Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Y U No Make MattMobile Update??

That's a question I've been asked a few times lately!

Truth is, I've been very busy with other projects. As much as I swore that the MattMobile would take precedence over other projects, sometimes something comes along that is just pretty darn cool.

I'm actually not allowed to talk about the specifics of the two projects I'm currently involved with, but I will say that they are really exciting, and I'm happy to be a part of them.

One is a feature film, for which I am building a number of things for. The other is a web series that I think will make A LOT of people very excited once word gets out about it. Both of these have me building things that are part of my "core competency," which is always really exciting.

I'm documenting the heck out of the stuff I build, so ONCE the I get the go ahead, I will for sure be posting behind-the-scenes details about the stuff I'm building.

Until then, please be sure to keep an eye on the Batgirl webseries, for which I not only built a bunch of props, but also filmed a few behind-the-scenes pieces. Here's a link to the main one, which kind of tells the story of the origin of the series, and the filming of the trailer.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Matt Munson on CosCast!

My friend Joey Rassool puts together a really fun and interesting pod cast that is focused on costuming, prop building, and other fun hobby related stuff. He was kind enough to invite me over for an episode, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. If you'd like to hear Joey and I wax nostalgic about how I got into the hobby, or what my thoughts are on the state of the hobby OR Batmobile building, please check it out.

CosCast 34 with Matt Munson

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Star Trek TOS Tri-Viewer Is Finished

At long last I am here to reveal the finished Tri-Viewer that I made for the web series "Star Trek Continues", of which I am very pleased to be involved with in a tiny way.

I had a little party yesterday, and wanted to show it off there (cuz that's the kind of parties I throw!!!!) so I put together a screen graphic for it. This is just something I printed out on my home computer and stuck behind the blue border. The point really here is to show off the fact that it's easy to make static display screens for this bad boy.

The detail that kept this build from being finished was the blue border around each screen. It was actually very easy to make, and turned out really well. I started by cutting three pieces of styrene to size.

Then I marked off a border.

I used a straight edge and a box knife (with a fresh blade, natch) to cut along the lines. I did more of a "score and break" technique than an actual cut. That typically works well for me, and saves me the trouble of cutting through some thick styrene.

This left me with three styrene frames.

I then did a quick/light sanding of the frames, just to knock down any edges that popped up as a result of the cutting process.

I was ready to paint, BUT I wasn't sure if the brand of paint I purchased was going to adhere properly to the styrene. So I did what any good builder would do, and did a test. I took a scrap piece of styrene and sanded it down a tad, just the same way I had the three frames.

This is the spray paint I selected, based entirely on color.

I blasted a little corner, and left it to dry in the sun. It worked great, and I was very happy with the results.

And so then it was on to painting the three frames that I cut earlier.

I used two sided tape to adhere the frames to the main body of the tri-viewer. The fact that it's not super robust is also an intentional part of my design. The goal here is to allow the production to change out the screens as necessary. Whether they need a green screen for special effects, or a graphic, or even just a blank screen.

Friday, August 3, 2012

PAX Behind The Scenes

I found some footage last night on my computer that I totally forgot about. It was stuff I shot with my Sony Bloggie before and during the panel I was on during Pax, "From Pixels to Props" where we talked about making props from video games.

It edited together pretty well, and I'm really pleased with the outcome. Sadly much of the footage the bloggie shot was not super high quality, though I think the footage tells a fun little story.

And in case you missed the panel, I have the entire thing broken down into 7 parts on my YouTube channel. Here's a link to the playlist that will take you through the panel. There are some slow parts, but overall it's got some really great information in there.

From Pixels to Props