hellgate: photo comic book

It certainly was hot off the presses earlier this month. There's a lot of time to cool off enroute from the printer in Texas. My photo comic book Hellgate is finally in printed form and looks pretty hot to me.

I've wanted to produce a photo comic book for some time now. I once tried to take an existing project and cram it into comic book form. It looked good but lacked a cohesive storyline. It didn't quite fill the page like real comic books do.

(more after the jump...)

On set with my stick figure storyboards. (photo by Bryan Pace)

For Hellgate idea and inspiration only got me so far. I honestly owe the success of this project to meticulous pre production. I did lots of research on comic book cell structure and storytelling progressions. I sketched each shot in cells on storyboard spreads. 

(photo by Bryan Pace)

I planned the shoot days like we were filming a movie. I ordered the shots for efficiency. I made detailed notes on the emotion and story that would be conveyed in each shot.

Shots with little or no sky in the frame could be shot day-for-night. This helped us keep a reasonable shoot schedule. It was also easier to set up complicated shots in the daylight.

I cast actors Erin Singleton and Matthew Love as my leads. They both have proven improv skills so I trusted them to take the concept as far as it needed to go. 

Nicole Moody did costume design and helped out with last looks on set. I had some solid ideas on color and style for wardrobe, but deferred to Nicole's expertise when it came down to designing and dressing the models.

Graphic designer Amber Luke worked on the overall look of the project. She took mood and intentions of the photos and turned them into a real comic book.

Brett Wean pulled double-duty as a supporting character model and copywriter for the comic book. I had a storyline and ideas about what the characters were saying. Brett took the layouts and made the story come alive.

See the full spreads here.

Hellgate flip-through from Jeremy Bales on Vimeo.