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The End Of Brandon Generator…

The End Of Brandon Generator…
Tim Pilcher writes for Bleeding Cool;
It's kind of appropriate that I can't actually remember how I first heard about Brandon Generator. Whether it was an email from the PR company or reading about it on a website, or by word of mouth.
I say "appropriate" because the story centres on a writer, Brandon, who is "blocked" and, after consuming an inordinate amount of coffee, passes out, only to discover that he's been left mysterious voice messages, drawings and ideas in his amnesiac stupor. Those messages have been left by the general public, suggesting to the team which direction to take the story. This led to all sorts of bizarre tangents, such as the deadly coffee monster, "Caffeinedo."
The End Of Brandon Generator…
The whole project was a fascinating part-movie/part-storyboard/part-animation/part-motion comic/interactive experiment. Written by Edgar (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) Wright and illustrated by Tommy Lee (Turf, Golden Age) Edwards, the exercise could have fallen flat on its bearded, bespectacled face, but it worked brilliantly. I was intrigued by the idea and contributed a few story ideas and got a credit in Issue 3. With The Mighty Boosh's Julian Barratt providing the narration and superstar DJ/Producer David Holmes on music; Brandon's story was small, but fascinating, funny, and always left you wanting more.
It was funded by Microsoft to promote their new browser, Explorer 9, and hats off to them for funding this—and hopefully more arts projects. God knows, with the government hacking budgets the arts need to get their funding from somewhere.
The End Of Brandon Generator…
Last night I went up to Smithfield's in London for the launch of the fourth and final part of this brilliantly interactive artwork.
Funnily enough the whole event was held in the very same warehouse, where, a few years earlier, I'd played a superhero on Channel 4's Zero to Hero. Fortunately that episode was only ever aired once, and I've never seen it. We spent 3 days filming there, so the venue and event felt a bit like a homecoming.
The End Of Brandon Generator…
It was nice spending some time with comics journalists Joel Meadows, of Tripwire, and Alex Fitch, of Resonance FM, over a few glasses of gratis vino. Microsoft screened all four episodes back to back and then Mark Kermode interviewed the collaborators. It was an evening spent with one of my favourite directors, Wright, one of my favourite musician/ producers, Holmes, one of my favourite comedians, Julian Barratt and one of my favourite comic artists, Tommy Lee Edwards. All hosted by my favourite film critic, Kermode. Plus free food and booze. How could it go wrong?
 The End Of Brandon Generator…
 Above (left to right): Tommy Lee Edwards, Edgar Wright and Mark Kermode
Best of all they're really lovely, lovely guys! Top blokes all round and very generous with their time. Not an overinflated ego insight, which was so refreshing to see.
The End Of Brandon Generator…
Above (left to right): David Holmes, Julian Barrett, Tommy Lee Edwards, Edgar Wright and Mark Kermode
I managed to make a tit of myself, naturally, with a "joke" that fell flat on its face, and got into a verbal tussle in the Q&A with Kermode, who accused my black shirt of being blue, but the hosts were gracious and witty. Wright confessed that the whole project was in fact a cry for help over his coffee addiction and joked that the event was just a big intervention. They all discussed how easy it was to put the project together despite living in different parts of the world, and how incredibly fast they had to work (it was only conceived in January 2012). When asked what he'd learnt from the experience, Holmes amusingly replied "Absolutely nothing."
Below are some terribly blurry pics of the the evening (I blame the combination of alcohol and a crappy old iPhone):

The End Of Brandon Generator…   The End Of Brandon Generator…

Above: Brandon's real car, and how it appeared in the story. 
The End Of Brandon Generator…
Above: Tommy Lee Edward's storyboards.
 The End Of Brandon Generator…
 Above: Tommy Lee Edwards' art was scattered throughout the warehouse.
  The End Of Brandon Generator…
 Above: Oh dear lord, that's a terrible picture of me. Tommy was very gracious though.
The End Of Brandon Generator…
Above: Me and the real life Brandon Generator (and mate of Tommy's), Noah Smith. 
So forget Kickstarter for crowd-funded comics, the future is crowd-generated comics!

The fourth and final part has yet to go live, but head over to www.brandongenerator.com and see what I've been blathering on about.

The End Of Brandon Generator…
UPDATE: In one of those weird meta-textual moments that Grant Morrison is so fond of, I just popped out for lunch and discovered a post-it note from Brandon on the pavement. Spooky!:


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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