, and he will be greatly missed.
I am vengeance! I am—
—just a disembodied voice in my newsletter, so give it a rest, would ya?
In early November, I was brought on set for a TRAVEL + LEISURE magazine shoot to assist as production coordinator, and provide insight into their plans from a local logistical perspective. I also helped the team identify a certain zoom lens for their camera, and brought on an additional Production Assistant, my friend and frequent collaborator Rome Widenhouse.
The rest of the crew was made up of filmmakers from Brother, a production company out of Portland, Oregon. We essentially followed them around town from the Applewood Manor, to the River Arts District, and then to Highland Brewing, as they shot several quick scenes with Katie Button, the 2022 James Beard award-winning chef and owner of Cúrate Tapas Bar.
I also completed the poster for my upcoming sci-fi comedy short film 4SIGHT which stars Alisha Hawthorne with narration from Susan Eisenberg, famously known as the voice of Wonder Woman! It was a lot of fun to reunite with Alisha to capture the photos for the poster, which I put together and designed over the month of September. The poster will look even better with a bunch of film festival laurels plastered all around it, but we’re not there quite yet.
The film itself is still undergoing post-production. My brother Joe Kendrick just composed original music, but we’re pausing briefly to recut elements in the first scene, then all that remains is the sound mix and color correction.
Not too much left.
It’s not! But at the same time, it kinda is. When you don’t have much money, these things tend to move forward a little more slowly to still do it right.
In other news, Aaron Fields, an artist and painter in the Asheville area, released his video “Daily Commute” and credited Artificial Ink Creative for some help, though it was pretty minor assistance, to be fair. All the same, the big and bold credit is much appreciated. Check out the video below, and learn more about Aaron’s artwork from his recent feature article on Asheville Made.
I also attended this year’s Cat Fly or Die Halloween Film Festival in October, though I didn’t have any horror work to screen. However, I did provide early notes on the short LOVESTRUCK that played Friday evening, written and directed by Zach Echols, and starring Daniel Henry, both friends of mine who are making big moves out of Atlanta now with Trash Mouth Productions.
An update from last time: I completed the feature film treatment, pitched it to the client, and now green-lit to move ahead on the full screenplay! I’ve yet to dive-in and focus on the next pages, but will surely be a priority next year. I’m excited to have negotiated a reasonable rate for the work, which is honestly the job I’ve always ever wanted. I need to remind my procrastination of that.
Somehow, I also completed a 16-page essay for writer Michael Julian whose upcoming book is not just about the cosmology and history of the DC Universe, but across several notable works of fiction, like the Marvel Universe and “Chronicles of Narnia,” and even the nature of our own reality, rooted in concepts from Jewish Kabbalah and Buddhist voidism. I find it all to be fascinating, and was flattered to be asked for my opinions, all because of the cosmology included on the very first page of the LEGACIES webcomic.
My current writing slate prioritizes a Christmas video for the Watchtower Database that is tangentially focused on Harley Quinn as a vehicle to discuss Paul Dini’s JINGLE BELLE , and the misadventures of Santa Claus’ daughter. Here’s hoping I can meet the deadline rather than hold for the 2023 holidays!
I also followed the writing community from its Twitter exodus over to Hive Social. I’ve always felt as if social media is a necessary evil that I try to use sparingly and intentionally. Maybe this one will be different. I don’t know yet, but if you feel inclined to follow me there, my username is tedkendrick.
Whatcha watching these days?
I caught “Black Adam” at the theater. It was fine, predictable, but always simply fun for me to see live action depictions of my favorite comic book characters like Dr. Fate and Hawkman, so I’m there for that thrill alone.
As a more intellectual recommendation, “The Eyes of Orson Welles” was a 2018 documentary by Mark Cousins that recently spoke powerfully to me, not just in the artistic methods used by the famous film director to frame the screen, but how he forged his morality, and developed his understanding of the human experience. Welles and I both spent our early 20s in Galway, Ireland where we noted the same archaic but comfortable simplicity. Nothing was rushed. No one seemed too self-important. I hope to return some day.
Welles referred to Galway, among other parts of the world, as little Gardens of Eden, though like the Bible, paradises never last forever. The impossibility of eternity may be the only promise. Everywhere in the world is guaranteed to change over time, like the Ship of Theseus, eventually the same as itself in name only, and ultimately not even that remains. Ignore the paradox. I feel the same about Asheville, North Carolina, where I lived over the last twelve years. I move away at the end of the month, which feels so bittersweet.
Back to Birmingham, Alabama for me, where I grew up and spent my childhood. I’ve been called back to the Magic City to explore a romantic relationship that has been long-distance for long enough. I’m reminded of the song “Adventures In Your Own Backyard” by Patrick Watson as I prepare for new adventures in what feels like my backyard: Birmingham, the city of my youth, which I now have the privilege to meet again in my adulthood.
Arrivederci! That is Italian for “until we meet again.”
Expect at least one more update before the year is out on both ZETA MONTH and HIKE IT UP, an outdoors comedy webseries! Four promo videos are finished, and I will share them here as they also venture out to raise a budget.
That’s all I got for you today. Thanks for reading if you’ve gotten this far, and wish me luck as the rest of my busy year falls into place. Change is in the air, and it’s refreshing. Just trying to breathe it all in and out, once at a time.