Base14

I am very proud to announce that our long-awaited animated film, Duck ♥ Teslacoil, has finally been completed! As promised, we mixed sound and finished pick-up animation over the weekend, then shipped off the final cut of the film early Monday morning! Woopee! I am so proud of our talented and dedicated crew and supporters. We couldn’t have done it without you all.

This is only the beginning, really. Duck ♥ Teslacoil is undoubtedly the best motion picture Base14 has ever produced, and we have big plans for it. Over the next several months we will be submitting it to a variety of film contests and festivals. This will be your chance to get out, mix with some culture, and see just what all the hubbub has been about! And I mean your only chance. Since Duck ♥ Teslacoil is touring the festivals, it will not be available online for some time. So get out and see it on the big screen, like it was meant to be viewed. (We produced it in full HD, dontchaknow).

Where and when are these festivals? Good question. We don’t know yet! I all depends on who accepts us. But as we get offers to show, we will be building and maintaining a list of tour dates right here on the Base14 site. So keep an ear open for show announcements! And if you want to make sure DHT comes to you, send me an email and let me know you want it nearby! Hopefully there’s a festival we can submit to that will bring it right to your doorstep.

And if you still can’t wait ’til then, remember that the teaser is always up on YouTube.

As promised, here is the brand new Base14 shirt! This one features a delightfully fun print of two little kites and the tangles that bring them together. The back will feature the Base14 clothing logo on the shoulder. Just like our previous, limited edition shirt, this one will be hand silk screened with the utmost care and love. But unlike the I Like Bike shirt, this beauty is available to everyone! That’s right, we are now officially accepting pre-orders so that you can own your very own Base14 T-shirt. The shirts will be for sale for $10 each, but if you pre-order you will only have to pay $7. “Seven dollars for a hand screened shirt? She must be crazy!” you say. But no, I just want everyone to enjoy the fledgling efforts of our darling brand. To pre-order just email me (alysha at base14.com). Let me know size and quantity desired, and you will be informed when the shirts are ready. You will not be billed until after the shirts have been printed. We will be taking pre-orders up until February 13th, and will begin taking regular orders once the prints have been made and pre-orders shipped. Direct all questions to the same email.

For those that may not read every blog post, a little update: I’m currently earning my MFA in Film & Television down at the Savannah College of Art & Design. But as I like to tell people, I’m having a bit of a love affair with animation. I’m in Film & Television to learn the essentials of directing, screenwriting, editing and the like, but ultimately I prefer working in front of a computer rather than on a set.

So while I take my required 700-level Film & Television classes, I’ve begun sneaking over to the animation building this quarter to take “ANIM 202 – Animation I,” or basic principles of animation. Today we finished our first assignment, a bouncing ball and a cannon ball. Pretty basic stuff compared to Ara, I know, but it’s so nice to get back to the basics before I go any further. This class should make me much sharper as an animator, and after this I can move on and take some character animation classes.

Anyway, if you’d like to see square one for professional animators, take a look below. I guess now I can officially change my business cards.

Note: Videos after the break. Continue Reading »

Here at Base14, we like our projects to have style, but we also like to push the boundaries of convention. This lamp is made out of 100% recycled and reused materials. (Old shipping boxes and parts from vintage and broken lamps.) Cool? Yes. But even better, it uses no adhesives. (No glue, tape etc.) It is held together with tabs, slots and a little help from our good friend gravity. The alternating spines of the lamp create two different negative spheres inside of the main form. Even though “going green” is trendy these days, my intent with this design was not to make a statement about sustainability. I simply enjoy the challenge of starting with rough materials and working them into a polished final product. But regardless of intent, it’s always fun to recycle.

Well, things are busting with holiday cheer around here, and there’s no better way to spread that cheer on to you than with a digital holiday greeting card! But this one is particularly special.

While going through old data files this summer, we stumbled upon the very first Flash animation ever produced by Base14! This is the one that started it all, folks. I made this back in December of 2003, when I was a senior in High School. At the time, I was blindly stumbling my way through Flash, and consider it a miracle I accomplished this in two weeks. But now I yield it like a deadly ninja star… it’s amazing how far we’ve come! So give it a spin and feel the joy of what would be the first step on a long road to animation enlightenment!

And you’ve probably also noticed the strange weather we’re having here in Base14land – it’s snowing! Makes me want to pour some hot chocolate and eat something with sprinkles. Mmm… sprinkles.

Note: You may experience sluggish graphic performance due to the snowflakes. If so, jump on over to YouTube to watch the video snowflake-free.

I am thrilled to officially announce today the next Base14 animated film: Duck ♥ Teslacoil. This new film (pronounced “Duck Heart Teslacoil”) has actually been in the works since April of this year, and has reached a proof-of-concept stage worthy of publication.

Duck ♥ Teslacoil is a return to comedy for Base14, pulling together all the strengths of the company for what should be the highest-quality piece we’ve ever produced. DHT enjoyed an extensive pre-production phase that solidified the plot and sent the visual style through numerous design revisions. The final look of the film is meant to replicate paper cutout animation photographed with a rostrum camera setup.

Like our previous film, Ara, DHT is being animated in Adobe Flash and composited in Adobe After Effects. Unlike Ara, DHT has been designed to be the perfect movie to animate in Flash, because the characters are made up of flat, solid-colored shapes. Still, the use of motion tweening in Flash produces a pseudo-3D look that adds more life to the characters (and would have been more difficult using traditional methods). One of the goals of this project is to demonstrate the potential of digital 2D workflows to instigate new styles of animation.

Well, enough of the technical talk, let’s get to the goodies! To kick off our official announcement today, I’ve created an official DHT teaser poster, as well as official DHT wallpapers to adorn your computer background. And did somebody say teaser trailer? Let’s just say Christmas might come a wee bit early this year.

Duck ♥ Teslacoil Poster

Teaser Poster: 11×17

Duck ♥ Teslacoil Wallpaper

Widescreen: 1920×1200 1680×1050 1440×900 1280×800
Fullscreen: 1280×1024 1024×768
Other: iPhone(320×480)

Once again, it’s time to freshen this blog up with a feminine touch. So for all of you who have been on the edge of your seats waiting to see more from me… the wait is over! I recently held a humble photo shoot with my main model, Devon Katheeder, and it seemed fitting that I should share the beautiful results with the world. Unfortunately, the camera used for the shoot didn’t meet the extremely high quality standards that we here at Base14 have. But technical issues aside, we ended up with some great shots of great fashion. As always, may I remind you that if you like what you see, then keep checking back.