Month: May 2004

  • There is a great series of articles over at Cartoon Brew - The TV Animation Business.

    1. Three Ways to Make Money
    2. How Multinational Corporations Thrive

    Eddie: Having witnessed some of these points firsthand, we can testify to their accuracy! The Samurai Jack meets Yogi Bear example could be a scary reality…

    3. What if You’re Not a Multinational? 
    4. How Companies Keep Their Costs Down – Outsourcing
    5. How Companies Keep Their Costs Down – Co-production

    Thank you, Mark Mayerson!

       2004 – Projects in Development

    Some people have been asking us why we aren’t relaxing and enjoying our ‘holiday’ in Australia. Here is the list of project bibles (artwork, animatics, animation) that we are working on this year (read: the next few weeks - the sooner we get them done the better).

    1. Jive Turkey Experience
    2. Bad Hair Rae (for Pacific Vision)
    3. Endsville
    4. Boy Lobster
    5. Cosmic Baby
    6. (No title yet)
    7. (No title yet)

    And on top of all this, we are also doing character designs for ML…

    No, we aren’t complaining. It would be nice if this were a holiday, though.

    Currently watching: The Samurai – series 2 (Eddie)

    -  Friday 7.30pm

  • Internet stuff:

    Webjay - Create or import streaming playlists for music on the web. Sort of like WinAmp or iTunes but for the web. (first experiments - Glubibulga, Tokyo Drifter Soundtrack, Freezepop )

    Kinja -  Create personal digests of favourite weblogs (similar to Xanga‘s subscriptions browser). Although it won’t pick up content from this fwak blog…  not sure why not.

    The new poster for Lucha Va Voom 6 by Keith Rainville of FPU. Super Porky is awesome and so is the blue midget ape – Que Monito. See the card here.

    We’ve booked our flight back to L.A.—> We’ll be arriving on the 21st of May. Will be very interesting to go from this cold weather to over 100 degrees heat.

    Still to do in Sydney:

    • LOTS of designs for a couple of projects we’re working on
    • Another trip to Melbourne to visit Eddie’s dad
    • Visit Peter and Georgia‘s beach house
    • Eddie’s music. (“…electro dance beats with a nod to 8-bit bleeps” ) We’ve been brainstorming a “band/artist name” for him for when he puts out his CD. So far, the best name comes from Gabe - Mr. DJ ED!!!  
      Any i      deas? Please send them in! P.S. Just please don’t use the Band name maker. PPS. Feel free to use the chatterbox –>

    Currently Playing – New Two


  • ©Woohoo pictures

    Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher is an independent (student!) animated feature that looks amazing. From what I’ve read, it took a small team 3 years to make; and it will soon be released on DVD. Nice design and gorgeously cartoony. Watch the trailer here.

    Microsoft Home Style - a program that “draws” your cartoon protrait. Available only in Japan. (Apparently you end up looking ‘Asian’ regardless of what you really look like.)

    Jeremyville - website by Australian designer, Jeremy.

    Glubibulga - This is an awesome mp3-downloads website!!! - via Pop Culture Links

        

    Eddie: Trying to get my crusty old analogue drum machines and sequencers hooked up to my computer, via a Roland U8 MIDI recorder… It’s hard.

    Sydney Morning Herald article:
    Film industry chiefs do their block as local dramas die off

    So concerned was he at the state of Australia’s ailing film industry that he has joined Ms Martin and producer James Mitchell to create a commercial film fund, aiming to turn Australia’s small, mainly government subsidised movie business into a mini-Hollywood.

    “We want to be like Hollywood,” Mr Bedford said. “Hollywood has a multibillion-dollar industry but Australia, we’re in with the basket weavers.”

    OUCH. But it’s mostly true that we’re a “small, mainly government-subsidised” industry here and that goes for Animation, too.

    Eddie: Time we all moved out of our parents’ basement, Australia!  Martin Bedford is right on with his comments…

    Signing off – 12.55am Monday

  • *updated

      

    Found at Surry Hills (flea) markets: An old, wind-up music tin for $55 (too much, we thought) The earless Bugs figure that pops up is a little creepy…

    We also noticed that the cute porcelain piggy bank (which I so wanted to buy last year)was still there, and finally sold to a couple with the cash.

    The store owner: Ninety-five dollars. It’s from Germany.

    Lili: Yes, I can see that.

    Books bought (from Kinokuniya) -

    Salam Pax and Harvey Pekar are in Sydney at the end of this month. If we are still here, we might go to this event. (American Splendor is still on our list of movies to see…)

    Living on the Planet blogzine -

    Living on the Planet is a new community blogzine produced by a cooperative of bloggers and writers with a focus on … Living on the Planet. This site is part of the growing network called Living on the Planet, including Australia, China, Europe, India and Latin America.

    Singapore’s Tiger Balm Gardens is like a “hell” theme park. (linked via boingboing) On our Hong Kong trip a couple of years ago, we went to visit the original Tiger Balm gardens. Imagine our disappointment when we arrived (after a long bus trip and walking in humid heat) to see a mess of bulldozers and construction workers. Tiger Balm Gardens had been replaced by new apartment blocks

    Web icons – for the web designer

    Toondoctor: Producing Flash cartoon Animation (linked from Shanesboard)