Updated Character Bio

Aramiel was a warrior angel, one of the greatest there is in Heaven. He does not remember when he was created other than the fact that he was created under the zenith sun and that he was created in full battle regalia with two swords upon his hands. As a newborn angel, Aram (as he preferred to be casually called) was filled with wonder at the marvel that was heaven. He was born with brown hair of medium length with a streak of white at the front, his eyes a startling green and a muscular body designed for war.
During one of his ventures he happened to see another angel dashing in the air, cleaving the winds in half with his giant scimitar. He watches for a few minutes before his presence is realised by the angel. He walks forward asking for the angel’s name.
“Zakaratiel but I prefer Zakar” the angel replied and in turn Aramiel said his own also saying that he prefers Aram.
And with that, the two angels became brothers.
Their bodies may have been that of young adults but their minds were still childlike. They explored the vastness of Heaven. They practised with their weapons when they could, Aramiel also learnt to play the flute as a way to learn something of the arts instead of just war. He enjoyed things that didn’t involve violence and war for he might have been born a warrior angel but he knew he could become more than that. Zakar on the other hand was a warrior angel through and through. He relished in the art of war and warfare. Aram sometimes envied him and sometimes pitied him.
When humanity was first created Aram was someone who envied them for unlike the angelic beings, humans were gifted with a soul, something many of the angels took as an insult for what right would creatures with short lives that is a mere blink to an angel’s.
Dissent rises among the angelic ranks with the Morningstar at the centre of it all. The Morningstar believes that humanity are not worthy of their cause and stages a plan to usurp the Creator. He gathers a large amount of the angels leading the rebellion. Aramiel as a loyal angel of the Creator, fights against the Morningstar’s army. He of course resented the fact that the fragile beings as humans were given a soul. The one thing that the angels of heaven were not given. But it was not his place nor the other’s, to challenge the will and decisions of the Creator.
During the preparation of war, Aram looked for his brother but was unable to, not with the amount of angels flying from one point to another all for the war. And so he prepared. His heart would beat at the thought of war. It might have been what he was born to do, but he did not always feel the energy of war that comes with it, not unlike the other warrior-born angels who relished upon battle.
When the great battle ensued, Aram was mortified, the idea of battle no longer had any sort of fantasised appeal as the onslaught of brother upon brother filled the great perfection that was heaven. Blood painted all that was, the streams, the grass, and the trees. Nowhere was safe from the pool of blood.


And yet there Aram was, in the centre of the battle, his brother on the ground, their cold lifeless bodies stare into the darkened sky. He clutches his swords at his sides, his stance like a tiger prepared to pounce upon its target. He watches the horizon, both armies’ number dwindling to small amounts. He sees two angels supporting another angel, appearing to escape the army but his senses tell him to confront the trio. As he goes closer he sees the red that streaked the tips of their wings, the symbol of allegiance to the Morningstar.
“Halt defactors!” He shouts at them.
They stop. The two angels lower the third and Aram’s breath stop as he realizes who the third one was; his brother, Zakar.
“Zakar? How? How could you?”
“How? How could YOU side with humanity! The gift of a soul was denied to us…US, the most perfect of all of His creations! And he gives it to them? Fragile bodies of the earth, while we of the light are denied? No, the Morningstar is right, and we will not be silenced” Zakar replies back.
“Well I cannot let you leave this place”
“I am sorry to say, but you have no say in the matter” Zakar said as he turns away limping, the two angels returning to support him.
Aram tries to go after him but it was as if his feet were glued to the ground as if magik…but he knew it wasn’t. He knew it was his own weakness, his own fault that he was unable to go after his brother. He knew plenty of brothers fought each other during this was…but he was just unable to. And he knew that this would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Great sadness befalls him for what he was unable to do.

Animation Review: Big Hero 6

 Big Hero 6 was an enjoyable film for all ages.

It contained a huge amount of things that could entertain the adults that would view the film with their children and still contain that childlike spark to catch and hold the children's attention. It convincingly and  masterfully melds the two worlds of adult and child (the idea of death, dealing with death and revenge that almost leads to murder with that of childlike innocence, humour and curiosity)
While i felt that some of the plot elements were cliche , it ultimately delivered as a fun, family film that all ages can enjoy.

.....also the King of Cameos, Stan Lee himself appeared.

Male turnaround

First 5 are the 'official' drawings. The last 3 are filler for the SWF but they're wrong as the shoulder pieces are on the wrong side.

Cupcake a la Noir Step Outline

INT. TEACHER’S OFFICE – NOON

Tyler sits on a chair in a school office. He is talking to the principal, telling the principal that he didn’t eat the cupcake, that someone else did and he is being framed. He tells his side of the story from the start.

EXT. PLAYGROUND – MORNING

Tyler is sitting in a table with other children surrounding him. Their asking him for help when another boy barges through the other kids. The new kid appears to be crying. Tyler notices and called the other kids off asking the new kid, Connor, what happened. Connor explains the situation.

Connor being his best friend, of course Tyler offers his help. He tells Connor to just go have fun and that he’ll sort this out.

EXT. PLAYGROUND – MORNING

Tyler heads towards Sneaky Jim’s usual spot, a more darkly lit area of the playground.

VO EXPLAINING THAT SNEAKY JIM WAS THE ONE GUY WHO KNEW THE GO AROUND OF THIS PLACE. SO MUCH AS ANYTHING MOVES, JIM HAS A LOCK OF THE EVENT.

He asks if Jim knows anything about what happened to Connor’s cupcake and Jim say’s yes….but he wouldn’t tell. Tyler knowing he’d have to force it out of him, runs towards Jim but Jim had already disappeared. With the mystery evolving, he heads back towards the scene of the crime.

INT. CLASSROOM – CONT.

Tyler now thinks about what could’ve happened or who has a grudge or vendetta against Connor. He doesn’t come up with one because Connor was a generally liked guy that had no problems with anyone or vice versa. He thinks some more before thinking that maybe it didn’t have to be someone with a grudge, but someone who just wants things with an attitude of “pretty, shiny, gimme”.

As he finishes his self-explanation, Cassidy comes in asking Tyler why he was inside. He explains that Connor’s cupcake had been eaten/stolen. Cassidy exclaims why anyone would do such a thing in which Tyler begins to suspect it was her as her personality was exactly “pretty, shiny, gimme”. Before he could do anything though the teacher comes in and Cassidy shouts to her that he had eaten Connor’s cupcake in which the teacher instantly tells him to go to her office.

INT. TEACHER’S OFFICE – CONT.

As he waits there the teacher comes in telling her that Jim has also said that he had eaten Connor’s cupcake. He talks to her and she tells him that Cassidy has been a good student and has never lied. He on the other hand has had certain problems within the school. The teacher then leaves as another teacher calls for her.

And now we’re here.

He thinks of possibilities as to why both Cassidy and Jim told the teacher it was him who ate the cupcake when it clearly wasn’t. He ponders the fact that Cass knows that he’s best friends with Connor, her twin brother. Then it hit him. Cassidy perfectly fits the role as person with a ‘pretty, shiny, gimme’ attitude as she had always gotten what she wanted one way or another. One thing that didn’t fit the puzzle though was Jim’s accusation.

He didn’t have to wait long before Cassidy came in to the doorway saying if he’d figured it out yet. Rather than wait for his explanation, she instantly tells him how things worked out the way it did.

She ate Connor’s cupcake because Connor had annoyed her the night before. To get back at him she ate it because it was his favourite. Knowing Tyler would be a problem and that she knew about Sneaky Jim’s ways, she promised Jim a kiss on the cheeks if he tells no one about this particular incident and if he played along with her plan.

Tyler is speechless as Cass leaves but admires how she played the game and outplayed him.

Storyboard Breakdowns

Title The Fallen Brother

Logline ….already written

Opening Aram is fighting a horde of demons

Inciting moment After finishing the horde he sees his brother after countless millenias

Debate He’s taken aback by the sight of his brother, he doesn’t know what to do.

Point of no return His brother speaks and says to find him if he dares before disappearing

First challenge Finding information on his brother (montage on his escapades through various supernatural factions)

Escalation in Action He finds a group of people who may know Zakar’s whereabouts but they say Zakar has paid them to kill anyone who asks about him.

Midpoint He is a fair bit away from the location he beat out of the faction

Point of no return He enters the entrance to the lair

Bad stuff closes in Smoke creatures appear surrounding him.

All is lost He appears to be outnumbered and out of his depth

Fresh idea He must finish what he started gaining new strength to finish the smoke creatures.

Finale He fights his brother that leads to the two of them having a stand off single stroke battle.

Final image The two of them fall down to their knees before Zakar falls down on his stomach and Aram is left crying for killing his brother but knowing it was for the greater good.

My original piece but I thought that the drawing required may or may not be too much with the planned action sequences in my head.

Name

Lenar Viernes

Title

Cupcake a la Noir

Logline

The cupcake of Tyler’s best friend is eaten and sets out to find the culprit to this unjust crime.

Opening             

Tyler is sitting on a chair narrating what has occurred.

Inciting moment

(Narration/Flashback) The young boy comes to him to ask as who ate his cupcake.

Debate                 

Plot point one

He goes to Sneaky Jim, the one who knows everything and everyone.

First challenge

Trying to get information/confession

Escalation in Action

Jim able to hide to his hiding spots.

Midpoint

Tyler goes to the scene of the crime and rethinks stuff

Point of no return

He suspects Connor’s twin sister, Cassidy,

Bad stuff closes in

He is framed by Cassidy and Sneaky Jim

All is lost

He gets sent to the principal’s office.

Fresh idea

He rethinks everything, especially Cass and Jim’s working together.

Finale

Cassidy and Jim tell him how they concocted their plan.

Final image

Tyler’s POV of Cass and Jim walking away, Cass looking back, winking at him.

My alternate script with a (hopefully) film noir-esque storyline.

Animation Review: Dark Noir

Dark Noir

Dark Noir, a co-created animated short film by Rafael Grampá, Absolut and Facebook fans worldwide.
The ambitious challenge invited people around the world to unleash their imaginations and transform their ideas into an animated film. During a live interactive three-week period, on Facebook/Absolut, Grampá encouraged consumers to take part and influence the action and storyline as he wrote it. To help him transform his 2D characters and script into 3D, Grampá teamed up with Red Knuckles animation studio.

Grampá, Rick Thiele and Mario Ucci and their team of animators then transformed the crowd-sourced suggestions into an animated short film which premiered at MADE Berlin March 2014.

The animation starts of like that of it's namesake, like a Noir film. Vincent Black, the protagonist tells the viewer his world's setting in a chiaroscuro lighting that is a film noir characteristic. His job is also a Private Investigator, a job that was relegated to the anti-hero of film noir films. The story's plot begin with an investigation that leads to the middle man and ultimately, the femme fatale which also happens to be the antagonist. Ultimately the case is solved in a nice plot twist that makes it the man who asked for his help is revealed to be the father and the femme fatale was his mother. 

An interesting thing that I found was that the animation used both 3D animation in conjunction with 2D animation.The 3D animatuon was what everyone in the world saw with the 2D as the inhabitants of the 'Daemon' world where the few can see nicely bringing in the two animations in a way that fitted the story and the set-up.

Character Bio (WIP)

Aramiel was a warrior angel, one of the greatest there is in Heaven. He does not remember when he was created other than the fact that he was created under the zenith sun and that he was created in full battle regalia with two swords upon his hands. As a newborn angel, Aram (as he preferred to be casually called) was filled with wonder at the marvel that was heaven. During one of his ventures he happened to see another angel dashing in the air, cleaving the winds in half with his giant scimitar. He watches for a few minutes before his presence is realised by the angel. He walks forward asking for the angel’s name.

“Zakaratiel but I prefer Zakar” the angel replied and in turn Aramiel said his own also saying that he prefers Aram.

And with that, the two angels became brothers.

Their bodies may have been that of young adults but their minds were still childlike. They explored the vastness of Heaven. They practised with their weapons when they could, Aramiel also learnt to play the flute as a way to learn something of the arts instead of just war. He enjoyed things that didn’t involve violence and war for he might have been born a warrior angel but he knew he could become more than that. Zakar on the other hand was a warrior angel through and through. He relished in the art of war and warfare. Aram sometimes envied him and sometimes pitied him.

When humanity was first created Aram was someone who envied them for unlike the angelic beings, humans were gifted with a soul, something many of the angels took as an insult for what right would creatures with short lives that is a mere blink to an angel’s. Aram though cared nought believing in the Creator’s decision.

Dissent rises among the angelic ranks with the Morningstar at the centre of it all. The Morningstar believes that humanity are not worthy of their cause and stages a plan to usurp the Creator. He gathers a large amount of the angels leading the rebellion. Aramiel as a loyal angel of the Creator, fights against the Morningstar’s army. He was prepared for war but he wasn’t prepare for was the blood and amount of in fighting, brother on brother.

Work in Progress

'The Fallen Brother' Pipeline

Logline.

·         The Fallen Brother is about an angel in a self-imposed isolation protecting the mortal world, sees the brother who had fallen into darkness return to his sight after he had let him survive during the Heavenly War.

Genre – Action Fantasy                  Duration – 3-5 minutes

Aramiel, angel born of the zenith sun has lived in the mortal world after the heavenly war. He protects the land from the darkness that rises from the depths of hell and from the Fallen that pollute and corrupt the world with their mere presence. He has been living in the mortal world for countless millennia having witnessed the rise and fall of civilisations. He does not partake in human endeavours, preferring to stay in the side-line, protecting the world in his own anonymous way.

In an empty grass plain, Aramiel fights a horde of demons. Not his first, nor will it ever be his last as their kinds appears from whatever demonic plane they come from. He fights using the two swords he was created with, he slashes and stabs the demons that surround him. The bodies of the demons do not shed blood instead smoke from the wounds as their essence is being destroyed. Aram fights and drives the demons horde down until the horde has dwindled to a mere half a dozen. Three attack him head on and Aram takes a huge leap forward, his sword at his side swing in preparation as he decapitates the middle demon, its body completely disappearing before his eyes. With great speed he stabs one demon in the chest while throwing is other sword towards the remaining demon.

He stand there alone in the middle of the empty plain.

 He hears someone clapping behind him and his senses go on overdrive knowing that the person behind him is a member of the Fallen. He slowly turns around expecting conflict to enfold summoning his swords back to his hand. What he sees is more than what he had expected.

The person he sees is his brother, Zakariel. A Fallen and not one who had come to realize the view of the creator. Zakar is the same height as Aram’s six feet with a much more muscular build. He wears a tainted armour that shows signs of age and multiple conflicts, dirt and dents decorate every surface of his armour. Long scar fill the exposed flesh of his arms and face, a prominent scar that goes from the middle of Zakar’s forehead crosses his right eye down to his jaw joint.

They talk of the past of a time long before the war, long before brother fought brother. Zakar says he misses those times before the discussion ultimately returns to the event of the war. They ask each why they sided with their side. Voicing their intentions, emotions rile up and Aram has flash back of the moment when he should’ve killed Zakar during the war but was unable to letting him escape lamenting that is was and will always be his greatest moment of weakness.

Zakar says that he has been keeping tabs on Aram after the moment he touched the mortal world. And that he should be joining their cause against the humans but Aram sees that Zakar has not changed and that he has only gotten deeper into the darkness. He musters his will and intent to finish what he should done all those years ago.

Aram’s great wings appear, something Zakar has long ago lost, and he lunges forward at an unimaginable speed. His swords meet Zakar’s sword and they engage in a dance of blades, Zakar’s blade was full of power, leaving craters behind when his sword touches the ground yet Aram is quick and agile, able to cut Zakar albeit in a shallow manner. The tension in the fight grows to a point of ‘all or nothing’.They lunge towards each other arriving at the other’s origin point. The both fall to their knees but Zakar falls on his chest and his body disintegrates. Aram is seen crying remembering the brother he knew and that his action was for the best.

Head Emotions

The upper half contains the emotion spread of my character Aramiel.
The lower half has proposed sketches/ideas of tilted views of the character.