Cult Films in the Making
AI is everywhere! From initial reactions a couple years ago (Hey, this is neat!) to the latest backlash against AI slop, it s been quite the rollercoaster ride. As an artist, I have mixed feelings on the use of AI. Generally speaking, I m open to use different implementations of AI to help me get my work [ ]
I spent most of last year juggling five production projects. Little by little, I got out from under four of them (one of them is still going). After a hard week, I just realized I’m back up to five again. Four are work-for-hire, but one is one I actually have some agency over for a [ ]
For the last few months, I ve been outlining a new feature script. I was determined to hammer out the outline before doing any actual writing of scenes. And I got there! The next step was writing a treatment, and that s the real hard part. It seems every time I try writing treatments, I get in [ ]
One of the many jobs I worked on in the last year is a horror film called Frenzy Moon. My partner John Vincent and I have worked on other indie productions from Buffalo director Greg Lamberson before, but this was our most ambitious. We were tasked with putting together an effects crew, creating a werewolf [ ]
The screenwriting software from John August, Highland, got a new version this week. (It s now called Highland Pro.) Unfortunately, it s moved to a subscription model. I gladly paid a one-time fee for Highland 2 a few years ago which I suppose I ll never be able to install again? Still a fine program with some interesting [ ]
Getting a team of animation artists to all draw the same is a challenge. Aside from model sheets, a style guide can help with that. I saw excerpts from the King of the Hill style guide posted recently, and it reminded me of the Simpsons one I saw years ago. Here are some links: KING [ ]
A producer I was talking to online was curious about how to format his screenplay in which 90% of his dialogue was song lyrics. Should it be like the script for Les Miserables or Pink Floyd s The Wall? I thought the discussion was worth blogging about here. Opera or Music Video? In opera, all dialogue [ ]
After reading Inside Netflix’s bet on advanced video encoding at The Verge, I got to thinking about my early days interacting with video compression. From the time I created my first video clips for the internet, the act of managing quality versus bitrate has been a real challenge. This escalated once I had to author [ ]
Another filmmaker recently asked me where he should post his short films. What s the best way to get them to an audience, perhaps make some money? Vimeo Pro used to be an okay option, but Vimeo has pivoted to being B2B OTT company. (Marketing to businesses, encouraging them to start their own over-the-top streaming services [ ]
I recently had the chance to see the Mickey Mouse short The Band Concert (1935) with a film festival audience at Rochester s Nitrate Picture Show. It played like gangbusters! The festival program made mention of two previous films that were an influence on the short, Disney s Barnyard Concert (1930) and Fliescher s Tree Saps (1931). I [ ]
Have you ever seen animation quite like this? I was excited to discuss this fantastic, at times creepy, animated film in a panel from the virtual Little Theatre on May 19. I was joined by animators Fred Armstrong and John Vincent, along with moderator Matt DeTurck of The Little Theatre. In this surrealist docu-horror-fairy tale, [ ]
One night only! The definitive documentary on Quentin Tarantino! October 21 at 7pm in select theatres. Greetings! I m happy to announce that the big secret documentary I ve been creating animation for is now being released to theaters. That s right, QUENTIN TARANTINO: THE FIRST EIGHT will be a one-night-only Fathom Event. So if you ve ever loved a [ ]
Off and on over the last decade, I ve been outlining a screenplay concept called GAMERS. When I started writing, I even did a series of blog entries covering the process. (It s easier to write about writing than to do the actual writing, of course.) I m getting back into this project, so consider this a recap [ ]
Now live on the internet is RECYCLE ME, a 30 second spot for North Country Recycles. Matthew White of 4th Coast Productions hired John Vincent and me to design the puppets and shoot stop motion, with Aaron Powell of Luna Digital handling the lip sync, CG staging, and compositing. Watch the commercial below: When Matt [ ]
For a couple years now, I ve been posting occasional artwork on Redbubble under the moniker MANY HATS. (Because I wear so many, don t ya know?) I ve wanted to do more, but it always seemed like something that could be done later when I have more time. Mythical time that never seems to come. Then I [ ]
Every week on This Week in Google, Stacey Higginbotham wishes she had a Punch Leo button to wallop Leo Laporte for some ill-advised comment. After hearing it said a dozen times, I decided to make it happen. Here s the cartoon I produced using traditional hand-drawn animation. Edited to add: Well, this is cool! Hosts Leo [ ]
Every time Amazon has changed the name of its video service over the years, I ve scratched my head. Why keep changing? Youtube doesn t change. Vimeo doesn t change. Netflix well, it tried rebranding its DVD delivery service as Qwikster once, but that didn t take. Amazon is a successful company. I use many of their services. As [ ]
I ve seen several signs lately that the world of online streaming is now contracting the major platforms are reducing options and payouts for independent filmmakers. YOUTUBE Youtube gave us little guys the ability to monetize a few years ago, but now they re raising the minimum threshold. Now creators need over 1000 followers to receive [ ]
What is Your Face? It s an Academy Award nominated short by animator Bill Plympton, one of my heroes. What s a global jam? It s when a boatload of animators disassemble a film and redo sections of it in their style. So when I heard Ken Mora and Mike Schneider were doing a global jam for Your [ ]
Had a super time with my wife visiting the Guillermo Del Toro exhibit of artwork and props at Toronto s Art Gallery of Ontario! Very inspirational, but some of the most amazing moments for me were seeing original comic pages from Richard Corben, Eddie Campbell, Mike Mignola, and Bernie Wrightson. There was even a piece of [ ]
My short screenplay for this year s Script-A-Palooza was inspired by a fake poster that Wayne Coughlin dreamed up. Given an image of a man underwater with a comedic tagline, I came up with a cross-genre piece. It weaves together elements of relationship drama, Godzilla action, and Marx Brothers comedy. Read In Deep (PDF)
One project I m proud to be a part of is now making its way to the public. DIFFABILTY HOLLYWOOD is the latest documentary from my student Adrian Esposito. The feature s Rochester premiere was sponsored by Move to Include, a partnership between WXXI and the Golisano Foundation, designed to promote inclusion for people with intellectual and [ ]
A part-time project for me lately has been turning the occasional strange idea into T-shirts and stickers. Redbubble.com is a great print-on-demand service that allows for this. They ve got a great selection of products, including T-shirt sizes for men AND women. My best-seller so far has been the INNER LOOP FOREVER design, which appeals to [ ]
I had a great time talking movies with Matt Ehlers on his show, Eggwork Radio, on WAYO 104.3 Thursday morning. Check it out below!
Join us this Friday, October 28, 9 PM at the Pittsford Cinema, for a one night theatrical event: a screening of Hero of The Underworld, a dramatic feature film shot entirely in and around Rochester, NY. The film, directed by John Vincent, stars Tom Malloy (The Alphabet Killer), Quinton Aaron (The Blind Side), Nicole Fox [ ]
This past weekend, I attended the latest Saturday Night Rewind event at the Little Theatre in Rochester. This happened to be a 35mm screening of The Warriors, hosted by Joe Bob Briggs. (More about the show here and here.) I ve written before about my admiration for Joe Bob and how influential his books and Monstervision [ ]
My interest in radio goes back to making mixtapes as a kid, which unexpectedly led into deejaying at SUNY Geneseo s WGSU and producing shows at 96.5 WCMF. Lately, that interest has been satisfied by podcasts both by listening to and creating them. These days, I hardly listen to radio at all because I have a phone [ ]
The Rubber Onion Podcast is a weekly show hosted by animators Stephen Brooks and Rob Yulfo. I happened upon the show early this year when they did a crossover with another favorite show of mine, Animation Ninja. Each month, Brooks puts a call out for 15 second short entries in the Rubber Onion Battle on [ ]
Today s Google Doodle is a salute to Lotte Reiniger, pioneer of silhouette animation. The animator of the doodle actually built a multi-plane camera! Ten years ago, I produced an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft s The Other Gods, done in a style inspired by Lotte Reiniger. I actually have been working on an HD version, which will [ ]
For this year s Mind 2 Movie Challenge, a few of us RMM board members decided to make shorties that would not be judged, just for fun. The challenge was to include the following: A character named Bruce or Bryce Lemon, who has a secret. A clock. The line This has never happened before. Then pick [ ]
I m pretty pleased to be part of these two projects, which were honored by the Rondo Hatton Awards this year. Not only did the Army of Darkness Collector s Edition win best Classic DVD/Blu-ray of 2015, but THE MAKING OF ARMY OF DARKNESS (for which I provided animation) won BEST DVD EXTRA. Meanwhile, another documentary I worked on, [ ]
Dogtown is the best hot dog place in Rochester, and I m not just saying that because my friend Chris Nakis is co-owner! Chris is also a producer, and he s currently doing a documentary about his two main interests: photography and bow-hunting. They have more in common than you d think! For the doc, which also touches [ ]
For several years, I ve kept my eye on the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, honoring fan favorites in horror films, video releases, television, books, journalism, conventions, and more. This year, I m happy to be represented on the ballot twice! THAT GUY DICK MILLER is nominated for best documentary, and Army of Darkness: MEDIEVAL TIMES for [ ]
Here s a little something I did for Red Shirt Pictures documentary on the making of Army of Darkness, out now on Blu-Ray from Shout! Factory. Working on this was a real honor. The Evil Dead films were hugely influential on me, helping to define what I loved about horror and humor, and then influencing me [ ]
Today I had the opportunity to get some aerial shots for a documentary I m working on called School s Out. Our task was to get some beauty shots of Rochester. John was shooting, our director Chris was navigating, and me? I was just along for the ride. That s a pretty small whirlybird, isn t it? The helicopter [ ]
A recent special episode of Scriptnotes delved into the failure of Scripped.com, a site where screenwriters could compose in a web browser and save their work in the cloud. After the site was sold, a server error led to the loss of years worth of backups, and the new owner was ill-prepared to fix the [ ]
Perhaps you ve noticed it robots are everywhere. I love a good robot movie, and there s quite a few on the horizon. The Prototype Almost two years ago now, I saw the trailer for The Prototype online. It seemed like a sharp story about the singularity, told as a chase thriller. Where s the release? Upon [ ]
One of the challenges in our field is discussing the different styles of animation with prospective clients. When someone asks how much does animation cost it can depend on the type of animation. Hand-drawn, realistic, limited, even CG or clay all have different considerations. What better way to explain it than in animation? We at Animatus [ ]
Earlier this year, we released a rough trailer for Hero of the Underworld. Since then, I polished it up a bit give it a click! We still have some post production work to do, but the film really came together well. Still too early to do any screenings, but I ll post here when I have [ ]
A big week for my stuff! In addition to my feature film projects, I have some animation releases to talk about. The Scanners Criterion Blu-ray came out yesterday, with animation I did for the bonus feature The Ephemerol Diaries. Visit Criterion.com Also, there s a sale over at Humble Bundle this week. You can get a bundle [ ]
Here s my latest reel of animation work, including clips from the documentary That Guy Dick Miller and the opening titles from TV show The Right Stuff. Also some character designs and magic burros from the feature 3.14 and much much more!
Earlier this spring, I took part in shooting the feature Hero of the Underworld. The story is deals with addiction and abuse, inspired by writer Tom Malloy s experiences working in a hotel in New York. I acted as assistant director, and I m also one of the producers. It was a privilege to work with so [ ]
Back in the fall of 2012, I did some animation for a bonus feature that Elijah Drenner produced for Subkultur Entertainment s Blu-ray release of Scanners in Germany. David Cronenberg s films are some of my favorites, so it was a thrill to work on. Today I m proud to announce that the Criterion Collection is picking up [ ]
Comfort Zone, a documentary about what the average person can do in response to climate change, is now available to purchase on DVD. The film was produced by three Rochester filmmakers, Dave Danesh, Sean P. Donnelly, and Kate Kressmann-Kehoe, and I contributed some animation of personified gases for the feature. (Some preliminary designs you can see below.) The [ ]
The trailer for Elijah Drenner s latest documentary, That Guy Dick Miller, is now online. Featuring animation by yours truly!
Sure is cold out there.
Truly an epic that needs to happen.
Something new for the new year! A series of animated GIFs by me, mostly of goofy characters.
Back in January, John Vincent and I decided to resurrect our almost-but-not-quite-forgotten podcast by interviewing friend and colleague Michael Del Rossa. (Michael has worked on everything from small indie films to big productions like I Am Legend.) And then the unedited audio sat in my computer for another several months. What can I say, I ve [ ]
There s a website called Scripted.com that acts as a go-between for bloggers and writers. It works like this: a blog-runner wants content in a certain field. He or she posts a request on Scripted.com, asking for article pitches. Writers who have been vetted for that field are allowed to pitch on the job. If awarded [ ]