SPUD: The lovable lug of Titan Maximum

Every anime giant robot team needs a Spud! And here is ours...

Enjoy!

TITAN MAXIMUM: Jodi and Sasha

Jodi and Sasha are the female leads for Titan Maximum. Jodie's fight was the first thing I animated when work began on TM. She quickly became one of my favorite characters on the show. You will pick up a bit of their character from the preview here:

Sihanouk Mariona wrote a great poem describing Sasha's character:

Sasha: supermodel

you: animator.

Combine the two,

don't be a hater,

yeah, i said

sasha's hot like a radiator,

get outta bed,

like, animate her.

we have more characters coming- so keep a look out!

TITAN MAXIMUM teaser

We are the Animators of Titan Maximum

Here, finally, is a 30 second trailer for the new show Titan Maximum. It was a great show to work on, and hopefully we will be working on its second season soon.

Titan Maximum at IGN.com

And while I am at it: here is the FIRST TWO MINUTES of Titan Maximum!

PALMER (I did the shot "Disassemble these ships piece by piece...")

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Just in case you haven't seen it yet.

The Empire Muggs Back!

Everyone who loves Star Wars and Robot Chicken should check out the auction for the Make A Wish Foundation. A lot of people built these one of a kind toys and now you can own it! More to come. Check out www.charityfolks.com

I will post more about the building and auction updates soon!

A Few Comments On Up

I will try to keep this brief, as many have sung the praises of Up.

1) It is a great film.
2) I am happy that Pixar did not beat you to death with its use of 3D. It was subtle, adding the hint of depth. I feel that I was assaulted enough by the previews of all the new 3D films soon to be released.

My wife and eight year old daughter were disappointed in the lack of in your face 3D action. I tried to explain the subtlety and relief I felt with their approach to 3D. My daughter thought about this for a moment and said: "well, it was their first 3D film." As to imply that they need more time to really learn how to make stuff jump out at you and make the audience wet themselves as things fly out at you.

Fortunately, I remember the previews, and am able to remind my family that soon their wishes will be answered, and that gerbil movie will me wildly successful...

We March On

Here we all are- the Animation Crew for Robot Chicken Season 4. At this point it could double for the Animation Crew for Titian Maximum Season 1! we would just have to add signs of aging to all of us.

This plus this equils this!

After animating on the new show at Shadow machine there is little that can be discussed openly. What can be said is that it is called Titan Maximum. It is based on the "Giant Robot Fight Other Giant Robots and Stuff" genera with Robot Chicken thrown into the mix.

SO:
THIS


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Freak'n sweet!

Everyday I look forward to seeing everyone's new footage, models, sets and robots- I feel like everyone has stepped up their game. And when the show comes out in um- September, I think, will blow everone away.

Coraline is Number 2

Acording to Box Office Mojo, the beautiful Coraline is the second highest grossing stop motion feature! Congratulations to everyone at Laika and to the people who saw it- some of you more then two or three times. Check out the rankings at BoxOfficeMojo.com

Timmy Time

Another pre-school show. The difference is that this one is coming from Aardman! A spinoff of Shawn the Sheep, Timmy looks to be a lot of fun. With any luck, the powers that be will hold to some of the same conventions of Shawn- a show free of dialog, letting the action of the characters tell the story. My kids have already seen the trailer  and can't wait to see it on TV. The word is that Disney will be bringing it to the US so chances are we will not have long to wait for it.  

At Long Last

A few clips of the short lived Drumbbone! Thanks to the great guys at Buddy System Studios. This job got me out to LA for the first time and lead to me working at Shadow Machine on Robot Chicken. The work done at Buddy System is fantastic stuff and I love those guys. John Harvatine IV I first met in Connecticut working on "The Little People" and Eric Towner I met when he and Harv hired me for Drumbone. I owe these guys a lot- Without those two I may never have gone out to LA.

Humping Toy!

I haven't had the chance to animate the Humping Robot for robot Chicken yet. I look forward to some day animating that humping action. That wait may end with the Humping Robot Toy! It should be out by April and has wind up humping action.

It would be great to get one for free- what's the point of working on the show if you don't get the free swag? I love the picture of the robot humping the washing machine- but that isn't included with the toy. I wonder where I can get one of those... 

Star Wars II Robot Chicken!

On July 21st Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode II will be released! We originally produced the 22 minutes that aired before the start of season 4. We then went back and produced another 15 minutes! It all looks great, and I can't wait to see the extra features and  behind the scenes (I hope I don't see myself picking my nose).

We have Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams as well as Ahmed Best, who won an Annie reprising  for his performance as Jar Jar Binks. The writers: Seth Green, Matt Senreich, Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Mike Fasolo, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells and frequent guest writers Breckin Meyer, Hugh Davidson and Dan Milano also picked up the Annie for writing.

The best part of the RCSW II is that it got a bunch of my friends into Robot Chicken that hadn't watched it before- like my wife.

This DVD will make an excellent addition to anyones stop motion library. And if you people out there buy it- I might get more work- so everyone wins!

Coraline

Although no longer in theaters, I am going to add my 2 cents. Some of the initial trailers I had concerns that the film might not look like stop motion, that the level of polish would be at such a level that the hand made quality would not be apparent. I am happy to say that was not the case. A beautiful film full of atmosphere and texture.

I look forward to be able to rewatch it at home and pick through the animation frame by frame. The acting is fantastic and is of a kind that weighs heavy on my mind. It presents itself as a feast, an overwhelming delivery of all that is potential in this art form. 

Amazing.

The Week After

Robot Chicken season 4 ended for me about a week ago. A truly fantastic experience. I look forward to going back whenever they need me way out there in LA. Back in Corning, NY I am adjusting to plugging away on my thesis- which seems to be making progress- even if a bit slowly.

The most valuable thing to gleam from this experience is a new appreciation for Stop Motion. Not to say I ever stopped loving it, but to be back in an environment (a large environment) and be surrounded and consumed by the process, well, it is refreshing. It gives one pause, and a chance to reflect on the art form itself. And after that moment it is time to start a new shot.