PRESS
Saving the World
By Dave Mason, Santa Barbara News Press – October 17, 2014Without other species, we’re doomed.
That’s the message of The Last Extinction, Carpinteria filmmaker Michael Scott Hanrahan’s novel about animals and nature attacking humans when the latter’s domination threatens the Earth.
The book, Mr. Hanrahan’s first, is aimed at teenage fans of the Hunger Games and Harry potter movies, Mr. Hanrahan told the News-Press outside the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Mr. Hanrahan, 44, said he was inspired by Mr. deGruy’s legacy to write an environmental message in a thriller that young people are more likely to appreciate than a work of nonfiction.
News Press subscribers can read more here.We the people set the agenda: One man’s fight to save the planet one story at a time
By Buzzword – April 9, 2014Cute images of sea otters, baby polar bears, and pictures of exotic places around the globe don’t cut it for Michael Hanrahan. While he spent his early career working for media companies like the Discovery Channel, BBC, and The Nature Conservancy, he recognizes the films he helped produce in the ‘90’s didn’t provide much intellectual stimulation or touch upon hard-hitting environmental stories. Instead, the soft science and visual fluff broadcasted onscreen merely aligned with the broadcast industry’s business approach to entertainment.
“They told us their audience flat out wasn’t interested in environmental messages,” recalls Hanrahan as he thought back to a panel of natural history broadcast film commissioners discussing environmental messaging at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in 1997. “They said, ‘if you want to create environmental programming, you should find another cable company to sell to.’”
Out of that moment, Hanrahan began to wonder just who should set the agenda. “Should we allow the audience to tell us what they want or should we be taking the high road and say this is what you need?” questioned Hanrahan.
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The Last Extinction tops iTunes Made for iBooks recommended list
By TLE Staff – March 4, 2014The Last Extinction tops the Made for iBooks recommended list on iTunes today.
The Made for iBooks list showcases books enhanced with video and interactive features to fully take advantage of the immersive, multimedia environment available with today’s ereaders.
Have you ordered your copy yet?
New books from Willow Rock Authors
By Marcia Meier – February 9, 2014Just out from Moodbooks Publishing is Michael Scott Hanrahan’s environmental thriller The Last Extinction. Biologist Christina Larson finds herself pulled into a mythic and epic journey to save the last of six sacred animal species denoted in an ancient relic unearthed in the Amazonian jungle. If she doesn’t, it will mean the end of humanity as we know it. The Last Extinction is available as both an e-book and as Moodbooks’ brand-new enhanced e-book, which features beautifully animated illustrations and sound. You’ve never seen another book like it!…
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The Last Extinction Process, Part Three: Field Station Scene
By Steve Buccellato – October 8, 2013This post is the third in a series of behind-the-scenes peeks at the creation of the art of The Last Extinction.
This shot is another piece with art by John VanFleet. It depicts an archeological field station in the Amazonian rain forest, where we catch a glimpse of The Wheel of Omagua: an ancient artifact whose discovery is a story element of The Last Extinction. It’s a pretty simple shot, but I think it’s extremely effective for it’s purpose: to set a mood for the story chapter in this enhanced eBook.
The process for creating this shot was typical for the project, except for the addition of a 3D rendered element: the Wheel of Omagua. Because this artifact is such an important part of the storyline, we decided to create it as a 3D model to be used in many situations, while keeping the details consistent…
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The Last Extinction Process, Part Two: Shark Finning Scene
By Steve Buccellato – August 13, 2013This post is the second in a series of behind-the-scenes peeks at the creation of the art of The Last Extinction.
The video (discussed in this post) is just one shot in what was probably the most complicated sequence we created for the promotional trailer for TLE. The scene depicts a Chinese shark-finning boat, floating derelict in the ocean. As the camera gets closer (following a swarming flock of gulls and other sea birds), we witness unspeakable carnage on the ship. From the stern, we see hooks and lines trailing down into the ocean depths, where the camera follows, revealing another kind of horror beneath the waves.
Really, the final underwater shot was so massive and complicated that it deserves a blog post of its own, which will follow at some point. Today, I’m going to focus on the fairly simple shot above, following the many steps from start to finish…
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The Last Extinction Process, Part One: Getting Started
By Steve Buccellato – August 12, 2013This post will be the first in a series where I finally get to show off some of the beautiful work that my art team and I created for The Last Extinction.
To summarize briefly: last year I was hired by writer/producer Michael Hanrahan to develop and create content for his enhanced eBook, The Last Extinction. TLE is an adventure novel with environmental themes, about an ancient artifact that predicts a time when nature itself will rise up against humanity. Michael’s plan was to set his story apart from other prose novels by including exciting visuals and animated vignettes to enhance the reading experience. That’s where I became involved…
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