| December 24, 2002 | Well, no special surprises for Christmas this year, I'm afraid. So much time has been spent on working at all the necessary bits and pieces for funding that the rest of it has been left standing still! Writing, writing, writing! Some movement in the undergrowth though - A whole pile of new bits and pieces destined for the website within the next few weeks. Thanks go to all you wonderful people who have emailed me with your support and assistance. More soon - as rapidly as I can. | |
| October 6, 2002 | More developments! Firstly, a dud link removed and a new link added. As MCS grows in notoriety, I have decided to change one page to make it a "Publicity" page. Included here will be press clippings and links to websites that feature articles on MCS. More work has been done in getting MCS to its final stage of production, and certain shots have been redone to make them even better than before, including a whole sequence depicting a lunar crew at work, and a Mars crew surveying the floor of one of the smaller channels of Noctis Labyrinthus. | |
| August 19, 2002 |
Right - things are getting a bit more complex now. With talk of monies coming from funding bodies, rights and allocations rapidly become a quagmire of questions and concerns. Since the sort of cash raised to date via Contributors over the internet has been enough to do some things, a certain level has been achieved. To take MCS all the way though is going to require a significantly larger sum of money than what has come to hand, making it necessary for MCS to approach certain film funding bodies, and look into negotiating presales. The upside to this is MCS gets finished and then exploited to a level where myself and hopefully all those who have supported, are supporting, and will support are for the most part satisfied. The downside is that MCS Contributors can no longer revel in the sort of percentage promised - if the current allocation were to continue. In order to maintain maximized returns for Contributors, and keep funding bodies happy, a compromise has to be reached. The details have yet to be thrashed out (this is where lawyers commence delurking procedures), but in a nutshell every measure is going to be taken to best guarantee a decent return for Contributors regardless of what happens. This may mean getting their money back with a little extra, this may mean doubling their money, this may mean they get half their money. If I have any say in this whole thing, I'd like to at least double everybody's money. More information will be posted as soon as it comes to hand. To reflect this, and the altered schedule (now that production is continuing into late 2002), the Contributor pages have been upgraded and altered. Pertinent changes have been highlighted in white and some have that 'new' thingy near them. It also appears MCS has been discovered by Slashdot - something I was hoping would happen a little later on ... but no matter. It's not as if I need to do anything other than answer emails :-) Lastly, please note I am moving house. The new postal address for all correspondence is on this page. |
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| August 08, 2002 | Oops - two whole months and not a peep. Well, this could be construed as either a) a Good Thing; or b) a Bad Thing. I'm in the a) court of thinking, as it means I've been too damn busy with things to have 5 minutes to sit down and update this blessed website (until now). MCS has changed, and changed in a huge way. Gone is the 28 minutes archival film, a much grander project taking its place. MCS is still about what you see in this website, but rather than having a narrator telling the story and relatively simple visuals carrying it through, a much more humanized version is now in place, with veterans of the space program telling the story as they saw it, their interviews punctuated with the 'archival' footage you have all come to know and love. It makes for a far more fascinating film, a better way to tell the story, and slaps a human face onto an otherwise inhuman enterprise. With this in place, the Executive Producer has taken the bit between his teeth and is pursuing finance. With this finance, those scenes that were dreamed about but never happened because of budgetary constraints might now happen. Woo - and indeed - hoo. As I'm also moving house, my new pad is better set up to accommodate the goings on with MCS production and post production, meaning the project as a whole is benefiting enormously from these changes. Stay tuned - is all I can say. | |
| June 08, 2002 | MCS has been in post production since its last shoot which took place on March 24. Post production was rushed through, and a quickly thrown together version was sent to NARCON 2002 in Austin, TX. Sadly, the courier did not arrive until just after the conference had finished. The tape was shown to a select few afterwards, and since then their feedback, along with feedback from the small number of others who have seen the preliminary version has been taken into account. The new (and proper) cut will be a very different creature from that which winged its way across the Pacific all those weeks ago. In addition, this website has undergone an overhaul, paving the way for the post-completion phase. You are invited to have an explore - almost every page has seen some change, and there's whole new sections as well. | |
| March 22, 2002 | Over a month and not a peep ... hmmmm ... I've been busy, okay? Making this film, okay?Actually, I've barely had a moment to myself in months, and finding time to sit down and do this website has become an increasing challenge. Still - here I am, and for good reason - the 50th anniversary is here. To celebrate, I am releasing all sorts of new stuff on the website. Go have a sniff around -there's lots of bits and pieces added here and there, from new images to new links. Enjoy. And Happy Anniversary to the Collier's series. | |
| February 11, 2002 | Well ... okay ... so some people read this diary thingy ... which is well and good, since I go to all the trouble to write it and everything ... More MCS Contributors have come on board, which is hugely welcome, and the cockpit continues to plod along. A meeting took place yesterday between myself and Blair Joscelyne, who is creating the MCS soundtrack. A talented musician in his own right, Blair has taken to the soundtrack project with great gusto. I am looking forward to hearing what he comes up with (a sample of his work can already be heard in the form of the music track on the MCS Teaser). | |
| February 02, 2002 | The Saturn Shuttle cockpit construction saga continues, and it is starting to come together nicely which is encouraging and good for morale. Hmmm ... this has been said before ... but it's still as pertinent now as it was on January 20. I'm finding it difficult to come across any reference to any other spacecraft that has been constructed by candle light, too. Candle light? Yup - candle light. The candles are in fact citronella candles designed to keep insects away, and they work really well - essential in mosquito-infested Sydney during a high and stinking summer. Walk outside the candles' range, and the swarms descend... Dutch has sustained the worst injury to date - a concussion caused by walking into a brick that was keeping a tarpaulin angled so rain water would slough off properly (none of this sissy studio workshop stuff ... we work outdoors). Slowly ... and surely ... we are drawing plans for MCS' assault on the unsuspecting public. Unsuspecting? Sure! Well ... who reads this diary thingy, for instance??? | |
| January 20, 2002 | The Saturn Shuttle cockpit construction saga continues, and it is starting to come together nicely which is encouraging and good for morale. MCS also has welcomed film maker Boyd Britton on board. More new 'making of' photos are here. | |
| January 14, 2002 | The Saturn Shuttle cockpit continues to take shape. A sneak photo of its framework is here. Also uploaded to the behind-the-scenes page is a shot from a shoot that took place just before Christmas, | |
| January 07, 2002 | Happy new year! Firstly, there's a new competition - go here. The last two months have been dedicated to a major location shoot, plus the preparations (currently under way) for the final stretch of shooting, due to take place in late January. Post production is already getting under way with editing and the soundtrack early stages. | |
| November 24, 2001 | Work is beginning to regain momentum after taking time off to work on paying work to get myself financially back on track. At this time, MCS has been laid up in its entirety in an Avid online editing system to see how it holds together. So far, so good. Work continues on the lunar EMU being finished for the lunar surface EVA sequences being shot in mid December. The EMU has taken precedent above the shuttle cockpit because the cockpit's shoot is less time critical - the lunar surface sequences are being shot dependent on other people's timetables, whereas the cockpit sequences are not. I will be posting more photos soon. | |
| November 10, 2001 | A new desktop image has been provided in the hi-res section of the gallery | |
| October 23, 2001 | Omigosh - a whole month and no postings! Sorry about that everyone - I've been tied up with other, paying work in order to get enough money to meet commitments. Work on MCS has not been stagnant, though. I have been concentrating on the cockpit of the Saturn Shuttle. It currently exists as drawings, and a small, cardboard scratch-model. And visions in my head. I have organized materials, and there's already the couch which is half done. In addition, more purely CGI shots have been completed, so progress is still happening. There is also the stirrings of an idea for how to achieve certain shots of the first Mars landing (which happens at Mars' north polar ice cap). More about that later. I have also recently opened a special page for MCS Contributors so they can get an exclusive look-see at how things are progressing. | |
| September 24, 2001 | A special announcement has been posted to this site. Please read it. | |
| September 17, 2001 | The last two days have been the most intensive days of shooting for MCS, and this update log has not been touched for a while as the preparations for the 15th and the 16th had taken up so much time. Saturday was the crowd watching the landing of the Saturn Shuttle at dawn, and then 4 hours later (and a change of camera angle) the crowd at the beach witnessing the launch of the giant Saturn rocket. Both turned out really well. Saturday afternoon was preparation time for Sunday, which was all the Mission Control footage. The mission control equipment has by far been the most extensive and costly part of MCS thus far. Everyone who featured in it did a sterling job, and are to be highly commended. Special mention goes to Dutch for being the most amazing Mr Fix-it I could ever have wished for. Suffice it to say, the mission control sequences are going to end up working out really well, and everyone involved is to be thanked most profusely. | |
| September 04, 2001 | On the recommendation of some perfectly reasonable feedback, I've altered the text of The Story page | |
| August 31, 2001 | A new section added to the Gallery, with some tantalizing publicity stills and peeks from behind the scenes. | |
| August 19, 2001 | A new link added | |
| August 17, 2001 | A new image added to the Making Of page | |
| August 14, 2001 | A new link added | |
| August 08, 2001 | So far so good - there has been a lot of moral support from everyone involved or approached to be involved. There has also been a few new Contributors, whose support is enormously welcome. The CGI continues, and more live action footage is due to be shot within the next fortnight. So far, the film is running a little behind, but there have been a few developments that may make the film "bigger" than originally envisaged, which should more than make up for its tardiness. The Contributors will still receive their copies of the DVD, but the retail release may be delayed in order to capitalize on some developments. More about that later. MCS has been approached by the NAR (National Association of Rocketry) to be presented at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the release of the Collier's series in March of next year. For more information on NARCON 2002, click here. | |
| July 24, 2001 | Gosh - it has been busy. So far, two solid days of filming, and one postponement (we simply couldn't get everything together in time for one location shoot - but we'll get there!). I'm not going to post photos to the Making Of page of much, since all the stills are of interesting things that give too much of the game away. I have posted some photos in the interests of keeping things going, but they're of faces only. I'll be posting more tantalizing stuff closer to release time. Also a HUGE THANK YOU to my major benefactor, who has contributed another USD$5000. This has - in my mind - guaranteed MCS' success. | |
| July 14, 2001 | The preparations for live action shooting have increased in pace. I have uploaded a new picture in the Making Of page of the gloves for the Mars Spacesuit. The rest of the suit is rapidly nearing completion, but its look will be kept under wraps until later. As I'll be deeply involved in filming for the next two weeks, this page may not be updated as regularly as I might like. Sorry about that. | |
| July 11, 2001 | As the time approaches for real life filming, prop and set construction continues as rapidly as possible. Dutch is working hard, and things are beginning to come together. My "special" actor has officially agreed to be in the film, and he will add a dimension rarely seen in most films, I believe. I gave a talk at DV Australia this evening, and presented the Teaser to the audience, who seemed appreciative enough. Certainly appreciative enough to ask all sorts of questions... About the only part of this website that has seen regular attention is the Making Of page, since it's where photos of recent activities are presented. I'll be posting some more pix shortly, though I'm not going to post too many as it might start to give the game away on certain things. | |
| July 5, 2001 | Okay - major website revamp time. First, all the stills and all the Quicktime movies have been removed. This is to pave the way for the brand spanking new Teaser, which can be downloaded from the Gallery page. Caution - it's 3.4Mb, but those who have already seen it reckon it's worth it. Prop and set construction continues, slightly behind schedule, but the third and fourth weeks of July are still allocated to shooting all the live action footage. | |
| June 27, 2001 | Performed the first proper location recce today, and found (against the odds) the perfect location for some of my Mars footage - a LOT closer to home than I first thought - first off! The exact location is being kept secret (all will be revealed in the film), but I have released two photos taken today to afford a glimpse of the area. Go here to see them | |
| June 24, 2001 | Yup - another Great Gap of Nothing Happening on this site - mainly because ... well ... I'm working *on* the film. I've been taking some photos of some of the prop making process, some of which are being posted to the Making Of page, the rest will be on the DVD. I'm also considering changing the gallery pages - those stills have been there long enough and some shots have been replaced or upgraded after a policy decision regarding the use of stock footage (no stock footage to be used at all). | |
| June 1, 2001 | Wow ... it's been a while since I've updated this site - probably because I've been busy with RL and the film :-) Well, here's proof I haven't been sitting on my hands all this time: a new Making Of section, which can be accessed by going to the bottom of the Introduction page. Thanks go to Jasjha "Dutch" Stel for the loan of his Sony Cyber-Shot camera. | |
| May 9, 2000 | Added a "must have" to the recommended reading list on the Links & Credits page: The Art of Chesley Bonestell by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant III. This contains artwork used in the Collier's series, which forms the foundations for MCS. Otherwise, bending metal continues. | |
| May 4, 2000 | Haven't updated the website as such, as I've been busy bending metal. Yes, that's right - MCS has started making the real life props! First off the rank is the cockpit of the Saturn Shuttle. Guard-Lee, the makers of the spacecraft props for HBO's acclaimed "From the Earth to the Moon" television series are unable to assist, so yours truly is busy in the shed making lots of noise with power tools and swearing... MCS has also acquired an altimeter and airspeed indicator for the flight deck, and the amazingly wonderful people of sci.space.history have assisted with suggestions regarding the layout of the flight deck and details of some of the instrumentation unique to the Saturn Shuttle. | |
| April 7, 2001 | Upgraded the information about what Contributors should expect here. Also, finished preliminary discussions with ABC-TV here in Australia about broadcast. I have to have a finished product before an official approach, but the mood was very favourable. I am continuing to work on the Saturn Shuttle LES spacesuit, which is looking very fine, and I have found a means to create the T-shirts and patches for merchandising that won't break the bank =-) Also, upgraded the design of the Links & Credits Page to make navigation a touch easier, and updated some of the copy. | |
| March 29, 2001 | Received over the last few days a collection of research material from the great folk of sci.space.history covering the Mercury Mission Control - the basic structure of which will form the basis for the Mission Control for MCS. Also this week, the announcement has been made that the lastest issue of "Aerospace Projects Review" has been published featuring a cover story about the Saturn Launcher rocket, and features details of MCS! Also, I have decided that the spacesuit used for the Saturn launch will be based on the Mercury spacesuit, though with certain modifications - unlike the suits depicted in the Collier's series. This is due to a) the scarcity and depressing cost of real suits of similar style to those depicted in the Collier's series, and b) I already have a Mercury spacesuit replica I can use, and don't mind modifying for the purposes of MCS' needs. | |
| March 13, 2001 | Added a new link, and updated the Acknowledgements section | |
| March 10, 2001 | Redesigned the MCS homepage, plus made the "Buy Your Copy" pages a bit easier to follow. Also, a totally original soundtrack has finally been decided on, since a musician with access to orchestra and properly appointed mixing system has been found, and is prepared to do it for a price well within budgetary limitations. | |
| March 5, 2001 | Added a new link | |
| February 23, 2001 | Completed series of matte paintings of the surface of Mars, plus made contact with engineering workshop who will assist with construction of some of the more sophisticated props. Final structure of film decided and locked off. Budget outline also more or less finalized, though some prices are still to come for some equipment. | |
| February 20, 2001 | Account details have arrived, and are now posted in the New Information Section for those seeking to become a part of "Man Conquers Space". | |
| February 15, 2001 | New information for those seeking to become a part of "Man Conquers Space". Plus, upgraded basic data diagram of the Saturn Launcher | |
| February 10, 2001 | Added a new diagram of the Saturn Launcher with basic data | |
| February 6, 2001 | Added a new link | |
| February 4, 2001 | Added a new Gallery section, devoted to line illustrations and schematics of some of the models. Also, added biography of Cornelius Ryan, and streamlined the linked hi-res illustrations from the Introduction page. | |
| February 3, 2001 | Added a new link | |
| February 1, 2001 | Added new pages detailing how contributors can be a part of "Man Conquers Space", and own their copy sooner than everyone else, plus be in line for exclusive merchandise, and even a return on their investment. Release details will be posted here when they become available. | |
| January 26, 2001 | Added a new Quicktime Virtual Reality (QTVR) movie to the Movie Gallery | |
| January 22, 2001 | Added a High Resolution Movies Gallery, which is hosted by Chuck Stewart at Webjump, eliminating two of the smaller resolution movies in the existing Movie Gallery. | |
| January 20, 2001: | Added a new set of images to the high resolution image gallery that can be used as wallpaper on your computer | |
| December 16, 2000: | Added a special message for all my visitors, improved the download time of images through optimization, and modified the Story page in answer to some suggestions from some very kind and persuasive contributors, including extending the duration to a potentially broadcastable 26 minutes... | |
| December 09, 2000: | Added a new link in the Links section | |
| November 05, 2000: | Improve interface for the movies in the Movie Gallery | |
| November 04, 2000: | Post new hi-res still to gallery | |
| November 01, 2000: | Streamline graphics for better download, posted new Quicktime movie to Movie Gallery | |
| October 31, 2000: | Add "How Did We Do It?" section to Links & Credits page | |
| October 29, 2000: | Add link to My Spacesuit Replica website on the Links & Credits page | |
| June 23, 2000: | Website opens |