Some Early Pre-Viz FX Shots For Kaleidoscope Man

This is a selection of some pre-vized special effects shots from the opening sequence of Kaleidoscope Man. The shots are finished now and some feature briefly in the trailer. But I thought you might like to see this as it shows the level of planning that goes into CGI work just after the shoot and before the real animation begins.

The CGI work was done by Screenburn Animation.

Written in Blood - On Sale NOW

A lot of people have asked me how they can get a copy of my first feature film, Written in Blood. Up until now, I've only ever sold it at the various Memorabilia shows I've attended around the country. So I'm delighted to be able to sell it today...

Who's in it?

Grant Masters, Sharon Small, Gary Beadle, Francis Magee, Doug Bradley, Patrick Robinson & Ben Shockley.

The story

A century ago a series of horrific murders rocked the city. Now, as the end of the millennium approaches, a copycat killer stalks seven victims, praying on the unwary - repaying a pact with the devil which will plunge the world into chaos.

Martin Harris, a best selling horror fiction writer, stands between the forces of damnation and hope for redemption. A man who suspects that his own dark fantasies have conjured the spirit of ancient evil back to renewed life, and deep below the city he learns to his horror, that death is not the end... Written in Blood is a modern film-noir thriller with the accent of mystery and suspense, Alpha Star Films presents a roller coaster ride into a dark world of paranoia and suspicion, in which the supernatural intrudes into a world spiraling towards the end of the century and into the encroaching darkness.

Duration 96 Minutes

Special Features

1.Commentary by Simon Cox

2. An interview with Simon Cox commissioned by The Horror Channel.

3. Deleted Scenes

4. 2 Short psychological Thrillers by Simon Cox

5. The Original Pilot used to get the funding.

6. Every copy is signed by the Director

7. When you have watched the film, fill in the form inside it, send it back and we'll invite you to be an extra in Kaleidoscope Man (when we finally get the film funded)

Is Written in Blood any good?

Well, its tense and chilling and I think its great, I really do, but, I did receive this email recently from a girl who bought a copy at Memorabilia:

“We have watched written in blood, it was amazing!!!. Fantastic script and wicked shots I was gripped. Cant wait until the new film is out.”

Every copy sold will go towards getting K-Man off the ground.

Please see below the trailer. Click on the BUY NOW button to order a copy. Only £10.70 inc P+P. DVD's will be sent by return. Please note: This is only available in PAL, sadly, not NTSC at present.

Kaleidoscope Man - Epic Locations

A large part of Kaleidoscope Man is set on an Alien planet. In the script this is a hot, volcanic place, with a dramatic sea shore and spectacular vistas stretching as far as the eye can see...


Our four main characters must traverse this bleak and inhospitable landscape where the wreckage of a crashed spaceship sticks out of the ocean like a mountain.

As they head towards the wreckage they are pummeled by meteors that cannon into the ground around them and they are attacked by evil four winged Harvester spaceships.



For such an epic sequence, I have chosen to shoot on the island of Lanzarote, where just over 200 years ago, the Island's largest volcano erupted and covered half of the island in lava. Over the years this has solidified, coating the land in a black and red crust.


To see this with your own eyes is breathtaking. For me, it was as I would imagine the surface of the moon to look and back in 1996, when I first went there, I knew I would one day return to film there.

A lot of films have been shot there including, One Million Years BC and Enemy Mine.

The New Kaleidoscope Man Trailer...

Ok folks, here it is!

The opening is similar to the original with the same music etc. But the ending is very different. It now incorporates the fantastic new shot from Screenburn Animation. Crank up your speakers, sit back and enjoy...

If this doesn't get the film funded, nothing will!

Do let me know your thoughts.



Kaleidoscope Man Trailer in HD from Simon Cox on Vimeo.

A Spectacular New Shot For Kaleidoscope Man

Good old Screenburn Animation have done another shot to put into the opening sequence of the movie. And it’s mind blowing!!!

Ever since I've been making this film, I've been telling everyone what an epic sci-fi ride it was going to be. Well, now, with this new shot there is certainly no mistaking!

I'm cutting a new trailer together which will incorporate the new shot and will include it in the next couple of days. It's REALLY COOL!!!

Many thanks to Dave & Stuart at Screenburn Animation. www.screenburn.co.uk

Here is the pre-vis, just to wet the appetite.


Space Shot Anamatic Version 3 from Simon Cox on Vimeo.

Screen West Midlands Unable To Help At Present

Sadly I received the rejection letter yesterday from Screen West Midlands. We’d applied for some financial help for the investor screenings we're having in Feb. It was a long shot asking them for help and without them to date; we certainly wouldn't have the spectacular FX sequences and artwork we now have. But it was worth the try. Sometimes you have to lose the odd battle to win the war and we're in this for the long term.

Keep the faith!

Kaleidoscope Man Business Plans Doing The Rounds

Ken and I have been busy getting the business plan into new potential funding areas.

I am in touch with a local group of Business Angels who I’m hoping may be interested in the tax breaks and the opportunity to be involved with our movie. To register with this group we do have to pay a fee, so I will be doing some serious research into the real feasibility of getting funded before we part with any cash.

From the research I've already done it does seem that Business Angel Networks do require cash up from as well as a percentage of the sum raised.

I’m still busy on the Charles Dickens Documentary. I delivered a rough cut just before Christmas and start on the fine cut with Julian (the Director) on Tuesday. We should have the fine cut by the end of the month.

The Force Is Strong With This One...

This weekends Memorabilia show at the NEC in Birmingham was a real blast! Held twice a year, it boasts the largest collection of sci-fi, horror and sports memorabilia in Europe, and they always have a host of celebrities there to sign stuff.

As a Film Maker, I feel its really important to have a presence at these kind of events as the people who attend, love genre films, and will be the ones going to the cinemas to watch Kaleidoscope Man when it comes out.

I premiered the new trailer and everyone seemed to love it! I also sold quite a few copies of my last feature film, Written in Blood, on DVD.

Star Wars and Willow star, Warwick Davies, watched the trailer and gave it an amazing endorsement. Check out this short video to see what fun we had..
K-Man at Memrobilia Nov 2008 from Simon Cox on Vimeo.
Many thanks to Lucia Landino and Chris Jones for their help with this video.

I Can't Say Much But...

Ken has returned from the American Film Market with some very positive news about Kaleidoscope Man. Can't go into to much detail just yet but needless to say it should help the funding to come in. The pilot DVD and brochures seem to be doing the trick!

I have been in touch with Screen West Midlands asking for support to help with a large funding event we're running in Birmingham in January for IFA's, Investors and Producers. There is a mountain of work to do before hand so I'm hoping they can help both physically and possibly financially.

This weekend is the Sci-Fi and Horror Memorabilia show at the Birmingham NEC where I will be selling signed copies of my first feature film, Written in Blood. I'll also be showing the Kaleidoscope Man trailer and asking film fans to give me their opinions on camera. This will be going into a nifty little documentary I'm putting together for the funding event in January - a chance to be on the big screen! If any of you would like to come and be in it, its a great (and very geeky event) and it would be fantastic to meet you.

For more info go to: http://www.memorabilia.co.uk

L.A. Meetings Going Well

I've just received a message from Ken that the Kaleidoscope Man brochure and trailer DVD's are going down a storm at the American Film Market.

Will keep you posted!

Two "Making Of" Videos

Here are the two "Making Of Kaleidoscope Man" videos I've done to date, in case you haven't already seen them.
There will be some new 'Making Of' videos very soon.


Storyboarding Kaleidoscope Man from Simon Cox on Vimeo.


Creating The Opening Sequence for Kaleidoscope Man from Simon Cox on Vimeo.

Kaleidoscope Man Stepping Up a Gear

I'm still busy shooting 2nd Unit on this Charles Dickens Documentary I mentioned in my last entry. I've been shooting on the Panasonic Varicam camera and with the lens we've got this is one heavy beast of a camera and I've found muscles I didn't know I had!! The quality of the images however are truly staggering.

At last there seems to be some movement on the Kaleidoscope Man funding front (no, I don't have the money yet) but today I was contacted by an organization who have offered to help promote our film proposal to their high network individuals. I'll let you know more about this as the news comes in.

The American Film Market takes place this week and Ken (the Producer) is taking the script, trailer & brochure of Kaleidoscope Man over with him. We've been working hard to get all the elements together and he has a large list of contacts to see. More news on this next week.

As I've had a busy few months recently and expect to be editing right up to Christmas, I'm going to try and take some time off in January to really push the business plan and find new investors.

I feel things are picking up again. Here is the trailer in case you haven't seen it.

New Draft Coming Along Nicely

Well, after the hell of working in the corporate video world for the last 4 months I am now a free man again. The thing about corporates is that they pay well, but in return they are all consuming. I'm now editing a superb documentary about Charles Dickens directed by an old friend, Julian Richards (Summer Scars & The Last Horror Movie) and a Producer/distributor friend, David Wilkinson. Next week I'll be shooting some 2nd unit shots on my Varicam camera. So if you live in Portsmouth or Rochester and see a film crew it could well be us!

The other good news is that I have made really good headway on the Kaleidoscope Man script re-draft and aim to have it finished by the end of the month. Ken (the K-Man Producer) wants to take it to the American Film Market (AFM) in November in the continued search for funding.

Talking of which, its been pretty quiet here on that front, but we're still forging ahead. Some news soon, I hope...

What I've Been Up To...

A new video! Just a brief update of the productions I've been involved in over the last few months...

This Could Take a While...

I've started to get feed back from some of the potential Investors who've received the business plan. They all seem impressed with the film and the DVD, and I get the sense that there are people out there who would genuinely like to help.

On the other hand, there is grave concern about the current financial shenanigans kicking off around the globe. A lot of investors are seeing their fortunes disappear and investing in a movie seems to be the last thing on their minds right now.

I'm just finishing this colossus of a corporate video, so from next week I'll be able to get back to seriously marketing the plan. I really can't wait. I know there are people out there who will help us. I just need to find them...

Kaleidoscope Man - Draft 17 Begins...

After a week of taking notes, hearing opinions and listening to a bunch of screenwriting CD's, the new draft of the script has begun. I went through the first 20 pages on Saturday, ruthlessly hacking and slashing and re-ordering scenes, and I have to say I'm delighted with the progress so far. I've ironed out the main issues with the beginning being a little slow and confusing. There’s now plenty of action and conflict and it certainly doesn’t stand still. Just another 70 pages to go!

An Investor called me on Thursday and said that he would discuss the business plan with some other film investor contacts. Watch this space for more news.

Sitting Here Watching The Wheels Go Round

I'm staying in London at the moment working on a big corporate video. This job has gone on and on and the weeks are turning into months. Its hard living out of a rucksack and crashing on a colleagues sofa, especially when I have so much I need and want to do on the movie. The daily rate is very good so I can't afford not too really. I was just thinking how wonderful life would be if we didn't have huge mortgages to pay and could just focus on the things that are important to us. Ahhh, one day... But then I'm reminded that I could have a real job or be fighting a war somewhere... that sofa seems appealing again!!

I got up at 6.00am this morning and sat in Costa Coffee working on the re-draft of Kaleidoscope Man. Just making notes really and thinking things through. As I'm getting more into it, I don't think the script needs a radical re-write, more of a serious edit and shifting of scenes mainly in the first act. In the story there is a whole sub-plot set on earth and although I really like it, I'm seriously considering giving it the chop. It's good character stuff but doesn't drive the narrative as well as the scenes around it do.

I haven't heard anything back from the business plans I sent out to Investors yet, fingers crossed we'll here something soon.

Watch this space…!

Getting The Script Right....

Well, a huge chunk of business plans have gone out to potential Investors. The flyers I mentioned in my last entry have arrived and look great. They'll be hitting the floors of Lawyers and Accountants in the city early next week. And I've had the first few conversations about the budget. All exciting stuff...

But, something has been nagging me for the last few months; the big ugly monster waiting for me in the corner, the thing that, if I don't sort out now, will haunt me for the rest of my life. Yep, you've got it, THE SCRIPT!!!

Now, there's nothing actually wrong with the script, it certainly works, and is a very powerful piece of narrative. But is it really as good as it can be???

Some close friends have read it recently and although they've been complimentary, the same issues come to light. They've found some areas confusing and in places it's hard to follow. The problem seems to be due to the high level of visual set pieces in the film. There is a lot of description about alien things that are hard to visualize. In my heart, I'm sure that when an audience SEES what I have in mind they will have no problem following it, but it's vital that the script works in my favor (as investors are bound to read it) so this must be addressed.

Over the last year, I've been busy on business plans, making pilots and generally working hard to pay the mortgage and get to this stage. The thought of going back to the script scares the life out of me. It's a bit like ripping your back bone out and then trying to stand. The whole thing could collapses around me. But, I have to be grown up and embrace this demon, because this has to be sensational and world class.

When I set out to make this movie, I intended to make it "one of the greatest British sci-fi movies of all time". Which is easy to say, and gets even easier the more you say it. And the more you say it, the more you start to believe it. And the thing is, I genuinely DO believe it will be "one of the greatest British sci-fi movies of all time". But, delivering on this, well, that's a different story!

So, from here on, its head down and get on with it. The new draft starts over the weekend (GULP!). Wish me luck.....

Finding Investors - The Next Step

As I've mentioned previously, the laws on raising funds are strict and we’re not allowed to market that we’re looking to sell shares in our company to raise money for making the movie. So how on earth do we get to investors to tell them about our fantastic new film?

Well, last week I came up with a cunning plan to get around this. I would write to every Accountant in the City of London to tell them about the movie in the hope that they would guide any potential Investors to my website, where these investors could watch the trailer and then contact us for a copy of the business plan. A good idea I felt. However, our Lawyers didn’t think it was so good and they wouldn't advise.

So, having thought it through, I’ve decided a slightly different approach. Instead of writing a letter, I‘ve designed a small flyer that I will send out to the Lawyers and Accountants instead. This way I don’t have to write individual letters and the artwork and website will hopefully hook them in. Printing.com have a fabulous deal on at the moment. 2000 high gloss double sided flyers for only £76 – A bargain!! The flyer will also act as a sort of business card telling people about the movie. These should be ready by early next week.

Here is the first batch of business plans that will go out later this week. I have a nice little list of potential investors they’re going to and the plans look great – really glossy, I really don’t think they could look any better.

By the way, I’m getting loads of hits on my blog at the moment. Thank you all for your support. Here's a rather nice email I received earlier this week:

I came across your blog through Chris Jones’ blog and just wanted to say that everything you discuss on your blog is extremely interesting and useful to someone like myself, just starting out in the industry. The 'making of' video entries are FANTASTIC! I want to learn as much as I can about the business, I want to see things being made, people physically using the camera, watching the editing process, directing the actors etc etc. So, THANK YOU , and I do hope you add more 'behind the scenes' video on your blog page!

Also, may I wish you every success with your latest project!!

Danny Lacey - STADA MEDIA - Thanks Danny, I'll keep the "Making Of's" coming!

Creating The Opening Sequence for Kaleidoscope Man

I've put this little video together which will give you an idea of how we made the opening sequence of the movie. This video follows on from the storyboarding sequence lower down on the blog.

I'll try and keep the videos coming as I really enjoy making them (it's also a great way to use up some of the hours of footage we've been shooting). Although apologies for the dodgy voice over artist (he was cheap!!)

Once we've raised the money to finish the film, I'll keep the "Making Of's" coming.

I hope you like them!

For more infomation about Screenburn Animation go to: www.screenburn.co.uk