five with frights:- phantom harbor
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SHANNON SHEA creator & star of 'Phantom Harbor' puts together a pretty eerie and fun online spook show.
Phantom Harbor Website
MR. FRIGHTS: Where did Captain Jonas McAllister come from?-
SHANNON SHEA: Captain McAllister was the result of brainstorming with my wife, Tracy and my daughter, Molly. I had thoughts about producing an On-Line Spook Show entitled "Mysterious Mose, the Caretaker at Gravesdale Manor." The show was going to focus on the idea of "fear" and what people are afraid of - and then Mose would shine his lantern (called "the light of reason") and an explanation by an expert in the field would de-mystify the fear - or at least attempt to.
After I presented all of this to my family, Tracy and Molly thought I looked more like the Gordon's Fisherman and a nautical theme was decided upon. Tracy liked the name "Jonas" and the rest is history… -
MR. FRIGHTS: Can you go into a little about what it takes to make one episode?
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SHANNON SHEA: It all starts with story first. And to be honest, I look around and see what's available to me before I write the script. If I know I have access to a green screen or I know I'll be able to shoot at the beach, I'll tailor the story to include what I can. I try to keep it funny and include some kind of ghost/monster/supernatural element that has a "wow" factor.
When the script is completed, I sit down and storyboard the entire thing. I have to. When you work on a limited budget and in limited space, you have to know EXACTLY what you are going to build, shoot, and animate in post. There is room for some impromptu stuff to happen during the live action shooting, but even then, if it falls outside of what I planned to do technically, I have to scrap it or save it as a "bit" for a later episode. -
MR. FRIGHTS: What was the point at which you decided to make this show?
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SHANNON SHEA: I've been working in Make Up Effects for nearly 3 decades and in that time, I've pretty much had to do everything from run materials in molds, make the molds, sculpt, paint, seam, do hair work, etc. And many times, actually more times that I care to remember, I would be asked to compromise what I was doing for someone else.
Before I continue, let me say that I recognize the need for compromise in certain situations, however what I'm talking about isn't compromise as much as it is interference. To me, this is the road to disaster.
Before long, I was getting routinely disappointed with my career because I had become a drone. It wasn't just me; I could look around the shop and see people going through the motions dispassionately while they were making monsters. Dispassionately MAKING MONSTERS?! It's depressing!
So I asked myself what I could do to get excited about making monsters again. This was Summer of 2008. The two previous years I had made giant Halloween displays in my yard and I thought: Instead of making something in my yard that 100 people will see, why not make a Halloween Show that 1000's of people will see?
That put my feet on the road. -
MR. FRIGHTS: Compared to others, your show has a very high production quality look to it, can you tell us how?
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SHANNON SHEA: Like I said before, most of it is pre-planning or pre-production as it is referred to in Hollywood-land. These days, that is a dirty term. Now the war cry is "Fix it in Post."
And for those fans out there who want to know the particulars, I've just been contacted by Matt Winston (son of Stan Winston) to do a lecture for the new Stan Winston School of Character Creation. The lecture (available on DVD some time in the future) will be entitled: "Garage Monsters: The Internet Filmmakers Guide to Inexpensive/Effective Characters.
Full disclosure of how I make an Internet Spook Show in a one-car garage in North East Los Angeles with materials I buy from Michael's, Jo-Ann's Fabrics, and Home Depot.
It's going to be AWESOME!
In a nutshell, once the storyboards are done, I can tell what elements I'll need to tell the story and I build only what I need. That's how I keep the quality up…oh, and TIME! That is my enemy! -
MR. FRIGHTS: Because the show is so well done, do you think you've stirred up any old sea spirits to be part of your audience?
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SHANNON SHEA: I certainly hope so! I am shamelessly trying to get people to not only watch the show, but become participants.
The Captain sends birthday messages, free of charge, to fans who write him at
TheCaptain@phantomharbor.com
We encourage artists to send in their art with our "Draw Your Own Monster Sheets" which we hand out at MONSTERPALOOZA or are available by writing the Captain or Info@phantomharbor.com
If you don't draw well, there are coloring sheets and anything submitted goes into our GALLERY section. We LOVE hearing from kids who want to tell their scary stories and we've even gone so far as to make one of them into an animated segment.
We are excited about continuing that, so send your poems and stories in! -
MR. FRIGHTS: So far there's only a few excellently haunting episodes on your site, can you tell us if/when you'll be making more and when fans might expect to be able to see them?
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SHANNON SHEA: "Rescue from Geckoniki Island" is still in production, unfortunately. My hope is to get it done some time before September. The next scheduled show is our Halloween Show, which will be posted mid-October.
I recognize that I "lose fans" because of the lag time between episodes. That is why we are offering new features in our MESSAGE section in THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS. These short little videos are relatively easy for us to make and post and HOPEFULLY remind people that we're still out there…working our butts off to get another full episode done. -
MR. FRIGHTS: What if you realized one day that reality was your show and you were the Captain? How would YOU react?
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SHANNON SHEA: The first thing I'd do is find that GOBLIN character! And I'd drag him with me to explore that Haunted Lighthouse (that we've still not seen the interior of…….yet!)
I'd miss the hell out of my family, though. -
MR. FRIGHTS: If you were to do celebrity guests on your show, who might you ask to come out?
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SHANNON SHEA:
Dick Van Dyke and
Julie Andrews re-united on Phantom Harbor. Seriously. Dick is a huge Halloween Fan and loves experimenting on his computer with CGI. I'm not kidding. How awesome would it be for these two icons to meet in a one-car garage, with the spooky lighting doing a bit for the show! Can you imagine how hard my server would crash?! I'd love it.
After that, the list is long. I'd LOVE to get Jeffery Combs to do a cameo as Edgar Allen Poe. He did a one-man show here in Los Angeles and he was BRILLIANT!
Would love to do a Werewolf bit with our friend Dee Wallace. I'm not sure she'd be up for it though.
We're excited that we've added Mark McCracken to our cast. Mark is a fantastic, dedicated, and most of all FUNNY, performer who has been on screen and stage for years! He plays Chando and makes us laugh during filming regularly.
We're making plans to include our long-time friend, Kirk Thatcher who is a writer/director for the Muppets. He's SO hilarious, and full of energy! Can't WAIT to act with him.
Also, we just got a commitment from actress/Operatic Soprano, Teresa Brown, who is going to come aboard to play a variety of characters. She, too, is SO FUNNY! A real talent!
Honestly, I'd LOVE anyone with a sense of fun, who gets what we're trying to do to come on out to the Harbor! -
MR. FRIGHTS: What is the ultimate plan for Phantom Harbor? TV? Create a full blown personality/horror host kind of thing with the Captain where people can write in to you, etc.?
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SHANNON SHEA: That is our goal, yes. We'd love to be the new Monster Community for kids (and grown ups) the way that
FAMOUS MONSTERS was in the '60's and '70's. Whether we continue on the Internet or move onto television, as long as we continue to ignite the imagination of kids, and make their parents giggle, we'll know we're doing our jobs!
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MR. FRIGHTS: Have you ever been scared by one of your own stories?
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SHANNON SHEA: No, but I'm blown away by some of the stuff that kids draw! I think that there is something so honest about the way that kids get scared. It's generally more visceral and imaginative than adults. You know: Kids get scared of that thing in the dark; adults get scared of the IRS tax auditor.
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MR. FRIGHTS: Ever meet Davey Jones? Did he show you his locker?
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SHANNON SHEA: No, I didn't go to that dance. I know Marcia Brady brought him to the school to sing. I didn't have a date. I did see the Monkee Mobile once! Does that count?
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MR. FRIGHTS: You did a great 2009 Halloween episode, anything on deck for this Halloween?
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SHANNON SHEA: First year was a scary story, last year was our "Trick Or Treat" show, this year The Captain is going to host a SÉANCE! So be prepared!
Hit the Grab Bag Questions below to go on with the interview...
GRAB BAG QUESTIONS
IN CONCLUSION:
There is one thing I really need to mention and that is the unbelievable support I've received from my family and friends.
My wife, Tracy, is a trained Operatic Singer and actress and she directs the live action segments of the show. It is too difficult with everything I have to coordinate to "be the Captain" and keep track of the other 1000 things going on. She has been indispensable!
She writes and directs the Chando's Harbor-scopes and pushes, pushes, pushes me to get things done!
Our daughter, Molly, is grown and is attending the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. She has been supportive and a great creative person to bounce ideas off of.
My friends who work as actors, Make Up Artists, Visual Effects Artists, Music Composers who all WANT to donate their time and play in our sand box - I can never thank them enough.
Phantom Harbor was conceived in fun and will continue until it is no longer fun. That's all it wants to be and it is all it should be. Frights and Fun for Everyone!