Base14

After the 2009 success of “Duck Heart Teslacoil,” I’ve been yearning for an opportunity to do more with the characters in the form of a web series or DVD release. Well, in the spirit of that desire, Base14 has drafted a concept for a television show based on the “Duck Heart Teslacoil” universe called “Duck & Monster.” Here’s the pitch:

“Duck & Monster” TV Show Pitch:
Duck and Monster are unlikely best friends. Duck is is the quiet, smart type with a knack for gadgets. Monster is the youngest of twelve siblings, loud and easily amused. That, and he can breathe fire. Together, the pair embarks on adventures on and off the local playground. Duck uses his wit for building dangerous contraptions and Monster uses his brute strength. Whether they are inventing new rules for baseball, exploring underground caverns or traveling back in time, Duck and Monster use their friendship as a means to overcome any obstacle. While this is not necessarily an “educational show,” it will frequently explore subjects and concepts that are scholarly, to entice viewers to learn more about those topics on their own.

With this idea, we generated a pitch poster and submitted it to the Animation Magazine 2011 Pitch Party, an opportunity for artists to draw attention to their original series concepts. The pitch party is now open for voting, and we need your help to get us to the next stage! If “Duck and Monster” wins, we’ll get a chance to pitch the actual idea to an animation industry executive. Not too shabby! So I implore you, loyal Base14 fans, to follow the link below and VOTE! Every vote helps us get closer to the renewed adventures of our beloved Duck and Monster.

Special thanks to the SCAD Animation Department for sponsoring our entry in the contest.

   

More film festival update goodness! This week “The Girl and the Fox” was officially accepted to the Frozen Film Festival in San Francisco and the YoungCuts Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec.

YoungCuts has chosen TGTF as the first official film to be announced for their 2011 lineup, highlighting the selection with an in-depth blog post! It’s a very good read so check it out.

As for the The Frozen Film Festival, it’s coming up fast and already has us slotted in the Best Animated Shorts of 2011 Showcase, scheduled for Friday, July 8th at 10:30pm in the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. Both have been added to the Tour Page. Anyone in the greater San Francisco area should try and make it out for the SF show next month!

“The Girl and the Fox” San Francisco Frozen Film Festival Screening
Friday, July 8 – 10:30 pm – Roxie Theater, SF
(Part of the ‘Best Animated Shorts of 2011’ block)

The 2011 Indianapolis International Film Festival has announced a final programming schedule for July, which will include two separate screenings of “The Girl and the Fox.” It will be part of the “You’ve Got A Friend” short film block showing on July 16th and July 20th at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

This is extra special for Alysha and me, since we  were born and raised in Indiana, and it will always remain our true home. So having our film screen in the capitol gives our friends and family a chance to easily see the film and celebrate its success with us! If you are an Indiana native and want to see some great films next month, please come out to the IMA and support Base14!

“The Girl and the Fox” Indy Film Fest Screening
Saturday, July 16 – 2:45 pm – DeBoest Lecture Hall
Wednesday, July 20 – 7:45 pm – DeBoest Lecture Hall
(A part of the ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ shorts block)

“The Girl and the Fox” continues its film festival tour with its most prominent festival showing to date: The Palm Springs International Shortfest. This festival is renowned worldwide for the extraordinary community of filmmakers it attracts and for the quality and scope of its programming.

The 2011 ShortFest will present more than 300 short films from over 40 countries, with TGTF being one of them! The event also features the ShortFest Film Market, which will make available over 2,700 films to film buyers, industry representatives and the press. Here’s the specific showtime for those of you out in Southern California:

“The Girl and the Fox” Palm Springs Screening
Saturday, June 25 – 4:00 pm – Camelot Theatres
(A part of the ‘Animal Attraction’ program)

So maybe dreams do come true… if you’re willing to work hard enough to realize them. That’s what I learned this week after three and a half years of dedication to my personal dream and long-term goal: to become a semifinalist in the Student Academy Awards. And “The Girl and the Fox” just did it.

On Wednesday afternoon, I learned that our film has been chosen as a Region II semifinalist in this year’s Student Academy Awards. That means that “The Girl and the Fox,” along with eleven other Region II films, will be recognized this Thursday, April 28th, at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. This marks the first opportunity for me to see the final cut of the film up on the big screen, so naturally I’m jumping on a plane early Thursday morning and jetting up to the Heartland for the big event. If you’re going to be in the greater Chicago metropolitan area on Thursday night, consider coming on out for the show! It will be a fabulous collection of top-notch student work and best of all, it’s absolutely free!

Once the films have screened in Chicago, they will be shipped out west to The Academy for the final round of judging. We’ll find out if we made the finals in mid-May. Wish us luck!

This past weekend was AMAZING. As you all know, The Girl and The Fox had been nominated for a College Television Award in Animation and the big event was set for Saturday night in Hollywood. So I packed my bags and flew to Los Angeles, really having no idea what the day may have in store. I met up with TGTF producer Nicholas Allred and we strolled over to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel where the award show was being held. To our surprise, not only did TGTF place second in Animation, but we also won the Geena Davis award for Diversity and Gender Equality in Children’s Media. Simply put, it means we were recognized for balancing our portrayal of male and female roles, and rejecting common gender stereotypes in storytelling.

The director of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media later asked me why I chose the characters and story that I did. These were my thoughts:

“I always have enjoyed exploring adult issues through the eyes of children. Our protagonist, Ilona, is a nine-year-old girl who lives with her parents and siblings in a cold, lush forested region. While she takes after her mother in appearance, Ilona also inherited her father’s fervor and tenacity. Having been brought up as the daughter of fur trappers, she is unafraid to face the dangers of the wilderness alone. Choosing a female as my protagonist allowed me to effectively show how children are influenced by the roles of their parents, and how as we grow, we learn to find balance between who our parents are and who we are as individuals. Ilona dresses like her father because she admires him and wants to hunt like him, but her journey causes her to realize she has a unique role in the world defined by her own insights and experiences.”

Considering the significance of both awards, this is certainly the biggest honor that a Base14 project has received to date! It’s really terrific to be given such recognition for as much hard work. Special thanks goes to the entire crew of “The Girl and the Fox” for really making all of this possible. We look forward to more festivals and contests yet to come!

Well the time has arrived to announce the official world premiere of “The Girl and the Fox,” since as it is only two weeks away! Already we have been accepted to a few festivals, but it turns out that the Citrus Cel Animation Film Festival will be the first one out of the gates. A big event for animation enthusiasts across the South,  the Citrus Cel Animation Film Festival will be held in Jacksonville, Florida, April 8th through the 10th.

“The Girl and the Fox” will be showing as part of the Tangerine Dreams showcase, which features animation that deals with the fantastic and supernatural, and will take place Saturday, April 9th at 4:00pm in the 5 Points Theatre in Jacksonville. I would be there to see the premiere in person if I wasn’t already spending that weekend in Los Angeles for the College Television Awards! But if you’ll be in or around Florida that weekend, be sure to stop by and support a great animation event!

To go along with the announcement, I’ve relaunched the Base14 Tour Page, which will track and display every festival that “The Girl and the Fox” visits. I’ll be updating it regularly as more festivals get back to us, so be sure to watch for a screening near you sometime in the next year!