Jungle of Darkness Story 

In the Jungle of Darkness film, I will explore a classic cautionary tale of greed in the past and the present. You will experience the story of a young girl on the run who unexpectedly unravels another tale of an adventurer stuck in a dire situation with little hope for escape. As she travels down unfamiliar roads she will embark on a trail of learning and growth. Will she be strong enough to learn from past mistakes or is she doomed to repeat them?

As a practical effects artist in the film industry for most of my life, I’ve spent years developing my skills and honing my craft. My first short film, Pugloo from Planet P, gave me the opportunity to explore the world of filmmaking. As I progress in my career, I want to establish myself as not only a character designer but as a story teller and filmmaker as well. In this short film, I intend to bring to life a fantasy world in a jungle adventure setting. I plan to use practical effects like puppets, miniatures, forced perspective, water tanks, shadow puppetry, and stop motion, among other techniques! With your help, I will create a period piece using limited funds and constructing all sets, props, and parts by hand in my home state of Colorado. 

After spending the last fifteen years working for other FX shops and learning the tricks of the trade I decided to open my own special FX shop, KreatureKid. I launched my business in the summer of 2021 and immediately got to work on my first special FX film contract, Onyx the Fortuitous, a Kickstarter-funded feature film premiering later this year. Throughout the way I’ve met some amazing, talented local artists with a shared vision and love of filmmaking who will be assisting me on the Jungle of Darkness film. 

Inspired by Jim Henson, Georges Méliès, Karel Zeman, and Sam Raimi, we plan to use the KreatureKid shop as a full start to finish studio. We will construct multiple sets in house, which will also be utilized as our primary filming location and as a working space for my incredible team to craft our Kickstarter rewards.

The funds that I raise through Kickstarter will not only be used for creating and filming Jungle of Darkness but to also document the entirety of the filmmaking process. I want to share this process for other filmmakers who want to learn how to use their full creativity and imagination for storytelling and world crafting. I am excited to bring you on this journey with me as I bring my vision to life for my first film. 

Cast

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some incredibly talented people in the entertainment industry who have graciously agreed to help me with this project.

•  Daniel Roebuck fresh off the set of Rob Zombie’s The Munsters and currently directing his next feature film, Dan plays our illustrious hero Professor Sheridan. I’ve known Dan my entire life, connecting through our love of classic monsters and filmmaking. I consider Dan one my closest friends and mentors and I am excited to see how he brings the cunning and greedy Professor Sheridan to life. 

•  Roger Jackson and I met while I was sculpting the Mojo Jojo sculpture for Craig McCracken. We became good friends through our mutual love of filmmaking and fine art. Roger is one of the most memorable voices in horror and animation, voicing Ghost Face from the Scream Franchise to everyone’s favorite purple and green monkey Mojo Jojo. Roger will be lending his vocal talents to the ambiance of the jungle. 

•  Dee Bradley Baker and I had the pleasure of working together on the realistic sculpture of his character Klaus in American Dad. We quickly became friends as fellow pug lovers and Coloradans as well as horror film aficionados. Dee has lent his vocal talents to projects that include Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Avatar The Last Airbender‘s Appa and Momo, and The Legends of the Hidden Temple. He will be helping in a variety of ways to bring Jungle of Darkness to life. 

Ryan Wilkes and Cory Moosman are working together to bring to life the shrunken heads through comedic performance. These characters will be in the vain of Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello.

•  Cory Moosman is an artist and puppeteer operating Wynot Productions out of Colorado Springs. He’s been in the world of character creation for many years and has an illustrious list of projects under his belt. His style and panache will animate the ever grumpy Blue, one of the talking shrunken heads Professor Sheridan encounters on his epic journey.
•  Ryan Wilkes is a material connoisseur and puppeteer extraordinaire. Ryan has puppeteered on both small and large scale projects and will be lending his talent and verve to the voice of Green! 

 Music 

•  Reid Willis has made a name for himself by crafting albums that combine experimental sounds with classical compositions. Boasting six studio albums and working with clients like Microsoft, Mazda, the Special Olympics and more, his original score will be a wonderful contribution to this project.

Filming 

•  Eric Thomas Paton is a filmmaker based out of Denver, Colorado with more than a decade of active filmmaking experience as a cinematographer, producer, and editor. With an affinity for horror and genre film, Eric is a wonderful addition to this team. He is fully immersed in the aesthetic of my project and will create that dark adventure feel to capture all of the work done to build the world that is Jungle of Darkness. Eric is on board to film the Jungle of Darkness if our Kickstarter is successful.  

Crew

Meet the amazing team at KreatureKid! From welders and carpenters to mechanics and everything in between, my team of Colorado based creators has worked hard to bring to life all kinds of creatures. This ideal team is who will be working to bring Jungle of Darkness into reality.

 Check out all these rewards! 

Stone Tablet Graph

 Discovered deep in the Jungle this ancient pie graph depicts how the budget will be spent. Each stone color signifies a percentage. 

As you can see with extensive research, the museum has found the percentages represented in each stone.

•  60% of the budget will be for construction of the sets, props, making the puppets and animatronics as well as paying everyone for their time. 
•  20% is for the perks, this will be materials to make them all, paying everyone for their time to help make them, packaging everything and lastly postage for shipping across the globe. 
•  12% will be towards post production, this is any compositing, end credits, and any unforeseen costs in the final filming. 
•  8% is what the Kickstarter execs take, if this isn’t paid I might find myself neck deep in quicksand!