James Miller writes for Bleeding Cool:

Director Haz Dullul shows off his VFX and directing skills with a new

Hyper-Motion Comic to celebrate the launch of 47 Ronin. The 'Hyper-

Motion Comics' format is the brainchild of the London based director. "We

basically took the concept of a motion comic and turned it on it's head.

This is a visually rich and engaging storytelling format thats a little bit out

of left field from what comic book audiences are expecting."

The Hyper-Motion Comics format creates content in the style of a motion

comic however the format uses photography in place of comic book style

illustrations. "Hard to believe but it's all still photography, VFX and visual

trickery. This a viable alternative to making motion comics." says the

director.

For the studio's marketing campaign for the forthcoming action feature,

Haz worked with Universal Pictures to create 47 Ronin: The Samurai Spirit.

"This a cool movie full of superhero beasts, and fights with mythical

dragons." said the director and VFX supervisor. 'We really hope comic

book fans like the new format." While HaZ has enjoyed working with the

studio on 47 Ronin, what he loves most is working on his own indie film

projects.

HaZ developed the new format in partnership with James Miller and Chris

Sousa Ebels from West Hollywood based entertainment marketing firm

DSF, initially when working on his previous short film, FUBAR: Redux.

"FUBAR was a story about cats and dogs fighting a war in an alternate

universe. It was always a story close to my heart and because of the niche

audience I needed to find a really cost effective way to tell the story with

high production values in a way that would appeal to comic book fans. To

be working with Universal less than two years later is kinda crazy."

For his last short film FUBAR: Redux, director Haz Dullul raised over $5k

on Kickstarter. "Finding funding for my last project took alot of effort.

There was so much spent time finding money that could have been spent

working on creative. The thing I learned is by keeping budgets small it

meant I have more creative freedom and not spend so much time

fundraising."

"The thing we realized is audiences are saturated with posters and trailers.

Motion comics have grown so much in popularity over the last few years

because people want something fresh." Says James Miller, managing

director of entertainment marketing firm DSF. "What we're really creating

here is a mix between a trailer and a motion comic and not really

something people have seen before. I'm really taken aback by how well

people are responding the new short. This is something we were not really

sure how people would react to."

47 Ronin: The Samurai Spirit is told from the viewpoint of a young girl

named Mika, who relates the epic story of the young Kai and the

masterless samurai he joins to seek vengeance upon the treacherous

warlord who killed their master. 47 Ronin: The Samurai Spirit' launched

earlier this week.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/82155319[/vimeo]

If you have a HyperComic idea of your own contact Executive Producer

James Miller at james@dsf.la