J. Stephan Leeper

Three by Spooner

Steve — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:29:48 +0000

A special thanks to Natalie Lombard and Cathy Strokosch for hosting two separate “Get to Know Br. Thomas” evenings in the Chicago area. Besides the great food and warm company I was able to pitch the story-so-far to two groups of people who’s insight on art, film, and faith I highly respect. I came away from both evenings exhilarated, encouraged and challenged. Who could have asked for more!

One highlight of the first evening was that Michael Spooner brought some concept sketches of the cathedral that I had not seen before. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see elements of this story come alive in the hands of someone like Michael. The fact that he does these drawings with such apparent ease only makes them that much more brilliant!

Here are three that stand out. You can click on the details to see the full image.

1. One of the 8 to 10 statues of the Church Fathers whose gaze Thomas passes under everyday on his way to work. They are not animated in the film but the shadows they cast weigh heavily on Thomas as he slips by them, usually late, on his way to the scriptorium. The lighting and scale that Michael introduces in this drawing sets the tone perfectly!

2. This is Thomas running up the stairs. This angle didn’t exist in the boards previously but you can be sure that it will in the future.

3. This is the doorway that Thomas goes through to enter the stairwell. Kind of a service entrance to the scriptorium.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.

Storyboards-Seeing for the First Time (Part 2)

Steve — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:15:11 +0000

Finally the moment the story has been building to. Br. Thomas finds himself face to face with the Dragonfly. . . one by one the animals join him. A moment of flurry and the Dragonfly leads them all in a celebratory romp through the hills.

The image of Thomas releasing the Dragonfly is the first picture that showed up in my head before there was ever a story to accompany it. If you’ll notice it’s the moment captured in the makette I sculpted years ago.

If you click on the 4 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.

Baby Birds-Image Sequence

Steve — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:49:33 +0000

One of the nice things about boarding a storing you wrote almost a decade ago are the surprises that turn up. This is a sequence of images I hadn’t anticipated. They make me smile.

Storyboards-Seeing for the First Time (Part 1)

Steve — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:56:13 +0000

This scene marks the beginning of Brother Thomas’ day of epiphany as the dragonfly leads him further from the path and deeper into the wonders of the natural landscape. Shot after shot, image after image, Brother Thomas’ eyes are opened to new revelations at every turn. At this point his only response is to simply drink it all in.

I’m trying to capture a more playful version of that sense of awe that Thomas has as he enters the scriptorium. At the same time I want to play up the trickster role of the dragonfly teasing the animals in the same way that he was jesting with the Saints.

If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.

Casting Brother Thomas-Makette

Steve — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:38:21 +0000

You probably recognize this little guy from my profile image. I thought I would post a series of turn-around photos of him before he officially goes under the knife. I’m hoping to pull a mold from him in the next few weeks which means he’s currently in parts getting ready for his operation. More photos of the process to come.

Act 2 Scene 1-Good Morning World!

Steve — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:13:17 +0000

Finally I’m posting another scene! The second act has been the least clear in my mind since I wrote the treatment over ten years ago. While the rest of the plot points were fairly well developed Act 2 was pretty much a note to myself that read “insert multiple epiphanies here”. Finally I’m getting to see what these epiphanies might look like and how each one can build into the next… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Those panels belong to the last two thirds of the act and are still pretty rough. With luck I’ll be posting them in a couple of weeks.

These panels are the beginning of the second act. The cock crows to announce a new day and Br. Thomas heads off to the cathedral with the best intentions of actually getting there. Only this morning, with his head full of distractions, it doesn’t take much coaxing from the Dragonfly to get him off the path and running through a field of wild flowers, with his new friends closely on his heels.

If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.

Storyboards-Inside the Scriptorim (Part 2)

Steve — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:48:27 +0000

Here’s the second part of the Scriptorium sequence, which means I’m done with the first act!!…for now anyways. It will be a relief to get Thomas outside and focus more on story than atmosphere.

In the second half of the sequence Brother Thomas watches the dragonfly escape through a crack in the window. His curiosity outweighs his better judgement, he abandons his work and uses a stack of holy books to get a better view out the window. From his view through the cracked window it’s as if Thomas gets a glimpse of creation for the first time…fleeting as the glimpse may be. For just as Thomas blinks to take in the landscape his tower of books slip from under him and he falls in disgrace.

If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.

Storyboards-Inside the Scriptorim (Part 1)

Steve — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:27:33 +0000

Boarding the first act in the Scriptorium has been much more involved than I first anticipated. Mostly because the story slows down to take in a richness of atmosphere, introduce the characters and showcase certain details in the space. I’ve spent a lot of time working out lighting issues, exploring a graphic quality for the stained glass, and creating some depth for that atmospheric richness to play out in. It’s a long sequence so I’ve broken it into two separate postings. I hope to have part 2 up by the end of the week.

In this first half Br. Thomas sheepishly enters the space (as he does every day) and slowly takes in his surroundings before making his way to his work table. He takes up his pen and sets to work inking in some decorative borders to a portrait of St. Peter he’s been working on. Peter, the St. with the oversized key, seems pleased with his likeness (Paul… not so much). Then a buzzing breaks the concentration in the room and they all look up to find that a Dragonfly has found his way into the room and is fluttering among the colored shafts of light as they stream through the stained glass windows. From there he flies past each of the saints and just beyond the playful grasp of the Christ-child.

If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.

Short Sequence

Steve — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:04:57 +0000

This is another short sequence of panels that gives you a pretty good idea of how things pace out. This sequence is at the center of the scene where the dragonfly invades the sacred space of the scriptorium and toys with each of the glass characters. It seems that the infant Christ-child is the only one who really appreciates the joke.

Click on the detail below to see the full sequence.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.

Unexpected Visitor

Steve — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:55:41 +0000

This is one of the storyboard panels that I got a little carried away with. I can’t help playing with foreground and background elements…and then there’s those light shafts that make everything look better.

Click on the detail below to see the full image.

To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.