Base14

With the Fall quarter done here at SCAD, it’s time to launch into high gear on the long-term project at Base14. For now it is still classified, but what I can tell you is that it’s another animated short film expected for a Spring 2009 release.

Today, however, I’d like to share with everyone another stepping stone on my personal path toward animation enlightenment. I present to you a paper I penned for my contemporary art class, entitled: The Potential of 2D Animation as a Digitally Produced Art Form. The paper explores the maturation of animation as a traditional art form, and how it has progressed into a digital world. As you can guess from my main argument in the paper, my next film is a digital 2D piece. I learned a great deal about animation history and current trends from this paper. I’m actually really glad I wrote it.

You can read the entire paper via the link on the right.

And you know, while I’m thinking about it, I’d like to step onto my soap box for a moment and suggest that the APA and MPA bring their style guidelines into the 21st century. The indentation, rugged double spacing and non-existent italicization all stem from the days when masters students plunked out their thesis papers on typewriters. Get with the times, guys. Rewrite those guidelines to take full advantage of modern word processors. Same goes for script writing standards, too. Just think how much the readability would improve if we could format scripts in a modern way.

*Steps down from soap box*

Is anything “leaked” these days actually unintentional? I suspect that advertisers are smarter than we think… and viral is the way to go. So to show I’m not one to miss the trend train, I’m officially leaking some concept art for a web series idea I pitched today in producing class. We’re not revealing the actual idea; I think it’s actually half-way viable. If a quarter million dollars lands in my lap sometime soon, you might then see the series become reality!

Sweet beans! While I was visiting home this weekend, I found a copy of the Fall 2008 Purdue Technology Magazine, featuring moi in the Student Involvement section. Looks like “Ara” is still making a few headlines these days. Maybe we can use this to help push it into imdb, eh? C’mon Amazon, I buy your books all the time. Why not do me a favor?

Click the thumbnail above to see the whole article.

I wanted to mention some slight additions to the site today. With all this business card distribution, I was looking over the Base14 site and decided it needed some updates. First and foremost, I realized that the information on the About Page was slightly outdated. So I updated the content and altered the focus a bit to be more about the general history of the company, not just the name.

Also, I realized that Ara came out on DVD two months ago, but still is not featured in the Base14tv library! So the film in its entirety, along with the unofficial trailer, has been added for your viewing pleasure. If you haven’t seen yet, jump on over and check it out!

Well, this whole week has been a blast down here at SCAD, as we celebrate the 2008 Savannah Film Festival, an event full of proud producers, witty directors, talented actors and wide-eyed students. And of course if you’re going to make the most of all the movers and shakers running around, you need to carpet bomb the place with business cards.

Good thing I just got in a shipment of brand new Base14 mini cards this Monday, thanks to our good friends at Moo Printing. Their mini cards are half the size of standard business cards and can have as many different designs as you’d like. So I made two varieties: the official corporate brand Base14 card, and the cuter cartoon design. Who is that small blue character you might ask? Well, we’ll be revealing that in the not-too-distant future. Consider this an early viral marketing campaign. Continue Reading »

Well, it’s about time I write a bit about life here in graduate film school.  As you may remember, I’m currently enrolled in the Film and Television department at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Let me begin by saying Savannah, and all the events and speakers that SCAD brings in, is incredible. I have a speaker, seminar or gallery exhibit I want to go to practically every day. It’s terrific.

The real downer so far has really been the lack of stimulation coming from my classes themselves. When graduates are enrolled in the programs here, a panel evaluates their abilities based on their portfolios and transcripts and judges how prepared they are for the graduate curriculum. This often results in the applicant being assigned preliminary classes to fill in the knowledge holes. I was lucky enough to not be assigned any, but so far, from talking to peers, these 300/400 level undergraduate classes are more challenging than our 700 graduate classes. What gives? I’ve had enough free time to actually hang out with friends and work on the next Base14 movie. Both these I like to do, but while I’m down here I’d like to learn something I don’t already know. Or at least, learn it a bit faster. Where’s the fire hose, boys? I’m thirsty.

In a bit of condolence, I did work on my first filming project last week. We shot a two-page script for sound design class. This coming week we’ll be bringing the actors into our sound studios and conducting automated dialogue replacement on the film, just like the pros. Now that’s pretty exciting.

More to come on my classes.

I've always wanted to use real lights.

My team members Tobias and Christine perfect the camera angle.

Gee golly Whitaker Street, it has been a while! The winds have been changing and it’s been hard to keep up with the good ol’ Base14 Blog. And we actually have done a thing or two that’s way worth mentioning, can you believe it? Well believe it.

So the rock-hard-fast news is that the Ara Collector’s Edition DVD was finished two weeks ago to much critical acclaim! (Isn’t that an oxymoron?) It was at the very least, for Base14, a great DVD authoring accomplishment. Ara was a monstrosity of a CGT department project, and with all the hard work put into it by such a large array of artists, I wanted a permanent and professional collection of everything that was put into the Ara project. As a student collaboration, it was more about the process than the project, and I feel the Ara Collector’s Edition DVD showcases that process wonderfully. In addition to the complete short film, the DVD also includes:

• Fully animated DVD menus and menu transitions
• Producers’ Commentary
• Original Animatic
• Never-Before-Seen Alternate Ending
• Extensive Image Galleries
• Exclusive “Making of Ara” Featurette
• Complete “Ara, LLC” 411 Presentation
• Ara Soundtrack
• “This Thing Won’t Render” – The Mercy Mix Music Video
• And Much, Much More!

The other important thing to mention is these DVDs are not going on sale! Only 30 copies were made exclusively for crew members and other supporting parties. There are a few left over, so if you’re a fan of the movie and want an feature-rich inside look into the production and inspiration behind Ara, let us know and maybe we can slip you an ripped copy (or, who knows, a real one.)  Or, if you live in the greater Lafayette area, there should be a copy in the CGT department for public viewing. It was a goal of mine to start a tradition of student groups leaving DVD records of their projects in a CGT library of sorts, for future classes to find and draw inspiration from.

Well, more is to come real soon, I promise you! With a new school year upon us, things are just getting warmed up at Base14.