Base14

Yesterday marked the three-year anniversary of the debut of the comic strip Rightfield, the most ambitious comic franchise that Base14 has ever undertaken. Featuring the comedic exploits of Sam the Human, Phil the Platypus and Glitch the Robot, Rightfield was designed to follow well-developed characters through a major story arc, giving readers more than just a daily chuckle. On August 21st, 2006, the following three-panel cartoon was published in nearly 20,000 copies of the Purdue Exponent Newspaper.

This was at best a crude beginning, and as a comic artist, I was still feeling my way into the art form. But working to publish five hand-drawn strips a week meant that I would rack up experience quickly, and the quality of the strip steadily improved. By the end of the Fall Semester, the strip was consistently demonstrating solid craftsmanship and concepts.

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Time for an super-exclusive, all-inclusive recap of the West Coast premiere of Duck Heart Teslacoil! We had the honor to show at the 2nd Annual Feel Good Film Festival in Hollywood, CA. This show was extra special because of all the plush treatment provided to us filmmakers. Opening night on Friday was spectacular! Celebrities present included Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, Elaine Hendrix and Carlos Mencia.
I also got my own all-access pass and walked the yellow carpet, pausing for photo ops and interviews with the press. Then, after the screening of DHT Saturday night, I did a Q&A session with the evening’s other directors in front of the entire theater audience. It was loads of fun. We had our share of scares though; the DVD the projectionist had wasn’t working, and I had to run back to my friend’s house to burn a new copy! Lesson learned. Always bring backups, kids.

Just a friendly reminder to everyone that Duck ♥ Teslacoil will be showing in Los Angeles this Saturday at the Feel Good Film Festival. The show starts at 6pm at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd, in the Rigler Screen Theater. Tickets are only $10 and that includes three other films along with Duck ♥ Teslacoil. Plus, it’s the Feel Good Film Festival, so you know it’ll be super fun.

In fact, if you find me before the show and I’ll give you a free ticket! It’s like a leprechaun game. See y’all there!

This past weekend was the conclusion of another rousing session of Journalism Workshops at Ball State University. While I haven’t been to the workshops for a few years now, I still like to reminisce about teaching InDesign to high schoolers and consuming an unhealthy number of ICEE drinks from the Atrium cafeteria. Of course, nothing paints a better picture of the ‘shops than a classic cartoon I made back in 2006, entitled Teen J-Squad.

An obvious take off of Teen Girl Squad by Homestar Runner, Teen J-Squad was originally intended to serve as an “edutainment” video to illustrate various graphic design concepts to my students. However, it quickly devolved into a cascade of absurdities and slap-stick humor. Still, the jokes contain a surprising amount of commentary on the culture and politics of high school journalism. So in honor of its three-year anniversary, I’ve uploaded a somewhat “remastered” version of Teen J-Squad to YouTube. Enjoy!

This past weekend I visited New York City for the first time, and while I nearly collapsed from carrying my luggage with me everywhere I went, it was a thrilling trip. I was in town for the Animation Block Party in Brooklyn, the first major venue to screen Duck ♥ Teslacoil alongside the work of well-known professional animators and studios. I got to town a day early to get my bearings and rid my system of any general tourist urges. The Empire State Building, Times Square and Grand Central Station — I had them crossed off before sunset. That evening I journeyed up to southern Connecticut to visit fellow Purdue University alumnus Jac Piette, who works at Blue Sky Studios. This was a terrific opportunity to talk to a real professional in the modern feature animation industry, and it fit the theme of the weekend perfectly!

The following day was the Duck ♥ Teslacoil screening, so after spending the afternoon exploring Wall Street, the World Trade Center Site and Battery Park, I took the subway to Brooklyn and arrived at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for the last night of the Animation Block Party. I finally got to see Duck ♥ Teslacoil on a big screen and hear how a large audience responds to the film. After the show, I mingled with fellow filmmakers and School of Visual Arts alumni well into the night. I’m amazed how naturally I connect with other people who work in animation — it reassures me I’ve finally chosen the right path.

I’ll spare you the details of the third day, when I spent 19 hours stuck in the La Guardia Airport, but rest assured it has a lot to do with why you haven’t seen this post any sooner. Despite that, my first visit to New York was certainly worth it, and I’m left with a strong urge to visit again… as soon as I find another good excuse.

I can’t recall the last time i went 65 straight hours without sleep… perhaps that’s because I’ve never done it before. But that’s precisely what it took to complete our entry, entitled Frozen, for the 1st Annual Savannah 48 Film Project, which took place this past weekend — from 7:30pm Friday to 7:30pm Sunday. And it was awesome.

Photos by Rhys Edouard Samaniego-Finch

It started back in June when I asked a few people I knew if they were interested in forming a team, and somehow we managed to recruit some of the best film students at SCAD to join up. Pretty soon we had a complete crew, a stellar location and some slick talent (a.k.a. actors). As part of the rules, each team draws a different genre which they must adapt to a character, prop and line of dialogue. As team leader it was my job to draw the genre, and as fate would have it, I picked “Film de Femme,” a name coined by the contest for a film featuring a strong female lead role.

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This has been a terrific week for Base14! We were  officially invited to two major film festivals this week on opposite sides of the country!

On the East Coast, we will be featured at the Animation Block Party in Brooklyn, New York. This the self-proclaimed premier animation festival of New York City, and features the work of some legendary contemporary animators from around the world, including one of my favorites, Don Hertzfeldt. In fact, his work was such an inspiration to the comedic timing of Duck ♥ Teslacoi, his name appears in the credits. The Animation Block Party runs July 24-26 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Cinématek.

On the West Coast, Duck ♥ Teslacoil will be showing at the Feel Good Film Festival in Hollywood, California. As soon as I heard about the Feel Good Film Festival from a friend (Thanks, Kate!), I knew it was a perfect fit for Duck ♥ Teslacoil. I mean, the film was made to leave you feeling warm and fuzzy! Well, evidently the festival programmers agree. It’ll be held August 7-9 at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre right on Hollywood Boulevard. Classy!

Well, I’m absolutely thrilled with all the exciting places Duck ♥ Teslacoil is going. With luck, we’ll be make it into a few other film festivals. And maybe if I can scrounge up some money for travel expenses, I’ll even visit a few. Strangely enough, I still haven’t experienced a large venue showing of Duck ♥ Teslacoil yet!