In graphic detail...
 | | Director Dave McKean (sitting) with writer Neil Gaiman |
FORGET the wardrobe to Narnia - if you're looking for a portal to a magical land full of fantastical creatures you don't have to go much further than Islington.
When illustrator-turned-director Dave McKean was looking for a place to create the glorious visuals for his debut feature film, Mirrormask, he chose a single quiet room in a little corner of north London for his computer studio.
And apart from a few hiccups along the way, he never looked back.
"I've learned you don't start up a new computer-rendering studio during production. The little blighters need at least three months before you go anywhere near them," says McKean. "Computers are as human as the rest of us. Our technical director named all the machines after bands. The four Macs were named after the Beatles. But then we needed a fifth so he named it Yoko and they all stopped talking to each other.
"We had a six-week shot with the actors and then we'd planned eight months for post-production but that turned into 17 months. It was a nightmarish time. I really thought it couldn't be done."
While the film may have taken up almost two years of McKean's life, the actors have a far quicker experience. Comedians Lenny Henry and Stephen Fry, both voicing completely computer generated characters, contributed less than an hour's worth of work for their roles.
"Lenny was in and out of the voice studio in 19 minutes. I think Stephen held the record by doing his piece in 17 minutes."
Regardless of the problems, the film - about young girl (Stephanie Leonidas) sucked into a world created by her own imagination and forced to hunt for the fabled Mirromask to find her way home - has a remarkable visual style.
In the tradition of Labyrinth and Dark Crystal - classic family fantasy films from Muppets creator Jim Henson - Mirrormask is a tour de force of visual style and computer know-how.
To look at it, you would know it had been made for a pittance. But when McKean got the call from the Henson family about making the film, he was told the budget would be small. McKean describes it as "a tenth of the budget of Labyrinth, a film made 20 years ago", but says the financial restrictions helped create the astonishing visuals.
"It was helpful in a way because we knew what we could do and what we couldn't do.
"It's possible to make things look photo-real, it just takes time and money. It's hardwired into us - we know what's real - and just one slightly off movement and our eyes will pick it up. I wasn't interested in trying to be real. The visuals in the film have their own quality, so it was never a problem."
It might not have been a problem for the director but some of the actors struggled with a film which relied so heavily on blue screen - where actors play their parts in an empty blue-walled room and the backgrounds and sets are added digitally afterwards. The problems seemed to be a generational thing, as young lead Stephanie got the hang of things quickly while comedian Rob Brydon and acclaimed actress Gina McKee struggled.
"It's a knack and it only took Stephanie took a day to get it. Rob had moments when he just couldn't do it. And Gina, who I loved in Wonderland and is known for these great dramas, found it a challenge. I think she enjoyed it but she won't be doing a Star Wars-type blue screen movie any time soon."
Born in Berkshire in 1963, McKean is probably best known for his work in the comics industry, during which time he built up a strong relationship with top fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, the brains behind award-winning mature comic Sandman.
McKean brought Gaiman on board to help out with the script but soon found his friendship being tested by their approaches to the story.
"I was talking to Neil about his project Neverwhere when this movie came up. There was a window of opportunity to work together on it and we took it. There was conflict but now I realise we work in very different ways - both in terms fantasy and in storytelling. Neil would want to have two big armies meeting each other and I'd say, 'We can't afford to do that. How about a cat, we can afford a cat.' Things are all right between us now, we've moved past that."
McKean himself has already moved on career-wise and is happy to look back at the film as just his first step in the film industry.
"Mirrormask was my first film and it very much felt like film school - I made all the mistakes in the book. There's a lot I enjoyed - the cities scenes in particular - but there's a lot in it that doesn't feel like mine. There's plenty of room to improve and it will be a life-long thing to get there."
It might take him a while, but it's certainly going to be a beautiful looking journey to get there.
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