The studio was filled with unimaginable wonders of joy and pain. I still find myself trapped without any way out.
The Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland is where the Grand Premier of MADGOD was held. August 6 2021 was the day. Phil would also win the Vision Award Ticinomoda 2021.
The home of the Golden Leopard.
In visual effects, there’s a pre- and a post-Phil Tippett. Ever since Star Wars, the whole of fantasy filmmaking has owed a lot to his creative genius. With the power of his imagination and his immense craftsmanship, he wove the legacy of Ray Harryhausen into the potential of state-of-the-art CGI, forging a visual armory capable of tackling the new challenges of filmic storytelling. As he also demonstrates in Mad God, a film that will have its World Premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, Tippett is not just a creator at the behest of the creative vision of others, but an auteur in his own right, innovative, visionary, capable of rethinking cinema in all its forms. —Giona Nazzaro
Watching the premier of MADGOD in Switzerland on the big screen was an incredible experience of the senses. It was great to see Phil present and warn the audience of what they were about to witness. He sat in the back row of the theater just as the lights went down. He wanted to count how many people would get up to leave. I think he said a total of 5 folks left. The movie, sound design and score all gelled into one profound trip.
I will never work on another film quite like MADGOD. It ticked all the boxes for me. The genius behind the entire world that allowed artists from every skill set to participate and create. Films like this come around once in a lifetime.
The Golden Leopard seems a little freaked out at MADGOD.
THE ASSASSIN
On the Job
Entering MADGOD. Tippett’s world was comforting and safe. Once again I was in the right place when Phil was looking for animators to help on his project. The work was always on the weekends and it lasted all day. With the help of other Mad Godders, we would build what ever Phil came up with. There was no plan laid out for us. The only person who had the road map was Phil and that was kept deep inside the depths. He would say, “Build a steam-roller that the shitmen can drive”. That is a phrase you just don’t hear on a normal lazy Saturday. That was a pleasure to be able to create with a builder’s dream of a work shop. Tippett Studio had every tool you could ever need. Not to mention the amazing equipment room full of cameras, lights, grip and stage gear. It was an organized warehouse of chaos that Phil could navigated without headlights. It was a pure pleasure to be a part of this time period, a period that I don’t think will ever be re-created. For me at least that time was once in a life.
The worlds opened up in every direction. Discarded toys became the next prop to animate. Hot glue and tricky-tape held the nightmare together.
The World of MadGod.
PHIL’s Hand was always present
Every corner of the studio had some fever dream that kept him up at night.
Always on the job
MADGOD GAZE
The Underbelly World of Truth. The Muddy Spark of Life.
MADGOD SELFIE
Phil asked the crew to take a selfie for the credit roll of MadGod. The MadGod world fits in quite well with these Covid19 days. Reality and the dream world are never as far apart as one thinks.
Below are some clips from MadGod and some of the shots I worked on.