Base14

Duck Heart Teslacoil has been chosen as one of the featured films of the “Best of Animation Block Party” traveling showcase! The next stop is Los Angeles, California at the New Beverly Cinema on Thursday February 18, 2010 at 7:30pm and 10:00pm. The New Beverly Cinema is located at 7165 West Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036. Anyone that’s out in L.A. and hasn’t had the chance to witness the film on the big screen yet,
be sure to get out there and see it!

Here’s to November! And here’s to another fun shirt from Base14! I’ve always been a big fan of No Shave November (a month-long celebration of beard growing.) But sadly I cannot participate. To fill the void in my heart and to encourage participation from the opposite sex, I created this T-shirt that boldly says, “I find you more attractive with a beard.”

Press onward, noble beard, for today is your day.

Yesterday marked the end of the Savannah Film Festival, and it was nothing less than spectacular! Duck Heart Teslacoil got a terrific reception at it’s screenings Monday and Friday, and we made several new friends and fans. We even had an exclusive interview in the Connect Savannah magazine.

Since I live right here in Savannah, I got a filmmaker pass that allowed me access to every screening, panel and reception, and took full advantage of it! It was an exhilarating week of meeting, greeting, screening, wining, dining and inspiration. Although I barely even attended my classes and did virtually no homework, I feel like the entire festival was a much-needed boost of filmmaking mojo that’ll pump me up for the next few long months of producing our next short film.

Also, I should announce that Duck Heart Teslacoil has been accepted to the Anchorage International Film Festival. Although I always have wanted to visit Alaska, I doubt this December will be the ideal time to make it happen. Still, it’s a fast-growing, trendy festival and we’re thrilled to be a part of it!

Back in July I blogged about our involvement in the Savannah 48 Hour Film Project, which was some of the most fun I’ve ever had working on a film set. Our short film entry, “Frozen,” was well-received but strangely enough, didn’t win any awards. Shortly thereafter I got tied up with my trips to New York and Hollywood with Duck ♥ Teslacoil, and never got around to posting it online. Well, with midterms week in full swing and all my time being consumed by some new, exciting projects, I thought this lull was a good time to show off just what all the summer fuss was about. When you watch it, remember that we did everything – writing, planning, filming and editing – in only 48 hours. Enjoy!

I was just telling my Flash CS4 Workshop last night that Duck ♥ Teslacoil wouldn’t go online until late this year or early next year. But I was completely unaware that one day beforehand the Digital Artist Awards gave Duck ♥ Teslacoil a “commended” award and published it on Vimeo. Oh snap!

This probably could have gone by mostly unnoticed, but then this morning, the Flash animation blog Cold Hard Flash featured Duck ♥ Teslacoil in its very own post! Wowzers! Now that the cat’s out of the bag and I might as well release an official online version of Duck ♥ Teslacoil.

I wasn’t done planning DHT’s viral video campaign yet, so while it now is officially online, I’m going to keep the fanfare low until after the Savannah Film Festival. I suspect that will give us the big boost we need to really ratchet up the film’s popularity!

Update:Duck ♥ Teslacoil is now playing on YouTube!

Tonight was the first Adobe Mentor Workshop sponsored by SCAD’s Contemporary Animation Society and taught by yours truly! It went really well and I want to thank everyone who attended! Look for more Adobe Mentor Workshops in the future! Thanks again everyone!

» Download the Basic Tutorial Files
» Download the Advanced Tutorial Files

Last night was SCADanimate [skuh-dan-uh-meyt] or however you pronounce it… and it was awesome! Duck ♥ Teslacoil screened alongside many other wonderful student films. The fun was kicked up a few notches with Jason Maurer’s call to department head Jeremy Mooreshead, who was in Greece as the keynote speaker for the Animasyros 2.0 International Animation Festival & Forum, where it was about 2:30 in the morning. But the real highlight of the evening was the SCADanimate cake created by SCAD Animation alumnus and professional cake designer Ashlee Perkins. I personally was elated to see a sucrose recreation of Duck at center stage. We ate the cake, but unlike the Duck cookies earlier this year, I’m keeping the Duck.

Oh, and if anyone is in Northern California today, Duck ♥ Teslacoil is showing at 1pm at the Galaxy Theatre in Riverbank, CA as part of the California International Animation Festival.