Famous Frames storyboard artist Mark Hurtado found himself immersed with creative opportunities collaborating with director Jay Russell on, “The Water Horse, Legend of the Deep.”  This experience would prove to be the most rewarding of his career.

 When director Jay Russell asked Famous Frames artist, Mark Hurtado, “to bring something to the table”, Mark eagerly dove into the challenge. The screenplay provided Mark with several opportunities to creatively transform simple lines such as, “It is an amazing roller coaster ride of a lifetime” into a thrilling visual sequence.  This line refers to an underwater ride to the bottom of the Lock with Angus, the young boy in the film, riding on the back of Crusoe, the legendary Lock Ness Monster of Scottish lore.  To create “a sense of awe and wonderment” within the scene, Mark illustrated Angus and Crusoe diving through majestic sun rays that pierce the waters of the Lock.  They plunge into an under water canyon with dramatic dips and turns, passing through a natural arch formation.  All this is intricately depicted in his storyboards.

For the first glimpse of Crusoe as a hatchling, the screenplay referred to, “…a very dark, cluttered corner of the shop.”  Here, Mark saw an opportunity to utilize the more visual greenhouse, staging Crusoe’s reveal from behind potted plants, while also taking advantage of the lightning storm outside to accentuate this dramatic moment. He storyboarded the scene with these elements in mind, and was pleasantly surprised to see they all made the finished film.

For scenes involving Crusoe at the toddler stage, Mark felt,  “Crusoe should display some of the endearing behaviors of a puppy, such as having him tilt his head to the side, giving a slightly puzzled look, having his antenna raised and lowered to help convey his feelings… all of which would allow audiences to better connect with him from the very beginning.

For Mark Hurtado, working on a film like, “The Water Horse” was a career long dream come true and a labor of love. His previous credits include, “Garfield, The Movie”, “Eight Legged Freaks”, “Dreamer, Inspired by a True Story”, and the FOX series “24”.