Project Zero

Iyr Vasti, Crenoshyeyda,

Project Zero is the name I will be using for the current production until I am given the go ahead to share the name and actual details of the film.  I’m calling it that because it is the starting point for all of this, and ‘zero’ sounds cooler than ‘one’.   How much of created language is based on what the creator thinks sound cool?  Probably more than most conlangers want to admit!  >_<

Before I sat down with Anthony at Manifest Film, I was sent a script treatment (in English) and two pieces of concept art for the character whose language I would be creating.  I have kindly been granted permission to share that artwork here.

Concept art by Marco Velasquez

http://mavartworx.deviantart.com/

Without giving away too many details, you can see that the character has a somewhat menacing appearance, and wears an imposing mask.  The other key details were that this is the antagonist character in the film, and that is totally blind, relying on it’s other senses like a bat to give it prowess.

I knew that we wanted the speech of this character then to be somewhat sinister, but not over the top. This is not a villain of brute force, like an Orc, but one who relies upon subterfuge and stealth.  I wanted the language to reflect that.  Therefor I decided to shy away from too many hard consonants (D, K, T, hard G, hard C) in favor of a softer, oozier sound (j, s, m, etc).  I will go into greater depth on the hardcore linguistics in another blog.

The discussion of bats and the look of the concept art also made me think a little bit about vampires, so I started looking into the phonetics and vocal sounds of Romanian.  We had discussed Latin influences in my initial interview. Romanian is evolved from Latin, but with many Slavic influences. This gives is an interesting combination of familiar and foreign sounds to an English listener.

The result, I will be clear, is not Romanian. It simply is inspired by that languages letter groupings and feel. I also anglicized the pronunciation of letters because ultimately this tongue will have to be spoken and recorded by an American actor.

Many of you have asked for me to speak Project Zero for you.  As it happens, I needed to record a vocal treatment for the film’s director to review.  Here is brief clip of me recording a few lines from the script:

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief overview of what I am working on.  Please follow The Harmonious Wordsmith blog to keep up to date on this project, and future work.  And feel free to ask me any questions in the comments or on any of my social media.

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Check this space every Wednesday for new updates!

 

 

 

An Introduction

On April 5th, 2016, I was formally asked to create a language for an upcoming science-fiction short by Manifest Film.  They desired something more than beautiful gibberish, but an internally consistent construction with its own grammar rules and structure, and I knew I was up for the task.  This was to be my first professional foray into the world of “conlang” ie – CONstructed LANGuage.

Subsequently, two important things happened to me:

The first was I realized just how important to me, and how unique this ability is.  I have long enjoyed playing with words and language, and creating fantasy tongues was nothing new to my pen and mind.  It was made apparent to me in several conversations that the ability to conjure new linguistics from my imagination and conform them to actual language-rules  and grammar is a special skill I needed to put more consideration into.

Secondly I was barraged with intrigue and interest from friends, colleagues and acquaintances for details, updates and more information not only about this project specifically, but also to my processes and approach to the task.

To this end, I am creating this blog, The Harmonious Wordsmith, in which I will chronicle my own adventures in language but also the greater world of conlang as I explore it with new eyes.

Join me on this adventure!

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Check this space every Wednesday for new updates!