2014 - The Following is our production process for the video Back Raven. Play the tune below from State of Mind and enjoy the photos.

DESIGN

These scale models were also done around 2009. A further exploration to how all the shapes were to fit together in 3d space.

These design above were done during the construction process. After building the cardboard prototype we addressed questions such as, can you see your feet? so I added an extra jaw plate that in the real world would swivel up and down as the soldier … — These design above were done during the construction process. After building the cardboard prototype we addressed questions such as, can you see your feet? so I added an extra jaw plate that in the real world would swivel up and down as the soldier moved his head. The system needs further refinement.

The raven costume was to look somewhat like a witch doctor. These designs were just guides to the concept that Sophie Tucker would eventually sew together.

As always my ideas were much grander than just a head. There were going to be extended claw arms and wings etc. However time and budget made me scale back to just the head. Originally we had planned the 2 soldiers to also have a robotic quadrupedal … — As always my ideas were much grander than just a head. There were going to be extended claw arms and wings etc. However time and budget made me scale back to just the head. Originally we had planned the 2 soldiers to also have a robotic quadrupedal drone with them which would be a human in a full body costume. The entire opening sequence was based around this animal drone confronting the black raven then the soldiers coming in..... maybe another time.... below was the concept for the TANK ANIMAL.

In the grand scheme of things, these designs and characters are part of a much larger story. The Black Raven although primarily an action sequence, relates to my larger concept as part of the back history. I treated it as a proof of concept for the armour design. These characters have been a work in progress just like many of the characters and I have designed as part of my universe. With a concept as large as this one, I only get moments here and there to work on it and I took that opportunity to use Black Raven as another step in the project.

More character concepts available here as part of my FACES OF THE FUTURE project

LOCATION SCOUTING

After a tip of from a good friend, we were directed to an old burnt down freezing works. Lets just say we didn't look at any other locations after we visited. It was the perfect post industrial apocalyptic wasteland.

CONSTRUCTION

Prototype #1 - A cardboard prototype was made to test whether the concept would work. Modeled by Henry Aitken. Henry played a integral role in the development of the prototypes.

Prototype #2 - We chose to work with EVA foam, it's firm, flexible, easy to mold, cut and glue.

After finalizing the foam construction, tactical fabric was sprayed glued to the foam, then aged.

Below was a concept planned for one of the assault rifles, however due to time and budget constraints it we would not have time to fabricate 2 of them from scratch.

We opted to use nerf guns as a base structure for the guns, then re work some of the elements and dirty them up. This wasn't my ideal choice but the fastest one.

here we were prototyping the shoulder armour shape. This was a process of trial and error until we got the most ergonomic and functional shoulder pads.

Originally I storyboarded that 3 mini drones search for the raven, we experimented with cheap mini toy drones however they proved to be too unreliable and modifications to the shape would prove difficult. I ended up investing in a parrot drone and got Hendrikus DeVann to modify the shape of the hull.

The Base of the raven head was built from EVA foam, a thinner foam to that of the armour. The mask was built in sections which clip together, modeled below by our mystery man.

Craig smith helped wire up some practical lights to give the visor a classic night vision look.

FINAL BUILDS

This photo was taken at the end of shooting so the suit had gone through some considerable wear and tear. we only had the luxury having one suit per person so any damage had to be repaired on site. Richard Elsworth did a great job of hiding the cabl… — This photo was taken at the end of shooting so the suit had gone through some considerable wear and tear. we only had the luxury having one suit per person so any damage had to be repaired on site. Richard Elsworth did a great job of hiding the cable ties... Note there is no groin protection, and that is simply because we ran out of time to design and build it. The suit used clips to stay together which reduced maneuverability, the design of the armour plating works best when freely moveable needing some kind of magnetic technology...

Mike Morgan as Merc 2, Of Course in reality there is too much green light spill, but it's all for dramatic effect.

Hannah Tasker-Poiand as the Black Raven.

THE SHOOT

The shoot was 2 days long. The first day was the longest getting the more complex shots out of the way with Oliver Hibert supervising our VFX shots, I also brought on Sam Britten as a 2nd Camera man and he brought his A game to the shoot adding some nice drone footage touches to some sequences. It was an intense 2 days but the crew worked hard and had lots of laughs. My gratitude to all of them for their great work.... and early mornings.