Wayne Haag graduated from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with distinction in 1994 with a BA in Illustrative Photography.

His RMIT portfolio led to matte painting on The Fifth Element and Red Corner whilst at Digital Domain in Los Angeles. A return to Melbourne saw work with Complete Post then another shift to Sydney for Farscape Season 1 TV series with Garner Maclennan Design. The next major film work took Wayne to New Zealand for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy at Weta FX where he was responsible for several of the key shots of the film.

Upon his return to Sydney, Wayne then co-founded Emerald City Design in 2003 and served as its Creative Director for two years before moving back to freelance work. He was responsible for award winning TVC designs for clients such as Singapore Airlines, Sony and Telstra. A move into Production Design for the animated feature The Fourth Magi was next but the project was cancelled before going to production. Book cover artwork for major publishers, a series of large scale oil paintings for a mural project and private painting commissions round out his professional work. Wayne’s focus is now on creating epic genre Oil Paintings that are typical of the images seen in his film work.

1.       How did your background lead you to working as an artist? Were there clear early signs, or did you stumble into it?

No stumbling, I knew exactly what I wanted to do as a kid. I was always drawing, everywhere … until … one day, a kid came in from another school and just blew everyone away with his skill. I remember thinking that I couldn’t compete with that, nor with what I perceived to be his conceptual thinking. This was around my year 8 at Tech. I was coincidently getting interested in photography at the same time so I gave up on drawing and painting. It was a huge mistake now that I look back on it.

I was also a lazy student, school bored me to tears, art class was rubbish anyway and the only thing that held my attention was Media Studies. My teacher actually arranged for me to interview Anthony Daniels (C3PO) as he was out promoting Return of the Jedi at the time. It was one of the few highlights I have of school. I also experimented with video effects and stop motion photography. Obviously Star Wars was the big influence here, particularly the special effects aspects, and that funnily enough eventually led me right back to painting!

It was still quite some time before I started working as an artist however. I completed my Electronics qualification with the Dept of Defence, at an Ammunition Factory for four years and stayed on for another two and half years. I took retrenchment in 90′ and enrolled in the BA Photography course at RMIT the following year. I graduated in 94′. I didn’t start working as a professional artist until April 1996 at Digital Domain, in LA, matte painting on The Fifth Element.

2.       What is the most satisfying project you’ve worked on and why?

The Fifth Element, hands down. It was my first real film job. I achieved my dream, made it to Hollywood, it was a scifi film, one that was partly designed
by the French comic book artist Moebius, who I love. I met some truly awesome people and formed friendships that I still have today. I learnt so much, so fast and pulled off three of the biggest shots in the film. I did have help initially but I was let loose soon enough. The production ran like a Swiss watch, there was very little stress and it was always, always about the art, never about the technology that created it. We also had tons of time to work on our shots. In the world of film visual effects, this was Shangri-La!

3.       What inspires you to create science fictional landscapes?

First off, it’s that sense of wonder. It’s what we’re all looking for in any good sf, book, art or film. I want to be transplanted into a new world and feel that place, smell that world, meet those people and go with them on their journey. I want to wonder at it all and still be left to imagine more.

Prior to any film inspiration as a kid, it was SF art that adorned the covers of books that really hooked me. Artists like Jim Burns, Tim White, Chris Foss, Peter Elson, Angus McKie and John Harris, all Englishmen and John Berkey from the US. There are probably others I’ve missed here. Not that I knew their names then but the artwork floored me. There was some fantastic SF art books also floating around in the 70’s that blew me away. It’s the one thing a static painting has over cinema, you can stare at it all day and lose yourself in that world.

My predilection for abandoned spacecraft hulks stems from my love of discovering old factories that boys will ‘explore’ when un-supervised! I’m fascinated with the stories that may have happened in these old run down places. Apply that to some old derelict spacecraft half buried in a field and now you’re ringing my bell!

Beyond the original childish inspiration however, and I say that in the positive sense, the derelicts being dismantled in my paintings are reminiscent of the shipping breaking in places like India and Bangladesh. The societies that develop around such industries and ships are incredible and heart breakingly tough. Those that control those industries and those that are slave to them. I want to explore SF with the eye of a photo-journalist and start introducing people into the paintings, start depicting scenarios that viewers can wonder at and also relate to on a slightly more serious level.

My recent oil painting work also stems from the frustration of never having matte painted on glass like they did in the old days of VFX. I would have killed for that experience!

4.       What would you like to be doing professionally in ten years’ time?

At the very least, help expand the notion of what is possible narratively with the art form. I would also like to be exhibiting in mainstream galleries and demonstrate that genre art can have something to say beyond the mere packaging of a book. Book covers have been the home of SF art for years and now the e-book revolution is changing the game. Where does book cover art sit now? That tiny bit of real estate, that was already rather minuscule, is disappearing completely, both at point of sale and on the book itself. It will open up opportunities for the visual expression of SF ideas elsewhere and allow for fresh new images and avenues of exhibition.

I firmly believe that artists should just create the work they love and leave it to the industries to find them. The idea that an artist must go into computer games design, or film matte painting or book cover illustration is silly. Paint what you want and see who knocks on your door, it may be all three industries.

My paintings are also forming the basis of an illustrated story, possibly novella or novelette length, that I have been working on for a few years now. I may eventually write it or hand it off to someone else, not sure yet, it’s still very rough. The paintings will offer another point of view into the same world, not a literal visual description of a scene as written, although that may happen here and there, but I’d like for the words and images to be divergent to some degree. Kind of like binaural beats where you have two slightly different frequencies played into each ear and your brain makes up the difference as a third beat. I’d like the story and images to combine within the reader/viewer’s brain creating that third reality.

But as long as I’m painting, I’ll be happy!

Tell us how the Spotlight Report came about?

I think it was back in 2009, a day before the world premiere of Star Trek in Sydney when we bumped into one of our personal idols, Director JJ. Abrams (creator of Lost, director of MI3, Cloverfield, Super 8 and Star Trek) and his mate from Bad Robot, producer Bryan Burke. Both of them were walking around Circular Quay checking all the preparations for the premiere. That day we not only met them both, we also had the honour of being invited by them to the actual premiere and to walk the red carpet as we talked, for like, 20 minutes. Bryan was laughing because he never thought he will meet another Jorge like Lost’s Jorge Garcia. After the premiere, (which was a dream for us, because we met the whole cast there alongside many fans, with a friend of ours who currently is a collaborator of the site) we started thinking in how hard was to find information about all the movie premieres, meet and greets, in stores, etc online. We wanted people to share that amazing experience of meeting their idols. We also spoke about how current ‘entertainment websites’were pretty much about celebrity gossip, being all very plain and similar. After a long time brainstorming, the name Spotlight Report was born and we promised ourselves that our site would be made by fans for fans … and that is what makes us different.

Do you have a specific focus for the site? Or a mission, if you like?

Firstly, it is about being a hot source of entertainment information, including all the upcoming movie premieres (with potential celebrity encounters), concerts, in stores, parties, etc. Also, it’s making a community of fans and meeting as many of them as possible at events. Moreover, every time we cover an event, we go to the fans and we take pictures of them. We ask them if they have questions for the celebrities so we can ask them. Our aim is not to be like other sites asking repetitive questions during interviews, like “what brand of shoes are you wearing?” or “what scared you when you were a kid?” (yep journalists ask those things to stars in the middle of movie premieres!) That’s why our slogan “made by fans for fans”, because we think that at the end of the day, fans and the general public are the ones who make the stars what they are – because that are the ones paying the tickets, camping long hours at movie premieres or concerts to be close to their idols, etc.

What are your plans for the site in the future?

We want to have more ‘On the Spot’ posts because they are the posts we enjoy the most. That’s why we are launching our section ‘fans on the spot’ where, if we spot a Spotlight fan at a premiere or event, we give them a prize. It has been so much fun doing that and we’ve met tons of lovely people. Overall, we wanna be more interactive with our public. Also we wanna do more interviews on video. We were a bit shy at the beginning to be on camera, because we are not native English speakers and we thought some people would hate our accent. But after our very first full video interview last year with Guns n`Roses drummer Matt Sorum, which was a total hit, we got very confident because of the positive feedback on facebook, email and YouTube. So we have been trying to push a bit more for video interviews, but is harder than you think. It’s much easier to get a media spot for a phone or audio interview.

Who is the most interesting celebrity you’ve interviewed?

Hard question … We interviewed J.J. Abrams when he came back to promote Super 8, that was super special because he remembered us and was as nice as usual, very talkative and a total genius in what he does. We just love his filmmaking style. We also liked our interview with Matt Sorum from Guns n Roses and Velvet Revolver, as we sat down for a coffee with him for like 15 minutes, and he just gave us great answers, and told us tons of stories about the Gunners – even giving us an exclusive confirmation on a rumor regarding the new Velvet Revolver singer.

Simon Pegg, was also great … such a funny and talkative guy. Hugh Jackman, who despite his status of mega-star, is the friendliest guy you can ever meet, and he doesn’t care of how much people with him rush him during the premieres, he likes to chat and gives great answers … we even spoke about footy. And just to finish, recently we quickly interviewed Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) and he was the nicest serial killer we’ve ever met. Definitely one of our favorite interviews, as we spoke with him as fans, and not really as journalists. He even recorded a greeting for the site, Freddy Krueger’s style.

Who would you love to interview?

Hard one … there are too many names with regard to films. We would love to interview Steven Spielberg. He is one of our top 1 film directors ever! And speaking about actors we would love to meet and chat with legends like Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. We tried our best when Pacino was in Sydney, but he was not doing any interviews … we still got to meet him after his show and was a really nice and quiet guy. In music, the list is harder! Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam or James Hetfield from Metallica are our top runners for a chat, followed closely by Paul Mcartney, Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger…looks like mission impossible, but you never know!

Mercy Sparx #01: Heaven’s Dirty Work  by Josh Blaylock, Matt Merhoff

Meet Mercy Sparx – a Devil Girl hired by the big shots in Heaven to secretly take down rogue angels. Follow our unlikely heroine as she battles the forces of “good” while trying to figure out which side is the lesser-evil. It’s either succeed and get a free pass through the pearly gates, or fail and risk going somewhere much worse!

Paperback, 144 pages Published November 2009 by Devil’s Due Publishing (first published 2009) ISBN 1934692611 (ISBN13: 9781934692615)

We get very little introduction to the actual land of Sheol. Mercy is introduced to the reader as a quick-to-anger girl who loves to drink and spend time at the bar. She is very upfront and hates being told what to do,or even worse, being forced to do something she doesn’t want to do. She can take a punch, but is quick to fight back and can kick some major ass.

In the beginning bar scene, Sheol is shown to be a place of many different types of creatures. She is approached by a Demon who tells her she is required to take a job on Earth and tells her she does not have a choice. Of course, she mouths back, refuses and gets knocked out, only to awake on Earth in a human form.

The first job we get to see her do is to de-halo the angel Serendipity. Serendipity is a DJ at a club and Mercy tracks her down. By transforming into devil form she is able to fight stronger and better. She also has some great weapons that help her fight the angels. The reader does not really find out what happens to the angels after she takes their halos. They just fall into a sleep-like state and she dumps their bodies at the agreed upon spots.

Serendipity has a friend that follows Mercy and knocks her off her motorcycle. Here is where we finally get some answers. The angel asks Mercy why she is taking down other angels. Is it because they have gone rogue? Or is it a random attack? We find out then that most angels who have gone rogue, do so to gain some freedom, or to have sex with humans. Mercy tells the angel that she is not on her list and lets her go.

Next we get introduced to Hank, Mercy’s room mate and maker of the bad-ass weaponry that Mercy has started using to battle the angels. Sometimes he also comes to her rescue as well.

Mercy’s next job is to capture a muse named Elsa who became a guardian and then went rogue. Elsa is expecting Mercy and knows about the special weapons she has been using. But with the help of Hank, Mercy is able to overpower her as well.

The demon tells her  to check in with pastor Jeremiah from now on. But when she finally does, the pastor announces that her jobs have all been completed. However, he requires her to do one last thing … get baptised.

There is not much as far as character development. It jumps from action scene to action scene until the story-line is developed. After Elsa though, Mercy starts asking questions about why she was really sent to Earth. She wants to know why she’s been instructed to hunt down specific angels, especially when they are not necessarily the more dangerous ones. It seems that Mercy is stuck between a century-old battle between heaven and hell.

The dialogue and scene setting are incorporated as part of the artwork. When Mercy speaks, it’s in black bubbles with red writing. When the angels talk it’s blue bubbles and yellow writing. There are also contrasts between scene changes or introducing new characters into the story.

It was the first time I have seen that incorporated into the graphic novels and when looking at the whole page, it was visually effective. But when actually reading, I found some of the red on black harder to read.

I thought this story was a very fast and entertaining read. Constant action and a combination of fun characters.