Sunday, August 27, 2006

The Addiction Continues

And now I'm hooked on the video blog chronicles of LUCYinLA, a Texas girl trying to make it as an actress in Hollywood.

How did this happen? I'm not reality TV guy, this is basically the same thing (minus the oh so realistic premises reality shows have). Okay, I'm not a total reality naysayer, I'm one of the millions sucked in by American Idol and I thoroughly enjoyed the second season of Road Rules back in the old days. Timmy and Christian were great. Anyone that remembers "high elbows", give yourself 100 points.

But yes, I'm hooked. I may try my hand at making one soon.

The buzz on the interweb is that Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face and The Losers Have a Junkyard should be up on iFilm tomorrow.
In the meantime, take a look at the hilarious behind the scenes footage from the set of Losers, featuring Lloyd Kaufman. There's some heavy (but funny) language ahead, you've been warned. Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Thoughts on Vlogging

Lately, I've been developing a bit of a fascination for vlogs. If you're not familiar with the term, "vlog" is short for video blog. You can find tons of vlogs over at YouTube.

A lot of them are flat out boring stinkers, but it really is a medium with an incredible amount of potential. I mean, you could use it simply as a video diary or actually get really creative with it and come up with your own style of personal journalism. A few clicks later, it's on the internet for the whole world to see.

One particular vlogger I'm a fan of is LisaNova. She's got a goofy, yet really cool and random artistic style I just love watching.

Of course it's not always used in productive ways. The cyber-arguing that plagues 99% of message boards didn't take long to find its way to the vlogosphere. Yeah, that's right, I've seen people fight...via vlog. Vloguments. Did I just coin a new phrase? But seriously, how tough are you if you pick your fights through pre-recorded messages over the internet?

I don't know how my fascination started, but it's here. I've been debating the possibility of trying it out myself, but I'm not quite sure yet.
Any thoughts? Anyone? Anyone?

Monday, August 21, 2006

Monday, Monday

Not much going on today. August is winding down and the air's starting to change already. It's not cold by any means, but that certain feel that summer air has is starting to fade. I've been feeling under the weather these past few days, though I'm not sure it's actually the weather's fault. I'm just not feeling quite like myself.

On a lighter note, the reviews for Batman have been great so far. It's just awesome to be doing this and know that people are really enjoying the product of your efforts.
We know some people are having trouble viewing the films at bullcrank.com and Larry's site people are working on fixing it. Also, the new films should be on iFilm pretty soon, so hang in there if you haven't been able to see them yet.

I can't believe today marks 2 years since I first saw The Corrs in concert. 2 years ago right now I was hanging around out back of the Tower City Amphitheater with the other hardcore fans. Man, time flies.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Films Are Online!

Ladies and gentlemen, without any further delay, I'm proud to announce that Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face and The Losers Have a Junkyard are now online!
Go! Watch! Enjoy!
Oh, and just as a heads up, there's a little bit of strong language. So those of you who aren't into that, consider yourselves warned.

Monday, August 14, 2006

The Premier

Wow. What a day.

I don't even know where to begin.

Nervous energy prevented me from getting much sleep last night, so I'm running on fumes as I type this.





We got to Classic Fairways fairly easily, only making one wrong turn along the way. As soon as I got there, the meeting and greeting began. I said hello to everyone in Larry's group I had met before as well as those I hadn't, which was a bit odd, I've seen their films so many times I wasn't 100% sure whether or not I had met a few of them.




The place itself was really nice. Lots of space, really clean, big couches, a bar, and a bunch of enormous projection screens all around.

Shortly after 6 PM, the show began. Larry said a few words and The Losers Have a Junkyard started playing on all the screens.
The hard work put into Losers wasn't hard to see, Larry and his crew should be proud of themselves. The atmosphere, the music, every bit of it made for a really cool and fun short film.


Next up was Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face. Larry started to introduce it, I could hear him on the microphone, but I couldn't see him. I leaned over and whispered to Mom, "Where is he?"
She responded by pointing, behind me. I spun around and he was right there. Before I knew it, I had the mic and I was rambling off my thoughts on the cartoon. Considering I hate public speaking, I think I did alright on the mic, except I didn't have time to position myself, so I sort of had my back to most of the audience. Ah well, let's just say it was an artist's eccentricity.
After a brief hunt for the remote control, Batman began on the screens.
That was a very surreal moment. The project created entirely on my little 13" laptop was now being projected onto giant screens in every direction in front of over 100 people. And the people were loving it. They were laughing at all the right places, some even had tears in their eyes from laughing. The laughter was followed by applause, which was interrupted by the last joke during the credits, which was followed by more applause.
That was such a rush and absolutely worth all of the work.



The cast of Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face

After that, Larry had all of the other films playing. Zombies in My Neighborhood, Nintendo: OldSchool Revolution, Real Men of the Mat, The Eyeball Papercuts, and Tootsie Blow Pop along with some behind the scenes stuff and deleted clips.



Another surreal moment was watching the Johnny McCocky skit from Eyeball Papercuts with Andy Larsen, Johnny McCocky himself, standing 5 feet away.



In the hour or so following Batman, I said "Thank you" more than I ever have before. People kept congratulating me and saying how much they enjoyed the cartoon. What really caught me off guard was when people would introduce themselves as fans of my work.



I really don't even feel like I've done that much yet. I haven't even been doing this for a full year yet and I have fans? Cool!


Surrounding me from left to right- Allan Derby, Aaron Longstreth, Larry Longstreth, Clint George, and Vince Bruno

What a crazy and awesome day. I want to thank Larry again for bringing me into all of this wonderful madness. I also want to that everyone who came out to support us and see what we've been working on, I hope you all enjoyed myself.

The films should be online sometime tomorrow.

Now I'm gonna go kick back and relax.

PS- Sorry about the dark pictures, I'm looking into getting a new camera.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Pre-Show

Well, it's now the wee hours of Sunday morning. The big premier with Batman and Losers is tonight. About 12 hours from now.

When I started my work on Revolution back in late September, I never would have expected I'd have animated three short films and be having a premier in under a year. Sure, it's no Hollywood red carpet thing, but people will be coming to sit down and watch something I worked on and helped bring to life along with my new friends. Not many people can say they've had that experience.

I can't thank Larry enough for letting me get in on the game with his team.

I'm a big mix of nerves and excitement right now. This is too cool.

I better go rest up. I'll be sure to update on how things went when I get home tonight.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

The Dance of Creativity

It's come to my attention over the past few days that creativity controls you, not the other way around.

I've been sitting here with my trusty ol' iBook trying to force my brain into screenwriting mode. I have a lot of the groundwork laid for this script. I love the idea and think the finished product could be amazing. I've been playing with this story in various forms for a long time and I'm really eager to deliver this baby. There are just a few patches that need smoothed and a few gaps that need filled.

So, I sit here trying to get it going, get the story to flow from my fingers. I start typing and what comes out?

Poems.

I've written three poems this week so far. I'm not complaining, I really like two of them and the third one's not bad, I'm just saying creativity doesn't always cooperate. But hey, as long as it's giving me something, I'm happy.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

And in this corner...

Fight Night for the Xbox 360 should become the official workout for disabled people. I was a sweaty mess after going a few rounds with Mikey last night. Actually managed to make myself dizzy at one point.
I want more.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Premier Date!

Well, it's official. Sunday, August 13th is the official premier date for Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face and The Losers Have a Junkyard!
We're having an actual premier screening of both down in Stow and then both films should be available online later that evening.
If you'd like to attend the premier screening, contact me for details. There's an email link in my profile on the right side of the page.
Hope to see you there!

Friday, August 04, 2006

Artwork for Anna

Some fellow fans have been asking to see the picture I made for Anna Nalick, so here it is!

(click for full size)

Construction Zone

The blog's in the middle of a redesign, so bare with me during the transition. I'm an amateur at this programming stuff, I'm basically learning as I go. Wish me luck!

If you haven't yet, check out the latest trailer for Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face right here:

Thursday, August 03, 2006

I Actually Have Readers?

With all of the flood happenings lately, we've been hearing from a lot of family and friends checking in on us and such. What's been most surprising to me is how many people have said they've been reading about it on my blog.

Had no idea anyone was reading, let alone multiple people.
To anyone reading...hi, you. Yes, you.

Jeez, if I have an audience, maybe I should take the opportunity to actually say something important, eh?

...I got nothin'.

Oh, wait, here's something. Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical is the funniest thing I've seen in a long, long time. Check it out.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

"And You Let Me Lay My Burdens Down..."

A few weeks ago, I was happy to find out Anna Nalick was headed back to do another show at the House of Blues in Cleveland on July 31st. As usual with concerts I must go to, I got my tickets right away.

Last week, I decided to start work on a little project I had been pondering for a while. It was an idea inspired by the firefly story Anna shared with the crowd last time I saw her. After a few days work, my piece of cyber art was finished and I was surprisingly pleased with it. I was amazed at how quickly I finished it and how good it turned out.

The unexpected flooding events of the last few days threw a wrench into things, as I wasn't sure what state things would be in on concert day. Mom and I decided a little break from the chaos was necessary and we had to go.

We got a really late start and headed for Kinko's to print out my artwork to give Anna. It was 8:15 when we left for Kinko's and venue doors opened at 7:30. The print job was done and we aimed downtown.




We reached the House of Blues just before 9:30. Even though we were running late, the timing was pretty uncanny, as soon as I got into the lobby, I heard Luis on guitar playing the first notes of Citadel, the first song of the set.

Sadly, I completely missed the opening act, Eliot Morris.



Despite sitting in the very back, I had a surprisingly good view. Anna and the boys sounded great. I'm happy to say my only disappointment from the last show was resolved when they played Forever Love (Digame). She introduced it by telling how it was written after she was in a car accident and had the thought that she wasn't gonna go until someone told her they'd love her forever.



Anna also told stories of marathon viewings of Entourage on the bus, getting the cold shoulder from actor Jared Leto earlier in the day, and an embarrassing mess up while playing on a local news broadcast that morning.

They went on to play the rest of the tracks from Wreck of the Day as she pranced around the stage with her bare feet, including Drink Me and More Than Melody from the recent reissue of her debut album. She also sang the absolutely beautiful song, Home.



Towards the end of the song, Bleed, Anna introduces the band and they all slip in their solos as their names are called. I cracked up during drummer Ronny Crawford's solo as his movements were strikingly similar to everyone's favorite drumming muppet, Animal.



My personal highlight of the show was the Guitar vs Voice showdown between Luis and Anna. Imagine Dueling Banjos, minus the banjos and hillbillies. Luis would play a riff and Anna would sing the notes back at him. It was pretty funny, Luis kept playing ridiculously high notes knowing there was no possible way Anna could hit them.



To my delight Anna announced she'd be signing autographs in the lobby after the show. They ended the night with Satellite and left the stage.

Fantastic show.

While waiting in line to meet Anna again, Mom and I ended up befriending a really cool security guy, Andre. We all chatted for a nice little while until the line started to move.

Before I knew it, I was face to face with Anna yet again. "Hello again!" she said, to my surprise. I can't imagine how she remembers people with the massive amounts of people she must see on a daily basis in her line of work.
We talked for a little bit and I gave her the picture I made. I had a copy of my own I asked her to sign and she asked me to sign her copy. I must say, it felt strange signing something for a pop star as she autographed something for me. A good kind of strange. I also gave her a copy of the photograph of us from the last time she was in town and she signed mine.
Before I left, I asked if I could get a picture with her, but she said it was up to the club and they said no. I'm guessing it was because the line was so long and they wanted to keep things moving. We agreed "maybe next time" and said our see-you-laters.

Mom and I went to a chair a few feet away to sort everything before heading outside. As Mom was going through her purse, I noticed Anna leaning out from behind the table, trying to get my attention. I guess she saw the end of the autograph line was near and told me if I waited a couple minutes, we could get a picture together. Folks, the lady's a total sweetheart.
While waiting, I bought myself a copy of Eliot Morris' CD (which is great!) and he kindly signed for me.
A few minutes later, as promised, she came over and posed for a picture with me.



We chatted briefly, saying our thank-yous and more see-you-laters. Mom commented how beautiful Anna's voice is, to which she quickly and cutely replied "The better to sing for you with, my dears."


While at the autograph table, I also gave Anna the address to this site. So, Anna, if you find your way here, thank you for your kindness, the music, and a wonderful night.

Flood Update

Well, shortly after typing my last entry, there were more developments. I went outside with Mom at about 6 AM on Friday morning to take some pictures before I went to bed. Yes, I'm a night owl. As soon as we got out there, we spotted a firetruck driving slowly up the street. The firefighters were checking everything out and talking to the neighbors.
One of them came over to talk to Mom and she showed him that the water was two stairs away from the landing by our side door. After picking his jaw up off the ground, he said it was the worst they had seen yet (this was early on) and told us we had to leave until our gas and electricity were shut off. They felt it was serious enough that they refused to leave until we left. I suppose that should sound scary, but it was actually kinda reassuring.
At 7 AM, we were at Grandma's house. Dad crashed on the couch, but Mom and I had way too much nervous energy to sleep.
Around 10 AM, Mom and I decided to see if we could find somewhere to eat. On our way, we saw our street was open and figured we'd check out the house. It was very bizarre, our street showed absolutely no sign of wetness, despite the fact that it was a river just a few hours earlier.
The water in the basement had receded enough to reveal a couple more stairs.
As the day went on, someone from the city came and pumped the rest of the water out and the cleanup began.
Since then, countless family and friends have come by to help, items have been bleached and hosed down and/or moved out to the tree lawn to be taken away. There are huge piles of our old stuff out there now and the air smells of garbage, sewer water, and bleach. The cleanup is still going on and will be for a while.
Ours wasn't the worst of it though. In surrounding cities entire houses were submerged and roads were destroyed. Our county has officially been declared a disaster area.
Never saw this one coming.
A million thanks to everyone who's come by to help us out with this.