I went to the local blood donation center to draw out my platelets this afternoon. I've donated platelets before, and am going to make this and blood donation a once in two months routine.
Currently I have two different animation assignments - one for a multi-animator project and another for an open call.
The multi-animator project is redoing "Weird Al" Yankovic's Dare to Be Stupid.
I think I came across an application link somewhere on the internet and decided to sign up for it. In recent years, I've been involved in a lot of re-animated projects because I wanted to do it since I watched some a decade ago. The one that motivated to do one was that Zelda CD-i cutscenes reanimation project.
Another one is Hellavision Television's Hell Fable. It's an open call for a short animation piece with a fable specifically for hell demons. It's due early July, and I have some ideas for it. You can read my document for brainstorming here. To give you a nutshell of my idea: imagine twisted psychosexual cyberpunk cinema such as Titane and David Cronenberg's Crash (1996) but in an art style of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's anime films such as Wicked City and Ninja Scroll; a fable that looks into a fringe side of human condition and involve sex, violence, and vehicular accidents. I came up with this idea because it's also the topic for the future episode of my movie podcast Re-Animate THIS!- I believe Titane and Crash are movies that could only be done as live-action instead of anything as. Though interesting thing is that when J.G. Ballard's Crash, which later served as a basis for Cronenberg's film adaptation, nobody wanted to see a movie version of it. The premise of the podcast's future episode about whether Titane and Crash would work as an animation is more of a though experiment.
Yesterday I spent the entire afternoon working on the open-call form for the rotating co-hosts of my podcast Re-Animate THIS!. If you are a filmmaker, animator, both, or like movies a lot, then please sign up!
Here is an update on the sourdough. I have finally made it, baked it, and tasted it, and it wasn't tasted bad. It was alright. But it wasn't puffy and I wanted it to be.
Currently, my podcast has changed from having two hosts to one main host and one rotating co-host. My first co-host was unable to commit herself throughout the entire season because of the conflicting schedule. I talked with one animator who's interested in having on and she is soon jumping in. Personally, I didn't exactly wanted Meredith Nudo to be my co-host because she wasn't exactly a filmmaker or a film scholar. She may have some good imagination of what good animation should be, but she doesn't know much about the behind the scene process. Before I allowed Meredith to join in, my ideal co-host was a filmmaker or an animator who knew movies and animations more than I do and willingly to be open minded on any unconventional idea.
I will have an open call for the rotating podcast co-host soon. I need like four or five of them.
I woke up late. And I didn't end up making sourdough because the starter went wrong and I had to redo it.
Yesterday, I met my old friend that I haven't met for months and found out that he left the underground screening group that he founded because it got "too toxic" and founded his own in Ridgewood. Now my goal is to screen my short there.
I found out today that Dogme 95 movement rebooted at Cannes a few days ago (this year is the 30th anniversary of the movement's launch) and it's now called Dogme 25. Both the manifesto and its vow of chastity have been updated to reflect the current concerns and more focus on in-person collaboration without the use of the internet. This means no generative AI involved in the production. As I read through the new manifesto, I kept shouting to myself "YES YES, EXACTLY, SO MUCH THIS!" because it accurately pin point the main problem and even provided the solution for it. The manifesto was a subtle yet very direct response to the common defense of generative AI that it would open up filmmaking to marginalized people that are affected by the industry's nepotism and gatekeepers.
The new and updated manifesto has enhanced the original 1995 manifesto's DIY spirit and encouraging filmmakers to go out and and make movies with their peers with whatever they have. (Though, my only disagreement with its new Vow of Chastity is the in-person production since Covid-19 pandemic isn't over yet. However, that can be solved with in-mask production.) They want you to grab your camera, go outside, bring your friends, and "touch some grass."
Now I have an idea for my own live-action film production.
There is a Presidential election happening in South Korea, and the early voting booths have opened worldwide. It's a snap election, as the previous President was impeached by the Constitutional Court due to his unconstitutional declaration of martial law. Good riddance. As a South Korean citizen, I went to the Consulate General of ROK in Manhattan and made my vote. I just voted for the third party candidate.
Planning to make a sourdough tomorrow and I have my starter and a banneton ready.
I may have creative blocks that I couldn't proceed my Maddy & Nick short, but my passions for the project still remain. I will just focusing on making placeholder assets and add some details in both casting and volunteering calls - especially some information regarding AI. I will guarantee these volunteers that none of their works will be trained (since I don't have my own generative AI software, so of course I won't) and I will sealed the artists' works through Nightshade and Glaze when I post them online or share them on Discord.
I am also planning out a season finale for my podcast. There is a guest that I want to bring in and I emailed him the invitation. He's a member of Newgrounds and you might have seen his work.
Hello. Let me introduce myself since I am not much active around here.
I am Jay. I am a photographer, filmmaker, and now a podcaster.
Currently, I am working on like four or five animated short films, with one that I am focused mostly on will be set in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I am working on test animations with placeholder assets but currently I am suffering some creative blocks. This short, Maddy & Nick (working title), has a voice-over opening narration and the rest is silent. But the narration was written without the letter "E." And so are the drafts of the (unpaid) casting and volunteer calls. I will put out both the casting call and volunteer calls either here or on my own bsky.
And I am doing podcast as well.
I started a movie podcast show a few months ago. It's where me, my co-host, or our guest bring up a live-action movie they would like to redo as an animation. It was (partially) inspired from one challenge that the Danish film director Lars von Trier has given to his film school professor Jørgen Leth in the documentary The Five Obstructions. Von Trier asked him to redo his short film The Perfect Human into a "cartoon."
Recently, I brought in a professional film critic and video essayist Scout Tafoya to talk about an old 1940s black-and-white noir drama that's set in post-revolution France. From there on, we discussed Cartoon Saloon's Wolfwalkers and among other things. This was my favorite episode so far.
And so, I will be hosting my podcast here as well.
And I am going to update my short film progress too.
Specifically, a 30 to 50 minutes, medium-length animated movie done in a style of Straight-To-Video mockbusters and cashgrabs.
Like these:
Yes I know that's a lot of Hunchback of Notre Dame stuffs, but this isn't about the Victor Hugo novel.
I need some help with writing the story.
I am currently writing a script and have my outline ready. But I ended up rewriting the outline two or three times already and struggling to write a screenplay from the new outline. That's where I need some crowd-sourcing where you suggest me some ideas and among other things.
(Note: I once posted a now-deleted blog post about the same topic. This is a revision based on my proofreaders' suggestions.)
I have seen a lot of people groaning about Disney’s live-action remakes and lamenting how 2D animation is “dead” in the West, especially in light of Sean Bailey’s announcement of a live action The Lion King saga. Most of these complaints are about Disney prioritizing remakes instead of animated works, or worse, trying to kill off 2D animation. The thing is, the world doesn’t need to rely on the Walt Disney Studios for innovation in hand drawn animation. Even if the animation industry in the western hemisphere is marginalized, there are animators who want to rebuild this industry from the ground up. Before you buy a ticket for the next live action Disney remake, consider backing some of the following crowdfunding campaigns for independent animation projects. Yes, some of these crowdfunding campaigns are for 3D animations as well, but compared to mainstream 3D works, these feel rather personal and humble.
These are the projects that are currently looking for funding as of June 8th, 2023.
Boxtown is an indie animated noir buddy comedy about a con man detective (played by Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls and voice of Bill Cipher, Grunkle Stan and Hooty) who teams up with an innocent, true-crime-obsessed orphan with a hidden murderous side (played by Tara Strong, known as the voice of Twilight Sparkle, Timmy Turner, Miss Minutes in Loki, and Ben 10).
Funding due date: July 2nd, 2023, 4PM EST
The first I heard about Boxtown was through TikTok videos where Charlie P. Gavin, the series’s creator, asked voice actors to audition their characters by stitching their submission to the casting call video. The way Bandit Mill Animation’s production team casted this project showed me the importance of transparency and having their supporters and followers participate in their process. This project has brought in animation industry veterans, top voice-acting talents, and up-and-comers to create a new kind of neo-noir comedy animated series. I want to know more about where this project is heading considering how much the creators have put their passion into it.
Similar to Boxtown, I came across CHEW GUM while searching “independent animation” on TikTok. A day later, I encountered the producer of this series and the main organizer of the crowdfunding campaign at the underground animation screening held in Brooklyn. On the way home, we talked together about the state of independent animation, some advice regarding crowdfunding, and I shared my own works with her. That night, I watched the series and I found them rather adorable. If you’re looking for an easy-to-watch 3D steam that feels pleasant, this series is for you.
Constancy Roa is an OVA (Original Video Animation) brought to you by the creative minds at InfinityArk, an up and coming animation company. It does not have a specific genre, instead opting for the more melting pot approach of the 90s to early 2000s OVA anime series. Which means it has action, drama, romance, adult situations, graphic violence, and dark comedy. At its core, it's a war story between Cygens and Humanity. Approximately, five minutes of the hour-long pilot contained scenes with adult content. It is inspired by works like the Bubblegum Crisis OVAs, Project A-ko, and the game series Megaman X. We hope to make a series that will bridge the gap between current anime and "retro" anime of the past. This OVA is about Cygens, which have been unleashed and the world will never be the same. A new melting pot style OVA series that bridges the old and new.
Funding due date: 07/06/2023 8:00 AM EDT
This is a throwback to the late 90s/early 2000s OVA anime, when visuals are grungy and animation reflects as such. The style reminds me of those OVAs that Manga entertainment used to promote on their home videos with KMFDM’s music in the background. In fact, I wanted animated works that tried to replicate the feel of the older media, much like how the movies The Lighthouse or Pearl did. My twitter friend Shakyra Dunn is involved in this as the voice for the character Natasha Gifford. She is very much excited about this project.
An animated mini-series following the adventures of Jade Raven.
Funding due date: June 18th, 2023, 3PM EST
Like Chew Gum, I came across Jade's Diary through the TikTok discover page. It is an independent animation crowdfunding campaign that’s still going on and only has a handful of supporters. I haven’t seen the first season of the series. But I loved the animation style so much that I really wanted this campaign to succeed. It was almost like our homegrown Studio Trigger project.
Sunnyside Magic High is an indie animated coming-of-age action-adventure pilot set inside the high fantasy world of Cora. It follows four magical royals who attend a prestigious academy where they hone their magic and prepare to one day rule their own kingdoms. An animated short introducing you to four magical, unstable royals and their prestigious academy.
Funding due date: July 22, 2023
I am writing this while New York City is stuck under the Quebec wildfire smoke apocalypse. I need something wholesome to get my own doomer feeling out of my mind while surviving this smoke-filled apocalypse. And this series could uplift my downer mood in recent days (or years). It seems like this targets people who are nostalgic toward the Renaissance period of the Walt Disney Studios where they produce animated musicals with coming-of-age themes. Not only that, the series could fill up the empty space in every Harry Potter’s fans’ heart after they were disappointed by its author’s bigotry.
(This is the repost from a comment that I have made on Reddit.)
Now that the live-action The Little Mermaid remake just released in theaters, here are some on-going mermaid-themed independent animation projects you can support with your ticket money. (I am not sure if Newgrounds allow me to share them here.)
But for real, every time Disney announce live-action remakes or finished and release them in theaters, someone needs to share a crowdfunding page for an independent 2D animation project. Instead of dreading and bemoaning over Disney abandoning 2D traditional animation and remaking their animated canons, why not support independent animators and their projects? Use our movie ticket money to help these indie animators instead of watching live-action remakes.
THE LOVERS - An animated thriller about the romantic tension between a seafood chef and a siren, set in a dark fantasy Philippines.
Sirenetta: Part-Time Mermaid - a feature length animated film made by a Boston-based freelance animator and based on his animated short Sirenetta's Family Dinner. It's about a mermaid, her human fiancé, and their friends going on a global treasure hunt to stop evil Voda Yaga from draining the ocean of life.
