Longtime GITS follower Joshua Caldwell has been a very busy guy the last year or so with a cutting edge project called “Dark Revelations.” Here is Josh with some background:
After 10 years working on the hit CSI: franchise my boss, Anthony E. Zuiker, was looking to try something new. When the writer’s strike hit in 2007 it gave him the perfect opportunity for him to attempt something he always wanted to do: write a crime novel. But if you know Zuiker, you’d know he’s far from interested in doing anything traditional. Thus, the “Digi-novel” was born, a multi-platform experience that took readers from the pages of a book, to motion pictures, to the web. The subject: a cat and mouse game between the world’s greatest investigator, Steve Dark and his arch-nemesis Sqweegel.
Zuiker signed a three book deal with Dutton Publishing and released “Level 26: Dark Origins” in September 2009, just as I joined his production company Dare to Pass. The videos, called cyber-bridges, were short scenes that bridged you from chapter to chapter. Eight months later, we found ourselves on set for production of the “Dark Prophecy” cyber-bridges, where I acted as a Co-producer, B-camera operator and, following production, Editor.
Zuiker wrote and directed the cyber-bridges for “Dark Prophecy,” like he did with the first book, only they were designed to be a complete movie, instead of random scenes that had to be watched when instructed. This time around the idea was the reader could watch whenever they wanted, as the cyber-bridges focused more on the background of Steve Dark than the main plot.
I guess Zuiker liked the work I did as an editor because when the third Digi-novel, “Dark Revelations” came around, Zuiker gave me the chance to both write and direct the cyber-bridges, the result of which you can see below. This time around, we focused more on the villain, a character named Labyrinth who is bent on bringing about worldwide revolution through whatever means necessary.
Starring Hal Oszan as Labyrinth and Daniel Buran as Steve Dark, the “Dark Revelations” cyber-bridges were shot over the course of five days. More like the first book, they were designed to be watched as you read, rather than as a separate experience. We shot on the Canon 5D and, due to Zuiker having create CSI:, were able to shoot for three days on the CSI:NY stages. It was an amazing experience having an industry titan like Zuiker give me this opportunity and trust me to not only deliver on a world he created but also to see the series through to it’s finale.
I also had tremendous support from our company’s President and Executive Producer Matthew Weinberg, Producer Orlin Drobreff and Director of Development David Boorstein.
I hope you guys enjoy the “Dark Revelations” cyber-bridges and hope you pick up the book, which is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and most major retailers. If you don’t have the book with you, I hope feel you can still get a sense of character and arc throughout the bridges, despite missing some context. Enjoy!
Here is “Dark Revelations” Cyber-bridge 01:
Credits:
Part 1 of the cyber-bridges from Digi-novel “Dark Revelations: A Level 26 Thriller” by Anthony E. Zuiker w/ Duane Swierczynski.
Dark Revelations Cyber-bridges:
Starring: Daniel Buran, Hal Ozsan
This bridge featuring: Dave Baez, Tom Ohmer, MJ Gazali, Andres Perez-Molina, Voltaire Sterling and Garret Davis.
Directed by Joshua Caldwell
Screenplay by Joshua Caldwell & Travis Oberlander
Executive Producers: Anthony E. Zuiker, Matthew Weinberg
Produced by Orlin Dobreff
Producers: Otto Penzato, Jennifer Cooper, Joshua Caldwell
Director of Photography: Paul Niccolls
Costume Designer: Amanda Riley
Art Director: Raul Contreras
VFX Supervisor: Geoff Mark
Music by Corey Wallace
Casting by Jennifer Cooper
You may order your copy of “Dark Revelations” here.
For the other Cyber-bridges in the series:
You can check out Josh at his blog: Hollywood Bound and Down.
Congratulations, Josh!
Please hit comments and let Josh know what you think of the series.
