for your viewing pleasure

The Ritual (2011) from Rev Wright on Vimeo.

not so secret knowledge

Time and time again, I'm drawn to the writing of Phile Hine, this specific document in particular. Click on the image below and take a look yourself. Go on, I dare you

Credo director Will Wright's film 'The Ritual' has been selected for the 2011 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and will be viewed by guest judge Guillermo del Toro (for details on festival click image below)

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magickal music

The wonderfully talented Charles Hedger has been at it again for the Credo soundtrack, this time he has been tackling Babalowa, our Nigerian Shaman character. His take incorporates some very intense and researched rhythms, used in the worship of this deity. Check it out below.

Legba Clears the Way (Babalowa) by CredoTheSeries

help release more info about Credo

A big thank you for all those who have LIKED the Official Facebook page for Credo. Over the next few weeks we want to release further details about this webseries, including narrative synopsis, character details and creative insights.

What we ask of you right now, is to help us in promoting Credo and make it happen, by simply encouraging 4 of your friends to LIKE the page too. If all 202 current followers do this we can bring the total to over 1000.

So the challenge is set, for every extra 100 LIKES and we will release another character's details. Jason Flynn is already up, Eva will follow.

Let's see what magick we can make happen over the next 7 days

do you like me?

Well it seems that we have managed to reach our goal to 200 likes on the Official Credo Facebook page. Further exclusive details about the project will be made available there along with further promotional strategies.

Help us further by visiting the Official Credo Facebook page and clicking LIKE

more of what you wear

you are what you wear

Below are some t-shirt mock ups for potential CREDO merchandise. If you like what you see get in touch and we shall put them into production.

innocence lost

Stuart Russell is on it at present, below is his latest submission for the soundtrack and its his take on the character Eva

CREDO- Eva-innocence lost by Stuart Russell

sublime sounds

Jamie Irrelevant has submitted his tracks for the Credo soundtrack. Check them out below.

Irrelevant Credo OST tracks by CredoTheSeries

the horror, the horror

Steve Clouded Vision has delivered his take on the sound of Credo, with two atmospheric compositions, taking influences from John Carpenter, Goblin & Riz Ortolani. Expect more from this very talented producer

Steve Clouded Vision - Credo OST tracks by CredoTheSeries

dronecore for more

Stuart Russell delivers another great demo, this time for the character Patrick Ransom.

Ransom (Credo) by Stuart Russell

a legend and inspiration

dead ringer

Co-creator and co-writer Toby Bowman makes his feature film appearance of 2011 in this British horror film. (We're all afraid)

original gangster

Dayton Bridge (credo) by Stuart Russell

character quote 5

You don’t know who you are. I know you.

Babalowa

character quote 4

I am trying to protect a child. That is really all I can say, please trust me.

Margaret Ruston

character quote 3

I know the street. Your system is worth nothing there. In the grime.

Dayton_Bridge

character quote 2

Do you believe in magic? No... don't open your eyes. Do you believe in magic?

Eva

character quote 1

Human nature is certainly the most chaotic system to normalise, however on a large enough scale anything is possible.

Patrick Ransom

sounds for the hoodie

Stuart Russell has produced another draft of a track this time for the character Jason (The Hoodie) check it out below

Jason flynn (credo) by Stuart Russell

moody music

Composer Stuart Russell has been at it again with another composition for Credo. Excellent

Didg (credo) by Stuart Russell

more than meets the eye

I'm getting a little tired and that is a good thing considering the reasons why.
Reasons are the multitude of meetings that have been held to secure and shape up the production matters behind Credo. Before Toby and I are allowed the luxury of wallowing in the creative process of shooting the webseries, we have to be focused on more material matters. This ranges from investment packages, audience interaction, contracts and licenses, production breakdown etc etc. All this revolves around a hardcore grouping of Ben Howard, Andy Winmill, Helen Gore, Steven Allenby and Jenny Allenby, with additional involvement from Kayleigh Jowers (Art Director), Charles Hedger (Music supervisor) and Chris Longman (Post Production supervisor)

Blogging may be patchy, but rest assured that we are working hard to do justice to the script, a script that has all that have read it excited. Synopsis soon, I promise.

moving on up

Just a brief blog to mention the meeting held last night between Toby, Steve, Jenny and I, at our notorious haunt The George Hotel. It is one of two meetings this week that will shape and secure the production plan, the business model and much more. As Jenny put it 'this is an exciting and intelligent creative production model' and will involve solidifying the intent by setting up a production company to handle it. I've set up and run a company before and we are so lucky to have Jenny on board to aid this process. It's a big step, but one that seems to make a lot of sense if we are going to do this project justice.

All we need to do now is come up with a company name........

something wicked this way comes

More music for your ears, Credo Music Supervisor Charles Hedger has posted an early composition for the webseries. It invokes for me elements of his work on The Ritual soundtrack that he wrote for my occult short film. Check it out this new piece for yourself

Credo Electric by CEdwardAlexander

many minds

Last night witnessed an amazing production meet with Steve Allenby, Andy Winmill, Helen Gore and I. Andy is an experienced actor on both stage and screen, with a wealth of production management and production skill. Last year he worked with Ben Howard to put on the Colchester Free Festival, and is working on it this year with Ben, he also manages a couple of bands including Cav OK, is putting together a theatre/art performance and setting up an actors company in Colchester. A busy man, with a passion for the local creative talent pool, but assured he has the time to join Credo. Helen is an experienced writer, marketer and all round PR goddess, those these are not the totality of her skills. She has had experience within film, including tales from her time in Cannes. Her advice and support will be crucial with securing funder, sponsorship, and effective portrayal of the concept and narrative.

It's a little hush hush right now, but Credo is fast becoming part of a new production model. As well as discussion over the webseries there is also much discussed over the business model. Top secret right now, but more will be revealed once the paperwork is in place.

The night was made complete by composer Stuart Russell delivering an early composition for Credo. Stuart is known for his modern electronic composition, with commissions across the country, even by his standards this is dark. check it out below

Intensamente (credo) by Stuart Russell

a cup of tea, thanks

is what I said in reply to Dan's offer of a hot beverage. Daniel Merrill is a tough person to pin down, due to his prolific work ethic. It is Easter and most music tutors would take a well earned rest, instead Dan is recording for two weeks on several projects. Thus unable to attend the first round of soundtrack meetings, it was left to me to explain the narrative, the aesthetic and the working practice.

I've liked Dan's work for some time and have hoped that we would get a chance to work together, his Flowers of Evil, takes an intellectual journey through violin, neo classicism and folk. An exotic and melancholic trip, that will bring something special to Credo



Another most excellent aspect to his output is the mighty Dead Rat Orchestra An incredible ensemble of music makers, who craft an eerie soundtrack to the future via the past.



Dan's response was encouraging, I just hope the script grabs him as it has others. Oh and the cup of tea was good too.

music makes you lose control

Something lovely to report. Last night saw the first assemblage of musicians, composers and producers keen to write original work for the Credo soundtrack. It was a very exciting mix, from death metal to burialesque minimalism. More meetings to come, will keep you posted and hopefully be able to reveal a full roster of those on board very shortly

Check out Steve Clouded Vision's sounds here, we both love the GOBLIN. He popped along with Jamie Irrelevant, and between them they bring such a great underground dance vibe.

Clouded Vision - Outside [2010 Cut] by Steve Clouded Vision (DJ)

Irrelevant - If This Should End (Clip) by irrelevantsounds

all the aces

an ace up my sleeve

I present the final two Credo Tarot aces. The first, swords and cups, came fairly spontaneously, but these two took a little more head scratching to get right.


ACE OF WANDS



ACE OF DISKS

aces high

Following on from the Major Arcana interpretations of key characters in Credo, I have started to design the the Minor Arcana too. The archetypal narrative within the Tarot will play a big part in how the series is made and portrayed, so if you fancy genning up on what is going on I suggest you look into The Thoth Tarot


ACE OF SWORDS



ACE OF CUPS

cross my palm with silver

Since the 2nd draft of the series is complete I decided to start sketching the Credo tarot deck, These cards are initially designed to depict characters, but they will also cover plot points. So without further ado I present:


THE CREDO TAROT



THE HOODIE



THE PROSTITUTE



THE SOCIAL WORKER



THE BUSINESSMAN



THE REVEREND



THE SUCCUBUS



THE GANGSTER

how time flies

It's already the end of March. Time appears to be whizzing by. Then it is a good job that Toby and I have finished the 2nd draft of the entire first series of Credo. We are now putting a production package together and will be working towards shooting in June. It has been what seems to have been a silent period whilst locking the script down, but it has involved discussion of Enochian magick, non euclidean geometry and obsidian mirrors along with copious amounts of tea.

I hope to be able to deliver a plot synopsis here very soon

is there a draft in here?

It feels like everything has slooooowed doooown and maybe it has. I tweeted that I was in #mind_spasm over he last few days going over and thinking about Toby's first draft of the entire first series of Credo. Well after some cogitation a rather dyslexic response has been written and emailed back to him from me. Expect movement, expect updates, expect it to happen and happen BIG!

In the meantime checkout my fave new track

Nothing to see here (Inspiration no. 2)

Whoa, there appears to be a tear in the fabric of space time, this posting didn't happen. Huh? It was written and then never appeared. My tin foil beanie is failing to save me from the CIA mind rays that they are beaming into my house. wakka wakka.

This inspiration was written my arse bonkers hyper mage himself Grant Morrison and it is a hyper sigil disguised as a comic book The Invisibles a super dense adventure of conspiracy, action, magick, existential idea and post structuralist theory. Designed to effect your reality. Haven't been on this trip? Oh you must.

What would Bill Hicks do? (Inspiration no. 5)

Very little needs to be said about this inspiration other than if you have seen his stand up you will understand why, for those who haven't, go watch it.

Here's Johnny (Inspiration no. 4)

Another day another post, this time the inspiration is very close to the core of Credo. It relates to a character originally conceived by the marvellous Alan Moore (see inspiration no. 1) in his run on Swamp Thing and poorly conveyed to the screen by Keanu Reeves. Yes, the original Hellblazer himself, John Constantine. A working class magickian designed to break the mould of Doctor Strange and other mystical comic book heroes.

'I have an idea that most of the my stics in comics are generally older people, very austere, very proper, very middle class in a lot of ways. They are not at all functional on the street. It struck me that it might be interesting for once to do an almost blue-collar warlock. Somebody who was streetwise, working class, and from a different background than the standard run of comic book mystics. Constantine started to grow out of that.'

Alan Moore

It is this mix of realism and uncanny that attracted me to the character and world view and is an integral part to how Credo exists. So if you want an insight into this project I suggest you buy the trade paperbacks (Graphic Novels) and forget the film adaptation. My personal favourite is Garth Ennis's run as writer, culminating with 'Rakes at the Gates of Hell'

Inspiration no. 3

Damn fine coffee this morning, damn fine. It should come as little surprise that what is probably one of the finest TV series in the known universe is an inspiration for Credo. Both series have been forced upon Toby (the writer) and the initial response was confusion, but after a discussion, the penny dropped. Don't expect a Dale Cooper like clone, but do expect a similar sense of strong ensemble of characters and an exploration of the dark underbelly of a small town. Murder, intrigue and conspiracy. Mwaaah haaaa haaaaaaaaa........ ahem.

For those who have no clue as to what I'm going on about may I present David Lynch's masterpiece of television, Twin Peaks

no I in theme

Well it seems that the wonderful Greg Blackman has been incredibly industrious, not only producing artwork, but now a Credo theme demo. Produced entirely with a mic and vocals this piece of music has cerainly got us a buzz.

Credo Theme Idea by Greg Blackman

Inspiration no.1

Whilts mooching (great word) about today I was drawn to reflect upon the influentual artists and art that are linked to the creation of Credo. So to allow a glimpse into the context of this project I will be blogging these inspirations starting with Alan Moore

listen up

Here is Paul Kopal's submission for the Credo soundtrack. Let us know what you think, either here, via Twitter or on our Facebook account. You can also drop by our Soundcloud account, share the track, leave comments and submit tracks via our drop box.

CREDO (Paul Kopal) by CredoTheSeries

you tease

pretty pictures

I am blessed, yes, that's right, blessed, and why.. because one of my favourite artists is producing work inspired by the Credo scripts. Paul Kopal is an extremely talented individual, producing visual art that I can only describe as 'Picasso on acid', as well as novels, poetry, music and more. Luckily he lives in Colchester and I have collaborated with him before on Magus's 'Hyperstition'.

below are some digital photos of the first pieces, each one representing characters and scenes from episodes 1 - 3. The photos certainly don't do them justice, and I suspect an exhibition and quite probably the sale of prints will allow people to explore the intense detail and exquisite aesthetic of Paul's work.

socialogical

At last a new update, it's been a little while. There is certainly a fair bit of action to report over the next few days, so to start with...

.. after the latest meeting with Toby, the first draft of all the remaining episodes will be ready by Monday for a meeting with Steve (producer). He and I reviewed the first draft of episode 4, at our classic meeting place the George Hotel, and all I can report so far is that Toby is on it. The plot, characters and magick deepens, I'm so excited. No, really I am.

Today was my second meet with Ben Howard at Tin Pan Alley, and we have put some foundation work into Credo's digital strategy, you can now follow it on twitter, facebook (check out the buttons on the left of this page) and the blog's url is now www.credotheseries.com. There is plenty going on behind the scenes and more on that soon, meanwhile check out Ben's business below.

heads up

Aside from listening to the multi talented Greg Blackman play at Tin Pan Alley last night, I also had the luxury of catching up with Kayleigh Jowers, a good friend and rising talent within the world of film Art Department. She's read the initial scripts and is keen to come onto the project. This is a coup, having worked as an Art Director myself, I know how important mise-en-scene is to any production and Kayleigh is highly resourceful, with a keen eye. I know this, not only from her ever increasing body of work that she has compiled, but also through working with her on the Magus 'Hyperstition' installation at Colchester Slack Space in 2009. To check out what was achieved with £500 click the image below.



Credo, itself, can be seen as an evolution of ideas, aesthetics and concepts from within Hyperstition. In fact a good perusal of the Magus blog would give you an indication of what you could expect from this production.

a new hope

It's late I should be in bed, but feel compelled to post today's activity on Credo

Met with Steve Allenby, husband of Jenny (film accountant, emerging producer) to talk about him coming onto the project as a producer. Steve is perfect for the role, a very motivated and locally connected individual, who can organise, blag and sort out all kinds of events, gigs, and activities. It takes pressure off of me to have someone like this on-board, as I trust and respect that he can do the job, whether that's locking down and location, to raising potential production funds and making sure that there's a back up option. Good news

He's very aware of the narrative ideas and concepts, as he was involved with Jenny on the aborted (thanks Screen East) feature film project last year. It has not been a huge leap for him to comprehend what Toby and I are attempting to achieve.

This evening I met with Dave Matthams a local emerging talent, with excellent camera operation and cinematography skills. (check link) I've been struggling to work with him for almost 12 months and although he's keen on the project, he may not be in the country for much longer. He will be able to tell me either way as to whether he'll be about or not soon. Fingers crossed, but in the mean time check out his great video for Colchester's Kuru Smile

The Kuru Smile - And Yet I Still Walk Blind from Runaway on Vimeo.

self ordering universe

All that follows is being written from a rather groggy fuzzy head space, not induced from alcohol, but rather rest and recuperation from cycling everywhere instead of driving.

Met with Ben Howard of Cool Publicity, a local Colchester based PR and Marketing expert, specialising in social media. He's known for kicking start and organising the Colchester Free Festival last year. Ben is keen to come on-board to help get Credo made, using his skills to build awareness, gather support and from our conversation, help arrange some fund raising events.

We were both excited about the prospect of not only creating an intelligent and captivating series at a grass roots level, but also the musical involvement from some incredible local talent. This is something Ben feels personally engaged by, after his growing attempts to get this talent noticed. The soundtrack will be coordinated by Charles Hedger

Whilst we beaver away, and there are more important meetings today, I leave you with a selection of artists that have come aboard on board the project.

Irrelevant Live Summer 2010 by irrelevantsounds

15-2011 by Stuart Russell


The Mercury Man

so-called humans | Myspace Video

evolving

A productive meeting yesterday with Toby about the ongoing Credo narrative. We now have all 8 episodes mapped after a exciting creative splurge over Guinness and vodka & Red Bull (no, not at the same time, just each others preferred poison) It's really important for us to stay true to our main ideas, telling a story with interesting characters in an amoral world where we refuse to succumb to terms 'good' and 'bad'. Hints and clues are being intertwined within the complex character relationships, to hopefully create an engaging tapestry of drama (oh, such pretence) that allows us to have a discourse about the human condition, concepts, philosophy and ideas that we obsess about. A tall order for 8 six minute episodes, that will set the scene, characters, and the initial main plot. Bring on the production, I can't wait

Later the same day I was with the amazing Greg Blackman, funk/soul maestro and digital artist extraordinaire. He's been knocking up some character sketches and concept art. Although I'm worried his fantastic take on scenes from script could never be met with our budget. As soon as we've cast and found locations expect a surge of Credo art from this man. for now check out his first piece below.

It has begun

Finally I have time to soak into this project after finishing a full time lecturing contract. The relief

Where did Credo start?
Toby (Tobias) and I were working on an occult thriller feature film treatment through a Screen East funding scheme, until Screen east were no more, last year. Rather than lose momentum and with the clucking desire to get back behind the camera, I pitched him the idea of a home-grown webseries, based on the same themes and ideas we had already developed.

I must not forget to mention that this pitch was initiated by a series of strong mental pictures and scenes that had been increasingly populating my waking mind.
Further pitching to fellow creatives and script meetings with Toby have now led to the first 3 scripted episodes, some initial casting and signs of interest from an amazing roster of local bands, musicians and producers.

Still so much to do and organise, with script, concept art, PR and production meets arranged for this week. All to drive this media spell of a project forward.

An original goal of shooting monthly may have to fall by the wayside, and instead shoot all 8prospective episodes over a short a period as possible before June. It sates cast and crew availability and continuity issues.

What will credo be like?
a cross between The Pusher Trilogy, Holy Mountain and John Constantine: Hellblazer (comic book) served in approx 6 min episodes.

To give you some impression check out my directors showreel

Will Wright director's showreel from Rev Wright on Vimeo.

more to follow