MOON!

OK, so you know how last year I raved on about The Fall? Well this year let me begin to rave about a new independent film called Moon. I had seen the trailer a few months ago and seen a few production stills and was hooked from the outset. I won't list any spoilers here but I must say it has been a long...long time since I've seen such a pure sci-fi film. Sure Star Trek was great, but that is a different kind of glossy high budget sci-fi. Moon was made for around 5.6 million dollars... for the whole film... that's not even a fraction of the VFX budget on Star Trek! Thankfully though it looks like a 50 million dollar film.
Moon is a sci-fi that takes place on, well, the moon! And the main character Sam Bell, expertly played by Sam Rockwell, is there on a 3 year contract to work for Lunar Industries mining for Helium3. His lonely 3 year tour has been rough on him and he's now 2 weeks away from returning home to his wife and child. His only companion is the base's computer 'Gerty' voiced by Kevin Spacey. Things begin to get a little weird for Sam as his contract nears it's end and it's here where the story gets really interesting. I won't say much more than that, but the movie tells a great human drama and phycological thriller without the use of big explosions or mind numbing action sequences. Director Duncan Jones handles the story with good pacing and visual grit while the erie soundtrack by Clint Mansel adds to the creepy loneliness of the moon's landscape. Tony Noble was the production designer and I'm amazed at the beautiful sets and FX they were able to pull off on such a small budget. The designs were simple and not distracting from the real, human story that Moon is about.
If you long for a refreshing Sci-fi story that is not drowned in 'hey look at me!' summer movie explosions and wonder what happened to simple human stories in the Sci-fi genre, then MOON is the movie you've been waiting for!
It's being released all over the US is various cities, so check your local theaters for when it will be playing in your area, it's worth the wait!
The amazing soundtrack is also available now on itunes! check it out!

it's 'Alex Jaeger' week at the Drex files!

Doug Drexler has been digging up some old Star Trek : First Contact artwork on the ships I designed for that film. Earlier he focused on the Saber Class and Steamrunner Class, and today is Akira Class day! So check out the posts and the comments! I'll get some new stuff up here soon I hope :)
-Alx

even more Trek! with the Drex Files!

Another of the long time Star Trek designers, Doug Drexler, has a blog as well and is currently featuring one of my First Contact designs, The Saber Class. Doug has been a part of the Trek franchise for a long time and is now offering up a behind the scenes peak at some of the designs that go into the shows.
As for the Saber Class, it was one of 4 new designs put into Star Trek lure back in 1996 on First Contact. I hope to be able to offer up more details in the future, but for now check out the Drex Files

want more Trek? drop in on John Eaves!

LONG TIME Star Trek artist and designer, John Eaves is responsible for many of your favorite Trek details, from the movies to the Next Gen TV shows. He's also a good guy and we've met a few times back in 1996 on First Contact and again recently on the new Star Trek movie. If you would like to see lots of his work as well as some of my long lost Trek images check out his site Eavesdropping with Johnny!
He has recently posted some old ship designs of mine as well as some of James Clyne's new work from Trek. Scroll down further to read about the battle of art departments on First Contact too!
-Enjoy!
-Alx

Where No Star Trek Has Gone Before

In a new article on VFXwolrd Roger Guyett (the ILM VFX Supervisor) talks about the designs and effects in the new Star Trek movie. He mentions how I worked together with J.J. Abrams and Scott Chamblis and Ryan Church on the design of the Enterprise and later on some of the effects designs as well.
Other great artists that also helped out on Star Trek are James Clyne who came up with the crazy Romulan ship, John Eaves who is a long time Trek designer, Tony Kieme who I worked with on Transformers and Yanick Dusseault who was Associate VFX Art Director with me at ILM. Also Jerome Moo, Warren Fu, Dave Yee, Didier Mathieu, and many others!
Enjoy!
-Alx

new local-Motors contest entry

I did this REALLY quick!, like 1 and a half hours quick. I wasn't going to enter because of lack of time, but I had a moment free after work while waiting for a screening of Star Trek :)(which is really cool BTW) and got inspired. It's not my best work, but it's all i had time for with the new baby and work. About the design:The Woodward CCS was the outcome. This contest is to design a car for the revival of Detroit, something that could serve multiple purposes for a wide range of entrepreneurs and city tasks. Named after the main artery Street through Detroit, Woodward Ave, this design was meant to have a customizable cargo space. From a simple cargo van, to a taxi, police cruiser, rescue, construction, delivery and personal family use. See my design here. Check out the other entries as well while you're there. Congrats to Dmytro Zyubyairov a.k.a. "Carbofos" for winning this competition with his beautifully rendered Michigan design. I came in 18th out of 62, not bad, but not great either. Stay tuned for future competitions and be ready to vote!
thanks!
-Alx

GO SEE STAR TREK!

It's pretty darn cool, it's fun, funny, intense and it's truly 'not your father's Star Trek'. It opens tomorrow everywhere and even in IMAX if you live near one.
Check it out and stay for the credits! :) Even if you don't like Star Trek, GO SEE IT! This is the Star Trek for you!
'Live long and think above and beyond!'
-Alx

more doodles

Here's some more roughs I did in between baby naps. I know... more cars :)

A quicky..

I did this in less than 2 hours as a demo for some family in town to see Venice. They wanted to see something that started as nothing and how it gets there. So enjoy..
thanks
-Alx

My Best Creation Yet!

On March 29th at 7:15pm my 1st child, my son Venice Paul Jaeger was born!
He was a healthy 7lbs 13oz and a tall 20.5 inches long. Both he and mom are doing great and Venice is now a week and 2 days old. He's an awesome perfect bundle of joy, a perfect gift from God, an amazing blessing to our already happy family.
I thank you all for your prayers and support during the pregnancy and birth and I also thank God for the amazing health of both him and my wife throughout.
It has been an experience 'above and beyond' my wildest dreams, and I know (from lack of sleep) that the journey has just begun :-)
God Bless!
And I present to you Venice Paul Jaeger!